For you track junkies...

[8000RPM]

http://hobbystage.net/porsche/media.cgi?site=*&folder=video&group=1&page=*&id=1021363154-000609

Above is footage of a Z06 spinning at Willow Springs turn 3.

Two questions:

1) Did he take the wrong line which then caused the spin?

2) Once the tail started coming around, was the spin unavoidable or could he have corrected differently to avoid the spin?

 

[Hrant]

Originally posted by 8000RPM:
http://hobbystage.net/porsche/media.cgi?site=*&folder=video&group=1&page=*&id=1 021363154-000609

Above is footage of a Z06 spinning at Willow Springs turn 3.

Two questions:

1) Did he take the wrong line which then caused the spin?

........ I don't think so, his other lines were pretty good. I think he floored it right at the apex as he tried to track out.

2) Once the tail started coming around, was the spin unavoidable or could he have corrected differently to avoid the spin?

...... I doubt if he could have caught it; even if he momentarily eased off and then kept constant gas pedal pressure (all very hypothetical because of the nanoseconds involved) he would have most likely gone left right left right or something like that .... which may have been worse ........ just part of the learning curve.

Two more "by the book" observations:

Needs to wear long sleeve cotton shirt - fire safety isseue.

His sitting position as far as his reach to the steering wheel is too far .... at turn 1 he has a fiull extension - we recommend some bent elbows at that position.

These are good videos to have for instructional purposes. Great. Two in row in recent days.

Now if we can stop the arm chair pontification and get to the track ......

[This message has been edited by Hrant (edited 26 August 2002).]

 

[Lud]

You can see from all the skid marks that it looks like many people do the exact same move.

[This message has been edited by Lud (edited 27 August 2002).]

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

I can't seem to download the video. Anybody can make it a downloadable link?

 

[8000RPM]

Andrie, I just tried it again and the link worked as is. It's a RealPlayer file.

Are you using Netscape or IE? For some reason it doesn't work for me when using Netscape.

Love to hear your feedback!

 

[8000RPM]

So is it safe to assume that he did take the right line, but was simply carrying too much speed going into the turn, and thus the spin was unavoidable?

I am trying to figure out how this could've been prevented...

 

[Edo]

Turn 3 is a high bank left hander going into the Horseshoe at Willow Springs correct?
If I remember right, there are very few visual Cue's to mark brake points by at that corner, and also your speed going into the braking zone is quite high (especially in a Z06). As mentioned earlier, the high banking and high speed braking would be a very big factor in causing a car to spin. Any car will spin when trying to turn too hard under hard braking. Although I cannot view the video, I think the culprit is carrying too much speed, braking too hard to compensate and turning at the same rate he would have at the lower speed. At that point, your front suspension would be compressed, there would be very little weight on your rears, and then if you tried to turn on a banked surface, the majority of your car's weight would transfer to the right front wheel, more than usually would.
And depending on the reaction of the driver, would plow off the track or spin the car due to the lack of rear contact area.


Or maybe I should just watch the video and quit bench racing

[This message has been edited by Edo (edited 26 August 2002).]

 

[POWERED by HONDA]

No probs with Netscape/Mozilla/IE here.

 

[Hrant]

Initially I too was going to post that he was carrying too much speed .......... but I don't think so. His car did not get loose before the apex, his hands were relaxed no corrections ..........

Since this is not an NSX, he would have had earlier feedback that the back is getting loose and perhaps mild trail braking may have helped him.

If you listen carefully to the other turns he took, he does play with the throttle .... I still think right at the apex he floored it and given the torque it kicked on him ...... I have done the same at THill a few years ago where I floored it rather than ease onto the throttle at the track out of seven after passing a car and it bit me with a 360 .........

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

Firstly, I've only been to Willow springs once, thus my opinion might not be correct.

I've been in the same situation in that corner last month. As it was my first event there, and I was trying different line each time.

There is a transition on that corner from left bank up hill, a brief flat and the right bank. If you take that corner early apex, you get the front light first and create a big push. In this case, he took it late apex, and keep it tight, which cause the rear to get light and causes the spin. Still he could have saved it IMHO. He simply didn't sense the tire slip early enough and didn't correct it in time.

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

Regarding racing line:

Racing line should be intuitive if not instinctive to race car driver. I forgot who said that, I believe it was Niki Lauda.

There will never be the same line for all driver. It will be similar, but not the same, as nobody can defy the law of physics.

To know the racing line, you will have to know the venue, every cervices of the road, every change of elevation and every irregularities on the road. Make mental notes on what is out there.

I make an effort to walk the track by foot. Pay close attention on the track surface. the last time I did this,I cut down 2 seconds of my lap time. That is very significant. Take the time to do this, the pay off is big.