I get by with a little help from my friends
Discussion
It's the old chestnut of certain 'faster' cars holding up 'slower' cars on track. The driver of the slower car will catch the faster car through the corners, have to back out if it, loose it's hard won (and easily lost) momentum for the next straight where the fast car then steps on the gas and pulls away on the straight so that the whole sorry process will start again on the next sequence of corners. Will it always be this way?
Many people have little consideration for others on the road, because they're all right. Some of those people do track days. Not much you can do about it.
I had a discussion about this with someone the other day, and he just didn't grasp the concept of if a car has caught up with you then even if you're much faster down the straight you let the other car past. Yes, that might mean you lift down the straight and are "held up" by the quicker car for the length of that straight. That's one straight for you vs entire laps for the other driver.
I had a discussion about this with someone the other day, and he just didn't grasp the concept of if a car has caught up with you then even if you're much faster down the straight you let the other car past. Yes, that might mean you lift down the straight and are "held up" by the quicker car for the length of that straight. That's one straight for you vs entire laps for the other driver.
Speaking as a Boxster driver who's done loads of Porsche Club track days I can confirm that this is inevitable.
You might be quicker in the corners...but you ain't quicker if they're sporting 450bhp vs your 260.
The trick is to just go drive through the pits and come back out. Find a clear bit of track. It is not a race. Do not go mental trying to get past - you'll just get thrown off the day.
It is NOT a race. You know who's quicker.
You might be quicker in the corners...but you ain't quicker if they're sporting 450bhp vs your 260.
The trick is to just go drive through the pits and come back out. Find a clear bit of track. It is not a race. Do not go mental trying to get past - you'll just get thrown off the day.
It is NOT a race. You know who's quicker.
Yes it will. There will always be people who lack either the common sense, or awareness.
There are however 2 very simple solutions.
1) Back off yourself to make a gap, then resume having fun. (It's not a race.)
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
There are however 2 very simple solutions.
1) Back off yourself to make a gap, then resume having fun. (It's not a race.)
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
upsidedownmark said:
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
I like to call this the slingshot :-)Itsallicanafford said:
It's the old chestnut of certain 'faster' cars holding up 'slower' cars on track. The driver of the slower car will catch the faster car through the corners, have to back out if it, loose it's hard won (and easily lost) momentum for the next straight where the fast car then steps on the gas and pulls away on the straight so that the whole sorry process will start again on the next sequence of corners. Will it always be this way?
Happens to me in my 125 BHP Caterham Sigma. I find 90% of people have the common sense and awareness to pull over and let you past. However 10% don't.As others have said the best thing I find to do is to just go into the pits and come straight back out and don't let it get to you.
KRL said:
upsidedownmark said:
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
I like to call this the slingshot :-)Itsallicanafford said:
Will it always be this way?
Yes, I believe it will.As already said in the thread, many drivers move over and let the `quicker` car past.
You`ll always get those who move over, nail it, wave their arms around in exasperation when you don`t zoom past and pull back to the racing line at the end of the straight and then hold you up for the rest of the lap. They assume that the only reason you can be quicker than them is because you have more power, so seem to think you are happy to follow when you drop back on the straights.
The others are the ones who think there is something to prove and it`s a slight on their manliness if you pass and they won`t move over by choice.
Then you come across the odd one who has absolutely no idea you are even there. Often novices who are using all their available concentration just keeping it on the track, with no spare capacity to look in the mirror. They are usually easy to spot and the `slingshot overtake` mentioned above works well.
The trick is to not get stressed by it. They will carry on and are often oblivious of the issues behind them, so there is no point getting wound up. It frustrating if there is a queue in the pitlane, you can`t drive back in then straight back out, but just dropping back a set distance and then catching them back up can be entertaining in itself.
i like the slingshot approach, but you are of course right a pits drive through or backing off is sensible.
The thing is, i think that 'Fast' cars are actually missing out by not allowing the 'slower' cars through on the straights. I was at Snetterton recently and there were a bunch of E30 race cars doing some laps. On the straights they didn't have too much puff and were identically quick to my Mk1 MX5 1800 (i assume they were 318's running stock engines?). So a little lift from me, they come sailing past with a nice wave and come the next corner they were off. They were carrying far, far more speed through the corners than i could even dream of. This is a win-win for everybody, their laps were ruined by having to follow me around the next half a dozen corners and i got a ring side seat of the correct lines.
The thing is, i think that 'Fast' cars are actually missing out by not allowing the 'slower' cars through on the straights. I was at Snetterton recently and there were a bunch of E30 race cars doing some laps. On the straights they didn't have too much puff and were identically quick to my Mk1 MX5 1800 (i assume they were 318's running stock engines?). So a little lift from me, they come sailing past with a nice wave and come the next corner they were off. They were carrying far, far more speed through the corners than i could even dream of. This is a win-win for everybody, their laps were ruined by having to follow me around the next half a dozen corners and i got a ring side seat of the correct lines.
KRL said:
upsidedownmark said:
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
I like to call this the slingshot :-)Not going to happen.
Mound Dawg said:
KRL said:
upsidedownmark said:
2) (more fun) - use your brain. Pick a fast corner with a short straight after it. Fall back enough to take the corner at full pace and catch the 'fast' car on the exit. Use said momentum to whip past; unless it's a pretty long straight you'll still be ahead come the next corner.
I like to call this the slingshot :-)Not going to happen.
If that isn't possible then either let them go or next time out get more power that's why ive got a td04 turbo to go into the exocet.
Radical thought here, when the TDO suggests in the briefing that if you have any issues on track you should go and tell them, MAYBE YOU SHOULD!
Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them
.
When I'm running a day or working for an organiser a big part of my job is to make the 5% play nicely with the 95% but I sometimes need some information about who the 5% are.
Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them
.When I'm running a day or working for an organiser a big part of my job is to make the 5% play nicely with the 95% but I sometimes need some information about who the 5% are.
Steve H said:
Radical thought here, when the TDO suggests in the briefing that if you have any issues on track you should go and tell them, MAYBE YOU SHOULD!
Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them.
Absolutely. Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them
.
No matter which track day you go on there will always be someone that flouts the rules and the etiquette. At our recent trip to Spa the usual rule of only overtaking on the left and not in the braking zones was emphasized in the briefing. Within minutes of open pit lane starting there was one fella that thought that he was so fast and so much better than everyone else, that those rules didn't apply to him. He didn't last long after being reported (by multiple people).
So the moral is, let the organizer know. Even if he's only holding people up, let them know because they'll keep on eye on him and pull him for a word if they think his behaviour warrants it. They'll probably take to the opportunity to suggest that buying some instruction might help him stop holding people up.
So the moral is, let the organizer know. Even if he's only holding people up, let them know because they'll keep on eye on him and pull him for a word if they think his behaviour warrants it. They'll probably take to the opportunity to suggest that buying some instruction might help him stop holding people up.
Steve H said:
Radical thought here, when the TDO suggests in the briefing that if you have any issues on track you should go and tell them, MAYBE YOU SHOULD!
Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them.
When I'm running a day or working for an organiser a big part of my job is to make the 5% play nicely with the 95% but I sometimes need some information about who the 5% are.
Well said. Take a break, tell the organiser... just like you would if someone was "sling-shoting" past you without permission.Seriously, the only thing dafter than some muppet with a million horsepower holding a faster car up is that faster car then deciding that he isn't going to allow the TDO to do his job and sort if for them
.When I'm running a day or working for an organiser a big part of my job is to make the 5% play nicely with the 95% but I sometimes need some information about who the 5% are.
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