1st DE this weekend

[cjtbt]

Going to my first DE this weekend, so my business dictates I put a few decals on.
Went Old School......cant drive for crap but thought it should look a little cool.

BTW: any advice for a rookie and an old longhood?

[304065]

1. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Concentrate on above all else smooth control inputs.

2. Late apex line. I mean LATE. If you go early (and you will be very, very tempted to turn early) you will be too fast and have problems.

3. Listen to your instructor, do everything he or she says immediately. If you develop a rapport of trust with your instructor he or she will raise your limits at the end. This is how you learn.

4. 90% of the weight of the engine and transaxle is aft of the rear wheels. If you lift off at or near the limit you WILL spin. Try and keep it below the limit.

5. Listen to your tires. Those street tires will start howling probably well before the limit. Pay attention and get ready to throw in some countersteer.

6. Drink a lot of water.

7. Do not putz with the car at all other than to check tire pressures.

8. Be safe and have fun.

[cjtbt]

Thanks for the tips!
Really looking forward to learning about this car and how to drive it properly with an instructor.
Been doing a little homework on the basic do's and don'ts, and hoping some of the reading will translate to the track.
A little concerned about getting in the way of the more powerful cars, but do plan on having a lot of fun.

Bud

1. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Concentrate on above all else smooth control inputs.

2. Late apex line. I mean LATE. If you go early (and you will be very, very tempted to turn early) you will be too fast and have problems.

3. Listen to your instructor, do everything he or she says immediately. If you develop a rapport of trust with your instructor he or she will raise your limits at the end. This is how you learn.

4. 90% of the weight of the engine and transaxle is aft of the rear wheels. If you lift off at or near the limit you WILL spin. Try and keep it below the limit.

5. Listen to your tires. Those street tires will start howling probably well before the limit. Pay attention and get ready to throw in some countersteer.

6. Drink a lot of water.

7. Do not putz with the car at all other than to check tire pressures.

8. Be safe and have fun.

[edmayo]

I'll add to John's excellent advice, brake early and in a straight line so that you can be feeding in the power through the corner. Some people are very good at trail braking, but that comes later, if at all. I've never developed that skill. Do not let the red mist get you!

[Fritter]

Another good one is to look far ahead to plan where you are going, instead of just looking immediately in front of you. You will be smoother if you do this.

Also, find the optimum powerband for your engine and keep the revs in that area. You probably will only use 2 gears mainly, maybe three.

I did my second DE ever a month ago in my '68, and I kept the gas floored between turns, and braked progressively later for corners. Use the brake markers at each corner to gauge.

The only thing I tweaked (as John said) was tire pressures. You'll get faster and faster each run, and you'll find the PSI goes up a few after each run. I bled off the extra few lbs after each run. This was on street tires.

[Longballa]

Put some tape on your headlights and lenses to keep them nice and in one piece if you're running in a class where others will be using race rubber.

[cjtbt]

Wow! Thanks guys, lot to digest in my old mind.
Going to do the Go Pro thing and will try to put the first run up somewhere for some critiquing (I know it wont be pretty, but all comments are welcome)

Ed: Am I allowed to ask what the "Red Mist" is, or will that be a "learned" thing?

Bud

[Craig T]

Ed: Am I allowed to ask what the "Red Mist" is, or will that be a "learned" thing?

Bud

As a former Chairman of the Porsche Owner's Club Performance Driving Series and licensed POC instructor, I have to say the advice given is fantastic (these cars only brake well balanced on all four wheels, so forget trail-braking).

You asked what Red Mist is. I wrote this article for Velocity Magazine. This will explain “The Red Mist”...

The Red Mist

What exactly is “The Red Mist”? We’ve all heard the expression and made our assumptions, but has anybody really defined what the Red Mist really is?
By its literal definition, Red Mist (idiom) means: 1. uncontrollable rage 2. anger sufficient to cloud judgment, to stop clear thinking. The expression appears to be first used in 1857 by W. M. Thackeray in Harper's Mag. Dec. 63/2; “A choking, dreadful feeling arrested my breath. The ground rocked beneath my feet. A red mist swam before my eyes. I staggered. I fell! Kipling used the expression again in “Kim” in 1901; “He was led to speak harshly by the Red Mist of anger. Both of these author’s examples would apply to all too common situations in car racing, but the expression has evolved to encompass any clouding of judgment due to the competitive environment of the race track.
The first time I heard the words was back in 2000 at my first POC Slalom event (The “Performance Driving Series” was referred to as “Slalom” back then…and you thought “Short Track Series” was obscure. I believe they’ve got it right now). After the driver’s meeting, I was assigned an instructor. I don’t remember his name, but I drove over to his pit to pick him up before my session. He took one look at my lowered cat by-passed 993 twin turbo, did not say one word, and walked back to the meeting room. Soon after Rick White, the Chief driving Instructor at the time, walked over and told me to sit tight. He needed to find a different instructor. I had no idea what was going on, but soon a large man with a big smile came running over and jumped in. His name was Steve “The Master” Vandecar, the reining V3/R5 Champion. I asked Steve why the other guy didn’t want to instruct me and Steve said, “Don’t worry. He’s a pussy. He’s probably afraid you’ll get the “Red Mist” in this thing and kill him”. I made a mental note of “Red Mist” and meant to ask him later, but Steve was obviously not a “pussy” as the only instruction I received from him that day was the words “GO! GO! STOP BRAKING SO EARLY! By the end of the day my right knee was sore from him pushing down my throttle foot (Those of you who remember Steve know this is a true story). After that experience, I never did ask him what “Red Mist” meant.
For all the hundreds of times I’ve heard it since, I really didn’t know the true meaning of the expression until the Friday fubar race at the Spring Mountain event. The fubar race was an inverted grid, with the slower cars released first. When the Director of Motorsports first announced that R6 would be released with the BSR’s, and that only one GSR car would be released before us, I started doing the math. Before I got to the grid I had calculated that I could pass the BSR’s before Turn 3. I lap the GSR’s at Willow by lap eight. This was a 50 minute race. He would be no problem. The only cars ahead of me that would be of any challenge were fellow R6 drivers Jeff Schmidt and Tawfik Benabdeljalil, both in 993’s. I calculated that the 993’s being 500 pounds heavier than my car wouldn’t be a problem. I assumed I would pass them by lap 3, leaving me plenty of open track to stay ahead of the R5 cars. I had the 1st place trophy in my hand before I even got to the grid.
My fatal error was in not knowing that Jeff had been to the track several times before, and that the higher torque and wider tires of the 993 were well suited for Spring Mountain’s slow corners exiting to long straights. In reality, and my being too cocky to check, both Tawfik and Jeff were considerably faster then me. It was a disaster before it started. After a couple laps the Red Mist kicked in. I just wasn’t staying on Jeff and Tawfik easily. Had I looked at my lap timer I would have known I was running my fastest laps of the day trying to keep up and stayed within my limits. I officially had the Red Mist. I ignored the seat of my pants feel and drove out of my zone to stay with them. At about lap four I made the fatal judgment error. I held my foot in the gas too long trying to pass Jeff in the braking zone of Turn 15. Jeff had the line and turned in. I slammed on the brakes to avoid T-boning him, locking up the tires, and slid into the back of one of the nicest guys in the POC.
In hind sight, I set myself up for this dreaded 13/13 probation before the race even started. Most people facing the dreaded 13/13 protest and make excuses to the Comp Committee Chairman Steve “The Sheriff” Parker (an asswuppin waiting to happen). Not me. Like Otis the drunk on the “Andy Griffith Show”, I put the handcuffs on myself and locked myself in the jail cell. I understand the Red Mist is now.

[cjtbt]

Thanks Craig for the great article and explanation.......I think
Can the red mist come over me with a perpetual sh*t eatin' grin on my face?

Bud

[EA911]

Great advice given already.
My advice would be to relax. Don't have a death grip on your steering wheel and as others have mentioned - be smooth.
Don't follow the line of the car in front of you - concentrate on YOUR line.

Have fun!!