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[Johnny D]

 

At a Time Trials event, when every fraction of a second counts, having the ability to analyze your lap section by section can be what takes you from the middle of the pack to the podium. Even for drivers looking to better learn the track to smooth out their sessions, having that extra bit of coaching can make a big difference in a session’s fun factor. But sometimes right-seat instruction isn’t available or accessible so that’s when industry experts got creative.

 

The team at Racers360 works to improve the driving experience using drivers’ own on-board videos to coach. You’ve seen sports commentators use replays and on-screen drawing tools to talk through plays, right? Same idea, different application! This is especially helpful when you can send in a lap video from day 1 and get their coaching video back in time to review for your sessions on day 2. That’s why we are thrilled to partner with Racers360 for the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour presented by Hagerty and bring nearly instant and in-depth coaching to our participants.

 

The idea is simple- drivers send in their lap video, a Racers360 coach reviews it, and makes a response video with overlaid footage of them talking you through each part of your lap and where you can improve your approach to shave off valuable seconds. Each coaching video is about 20 minutes and is yours to keep so you can watch it over and over again to get that lap perfect. And these aren’t amateur coaches we’re talking about. These are seasoned professionals who have been there, done that, AND got the trophies! Names like Memo Gidley, Mike Skeen, Peter Krause, and Pippa Mann, just to give you an idea.  Curious how it all comes together? Check out an example of their coaching videos HERE.

 

Co-founder, coach, and multi-championship winning pro driver Dion von Moltke can be seen on a lot of the videos as well. With a 24 Hours of Daytona win and TWO 12 Hours of Sebring wins among his many accomplishments, this guy knows his stuff. We sat down with him to talk about what Racers360 does, how they got here, and what’s up ahead:

 

Dion, we are so thrilled to have Racers360 on board supporting our Time Trials participants. What drew you to the SCCA and our newest program?

 

Dion von Moltke: To be able to work with the Sports Car Club of America is extremely exciting for us as a company and for me personally.  We started Racers360 because we are passionate about helping our sport grow and believe that through education we can achieve that, SCCA has had this passion for 70 years and has arguably done more for the sport we love than any other organization. 

 

The SCCA Time Trials National Tour is a fantastic step for amateur racers everywhere.  We believe their vision of combining a fun time with a low risk competitive environment will prove to be an extremely popular one and are excited to be able to support them in making it happen!

 

Hey thanks! We’re pretty excited about it too! What inspired you to develop the Racers360 product?

 

DvM: This is a fantastic time to be involved in motorsport at any level thanks to so much innovation going on in our sport, but we noticed the only area that wasn’t evolving was the accessibility and affordability of pro coaching in our sport.  We have seen first hand the impact elite coaches can make on drivers at all levels by not only getting a driver to hit their goals and be faster, but also by driving safer while doing it.  The issue has always been that so few drivers could actually afford to get a pro coach to work with them personally.

 

That’s true, accessibility has been a road block for a lot of us in this sport. There’s no shortage of information you can get with apps that track lap times and log data, but it’s not always clear what the next steps are once you have it.

 

DvM: Exactly! Almost every driver is creating data on themselves either through data logger systems or videos but for most they have to self analyze or do nothing with that data.  We realized we could provide a ton of value to a driver and allow elite-level coaches to give drivers personal feedback if the drivers could send us that data and have coaches review it all remotely. 

 

(Editor’s note: Check out an example of their data analysis here)

 

We spent the last few months of 2018 testing our hypothesis that this form of online personal coaching would prove to be effective.  The feedback we received from the over 100 drivers we worked with blew us away.  We found that 100% of drivers our coaches worked with either went faster or improved certain techniques and we saw some drivers pick up more than 3 seconds after just one video analysis!

 

Whoa, 3 seconds?? Hmm… So hypothetically if this other driver, definitely not me, had a ton of seconds to spare after the first session of a TTNT weekend, can something like this work for me- I mean, my friend??

 

DvM: For sure, we can definitely help “your friend.” Now SCCA Time Trials National Tour drivers can upload their video or data after a session in the weekend and a pro coach will remotely review it and film a personal coaching session for them on the same day!  Drivers can leverage this to find critical factors to improve and find speed as well as make sure everything they are doing on track is safe and they aren’t making any critical mistakes that could get them in trouble.

 

We’re all for increasing accessibility and decreasing critical mistakes. Speaking of accessibility, one of my favorite things that Racers360 is bringing to the table is the track breakdown videos you’re making for each TTNT track. Seeing and talking through each section would be really helpful to any novice. Can drivers of all levels benefit from this as well?

 

DvM: No matter if you are visiting a new track or if you have thousands of laps on a track we are all constantly learning how best to place our car and attack specific corners.  At Racers360 we are leaning on the expertise of all our pro coaches to film in-depth track breakdowns giving SCCA drivers all the important factors to find a quick lap around the track, and we are doing this for free!  We film our track breakdowns the same way we do our one lap analysis using an onboard film from a driver we go corner by corner using slow motion, annotations and web cameras you will learn the secrets of each race track from the best pro coaches!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome! We can’t wait to see all the videos and exchange high fives with your team on the tour.

 

Interested in getting some coaching from the Racers360 team? You can purchase sessions when you register for TTNT events.  They have offers and packages tailored for the TTNT crowd:

 

One Lap Analysis (same day turn around time): $149 - Simply send in video from any device and a coach will breakdown your driving corner by corner with an in-depth coaching session.  We turn your roughly 2 minute lap video into a 15 minute coaching session where coaches focus on driving techniques specific to the experience level you have, the car you drive and the track you are driving on.  Must be purchased a minimum of 5 days ahead of your on track session.

 

Data Analysis (same day turn around time) - $199 - Send in data of one session from any data logger system and a coach will review your data and film a data analysis coaching session giving you specific ways you can improve.  Must be purchased a minimum of 5 days ahead of your on track session.

 

Personal Coaching Package - $269 - This package includes 2 one lap analysis with same day analysis videos with a 10% discount.  You are guaranteed to have the same coach with both videos! Must be purchased a minimum of 5 days ahead of your on track session.

 

You can also check out their full list of offerings and learn more at racers360.com