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      06-19-2022, 02:46 PM   #1
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2022 BIR Sommer Schnell HPDE

This is from the 2022 Sommer Schnell HPDE put on by the BMWCCA Northstar chapter at Brainerd International Raceway.

This event really showed what a good instructor can do for you. I had kind of plateaued, and wasn't even matching my times from last year. But my instructor worked with me on places where I could apply more throttle, and I ended up with a new personal best of 1:56.7. More than 2 seconds faster than my previous best time.

These laps are from later in the day, but both are still 1:57 laps. These are more fun to watch though because I'm catching and passing another car. A car I was not catching on Friday. And dang that white Veloster N was fast. But at least he wasn't pulling away any more. If I didn't love RWD so much, I would be more inclined to look at a hot hatch as my next car.

Using a windshield suction mount for my GoPro for the first time this weekend. I love the better view of the track. Definitely more immersive to watch, and you can see my line better. But I can't see when I'm making lazy/tired mistakes with my steering. Also added a Dual external GPS as a data source. Really cleaned up the data gathering in Track Addict.

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      06-28-2022, 03:25 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ggggbmw View Post
This is from the 2022 Sommer Schnell HPDE put on by the BMWCCA Northstar chapter at Brainerd International Raceway.

This event really showed what a good instructor can do for you. I had kind of plateaued, and wasn't even matching my times from last year. But my instructor worked with me on places where I could apply more throttle, and I ended up with a new personal best of 1:56.7. More than 2 seconds faster than my previous best time.

These laps are from later in the day, but both are still 1:57 laps. These are more fun to watch though because I'm catching and passing another car. A car I was not catching on Friday. And dang that white Veloster N was fast. But at least he wasn't pulling away any more. If I didn't love RWD so much, I would be more inclined to look at a hot hatch as my next car.

Using a windshield suction mount for my GoPro for the first time this weekend. I love the better view of the track. Definitely more immersive to watch, and you can see my line better. But I can't see when I'm making lazy/tired mistakes with my steering. Also added a Dual external GPS as a data source. Really cleaned up the data gathering in Track Addict.
Nice – the sweepers at BIR look like a lot of fun to drive!

I think the first three of your points about putting the camera in the windshield are spot-on. Regarding your last point, can't you see when you're "making lazy/tired mistakes with [your] steering" simply by noticing that you're no longer on the line you wish to be on as well as why you're not on that line (e.g., turned-in too early/late, went to full-throttle too early/late, etc.)?
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      07-01-2022, 07:42 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I think the first three of your points about putting the camera in the windshield are spot-on. Regarding your last point, can't you see when you're "making lazy/tired mistakes with [your] steering" simply by noticing that you're no longer on the line you wish to be on as well as why you're not on that line (e.g., turned-in too early/late, went to full-throttle too early/late, etc.)?
I've noticed that when I get tired I start shuffling the wheel and moving my hands around a lot. Not necessarily bad, but it usually means I'm getting sloppier. The camera on the seat will also show if I'm really turning my head to look at the tighter corners. Another casualty when I'm getting tired/sloppy. I also start leaning my head over, as if tilting my helmet will affect how the car corners.
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      07-05-2022, 06:31 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by ggggbmw View Post
I've noticed that when I get tired I start shuffling the wheel and moving my hands around a lot. Not necessarily bad, but it usually means I'm getting sloppier. The camera on the seat will also show if I'm really turning my head to look at the tighter corners. Another casualty when I'm getting tired/sloppy. I also start leaning my head over, as if tilting my helmet will affect how the car corners.
Be careful; lots of HPDE drivers have wrecked when pushing while tired. Ask me how I know.

I learned to get off the track as soon as I was no longer hitting my marks and later to get off the track at the slightest sign that my sharpness was diminishing. I eventually found that five laps or so was the longest I could sustain maximum focus. I think part of that was age (I was in my late 60s). As I was chasing lap times, staying on the track while getting slower served no useful purpose.

At tracks I was still learning well, I'd occasionally switch to running at a reduced pace so I could resume hitting my marks while continuing to build visual and muscle memory. At a new track, it generally took me four to six sessions to get those well-established and feeling "automatic". That was after I'd been driving and running in time trials for a few years.

For a number of good reasons, most drivers will want to maximize track time. One reason that having an instructor in the car is useful is he or she is frequently the one to first notice that the driver is no longer functioning at the level they were just a lap or two before. It's the instructor's job at that point to determine if slowing down to re-acquire focus (assuming that's possible) or cutting the session short is the appropriate response.
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      07-06-2022, 10:40 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
Be careful; lots of HPDE drivers have wrecked when pushing while tired. Ask me how I know.
Oh, I'm aware when I'm getting tired later in the day. I do slow down and concentrate on just burning the course into my brain. My comments earlier about seeing sloppiness helps to remind me what those signs are when I'm reviewing videos before my next track day.

Parts of BIR are getting to be automatic, especially the 3-6 corners. Enough so that my instructor was chiding me for trying different reference points and sight lines, and telling me my current lines and 'feel' were better. Still plenty of other places on the track for me to burn in though.

I'm going to Mid-Ohio next weekend. First time. I've been reviewing videos and resources for how to approach it, and I get the feeling that that track could take a lifetime of experience and you still won't have it burnt in on automatic. I'm a bit intimidated, but very eager to try it out.
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      07-07-2022, 01:09 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ggggbmw View Post
I'm going to Mid-Ohio next weekend. First time. I've been reviewing videos and resources for how to approach it, and I get the feeling that that track could take a lifetime of experience and you still won't have it burnt in on automatic. I'm a bit intimidated, but very eager to try it out.
I can recommend quite highly the Ross Bentley / Peter Krause virtual track walk of Mid-Ohio on this page: https://speedsecrets.com/virtual-track-walks/. It's more than you'd completely absorb before arriving at the track, but it's also something that would prepare you ahead of time in a way that nothing else out there is likely to.

If you watch it, note especially Krause's comment that your minimum speed in Turns 1 and 13 should be within a couple of mph of each other. That nugget was worth the price of the video for this driver. T13 is the left-hander after Thunder Valley at 1:55 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNdFqA5BM4. (Different clubs sometimes number the turns differently from one another at Mid-O, so if you've got or get a track map ahead of time that left-hander might have a different number.)

Have fun, and please post video(s) for us here!
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