DeadNutsEven Classroom Training Part 2
Leaving a Gap & When Not to Pass
Leaving a Gap
GTP OLR: 06: Running into the Car ahead of you:
A: The behind driver must take all necessary care and responsibility not to run into an ahead driver.
In DeadNutsEven we are often running in close quarters, thats the nature of the group, thats why youre here. Running in close proximity to other racers requires some skill, honed by practice along with a dash of common sense. Showing up to as many races and practice sessions will help with the practice part of it, but the common sense part is a weapon of your racecraft arsenal that must be adjusted in real time.
Photo 1: Heading down the front straight at Grand Valley East Reverse at 215 km/h, several hundred feet from the first corner the two Mustangs are bumper to bumper.
Photo 2: Same lap, a few hundred feet later at corner entry and the following car has backed off to leave a safety gap of about 2 car lengths.
Photo 3: Next lap, again the 2 cars are bumper to bumper between the S/F line and corner 1.
Photo 4: Again, by the time the corner is reached, the following car has lifted, leaving a 1.5 car length gap.
Sounds simple right? It is and it isnt. In this case the following driver (Me) knew who the driver was in front of me (NCemt), his skill level, and his tires, and so I left a gap appropriate to the situation. If he or I had been a lesser skilled pilot I would probably leave a larger gap or in other words, more room for error. In slower corners or corners that you brake very little for, you can leave a much smaller gap. You certainly wouldnt do this at many of the tight corners at Monaco for example, but in the first corner at Road Course Indy or Daytona, you might leave a 3 or 4 car gap.
Each track, each corner is different, but the goal is the same.
Leave a big enough gap entering each corner so you have a good chance to avoid contact if you or the driver in front of you, makes an error.
When Not to Pass:
There is no rule to quote from the GTPOLR for the following example because this is a legitimate pass attempt. However, just because something is "ok" , doesnt mean its very smart for you. This is an element of Racecraft which for our purposes I would describe as
Making racing decisions on the track after analyzing the data available to you during a race in real time, with the ultimate goal of securing the highest possible finishing position, operating within the GTPOLR, given the opportunities available.
One of the most common mistakes drivers make, is attempting to capitalize on every single passing opportunity, even when the odds of success are very low, and even if successful, both cars will lose momentum and real estate on the track. One set of corners that comes to mind is corners 1-4 at Grand Valley East. Corners 1 and 2 are slippery, and often a car will run a little wide in corner 2, and if a following car runs a perfect line through there, they may have enough momentum to get up along side approaching corners 3 and 4 entering the tunnel. But is this a smart move for you? Heres an example:
Photo 1: Heres a sight racers love to see!!! The Mustang driver in the rear sees another Premium, good handling Mustang being passed by a Standard Superbird entering corner 1. The prospect for a mistake and a resulting passing opportunity for him is high, but he keeps his head and leaves a decent gap entering the corner. So far so good:tup:.
Photo 2: Entering turn 2, the Superbird couldnt hold the inside line, and swung wide. The following Mustang has closed the gap, ready to pounce.
Photo 3: Heading up the hill to turn 3, the Mustang driver in the rear has a choice to make. Watching the replay in real time, youll see the Superbird has the run up to the corner but the Mustang in the middle is only slightly slower. So does the following Mustang tuck in behind, forcing a two wide with the other Mustang, or lift slightly to allow the other driver back into line?. Either one is legal.
Photo 4: He goes for the gap, but should be able to easily tell in real time that he wont have enough momentum in the short distance to the next corner, to clear the second Mustang. As a result, hes now stuck on the outside of a slippery left hander, where all the grip is on the inside, and a mistake on the outside means contact with a cement wall. Whats the result?
The result is, the Superbird had a clean line through the corner and maintained full momentum. The Mustang that was on the left entering turn 3, had to slow to leave room for the Mustang making the pass attempt but made it through with some momentum, losing 6-8 car lengths on the Superbird. The car making the legal pass attempt had to slow considerably to negotiate the entry into the tunnel from the outside, and its lost perhaps 12 car lengths to the Superbird.
So it was a legal pass attempt, no question about that, just not a smart one. Even if it succeeded, against all odds, both cars would have lost considerable momentum and the gap would have widened to the car in front. If the same Mustang pilot gains a little momentum and attempts to pass in the following right hander, causing both cars to lose momentum again, the Superbird may gain enough ground to break the draft completely. Great for him, not so great for you.
What does this say about your Racecraft?. Will this passing decision lead you towards "
ultimate goal of securing the highest possible finishing position, operating within the GTPOLR, given the opportunities available"?? By choosing to be super aggressive with your passing, you cost yourself, and another driver, very hard to come by real estate on the track. Nobody gained from this pass attempt, except the Superbird driver, the last person you want to benefit from your pass attempt. Obviously the right choice, it to lift and let the Mustang back in line so all three of you can continue to battle and you can make a smarter pass attempt later on. And
more often than you might think, lifting or braking slightly to allow everyone around you continue along smoothly is often the best decision for you, even if it results in a temporary loss of position.
Dont underestimate the goodwill and respect you generate when a driver is looking at his mini-map and sees that you lift to let him back in line, or lift to create a gap entering a corner. Everyone appreciates that consideration, and hopefully when the roles are reversed they return the favour.
Challenging at every opportunity, regardless of common sense, will likely cause a competing driver to do the same and while sometimes that is fun when you are at the point in the race where you are isolated on track and each of you has no really opportunity to advance. But
when the race is still developing you are always better off to err on the side of safety and maintaining momentum even if it temporarily costs you a position on the track.
Remember its not where you are on lap 3 that counts, its where you are when the flag drops!!
great news Ferrari, will look forward to race. Will there be special rule ? like allowing drivers to change cars as long as the cars fit the lap time + top speed limit ? I have tuned at least 6 different cars, 4 of them were used for races with JP,Cote and NC a few days ago ( 2014 Stingray, Golf GTI '05, Challenger '70, Insight LS )
, I am also fine with using only my 2014 Stingray entry.
That = unpredictable weekends which means I can't say which times I will be available if any ^^
(like my passing attempt in the first lesson). 
Hope you got the car dialled in now 
