Driving Advice

I posted this vid a a few other threads but I wanted advice from the hardcore track drivers and especially the competition drivers. Do you see anything egregious here.. any tips or advice you would offer? I know I missed an Apex or two, this was my first time on this track and we had no cones or instructors available.

I was driving at ~80% or so after everything got heated up but never drove the limits of the car (it is my only Speciale) as I wasn't interested in an off track excursion.

Do you see anything I was doing very wrong or right?

Thanks and please only respond if you are a true track rat / SCCA / GT racer.

Thanks!

-Jasone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YYn9mzQMA4

 

All in all looks like you did just fine . Being this is your street car I can understand not being more aggressive on the curbing. If I have to offer any advice it would be a little more patient and let the car roll into some of slow the turns and get on the power a bit later. Another note is that track looks very dangerous. No exit curbing and trees in the runoff areas. If you ever want to take the car for a run at Palm Beach, let me know.

 

Try not to lean and turn your head more instead. Not terrible, but definitely doing it a bit. It will warp your perspective when you lean. Hard though with 3 point belts. There is more speed available at certain points, but if you are driving 8/10ths, that makes sense.

I agree with Tiara that the track is a bit scary to me. A mechanical failure could lead to hitting a tree.

 

No instructors? Who was riding in the passenger seat? Pretty ballsy on a track like that.

Not sure how much track experience you have, but that was all pretty good. Work on keeping your eyes up and looking farther forward (you're over-slowing to early and getting back to power too early because of it -- it's not a function of driving at 80%. the timing can still be correct even if you're not pushing at 100%).

My advice would be to spend more time on a "normal" track with better safety so you can push a little harder. After some time doing that, get a proper race car and push even harder.. it'll be more fun.

-mike

 

Mike, You are exactly right. This is a result of my early Viper track days. I spent a lot of hours/laps in a Viper at Sebring and Daytona in a Viper drag racing between corners and overly slowing before a corner knowing I could stay safe and make it up coming out of the corner.

Good observation, I could really use a Ferrari knowledgeable instructor with me.

Habits are hard to break.

 

No instructors, the passenger was another driver. I rented the track for a private day so I was running the track all day.

 

If the Speciale was a true track car, I would have had 6 points with a HANS. I was driving at ~80% specifically because of this. The track was not scary at all.. the trees you see are well of enough in the distance that there is little chance of making that far in an off track incident. We had an inexperienced Vet driver go off track several times.. the mud and swamp saved him well before the trees.

 

Thanks for the reply. I stayed away from the curbing for the simple fact that it was essentially false curbing. If you look closely, the curbing had a sharp +10" drop off on the inside edge that would eat rims and tires. If I was at Sebring or Daytona, I would have been using them as appropriate.

 

from looking at the video, it looks like you're just starting off. so far you're doing fine.
1) try to adjust the seat to a position where you're less jerky in some of the corners
2) just get more time being comfortable in the car. focus on the line and being smooth with the inputs
3) once you get comfortable, start pushing the braking and cornering.

you're not near the limit of the car yet so its hard to say what to do other than practice more and continue to work on the racing line.

also that track looks not great for learning...
if you want to go faster, just full throttle straight line through the esses

 

The track was designed specifically for learning. There is an off camber turn, banked turn, hairpin, constant radius turn.. etc.. basically 1 of everything on a small scale. Although I know they didn't have 600hp Ferraris in mind, more like spec miadas.

Agree with you on the eases but there is a sharp 10+ inch drop off on the inside of the curbs and I didn't want to risk damaging a rim.

I have 1000s of laps at Sebring and Daytona in a Viper but certainly still consider myself a beginner. This was my first time at this track and also first time tracking my Speciale.

I rented the whole track and had 9 cars out there just for a fun day.. nothing serious.

Thanks for the response.

 

Good job

do you know the trick to lock 3 pt belt in place? Put seat back and recline, twist bottom belt before clicking in, pull top belt quickly to lock and hold it, then move seat forard and upright.

might help

 

i didn't notice this until now, but try not to re-grip the steering wheel when you turn. try to keep the hands at 9-3 and don't regrip before a turn. i think that will help your driving tremendously

 

Excellent tip, thank you.

 

Interesting. I've had instructors advise both methods:

1. "For a hairpin, grab the top of the steering wheel so you are at 9-3 during the turn"
2. "Never reposition your hand unless absolutely necessary"

When tracking my Viper I went with #2 but since I have stationary paddle shifters now I've been using #1.

I'll have to keep that in mind during the next track day.

 

I'll start by saying that asking an open internet forum for driving critiques is dangerous into itself....

To echo Mike's comments, the main thing I pick up from the video is your timing is off - hands (steering, amount of input, speed of input and unwind) and feet (braking and throttle app). Having said that, we can't see what your feet or doing, tell how you are braking, or what your release looks like.

Another thing to consider, could be the camera angle, but 1) you need to keep your hands on the wheel, if you have a hand off you will not be able to make corrections, and most corrections are required mid corner-to-exit, and 2) you seem like your arms are very stretched....which is enticing you to lean. Hard to tell, but one thing I'd check is your driving position, you'll probably end up wanting the wheel closer and higher than you think.

Will only add my typical comment, the best investment is getting a competent, professional driver coach to work with you and ideally be able to access data (eg. brake pressure, release) and focus on the basic skills. IMHO the only difference between good drivers and average is the good ones nail the basics over and over, and can tell when they make a mistake and correct it before the average guy realizes he is in trouble....

 

Thanks for the response, I have thick skin and a genuine desire to learn from others, I can filter the trolls easily

Both hands were on the wheel at all times except for a brief second during the cool down lap, not sure if that is what you were referring to?

Driving position is definitely off. The car was not designed to have a person with a helmet on so I have to have the seat back adjusted to an unnatural (for racing) position. I wish Ferrari designed these cars better for occasional track use. Harness mounts and headroom for helmets are a couple of simple things they could have done to cater to track enthusiasts.

If the Ferrari software worked, I could overlay all the collected data but I have found anyone that has figured it out. If you know of anyone that has, please let me know. I would love to analyze segments and string together the best lap before I go out there again.

I totally agree with out on instructors, I've spent hours on track with some of the best including Skip Thomas and Lou Giglioti.

This day was about having some relaxed track time with friends, enjoying our cars and not pushing the limits.

 

If you have thousands of laps in a viper, and consider yourself a beginner... You are very modest .

 

And that's why this is probably not the best clip to critique, but you've gotten some good (and not so much) advice. I'll add that "moving hands on the wheel" versus "don't move your hands on the wheel" is more personal preference, if it does not get in your way nor abdicate control of the car. Data shows equal performance from pros doing it both ways...

The Ferrari software is, for the most part, indecipherable! No one I know uses it, although it does have common with other systems (and useful) features.

For less than $1800, you can get an AiM Solo DL and SmartyCam HD Rev2 (all made in Italia) and get not only data that you can stitch together optimal laps, but plenty of information, enough to show you how efficient you are with the timings Entropy talks about. I have supplied this system to many folks here.

This is an older, standard definition version, but brake pressure, steering angle, throttle position, RPM and speed (among other things) are all encoded onto the video, real-time and ready to play thirty seconds after you get back to the paddock. https://youtu.be/Po4yoytAdDg

I applaud your posting and think you'll enjoy the car! Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply Peter. I used a traqmate for years and loved the quality of data and simplicity of use of both the equipment and software. If I return to the track with any frequency I'll need to look in to a new system. For a $6K option, I was hoping the Sepciale system would at the very least "work". Apparently that was too high of an expectation.

I really need to find options for rotors and pads if I'm going to take the Ferrari back out on the track. The brakes on the Speciale were simply not designed for track use.

Know of any plug'n'play options?