06/02: Physics of Racing
I stumbled upon an interesting series of articles a while ago, called The Physics of Racing by physicist and amateur racer/autocrosser, Brian Beckman. The whole series of articles, written over a 10 plus year span starting in 1991, is available online here.
As the title states, the articles address... the physics of racing. While a book like Going Faster addresses topics like the fastest line through a corner, braking force and tire slip angles with mainly qualitative explanations and diagrams, The Physics of Racing series attempts to explain with equations and numbers.
I'm not sure if understanding the physics behind racing at the level presented in the articles is required to be a good, or even top professional racer. And although I've only read about a forth of the articles, they certainly aren't as comprehensive as a book like Going Faster!. However, you can still certainly pick up a few things from it, and you might even find some of it interesting!
As the title states, the articles address... the physics of racing. While a book like Going Faster addresses topics like the fastest line through a corner, braking force and tire slip angles with mainly qualitative explanations and diagrams, The Physics of Racing series attempts to explain with equations and numbers.
I'm not sure if understanding the physics behind racing at the level presented in the articles is required to be a good, or even top professional racer. And although I've only read about a forth of the articles, they certainly aren't as comprehensive as a book like Going Faster!. However, you can still certainly pick up a few things from it, and you might even find some of it interesting!
Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving by Carl Lopez was the first book on race driving I read. I read it before attending the Skip Barber and Bertil Roos schools.
If you only read one book on road racing, you can't go wrong with this one. The book is very comprehensive, covering all aspects of racing in moderate detail. A large chunk of the book breaks down how to drive the car, from the racing line, to changes in surface grip, to road camber and elevation changes, to threshold braking and trail braking, etc. The book explains the theory from an analytical standpoint and uses data graphs and diagrams to help. It is easy to understand and easy to read.
The rest of the book covers pretty much everything you need to know to become a good racecar driver. An important section of the book focuses on how to "learn" a track, use reference points, build up to speed, and figure out where you are loosing time. Another section focuses on racecraft - how to pass cars, starts, etc. There's also chapters on mental preparation, rain driving, and a few other topics.
The book uses the Skip Barber Formula 2000 car in all the examples, but all of the info can be transferred to most other cars. There is one chapter that describes the differences between common classes of road racing cars.
There is one chapter on setting up the car, which covers all the main aspects, but doesn't go into deep detail, as that's not the focus of the book.
Going Faster is written in such a way that even if you don't know anything about racing, you won't be overwhelmed. When I read the book, I found that I already understood a lot of the material, but there were still some more advanced ideas I hadn't even thought about. It is concise and informative, but not necessarily exciting.
I've also been reading Drive To Win by Carrol Smith. That book is similar, but not as comprehensive, a little more detailed a little more technical on some topics, a little more opinionated and perhaps a little more interesting to read. I'll follow up with a full review of that book sometime.
If you only read one book on road racing, you can't go wrong with this one. The book is very comprehensive, covering all aspects of racing in moderate detail. A large chunk of the book breaks down how to drive the car, from the racing line, to changes in surface grip, to road camber and elevation changes, to threshold braking and trail braking, etc. The book explains the theory from an analytical standpoint and uses data graphs and diagrams to help. It is easy to understand and easy to read.
The rest of the book covers pretty much everything you need to know to become a good racecar driver. An important section of the book focuses on how to "learn" a track, use reference points, build up to speed, and figure out where you are loosing time. Another section focuses on racecraft - how to pass cars, starts, etc. There's also chapters on mental preparation, rain driving, and a few other topics.
The book uses the Skip Barber Formula 2000 car in all the examples, but all of the info can be transferred to most other cars. There is one chapter that describes the differences between common classes of road racing cars.
There is one chapter on setting up the car, which covers all the main aspects, but doesn't go into deep detail, as that's not the focus of the book.
Going Faster is written in such a way that even if you don't know anything about racing, you won't be overwhelmed. When I read the book, I found that I already understood a lot of the material, but there were still some more advanced ideas I hadn't even thought about. It is concise and informative, but not necessarily exciting.
I've also been reading Drive To Win by Carrol Smith. That book is similar, but not as comprehensive, a little more detailed a little more technical on some topics, a little more opinionated and perhaps a little more interesting to read. I'll follow up with a full review of that book sometime.