Hurry less, more speed?

A childhood hero of mine, Jackie Stewart , once delivered a Zen like bit of advice to younger drivers, the essence of which was "if you want to go fast, don't hurry", i.e., don't overdrive or push the car. He was a finesse type who certainly got results, ( like Alain Prost, for example), but do finesse guys reallly have an advantage over a thrasher type, like saaaay Nigel Mansell?

 

The more you thrash a car around, the more energy gets wasted both by the car and driver. Instructors usually have you start slowly and allow the speed to build into your rhythm. Think about playing a guitar--if you're learning a scale, are you going to race through it the first time? No, you'd be better learning it slowly and after much repetition see your velocity increase.

 

Right on. That's what sainthoo and I have done or two days in the wet at VIR.

 

Amen. "Wet," it was.

I am not an expert or experienced, but I totally buy into going slow at first, properly, being smooth, then adding the right foot when everything is sorted. I chose a "momentum" type car to learn, because I figure it will punish my bad driving with slow time.

BTW - Thanks again Peter. It was a pleasure working with you, hope to do it again, sooner rather than later.

Christian

 

Right on! This is what I have always tried teaching when I am on track. Sometimes it is easier said than done but being calm and cool in the car helps to make this all happen.

 

Smoother is quicker. And quicker is what you are really looking for. Roll the throttle, do not stab it. Be fully braked before entering the turn and accelerate your way out of it. Your exit speed will be much higher and you will be moving toward the next corner sooner than someone who jerks their car around................Does it every time....

 

Well at my current level I'm not sure I buy smooth. I'm not great but I have 3 race licenses. I like "man handling" the car on starts/ first lap and the last/closing laps but smooth is key everywhere else. If I don't get Zen in the car I wear out and make mistakes. I think there are times in a race where you need to drive 10/10ths and be 10/10ths mentally. Once a race settles it becomes a real sleeper and you have to conserve energy and conserve the car for the finish.

 

I believe "slow-down, go faster" is true for a couple reasons.

First, being smoother and easier on the car (tires, brakes, drivetrain) keeps those parts in better shape, meaning they will work better and allow the car to go faster. If you are over working your tires or brakes, for instance, they begin to go away and you have to lay off and allow them to come back. Beyond that, being smooth and minimizing the strain on parts means that parts are less likely to break, so in the long run its 'faster' vs. being, say broken in the pits.

Also, from personal experience, I know there have been times where I have been told to slow down (keep to a certain pace for endurance races) and have actually focused on just being as smooth and relaxed as possible and have set my fastest times after that.

Another way I think about it, is that you aren't out there trying to make the car go as fast as possible. You're really trying to slow the car down the least amount possible, to take the least amount of speed out of the car as you can.

 

Beautiful post, especially the last sentence. The crux of my instruction (and many learned others) ...

 

This is true, however, it is still great fun to watch talented renegades, no? Senna and Mansell were good earlier examples, Montoya and Sato were bad examples, and I guess Fred is one of the more daring renegades now, although he is generally very smooth (he made some agressive passes today though!).

 

Bravo!!!
Another way I like to convey this is: It is not about driving as fast as you possibly can, it is about driving as efficiently as you possibly can... If you are being efficient, applying all the energy available where it needs to be when it needs to be there, then the speed will reveal itself naturally.

As for Senna, he was indeed a smooth operator. Many people say he was a thrasher but apparently they didn't listen to him when he described his own experience of himself, the car, and driving. He was a very smooth 10.5/10s driver... He was one of the few who truly knew how to literally find the edge and live on it for incredibly long periods of time, and you can't do that and thrash or command the car - you have to be willing to have a two-way conversation with the car, not a argument. He understood that and embodied it; exploring the limit, not reacting to it.

And yes, it is still fun to watch the renegades too! LOL

Cheers & C U @ d'Track!!
C

Chuck Hawks,
Pro-Driver, Coach, Instructor & Facilitator
DreamsFulfilled, LLC & rEvolution Performance Driving System ©