05/09: First SCCA Race
Six months after we acquired the RX-7 race car and started our race team, I was finally on track for our first race this Labor Day weekend. I was eager to race and also a bit frustrated that things hadn't moved faster on this front. My last track day hadn't ended so well. I had an instructor who was not comfortable with me running more then what I would consider a leisurely pace, which in itself was not a huge issue, especially since he seemed like a cool guy and signed me off to run solo after two sessions. After running solo for one session, I was pulled into tech right before I was scheduled to go out where they found an issue with one of the passenger seat mounts. I was sincerely sorry for putting anyone in danger with the passenger seat, but I did not know it was an issue at all, as I did not install the seat myself, and the instructor failed to point out any issue to me in the 15 second inspection on the grid before we went out for the first session. I was a bit surprised I was told somewhat threateningly that I was not able to run anymore even though I was already signed off to run solo, and not other issues were pointed out to me besides the passenger seat. The attitude gave me the impression that maybe these track days were not really where I needed to be at this point.
I decided to start racing, as I'd finally gotten all my paperwork through for my SCCA license, but I ended up having to skip the race I wanted to run due to being busy with work and some personal things. All this, combined with spending more then I expected to get the car ready (this shouldn't surprise anyone), and being a bit overwhelmed with all the off track logistics of owning and running my own equipment had left me wondering if this was really the right thing for me. I just want to race!
So anyway, finally the day had come. I admit, I was still pretty stressed about the off track logistics and mechanics and I was going in with relatively low expectations and hoping to just learn as much off the track as I did on the track, where I at least knew pretty much what to expect. Fortunately I had my other team principles, Keith and Cris crewing for me for the weekend and I'm sure I couldn't had done anything without them. Still, things did not start that smoothly. We got to the track around noon on Friday to run the 3 afternoon practice sessions. We had an hour before I was scheduled on track, and we had to get the car from the garage/storage area, register, prep the car and unload and setup our stuff. It was tight, but we got to the grid at our scheduled start time. Strangely, I saw a bunch of Miatas and RX7s pulling off the track as I was held. I was confused but apparently they moved the schedule up and I was now stuck running in a different run group. I didn't really know who I was running with until T1 Corvettes and an ITR BMW M3 started blowing past me at 150MPH down the straight. It was like NASA HPDE but these guys can pull you in the corners as well! It was manageable but I really had to be alert and drive with my mirrors when guys will pass in the middle of corners and make some "late moves" even in practice!
The next practice I got into the right group but that meant we had only one group in between (there were only 3 practice groups). So I had what felt like just minutes of down time before I had to get in and do it again. The session went better though. By the third session, we had figured out our tire pressure issue (we failed to set the pressures properly and I came off the track the first session at 50-55psi!), and I was able to keep up with a slower pack of miatae, who were even banging fenders, Days of Thunder style! In practice! So the whole day was an interesting introduction to SCCA racing. Fortunately I car was feeling pretty good and I had gotten comfortable with my driving again, and although my lap times were still slow, they were 5 seconds or so faster then the limited times I was able to log from the track days!
After the practice was over, we walked around the paddock and caught up with a few people, then went to tech, which I thought would be a concern but ended up relatively pain free. We were good because our battery had a metal bar holding it down, the brake lights worked and the windshield had no cracks. The inspector did complain about the lack of an SCCA patch on my suit, so I had to duct tape that sucker on.
The next morning we got to the track and registered, but somehow something was lacking in the process and I failed to receive a "paddock pass". We had to park both cars outside the paddock and carry some stuff over. I had to get my tech sticker, and wanted to weigh the car, but apparently the scales were closed, although I was actually standing ON the scale and it was on. When I asked when they would open, they said basically, we don't know it's random! They also mentioned at least this weekend only the impounded cars would get weighed, and typically only the top 3 in each class get impounded, so basically, following the rules may be optional if you aren't running in the top 3! There were 9 run groups on race day, and we were 7th, so there was plenty of down time unlike during practice and most of the morning we just hang out and I kept walking back and forth to check if the scales were open!
I had gone over the data I had gotten from my My Tach GPS watch from the last practice session and knew even my best lap was not clean, so my pace was a bit faster and there was still a lot to be gained. For me, going over the data helps to give me confidence on where I can pick up time. During qualifying things felt a bit more slippary (perhaps because it was cooler), but I qualified at 1:35.7 which was good for 10th of 14 SRX7s. I was pretty happy with this. Between qualifying and the race, I was finally able to run the car over the scales, and found I was still 20 lbs underweight, even after adding 70lbs ballast last weekend, so we drove out to the gas station to pick up some liquid ballast. With a decent amount of time before our race, we went out to turn 5 to watch a few of the other groups. Formula Atlantics are ridiculously fast, Spec Miata racing is very close and great for spectating, and although the racing is for the most part very competitive, some guys at the back of the pack don't know WTF they are doing.
Race time neared and I think we finally figured out how to not get to the grid either late or 30 minutes early. My nerves were building up on the grid. In terms of rolling start technique, a friend had advised me to "jump it." Being my first race, I decided to keep that trick in my reserves. I found that this may be no secret though, and out of turn one I found myself DFL. Racing is so different from a track day or practice though, and I found myself pushing and focusing to stay with the pack. I was able to do so but was being careful and trying not slam into the back of somebody, which meant it was difficult to get close enough to pass. Eventually I attempted to pass one car, but he pulled an over-under and got back around. I was able to make another pass somewhere in the middle of the race and that felt good to not be in last anymore, even though I was not particularly concerned with results this weekend. By the middle of the race, with all the faster cars lapping by, I lost track of where the next guy for position was, so I was just clicking off laps and which meant half concentration on pushing my driving, and half on trying not to get run over. In terms of my driving, I could feel I was going faster and faster with each session this weekend, and approaching the limits in some places, although in others I still had a decent amount of work to do. I managed to not get run over, although things got tight a few times when guys caught me in bad places, but I think this is a bit inevitable when racing for position are lapping others. In the end I finished 11th, and although I would have liked to improve on my starting position, my best lap was 1:34.2, which was 9th fastest and pretty far under my goal of 1:35.x.
Although I had concerns coming in, it was a very successful weekend. After having some time to absorb it, there's really something about racing wheel to wheel that I don't get from practice or a track day. Racing gives me the motivation to focus and really push myself harder unlike anything else. I hope next year I will be able to run a full season, unlike the past two years, when I've only been able to run one race sparingly here and there, which forces me to re-learn and re-adapt every time. With a full season, I'll be able to focus on getting the results I know I can get.
I decided to start racing, as I'd finally gotten all my paperwork through for my SCCA license, but I ended up having to skip the race I wanted to run due to being busy with work and some personal things. All this, combined with spending more then I expected to get the car ready (this shouldn't surprise anyone), and being a bit overwhelmed with all the off track logistics of owning and running my own equipment had left me wondering if this was really the right thing for me. I just want to race!
So anyway, finally the day had come. I admit, I was still pretty stressed about the off track logistics and mechanics and I was going in with relatively low expectations and hoping to just learn as much off the track as I did on the track, where I at least knew pretty much what to expect. Fortunately I had my other team principles, Keith and Cris crewing for me for the weekend and I'm sure I couldn't had done anything without them. Still, things did not start that smoothly. We got to the track around noon on Friday to run the 3 afternoon practice sessions. We had an hour before I was scheduled on track, and we had to get the car from the garage/storage area, register, prep the car and unload and setup our stuff. It was tight, but we got to the grid at our scheduled start time. Strangely, I saw a bunch of Miatas and RX7s pulling off the track as I was held. I was confused but apparently they moved the schedule up and I was now stuck running in a different run group. I didn't really know who I was running with until T1 Corvettes and an ITR BMW M3 started blowing past me at 150MPH down the straight. It was like NASA HPDE but these guys can pull you in the corners as well! It was manageable but I really had to be alert and drive with my mirrors when guys will pass in the middle of corners and make some "late moves" even in practice!
The next practice I got into the right group but that meant we had only one group in between (there were only 3 practice groups). So I had what felt like just minutes of down time before I had to get in and do it again. The session went better though. By the third session, we had figured out our tire pressure issue (we failed to set the pressures properly and I came off the track the first session at 50-55psi!), and I was able to keep up with a slower pack of miatae, who were even banging fenders, Days of Thunder style! In practice! So the whole day was an interesting introduction to SCCA racing. Fortunately I car was feeling pretty good and I had gotten comfortable with my driving again, and although my lap times were still slow, they were 5 seconds or so faster then the limited times I was able to log from the track days!
After the practice was over, we walked around the paddock and caught up with a few people, then went to tech, which I thought would be a concern but ended up relatively pain free. We were good because our battery had a metal bar holding it down, the brake lights worked and the windshield had no cracks. The inspector did complain about the lack of an SCCA patch on my suit, so I had to duct tape that sucker on.
The next morning we got to the track and registered, but somehow something was lacking in the process and I failed to receive a "paddock pass". We had to park both cars outside the paddock and carry some stuff over. I had to get my tech sticker, and wanted to weigh the car, but apparently the scales were closed, although I was actually standing ON the scale and it was on. When I asked when they would open, they said basically, we don't know it's random! They also mentioned at least this weekend only the impounded cars would get weighed, and typically only the top 3 in each class get impounded, so basically, following the rules may be optional if you aren't running in the top 3! There were 9 run groups on race day, and we were 7th, so there was plenty of down time unlike during practice and most of the morning we just hang out and I kept walking back and forth to check if the scales were open!
I had gone over the data I had gotten from my My Tach GPS watch from the last practice session and knew even my best lap was not clean, so my pace was a bit faster and there was still a lot to be gained. For me, going over the data helps to give me confidence on where I can pick up time. During qualifying things felt a bit more slippary (perhaps because it was cooler), but I qualified at 1:35.7 which was good for 10th of 14 SRX7s. I was pretty happy with this. Between qualifying and the race, I was finally able to run the car over the scales, and found I was still 20 lbs underweight, even after adding 70lbs ballast last weekend, so we drove out to the gas station to pick up some liquid ballast. With a decent amount of time before our race, we went out to turn 5 to watch a few of the other groups. Formula Atlantics are ridiculously fast, Spec Miata racing is very close and great for spectating, and although the racing is for the most part very competitive, some guys at the back of the pack don't know WTF they are doing.
Race time neared and I think we finally figured out how to not get to the grid either late or 30 minutes early. My nerves were building up on the grid. In terms of rolling start technique, a friend had advised me to "jump it." Being my first race, I decided to keep that trick in my reserves. I found that this may be no secret though, and out of turn one I found myself DFL. Racing is so different from a track day or practice though, and I found myself pushing and focusing to stay with the pack. I was able to do so but was being careful and trying not slam into the back of somebody, which meant it was difficult to get close enough to pass. Eventually I attempted to pass one car, but he pulled an over-under and got back around. I was able to make another pass somewhere in the middle of the race and that felt good to not be in last anymore, even though I was not particularly concerned with results this weekend. By the middle of the race, with all the faster cars lapping by, I lost track of where the next guy for position was, so I was just clicking off laps and which meant half concentration on pushing my driving, and half on trying not to get run over. In terms of my driving, I could feel I was going faster and faster with each session this weekend, and approaching the limits in some places, although in others I still had a decent amount of work to do. I managed to not get run over, although things got tight a few times when guys caught me in bad places, but I think this is a bit inevitable when racing for position are lapping others. In the end I finished 11th, and although I would have liked to improve on my starting position, my best lap was 1:34.2, which was 9th fastest and pretty far under my goal of 1:35.x.
Although I had concerns coming in, it was a very successful weekend. After having some time to absorb it, there's really something about racing wheel to wheel that I don't get from practice or a track day. Racing gives me the motivation to focus and really push myself harder unlike anything else. I hope next year I will be able to run a full season, unlike the past two years, when I've only been able to run one race sparingly here and there, which forces me to re-learn and re-adapt every time. With a full season, I'll be able to focus on getting the results I know I can get.
22/08: Grand Prix Legends is hard
I'm at my Mom's this weekend and was bored so I decided to take a quick crack at Grand Prix Legends. Grand Prix Legends is a racing sim from 1998, simulating the 1967 F1 Season. It was highly regarded at the time and had a huge following in the sim racing community.
I hadn't played it at all since I started playing iRacing over a year ago. I used my old non force feedback Logitech Wingman Formula GP wheel. I played this game for six or seven years, and although pretty sparingly and I never put in that many hours or race competitively online, I thought I still had a grasp of it. I was wondering if I could improve my times since between iRacing and real world racing, I have a much greater understanding of what the hell I am doing now. But I was in for a surprise! I crashed the Lotus 100 feet after pulling out of the pits at Watkins Glen! It was a challenge to just drive straight down the straightaway! The handling is very touchy, especially with the non force feedback wheel and cheap pedals.
After a few laps and a few crashes, I did actually start to get a hang of it though. But after running 26 laps, my best time in the Lotus at Watkins Glen was 1:08.5, over 1.7 seconds off my personal best of 1:06.77 I set in May 2007. I don't think I'll ever improve on my GPL Rank again. Although I think I could improve it I put in ALOT of time, it's just not worth it anymore. Looks like my dreams of a negative handicap are done!
I hadn't played it at all since I started playing iRacing over a year ago. I used my old non force feedback Logitech Wingman Formula GP wheel. I played this game for six or seven years, and although pretty sparingly and I never put in that many hours or race competitively online, I thought I still had a grasp of it. I was wondering if I could improve my times since between iRacing and real world racing, I have a much greater understanding of what the hell I am doing now. But I was in for a surprise! I crashed the Lotus 100 feet after pulling out of the pits at Watkins Glen! It was a challenge to just drive straight down the straightaway! The handling is very touchy, especially with the non force feedback wheel and cheap pedals.
After a few laps and a few crashes, I did actually start to get a hang of it though. But after running 26 laps, my best time in the Lotus at Watkins Glen was 1:08.5, over 1.7 seconds off my personal best of 1:06.77 I set in May 2007. I don't think I'll ever improve on my GPL Rank again. Although I think I could improve it I put in ALOT of time, it's just not worth it anymore. Looks like my dreams of a negative handicap are done!
A few months ago I bought the My Tach GPS Sport Trainer watch from AIM for use as a primitive data acquisition system for karts, track days and SCCA racing. I'll say it is nice tool to have and well worth the money for me.
There are four main measures that the My Tach logs that are helpful for racing applications - position, speed, longitudinal acceleration and latitudinal acceleration. It also logs slope (I think that's degree of elevation change) which might be marginally helpful and heading is of no use from what I can tell.
I've used the My Tach several times at outdoor kart tracks in arrive and drive karts and also for a trackday event. Be sure to check whether you are allowed to use a GPS timer or data logger with the organizers of the trackday, although from my experience, it is not always clear what is allowed. It's also the perfect tool to have if rules dictate you cannot have a data acquisition system plugged into the cars electronics (such as SCCA showroom stock).
The tricky part to using the My Tach is setting the starting "point" to get laptimes. Basically, you just press a button on the watch to set the point wherever you are. On the kart track, I was able to run out onto the track to set this. If you aren't able to do this, you'll have to set it on a warm up or cool down lap. Also note it is a starting "point," so if you are too far off from that point, such as if you are passing someone, you may miss the point and that laptime won't count. I set the starting point in a corner and haven't had a problem like that yet. Otherwise, you just press the start button before you go out and the stop button when you are done. I don't bother to look at the little screen for laptimes while I am driving, and wouldn't advice you to do this; I use it strictly as a logger and download and analyze the data afterwords.
Analyzing the data isn't quite as simple though. The watch attaches to a dock which is connected to a computer through a standard USB, but the raw data is downloaded in a proprietary format (although there is an option to save it in CSV format within the AIM software) and must be downloaded into the Aim Sports Agenda software or the Aim Race Studio Software. If your already familiar with the AIM software that's great, but if you're not, it's not the most user friendly, although I can manage with it. The Sports Agenda is a simplified version of the Race Studio software designed more for other sports such as running or cycling, but the interface 95% the same. If you've never looked at any data acquisition before, it may take some time to draw any meaningful conclusions form the data (I'm definitely still learning), but I do definitely think it can help. That said, I wouldn't expect to pick up huge chunks of time, especially just a few measures (no throttle position or braking force, etc.) Some of the things the software allows you to do are plot speed and acceleration vs time, view GPS position data, overlay laps on top of each other, and plot the time gap between two laps over time. Below is a screenshot of the Race Studio software with an overlay of two laps run in rental karts at the Summit Point Kart track.
The My Tach samples at 10 hz, which is fast enough to produce reasonable data with the 110-115MPH top speeds I was seeing in the Spec Rx-7 on Summit Point main. The GPS position is precise enough to see variations in cornering line between different laps on a kart track. One neat feature is the GPS data can be exported into kml data to overlay onto google earth images. Below is an example of this which shows the precision of the GPS.
The My Tach attaches to your wrist like a watch although it is pretty bulky, bigger then most gps sports watches designed for running I've seen but it works. The casing is plastic and not too heavy and the buttons and interface are easy enough to use.
I've also used it a few times for running and it's a cool tool to have for that too, although I haven't used comperable units designed specifically for running to compare.
Feel free to ask me any questions I didn't cover.
There are four main measures that the My Tach logs that are helpful for racing applications - position, speed, longitudinal acceleration and latitudinal acceleration. It also logs slope (I think that's degree of elevation change) which might be marginally helpful and heading is of no use from what I can tell.
I've used the My Tach several times at outdoor kart tracks in arrive and drive karts and also for a trackday event. Be sure to check whether you are allowed to use a GPS timer or data logger with the organizers of the trackday, although from my experience, it is not always clear what is allowed. It's also the perfect tool to have if rules dictate you cannot have a data acquisition system plugged into the cars electronics (such as SCCA showroom stock).
The tricky part to using the My Tach is setting the starting "point" to get laptimes. Basically, you just press a button on the watch to set the point wherever you are. On the kart track, I was able to run out onto the track to set this. If you aren't able to do this, you'll have to set it on a warm up or cool down lap. Also note it is a starting "point," so if you are too far off from that point, such as if you are passing someone, you may miss the point and that laptime won't count. I set the starting point in a corner and haven't had a problem like that yet. Otherwise, you just press the start button before you go out and the stop button when you are done. I don't bother to look at the little screen for laptimes while I am driving, and wouldn't advice you to do this; I use it strictly as a logger and download and analyze the data afterwords.
Analyzing the data isn't quite as simple though. The watch attaches to a dock which is connected to a computer through a standard USB, but the raw data is downloaded in a proprietary format (although there is an option to save it in CSV format within the AIM software) and must be downloaded into the Aim Sports Agenda software or the Aim Race Studio Software. If your already familiar with the AIM software that's great, but if you're not, it's not the most user friendly, although I can manage with it. The Sports Agenda is a simplified version of the Race Studio software designed more for other sports such as running or cycling, but the interface 95% the same. If you've never looked at any data acquisition before, it may take some time to draw any meaningful conclusions form the data (I'm definitely still learning), but I do definitely think it can help. That said, I wouldn't expect to pick up huge chunks of time, especially just a few measures (no throttle position or braking force, etc.) Some of the things the software allows you to do are plot speed and acceleration vs time, view GPS position data, overlay laps on top of each other, and plot the time gap between two laps over time. Below is a screenshot of the Race Studio software with an overlay of two laps run in rental karts at the Summit Point Kart track.
The My Tach samples at 10 hz, which is fast enough to produce reasonable data with the 110-115MPH top speeds I was seeing in the Spec Rx-7 on Summit Point main. The GPS position is precise enough to see variations in cornering line between different laps on a kart track. One neat feature is the GPS data can be exported into kml data to overlay onto google earth images. Below is an example of this which shows the precision of the GPS.
The My Tach attaches to your wrist like a watch although it is pretty bulky, bigger then most gps sports watches designed for running I've seen but it works. The casing is plastic and not too heavy and the buttons and interface are easy enough to use.
I've also used it a few times for running and it's a cool tool to have for that too, although I haven't used comperable units designed specifically for running to compare.
Feel free to ask me any questions I didn't cover.
I ran the RX7 in NASA HPDE again last weekend. A friend let me borrow his camera for one session. Unfortunately the video doesn't capture the track or anything outside the car well, but it does show driver inputs - shifting, steering, footwork and vision - well. Perhaps you can learn something from watching or give me some tips on what I'm doing right or wrong.
31/05: Weight in Indoor Karting
At around 135lbs, I'm obviously constantly ragged on when I set fast laps at the local indoor tracks for being able to do it because of my weight advantage to most adults persons of the male gender. I can't say it's not justified.
But how much of a difference does weight make in indoor karting? First off, weight will generally make a much more significant difference in karting vs. cars because karts are many times lighter then even a small open wheel car like a Formula Ford. However, a recreational style kart is significantly heavier then a pure racing kart. A pure racing kart might weigh 180-200 lbs without the driver and while I don't know the exact weights of common rental karts, I'm guessing they might be over 50 lbs heavier. So, just considering the mass of an average sized adult relative to the weight of the vehicle, a weight difference in indoor karting will be significantly greater then in car racing and somewhat less then in traditional outdoor karting. This weight difference means that a lighter driver will be able to accelerate out of corners faster and generally archive faster speeds at the end of the straight, and thus faster lap times. The lighter driver will also have a huge advantage on a standing start.
However there is another factor that might not be as obvious. On a kart, more weight may actually mean more grip in the corners. This is particularly true on indoor tracks that have a very slick polished surface using rental karts with hard long lasting tires. The more slick the surface, the more of an advantage extra weight will be; on tracks with a conventional/grippy asphalt or concrete surface (indoor or outdoor), the effects of any extra grip may be negligible. So on a slick surface, is this extra grip enough to offset the disadvantage in power to weight ratio compared to a lighter drivers? From my experience, 99% of the time, no. Being lighter is still an advantage. However, how big of an advantage on a slick surface could depend on the specific kart and the track conditions.
Besides the track surface, the track configuration could also affect the size of the advantage of lighter drivers. From my experience the extra grip from extra weight is a more of an advantage in higher speed corners, so a slick surface on a high speed track would likely be the “fairest” for heavier drivers. A higher speed configuration also generally means less accelerating which also helps heavier drivers, even on grippy tracks where extra grip is insignificant. Naturally, most grippy tracks are higher speed so a heavier driver is not necessarily at more of a disadvantage at a high speed grippy track vs. a lower speed slick track.
Finally, a heavier driver also has more weight over the rear axle of the kart, which is where the only brake on most karts (and all indoor karts I've seen) is. To me, in theory this means a heavier driver will be able to brake better; however considering how marginally brakes are used in indoor karting I'm not sure if this effect is significant.
I have limited experience in traditional higher performance outdoor karting, but my feeling is these advantages for heavier drivers might not carry over to this discipline due to the lighter kart weight, much stickier tires and perhaps other factors, or at least be a much smaller effect.
In conclusion, lighter is faster in indoor karting, but maybe not by as much as you think.
But how much of a difference does weight make in indoor karting? First off, weight will generally make a much more significant difference in karting vs. cars because karts are many times lighter then even a small open wheel car like a Formula Ford. However, a recreational style kart is significantly heavier then a pure racing kart. A pure racing kart might weigh 180-200 lbs without the driver and while I don't know the exact weights of common rental karts, I'm guessing they might be over 50 lbs heavier. So, just considering the mass of an average sized adult relative to the weight of the vehicle, a weight difference in indoor karting will be significantly greater then in car racing and somewhat less then in traditional outdoor karting. This weight difference means that a lighter driver will be able to accelerate out of corners faster and generally archive faster speeds at the end of the straight, and thus faster lap times. The lighter driver will also have a huge advantage on a standing start.
However there is another factor that might not be as obvious. On a kart, more weight may actually mean more grip in the corners. This is particularly true on indoor tracks that have a very slick polished surface using rental karts with hard long lasting tires. The more slick the surface, the more of an advantage extra weight will be; on tracks with a conventional/grippy asphalt or concrete surface (indoor or outdoor), the effects of any extra grip may be negligible. So on a slick surface, is this extra grip enough to offset the disadvantage in power to weight ratio compared to a lighter drivers? From my experience, 99% of the time, no. Being lighter is still an advantage. However, how big of an advantage on a slick surface could depend on the specific kart and the track conditions.
Besides the track surface, the track configuration could also affect the size of the advantage of lighter drivers. From my experience the extra grip from extra weight is a more of an advantage in higher speed corners, so a slick surface on a high speed track would likely be the “fairest” for heavier drivers. A higher speed configuration also generally means less accelerating which also helps heavier drivers, even on grippy tracks where extra grip is insignificant. Naturally, most grippy tracks are higher speed so a heavier driver is not necessarily at more of a disadvantage at a high speed grippy track vs. a lower speed slick track.
Finally, a heavier driver also has more weight over the rear axle of the kart, which is where the only brake on most karts (and all indoor karts I've seen) is. To me, in theory this means a heavier driver will be able to brake better; however considering how marginally brakes are used in indoor karting I'm not sure if this effect is significant.
I have limited experience in traditional higher performance outdoor karting, but my feeling is these advantages for heavier drivers might not carry over to this discipline due to the lighter kart weight, much stickier tires and perhaps other factors, or at least be a much smaller effect.
In conclusion, lighter is faster in indoor karting, but maybe not by as much as you think.
So You Want to Be an F1 Star?
Here's a interesting article that provides some insight and details on the 1st red bull drivers search in 2003. 15 drivers were "scouted" and 13 participated (AJ Allmendinger and Ryan Hunter Reay didn't participate choosing deals in Toyota Atlantics and CART instead).
Most know Scott Speed eventually made it to F1. But what have all 15 drivers accomplished since then? Here's some stats:
As of 2010, at least 7 are currently racing in a major professional series - Speed and Allmendinger in NASCAR, Hunter Reay in IndyCar, Bryan Sellers, Patrick Long, Joey Hand and Paul Edwards in sports cars.
At least 5 went on to do some racing in junior European formulas after the driver's search, either as a finalist or on their own - Speed (F3, Formula Renault, GP2), Joel Nelson (Euro F3000), Grant Maiman (Formula Renault), Edwards (World Series by Nissan), Phil Giebler (International F3000).
At least 6 went on to do some racing in American junior formulas after the driver's search - Allmendinger (Atlantics), Giebler (Atlantics, Indy Lights), Rocky Moran Jr. (Atlantics), Hand (FBMW, Atlantics), Bobby Wilson (F2000, Indy Lights), Scott Poirier (Barber Dodge Pro)
At least 4 went on to do some racing in stock cars - Speed (ARCA, Trucks, Cup), Allmendinger (Cup), Boston Reid (Busch, Trucks), Moran Jr. (Busch North, Grand National East)
At least one is an instructor at Skip Barber - Maiman
Finally at least 7 appear to be currently out of racing - Giebler, Reid, Nelson, Moran Jr., Wilson, Poirier, and Michael Abbate.
Here's a interesting article that provides some insight and details on the 1st red bull drivers search in 2003. 15 drivers were "scouted" and 13 participated (AJ Allmendinger and Ryan Hunter Reay didn't participate choosing deals in Toyota Atlantics and CART instead).
Most know Scott Speed eventually made it to F1. But what have all 15 drivers accomplished since then? Here's some stats:
As of 2010, at least 7 are currently racing in a major professional series - Speed and Allmendinger in NASCAR, Hunter Reay in IndyCar, Bryan Sellers, Patrick Long, Joey Hand and Paul Edwards in sports cars.
At least 5 went on to do some racing in junior European formulas after the driver's search, either as a finalist or on their own - Speed (F3, Formula Renault, GP2), Joel Nelson (Euro F3000), Grant Maiman (Formula Renault), Edwards (World Series by Nissan), Phil Giebler (International F3000).
At least 6 went on to do some racing in American junior formulas after the driver's search - Allmendinger (Atlantics), Giebler (Atlantics, Indy Lights), Rocky Moran Jr. (Atlantics), Hand (FBMW, Atlantics), Bobby Wilson (F2000, Indy Lights), Scott Poirier (Barber Dodge Pro)
At least 4 went on to do some racing in stock cars - Speed (ARCA, Trucks, Cup), Allmendinger (Cup), Boston Reid (Busch, Trucks), Moran Jr. (Busch North, Grand National East)
At least one is an instructor at Skip Barber - Maiman
Finally at least 7 appear to be currently out of racing - Giebler, Reid, Nelson, Moran Jr., Wilson, Poirier, and Michael Abbate.
Here's clips of decent (for me) laps around VIR in iRacing and in the real world.
And a few notes:
In iRacing the track, car and tires are always in the exact same condition. In real life, the track could be green or rubbered in, or slippery or grippy due to temperature and change in the same day. On top of that, there could be dust or even oil or something else slippery on parts of the track. The cars are matched performance wise pretty closely before each race weekend relative to each other, but not necessarily relative to other weekends and certainly not years ago. The tires could be full treads or more worn down, and I heard different tires are used in the summer series vs. winter (southern) series. All this means comparing lap times is much less meaningful in real life then in iRacing.
For the record though, the iRacing world record in the Skip Barber Formula 2000 car at VIR is just under 2:09 while my best time there is 2:11.8, 2.8 seconds off the world record. The real world lap record is 2:08.5, but the fastest laps of the sessions last weekend were mostly in the 2:13 to 2:14 range. In my best sessions I was about 4.6 seconds off the fastest times of those sessions.
For the track conditions and baseline the cars were tuned to last weekend, the cars seemed to have less grip and longer braking distances then in iRacing. The grip levels in iRacing seem closer to those with the national series tires from the videos I've seen. I also noticed the gear ratios in real car are a bit lower. Second gear comes a bit after 50mph, while in iRacing it comes close to 60mph. I heard the national series tire diameters are different from the regional series. This, in combination with the higher grip levels makes me think maybe the iRacing car is modeled after the national series tire, although the tire has full treads in the graphics like the regional series street tire.
Obviously the real car is more physical to drive, although I wouldn't consider this the main factor holding a sim racer back driving the real car. The G forces in the Skip Barber car are not that great (around 1.5g according to the accelerometer), so extreme neck strength is not required, although you can certainly feel the force. The forces required to turn and hold the steering wheel, press the brake and pull and push the shifter are all significantly higher then any sim setup I've played, although not so much as to require top physical condition to drive. And obviously, most people don't sim race in extreme heat, which can make a significant difference in terms of fatigue.
The brake pedal on cheap pedal sets is obviously not realistic. This makes it hard to practice releasing brake pressure, which is a major key of driving race cars fast, particularly a car like the Skip Barber F2000. The muscle memory of pushing down a pedal that requires much less force and moves more linearly with heavier braking does not help you that much for the real life scenario. Further, if you left foot brake in the sim but not in real life (the steering shaft is in the way on the real car and makes it difficult or impossible to left foot brake with adult sized feet), the technique for coming off the brake in onto the throttle is further irrelevant. I didn't find it hurt me; where the muscle memory I developed playing the sim didn't help at all. I'm thinking about investing in a more expensive brake pedal to practice this more realistically.
The sensation of speed is obviously something that you can only get more comfortable with more real life seat time. The fear of crashing (whether crashing and doing bodily harm or crashing and having to pay for damage) is real and keeps you in check.
I would say the physics of the car are well simulated. The effects of braking and throttle inputs on front to rear weight transfer feel very similar to real life – enough so that the sim and real life require similar techniques to drive. I think this is evident comparing the videos. You obviously can't develop the seat of the pants feel though.
As evident in the videos I posted earlier, the draft is huge in the real life skippy car, worth maybe 1-2 seconds a lap at a track like VIR. This means in the real car you can keep up with faster drivers by staying in their draft, passes more easily and adds additional elements of racecraft to the racing.
The track as I mentioned before is in my opinion awesomely recreated. The elevation changes do feel more dramatic in real life.
Do I think iRacing helped me last weekend? Certainly. Can all sim racers expect to be as fast as they are in the sim their first time in a real car? Certainly not.
And a few notes:
In iRacing the track, car and tires are always in the exact same condition. In real life, the track could be green or rubbered in, or slippery or grippy due to temperature and change in the same day. On top of that, there could be dust or even oil or something else slippery on parts of the track. The cars are matched performance wise pretty closely before each race weekend relative to each other, but not necessarily relative to other weekends and certainly not years ago. The tires could be full treads or more worn down, and I heard different tires are used in the summer series vs. winter (southern) series. All this means comparing lap times is much less meaningful in real life then in iRacing.
For the record though, the iRacing world record in the Skip Barber Formula 2000 car at VIR is just under 2:09 while my best time there is 2:11.8, 2.8 seconds off the world record. The real world lap record is 2:08.5, but the fastest laps of the sessions last weekend were mostly in the 2:13 to 2:14 range. In my best sessions I was about 4.6 seconds off the fastest times of those sessions.
For the track conditions and baseline the cars were tuned to last weekend, the cars seemed to have less grip and longer braking distances then in iRacing. The grip levels in iRacing seem closer to those with the national series tires from the videos I've seen. I also noticed the gear ratios in real car are a bit lower. Second gear comes a bit after 50mph, while in iRacing it comes close to 60mph. I heard the national series tire diameters are different from the regional series. This, in combination with the higher grip levels makes me think maybe the iRacing car is modeled after the national series tire, although the tire has full treads in the graphics like the regional series street tire.
Obviously the real car is more physical to drive, although I wouldn't consider this the main factor holding a sim racer back driving the real car. The G forces in the Skip Barber car are not that great (around 1.5g according to the accelerometer), so extreme neck strength is not required, although you can certainly feel the force. The forces required to turn and hold the steering wheel, press the brake and pull and push the shifter are all significantly higher then any sim setup I've played, although not so much as to require top physical condition to drive. And obviously, most people don't sim race in extreme heat, which can make a significant difference in terms of fatigue.
The brake pedal on cheap pedal sets is obviously not realistic. This makes it hard to practice releasing brake pressure, which is a major key of driving race cars fast, particularly a car like the Skip Barber F2000. The muscle memory of pushing down a pedal that requires much less force and moves more linearly with heavier braking does not help you that much for the real life scenario. Further, if you left foot brake in the sim but not in real life (the steering shaft is in the way on the real car and makes it difficult or impossible to left foot brake with adult sized feet), the technique for coming off the brake in onto the throttle is further irrelevant. I didn't find it hurt me; where the muscle memory I developed playing the sim didn't help at all. I'm thinking about investing in a more expensive brake pedal to practice this more realistically.
The sensation of speed is obviously something that you can only get more comfortable with more real life seat time. The fear of crashing (whether crashing and doing bodily harm or crashing and having to pay for damage) is real and keeps you in check.
I would say the physics of the car are well simulated. The effects of braking and throttle inputs on front to rear weight transfer feel very similar to real life – enough so that the sim and real life require similar techniques to drive. I think this is evident comparing the videos. You obviously can't develop the seat of the pants feel though.
As evident in the videos I posted earlier, the draft is huge in the real life skippy car, worth maybe 1-2 seconds a lap at a track like VIR. This means in the real car you can keep up with faster drivers by staying in their draft, passes more easily and adds additional elements of racecraft to the racing.
The track as I mentioned before is in my opinion awesomely recreated. The elevation changes do feel more dramatic in real life.
Do I think iRacing helped me last weekend? Certainly. Can all sim racers expect to be as fast as they are in the sim their first time in a real car? Certainly not.
11/05: Skip Barber in car video
Here's a few clips from my Skip Barber race weekend.
I made a mistake on this video, the start is the last lap of the race; then it cuts to the first lap of the race.
This one is just the exciting photo finish!
I made a mistake on this video, the start is the last lap of the race; then it cuts to the first lap of the race.
This one is just the exciting photo finish!
03/05: Skip Barber Weekend wrapup
Race 2 on Sunday went ok. The biggest drama was the initial start. As we creeped onto the main straight, the green did not come out, but I don't think anyone at the back realized it. Since I couldn't see the flagstand from the outside of the fourth row, I went when the guys in front of me went. As we approached the start finish line, the front guys started checking up and I barely avoided hitting someone but went off track in the process. On the second start attempt, I played it conservative and got passed by a bunch of guys on the start. By the time I worked back past a few of them, the guys that were around my qualifying pace were way ahead. I tried to close the gap but instead they found more speed and slowly pulled away. I finished 10th.
I was a little disappointed to not lower my lap times during the races although I did feel like I was improving. Watching the video confirmed that I was indeed carrying more speed through a lot of the corners, but I had also toned it down a bit and took fewer risks in order to finish the races. I didn't want to throw away a decent result for my first weekend nor could I afford a big crash. So although the pace was about the same in practice and qualifying I was doing it crashing, spinning or going four off in every session, whereas in the races I was able to run the pace consistently.
Although I'd hoped to be a bit faster, my pace is not too far off where I want to be. Obviously I didn't expect to be competing for the win in my first race, but I have no reason to believe I can't make it there eventually, and possibly make it there pretty soon. Although five seconds or so off the pace may sound terrible I have no problem admitting it. These are very challenging cars to drive on a very challenging track against some of the best drivers in the country, most with significantly more experience then me.
I'm itching to get back in the car, although that probably won't be for a while with my budget.
I'll post a few video highlights of the races soon.
I was a little disappointed to not lower my lap times during the races although I did feel like I was improving. Watching the video confirmed that I was indeed carrying more speed through a lot of the corners, but I had also toned it down a bit and took fewer risks in order to finish the races. I didn't want to throw away a decent result for my first weekend nor could I afford a big crash. So although the pace was about the same in practice and qualifying I was doing it crashing, spinning or going four off in every session, whereas in the races I was able to run the pace consistently.
Although I'd hoped to be a bit faster, my pace is not too far off where I want to be. Obviously I didn't expect to be competing for the win in my first race, but I have no reason to believe I can't make it there eventually, and possibly make it there pretty soon. Although five seconds or so off the pace may sound terrible I have no problem admitting it. These are very challenging cars to drive on a very challenging track against some of the best drivers in the country, most with significantly more experience then me.
I'm itching to get back in the car, although that probably won't be for a while with my budget.
I'll post a few video highlights of the races soon.
I tried hard today to put my “incident” from yesterday morning behind me, and have to say I partially succeeded. After today, yesterday feels like last month.
I was reminded that spins or four offs in qualifying would result in starting at the rear of the field, so of course I went out and promptly spun the car in the “roller coaster” after only a few laps. I decided to find a gear and drive out of it before even coming to a complete stop and act like nothing happened. Apparently someone noticed so I would start the first race DFL, 15th. I was pretty happy about setting a lap “only” 4.6 seconds adrift of the pole time, which would have put me 9th on the grid.
I was extremely nervous at the start, I had never raced against this many cars before, in this level of competition or on a track this challenging. In two and a half days, I'd only made it one session without spinning, going off, or hitting something, so how was I supposed to finish a 30 minute race without any mistakes?? I was actually kinda happy about starting last because it was less pressure then being in the middle of the pack. For the start and the first few laps, I played it conservative while I worked past 4 cars that were a bit off my pace. Next up were a few guys that were around my pace (and that I'd somehow managed to out qualify on paper) but they were now half a straight ahead of me. Fortunately(for me) on lap 3 or so someone stuffed it hard and the full course yellow allowed me to close up.
One lap after the restart, I was able to pick up a monster draft and make a pass for 8th place on the back straight. Once ahead I was not able to pull away. The following driver was faster then me in a lot of places, although he did not seem to be able to get a good draft on me. With only a few laps to go, he got a good run and took me back on the back straight. I put my head down and tried to keep up. Although he was gaining on me in a lot of sections I was closing quickly up the esses and on the long straights were I was able to stay in his draft. On the last lap down the back straight I got a good draft and he rode the middle of the track. I decided to go to the right but his line “wobbled” a bit, and it got kinda tight; I decided to play it safe and back off. I knew my final chance to get by would be the race to the line out of “hogs pin,” the final turn and perhaps the most challenging of the whole track. Somehow, when it mattered I managed to carry more speed then I ever had through and out of hogs pin and was right on his gearbox. I sucked up and popped to the outside and we drag raced to the line, crossing side by side. The time sheets showed he beat me for 8th place by 7 thousandths! It must have been inches on the track.
Although I didn't beat him to the line, what an exciting ending to my first race in these cars! My pace is also not far off where I want to be. Hopefully I keep if off the walls again for the last race tomorrow!
I was reminded that spins or four offs in qualifying would result in starting at the rear of the field, so of course I went out and promptly spun the car in the “roller coaster” after only a few laps. I decided to find a gear and drive out of it before even coming to a complete stop and act like nothing happened. Apparently someone noticed so I would start the first race DFL, 15th. I was pretty happy about setting a lap “only” 4.6 seconds adrift of the pole time, which would have put me 9th on the grid.
I was extremely nervous at the start, I had never raced against this many cars before, in this level of competition or on a track this challenging. In two and a half days, I'd only made it one session without spinning, going off, or hitting something, so how was I supposed to finish a 30 minute race without any mistakes?? I was actually kinda happy about starting last because it was less pressure then being in the middle of the pack. For the start and the first few laps, I played it conservative while I worked past 4 cars that were a bit off my pace. Next up were a few guys that were around my pace (and that I'd somehow managed to out qualify on paper) but they were now half a straight ahead of me. Fortunately(for me) on lap 3 or so someone stuffed it hard and the full course yellow allowed me to close up.
One lap after the restart, I was able to pick up a monster draft and make a pass for 8th place on the back straight. Once ahead I was not able to pull away. The following driver was faster then me in a lot of places, although he did not seem to be able to get a good draft on me. With only a few laps to go, he got a good run and took me back on the back straight. I put my head down and tried to keep up. Although he was gaining on me in a lot of sections I was closing quickly up the esses and on the long straights were I was able to stay in his draft. On the last lap down the back straight I got a good draft and he rode the middle of the track. I decided to go to the right but his line “wobbled” a bit, and it got kinda tight; I decided to play it safe and back off. I knew my final chance to get by would be the race to the line out of “hogs pin,” the final turn and perhaps the most challenging of the whole track. Somehow, when it mattered I managed to carry more speed then I ever had through and out of hogs pin and was right on his gearbox. I sucked up and popped to the outside and we drag raced to the line, crossing side by side. The time sheets showed he beat me for 8th place by 7 thousandths! It must have been inches on the track.
Although I didn't beat him to the line, what an exciting ending to my first race in these cars! My pace is also not far off where I want to be. Hopefully I keep if off the walls again for the last race tomorrow!