12 replies to this topic

[juliancates]

Got to run my first SM race with NASA this past weekend at Autobahn Country Club South. A mental error right at the start caused me to lose several spots off the bat and had to spend the rest of the race trying to get them back.

I've driven this track before, but never in the Miata. This was the third session on the track, and I was still learning how to drive it. Other than the screw up on the start, I felt pretty good about it. My best lap of 1:45 was 5 seconds off the track record pace set that day by one of the leaders, so I definitely have a long way to go.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate some feedback about the race so that I can improve as a driver. This SM thing is pretty darn fun, and I'm glad I made the switch.

Cheers,

Julian

[Tom Sager]

Got to run my first SM race with NASA this past weekend at Autobahn Country Club South. A mental error right at the start caused me to lose several spots off the bat and had to spend the rest of the race trying to get them back.

I've driven this track before, but never in the Miata. This was the third session on the track, and I was still learning how to drive it. Other than the screw up on the start, I felt pretty good about it. My best lap of 1:45 was 5 seconds off the track record pace set that day by one of the leaders, so I definitely have a long way to go.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate some feedback about the race so that I can improve as a driver. This SM thing is pretty darn fun, and I'm glad I made the switch.

Cheers,

Julian

Congrats on surviving Saturday's race. Those were really tough conditions in which to drive. "Slicker than a bucket of snot" as someone mentioned to me.

I see a lot of little things in your video from Sunday that add up. Lines overall are pretty good but you're not carrying enough speed in some places. If you want to send me a PM we could find 15 minutes one night on the phone to speak and I think I can help you some. I've had a lot of laps at this track in a SM.

[juliancates]

Congrats on surviving Saturday's race. Those were really tough conditions in which to drive. "Slicker than a bucket of snot" as someone mentioned to me.

I see a lot of little things in your video from Sunday that add up. Lines overall are pretty good but you're not carrying enough speed in some places. If you want to send me a PM we could find 15 minutes one night on the phone to speak and I think I can help you some. I've had a lot of laps at this track in a SM.

Thanks, Tom! Yeah, Saturday was insane. Rain, sleet, etc. The start was pretty much a wall of water with occasional brake lights visible. I was just happy to get off the track without bending anything.

Congrats on the new track record! You guys were flying. I hope I didn't get in your way too much when you and Domont were lapping me, I tried staying out of it as much as possible and in hindsight it may not have been intuitive that I was going to stay inside on T13 to let you guys by, and I wasn't sure if you saw me pointing.

Anyway, that is an especially generous offer, and I'll definitely PM you to take you up on it. THANKS!

[Kyle Burkhardt]

Thanks, Tom! Yeah, Saturday was insane. Rain, sleet, etc. The start was pretty much a wall of water with occasional brake lights visible. I was just happy to get off the track without bending anything.

Congrats on the new track record! You guys were flying. I hope I didn't get in your way too much when you and Domont were lapping me, I tried staying out of it as much as possible and in hindsight it may not have been intuitive that I was going to stay inside on T13 to let you guys by, and I wasn't sure if you saw me pointing.

Anyway, that is an especially generous offer, and I'll definitely PM you to take you up on it. THANKS!

Tom: Julian is never racing ACC again, so don't waste your time. Call me instead. Or, Julian, just share.

[Tom Sager]

Tom: Julian is never racing ACC again, so don't waste your time. Call me instead. Or, Julian, just share.

Kyle, find a way to get out to ACC South or full for a test or practice day. There are people there on any given day that know the fast way around.

[juliancates]

Tom: Julian is never racing ACC again, so don't waste your time. Call me instead. Or, Julian, just share.

Kyle, I am moving, but I do hope that I can drive ABCC again. While what Tom and I discussed tonight was specific to Autobahn, it was also universal in that there were some common issues with my driving that showed up again and again through various corners.

Tom, thanks a LOT for taking time out of your evening to spend helping me out. I truly appreciate it. Good luck with the rest of your year!

Cheers,

Julian

[Todd Green]

First of all great video quality and congrats on the race. What video setup are you using?

One quick comment/suggestion: it looked like you had your visor up and no eye protection. I've had the occasional rock/debris thrown in my car and wouldn't want to chance getting hit in the eye. YMMV.

[juliancates]

First of all great video quality and congrats on the race. What video setup are you using?

One quick comment/suggestion: it looked like you had your visor up and no eye protection. I've had the occasional rock/debris thrown in my car and wouldn't want to chance getting hit in the eye. YMMV.

Thanks, Todd. The video camera is a JVC Everio HD camcorder with a wide angle lens. It records in AVCHD format to SD cards, and I've been pretty happy with the results. Think I picked it up for $189 or so on sale.

Point taken on the eye protection. I don't like wearing the visor down, as the optical quality is not that great and it tends to fog up. I just got some prescription sunglasses that I'm looking forward to trying, and I have a set of good optical quality safety glasses that I can try for the days when it would be too dark for the sunglasses.

[Kyle Burkhardt]

Julian: sure hope we get to run together more than once this year!

Tom: I've learned quite a bit from the members. Do you run the entire MW schedule?

[Tom Sager]

Julian: sure hope we get to run together more than once this year!

Tom: I've learned quite a bit from the members. Do you run the entire MW schedule?

I'll run another NASA event or two but don't know yet which. Mostly I run SCCA.

[Todd Green]

The video camera is a JVC Everio HD camcorder with a wide angle lens.

I use a Canon Vixia HF100 that also does AVCHD and uses an SD card, which rocks, but the rolling shutter gives me tons of waviness so I had to turn off image stabilization and thus get tons of vibration (with an I/O port mount.)

What exact model of JVC are you using and what mount? Were you able to leave IS on? Thanks!

[juliancates]

I use a Canon Vixia HF100 that also does AVCHD and uses an SD card, which rocks, but the rolling shutter gives me tons of waviness so I had to turn off image stabilization and thus get tons of vibration (with an I/O port mount.)

What exact model of JVC are you using and what mount? Were you able to leave IS on? Thanks!

I'll dig up the exact JVC model number at home tonight, but here's the "woot.com" page for it when I bought it there:

http://www.woot.com/...y.aspx?id=14146

I'm using the big IOport mount with the large red poly bushing. I don't believe I'm using image stabilization at all, but I'll double check. The camera does have an option to filter out wind noise which I have turned on and which works very well. I'll post the exact JVC model number when I get a chance to look.

Cheers,

Julian

[juliancates]

I'll dig up the exact JVC model number at home tonight, but here's the "woot.com" page for it when I bought it there:

http://www.woot.com/...y.aspx?id=14146

I'm using the big IOport mount with the large red poly bushing. I don't believe I'm using image stabilization at all, but I'll double check. The camera does have an option to filter out wind noise which I have turned on and which works very well. I'll post the exact JVC model number when I get a chance to look.

Cheers,

Julian

Just checked, and it's the JVC Everio GZ-HM200BU model.