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Competition school report: Day 2

Well, I'm back at work and have a million things to do but wanted to
share my second day in competition school with all of you. 

Day 2 started out back in the classroom, discussing starts, flags,
passing: all the stuff you don't worry much about or even do in a
drivers school or track day. A new concept was presented to me: before
you turn in at a corner, you check your mirrors. Why? Because there
might be a car there passing you.

Then we got back in our cars from the day before and went out for a 20
minute warm up session, just lapping. 

I started out in my usual stellar fashion: missed all my apexes, apexed
early on turn 2 running off the track, almost spun, darted back across
the track off on the inside, finally got it slowed down. Did it again 6
laps later on turn 8, got off into the marbles and just barely held on.
All while the owner of the school was watching. Drove like I'd never
been in a car before. 

My confidence was at an all time low. 

Then we did more section times. This time we timed the one section of
the track that hadn't been timed the day before (turn 8-9). I managed to
get fastest time, but screwed up both tries. So go figure. We also
checked speeds at the exit of the turn complex, and all were very close.
This matched the previous day's check of exit speeds on two sections,
where everybody was within 3 mph of each other. 

Spec cars; spec drivers.

Next it was passing drill, with cars going in out in pairs. We would go
nose to tail into a turn, and an instuctor would pop a flag: blue or
yellow. Blue meant for the #2 car to present and pass the #1 car, which
would not contest it. Yellow meant: here's what a yellow flag looks
like, don't forget to look for them. This was supposed to be a 6/10ths
or 7/10ths exercise, but it ended early because people were going more
like 9/10ths. At this point our esteemed instructors decided we were
ready for qualifying and a race. We went out for single car qualifying:
one warm-up, two hot laps, and a cool down. I wound up gridded first, so
out I went. First lap I made my patented super slick downshift at the
end of the straight from 5th to--guess what?--5th. Those Neons are mush.
Coming out I'm rolling on the throttle and nothing's happening. Finally
the lightbulb goes off and I grab 4th and save a little. But that run
sucked. So much for my strategy of doing one clean conservative lap and
then one hot one. Second lap I miss the apexes in the chicane all over
the place, and plow like a pig through 3A-3B. Really top notch driving,
yes siree. I come in, depressed. Why do I want to do this? Who am I
kidding?

No times shown or discussed until all cars were through. Then the
instuctors came over and suggested inverting the grid before they showed
us our times. That, they suggested, would make things more interesting,
since the faster cars at the back of the grid would have some passing
practice, and the slower cars at the start of the grid would have the
experience of being passed. This was only going to be a 20 minute race
(10 laps) so the alternative was probably to have to pole sitters run
away from everybody. We all agreed to inverting, and the board was
uncovered to show qualifying positions. 

Ouch, I just gave up the pole. I can't believe it! Maybe I'm not so bad
afterall... So now I go from best position to worst (third row outside)
of the six cars.

We pause here for a moment of pompous philosophizing. 

Yesterday at 3:30pm the world divided into two groups of people, cleaved
liked the Red Sea before Moses strolled across. Those of you who have
had the experience of coming around on the pace lap, engines straining,
bunched up, watching the starter's elbow for the first twitch, then
THERE IT IS jumping on it, looking for a hole, going for it, side by
side into the first turn--those of you who have had that experience know
that it separates you from all other mere mortals in some fundamental
way. That mere existence can no longer be viewed in quite the same light
ever again. No matter how hokey the race, no matter how slow the cars,
no matter that no money, no trophy, no bragging rights, no nothing was
riding on the outcome. No matter. 

It is a race.

And boy oh boy that's what we had. 

An amazing thing happened at the start. There was a hole, an enormous
hole. The car in front of me moved right into it, I moved right of him
and chased him all the way up the straight. Instantly I had moved from
6th to 2nd. Now it was time for a strategy re-think. My original plan
had been to patently pick off the back markers and move up the field,
maybe getting to 3rd or 2nd by the end of the race. Now I only had to
pick off one guy (who was it? I couldn't remember) and hold it for the
lead. So new strategy: pressure him and wait for a mistake. 

So I got right on his bumper and stayed there. But he was driving well.
I could see I was a little faster, but not a lot. If I could get by him
I thought I'd open a lead. Couldn't see anyone behind, so I could focus
on him. After a few laps I could see he wasn't going to make any
mistakes, so I'd better try to get around him. I tried at all four spots
you can reasonably pass at SIR. No dice on any of them. I got within
feet of being able to pull it off, but not quite. My best attempt was to
get a better hole shot out of 8-9 onto the long straight and draft him.
As I pulled out to pass I started to gain on him (this drafting stuff is
COOL). But the cars are truly identical, and I couldn't get "presented"
enough to make him give me the line before we made the flat-out turn 1.
That meant I could 1) run into the wall on the right side of the track
or 2) back off and tuck in behind him. A better driver would have waited
until turn 1, drafted out beside him, and late braked into turn 2 to own
the line. But when you going 105 mph, the thought does occur to you, "If
I get beside this clown and he doesn't look for me before he turns in
for turn 2, I could end up today writing Pacific Rim a check for $12,000
after I ball up this Neon..."

Ok, you're not supposed to have those thoughts. Besides, I had zero
confidence in my ability to stop a Neon with soggy rear shocks and a
rear end that does the Macarena under hard braking. You guys don't know
how GOOD BMWs are...

Behind me now I had a Air Force fighter pilot mistaking me for a Iraqy
bogey. He was all over me  like a bad suit. And behind him was another
guy who was trying the same number as well. But I was so busy trying to
get around car #1 that I didn't have time to worry about car #3. I could
see him in my mirrors trying dumb stuff off line and then losing speed
and having to catch up again. And I could see the car in front of me
getting a little shaky from the pressure. 

Last lap. It's now or never. 

Down the straight, into turn 2. I'm very focused on getting good speed
out of all the turns, late apex, be smooth, get as much acceleration as
possible. Coming out of 2 down the hill into 3A is the most common spot
to pass on SIR. No dice, he's braking way late and I'm going to lose it
if I try to get inside him. Whoa! he's locked up his right rear, will he
have to take the escape road? I head inside, ready to pounce if he
bobbles. But he recovers nicely, only locked it up for an instant, he's
slow through 3A but darnit! That's one place where you can't get around.
You come out of 3A and instantly you're in 3B. Again I get a better hole
shot and try to drag him up the hill, but can't quite catch him. Hold
back a little on the chicane so my superior exit speed will catch him
going up the hill to 7. Again I gain on him initially and then the gap
steadies. Could he have just a little more top end than my car? Doesn't
matter, 7 is here and he's closed the door. Ok, last chance, I'll get
slow into 8 and get a great hole shot onto the straight, draft him
before start finish. 

It almost worked. My front bumper was almost even with his rear bumper
when we took the checkered flag. The two cars behind us were even
closer: only feet separated them. And the two back markers had spent
whole race dicing like the World Championship rested on it, with the 5th
place car just re-taking that position on the last lap and making stick.

No money, no trophy, no beer, no glory, but everybody really RACED. The
instructor team agreed that it was the best school race they had ever
had, bar none. Turns out we were running race laps at qualifying times.
I know I was driving faster in the race than I had during qualifying. I
WANTED that first place.

Oh, well. 

Was I disappointed? Absolutely not. I had finally (after 2 days) gotten
where I was beginning not to fight the cars. I was beginning to figure
out how to drive FWD fast. I was learning how to compensate for the
school rule (necessary to save clutches) of not using 2nd gear on 3A-3B,
something everyone else would do in a race. 

And I had been in a real race. And that made all the difference.

Cheers,

John Browne
M3 LTW (PeeKay)
On, and one rented Neon ACR for one more race...