rec.autos.simulators

by **NightBree** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 05:25:16

Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track. Do you just do lap
after lap? Do you concentrate on perfecting one turn at a time? How do you
figure out your braking points?
I am asking because I run into trouble all the time. I usually can do one
slow lap, then I get impatient and get some speed on - crashing on that lap
or the next. I guess I just need to learn some patience and do 10-20 medium
speed laps, huh? But I wanna go fast! ;)
NB

by **Dog-Le** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 05:30:23

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Here's what I do...

Race online...

Then, write down who won the race.

Save the ENTIRE race replay.

Offline, go sit in the car with this driver, and watch how he won the race,
and especially the line they used.

Tune your setup to work on that line, allowing for personal taste in race
car handling.

Of course, the 'cheap wins' don't count. Go for someone you see who wins
regularly and seems highly respected for their talents.

-Larry

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by **Cliff Roma** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 05:49:44

Different people learn different ways.

Personally I usually go out there and run a few laps, way too fast. Try to
brake deep, try to leave out of the turns faster than I should and that
helps me learn where the "tricky" parts on the track are.

Then I go into slow mode and I start taking it real easy. I slowly build up
my speed lap after lap until I can feel the car getting away from me. That
is when I know that is about the fastest I can take that portion of the
track at.

Do not be afraid to try different entries into the turns. Some tracks you
can go faster if you enter low and hug the bottom.. some you can go faster
if you enter high and come down to the bottom as you get to the apex of the
turn. Just a matter of experimenting

by **Kevin Anderso** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 06:25:49

Everyone does it different. I run lap after lap, Start out slow and go
faster and faster learning the limits of braking. Try entering corners slow
, fast, high, low, etc,. You just have to put your time in in Practice.
Don't try to turn Hot Laps. Experiment with different Lines and different
speeds. Learn the track, become consistent, then push yourself and your
setup.

--
Kevin Anderson

by **Wosc** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 06:46:28

Drive cautiously for a good few laps braking at the first brake marker or
just before when the line turns dark (GPL) until you know which way the
track is going next. This is very important, you can't go fast at a track
if you have no clue which way it goes. Next you need to learn how tight
each turn is...if you have a track map available, use it to note the
tightest turns on the track. Work on braking zones for just these turns and
drive the rest of the track at a moderate pace. Once you have a
conservative brake point setup in the slow corners, push the limits of the
faster corners and try to figure out the optimal line/landmarks through the
turns. Now you can work on getting faster in each turn individually. Make
sure you know which way the track is going next before you start any extra
speed development. Any time you run off the track, all you have learned is
that you weren't prepared for the turn. You won't learn how to drive a
corner by running off the road...and you won't learn anything about the
following corner either. So just keep the speed down until you are
confident in your brake points for the corners. The only way you will learn
the best brake points is to start braking early, then just brake a little
later each time. Only move the brake point forward when you are comfortable
driving the corner at the previous brake point.

JB

by **ymenar** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 07:10:16

> Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track. Do you just do
lap
> after lap? Do you concentrate on perfecting one turn at a time? How do you
> figure out your braking points?

I basically go out on the track and find the limit of each corner, but
instead of starting slowly I speculate on the normal race
line/speed/apex/gear I take of that corner, mostly by instinct. Yes,
instinct. I find it an essential point that many drivers can't use as they
should (you know, those mechanical drivers). If you start very slowly and
gradually go up speed, it's imho much harder to push the car to it's limit
as you will soon find a nice and easy groove. You won't really want to push
it harder as the lap feels totally smooth and your under full control. But
did you really know you could take that turn five 15mph faster while keeping
the same momentum? That's where instinct come in play.

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
-- http://www.ymenard.com/
-- People think it must be fun to be a genius, but they don't realise how
hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world.

by **Chris Blo** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 13:37:43

I presume you are talking about GPL?

There is no quick and simple way to reduce your lap times. You just
have to practice and then practice some more. Saying that, some
people (myself included) seem to need considerably more practice than
others.

Chris

On Thu, 15 Feb 2001 20:25:16 GMT, "NightBreed"

>Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track. Do you just do lap
>after lap? Do you concentrate on perfecting one turn at a time? How do you
>figure out your braking points?
>I am asking because I run into trouble all the time. I usually can do one
>slow lap, then I get impatient and get some speed on - crashing on that lap
>or the next. I guess I just need to learn some patience and do 10-20 medium
>speed laps, huh? But I wanna go fast! ;)
>NB

by **Greg Campbel** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 14:25:49

> Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track.

At a brand new track, I go as fast as I can and brake if I see a dark
patch on the road or it looks like I need to slow down. If there is a
blind or poorly marked corner (The Snett 67 bridge leaps to mind - no
skid marks.) I crash! Needless to say I crash an awful lot in the first
5 laps or so!

As for the setup, I grab a universal, stable setup and (sometimes) tweak
the gears if it's obviously an unusually fast or slow track. As I
drive, if I find that 5th is too short, I stop then and there and raise
it. After ~15 laps, I'll start thinking about what gear to use in what
corner and how I want to tweak the ratios.

Yep, just keep going.

After a few laps, I've learned enough landmarks that I can correct
obvious***ups (crashing!) in a few problem corners. After 5~10
laps, I have a fair idea how each corner works and am experimenting in
with different lines, gears, brake points, etc. in all the corners. I
still go off a lot when an "experiment" goes awry.

Go deeper and deeper until I (nearly) crash!

No big deal (IMO). Although crashing breaks your rhythm, it also
teaches you how not to drive!

Whatever works for you....works! As long as you don't keep crashing at
the same place, in the same manner, you're learning.

I'm not the methodical type so I just go at it.

$0.02

-Greg

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by **use EXCITE.COM instead** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 15:51:54

Yep.

Just drive...

Look for "features" on the track, like a particular grandstand,
billboard,
or whatever.

Change your setup to be "stickier". It'll be slower, but it'll be more
controllable.
Drive until you can do a lap with absolutely no problem, then start to
make the
car a little "looser" but faster.

--KC

by **Ville V Sinkk** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 17:58:28

> Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track. Do you just do lap
> after lap? Do you concentrate on perfecting one turn at a time? How do you
> figure out your braking points?

1. Exit pits.
2. Floor the throttle.
3. At the first sign of a corner, brake to 1st or 2nd.
4. Estimate the speed of the corner while negotiating it.
5. Repeat from step 2 until I'm at the finish line again.

On the following laps, whenever I'm approaching a corner I try to match
my speed to what I estimated at step four, iterating the line, speed and
braking point lap by lap.

Yeah, it isn't very fast - it took me around twenty laps to get a hang of
Snetterton '67. But I suspect this is how they do it in real life too.

My problem is that I usually take it too far. More often than not, I know
I've found the optimal speeds and braking points when the track marshalls
come from the hut to wave flags and collect bits of Brabham from the
trackside. OK, maybe brake a little earlier in the future. Shift-R.

At the risk of me sounding silly, may I suggest you try a "role-playing"
approach. You have a car, and a track to learn, a GP the day after tomorrow
and a team boss who'll kick your ass if you break the car. ;)

+Cinquo [GPLRank 27.14]

by **ArcLigh** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 20:01:24

You could go here and read the track guides:

http://www.team-lightspeed.com/B_Stanley/Guides_Main.htm

Arc

> > Just wondering how some of you go about learning a track. Do you just
> do lap
> > after lap?

> Yep.

> > Do you concentrate on perfecting one turn at a time?

> Just drive...

> > How do you figure out your braking points?

> Look for "features" on the track, like a particular grandstand,
> billboard,
> or whatever.

> > I am asking because I run into trouble all the time. I usually can do
> one
> > slow lap, then I get impatient and get some speed on - crashing on
> that lap
> > or the next. I guess I just need to learn some patience and do 10-20
> medium
> > speed laps, huh? But I wanna go fast! ;)

> Change your setup to be "stickier". It'll be slower, but it'll be more
> controllable.
> Drive until you can do a lap with absolutely no problem, then start to
> make the
> car a little "looser" but faster.

> --KC

by **Laurence Wilme** » Sat, 17 Feb 2001 22:44:51

One turn at a time, keeping them in order!
I say this because I just tried to improve at Rouen, got the hairpin
off pat and then improved my time through T2-T3. Of course, I arrived
at the hairpin much faster than usual and all my carefully learned
braking points were trashed.

So I have found that just driving around doesn't work - each turn
becomes very different when you arrive at it at a different speed, and
I am useless at judging speed in GPL. (The***pit editors for GP2
were great for this! - putting instruments up in line of sight).

So now I work on T1, and on T2 only when I am arriving at it at a
consistent speed, and so on ... to the Ring :-(

Well that's my theory - if I can reduce my handicap from current 140
then we'll know if it works - for me!
--
Laurence Wilmer

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by **Mike Donnelly J** » Sun, 18 Feb 2001 02:41:14

> At the risk of me sounding silly, may I suggest you try a "role-playing"
> approach. You have a car, and a track to learn, a GP the day after tomorrow
> and a team boss who'll kick your ass if you break the car. ;)

Actually, that's probably one of the better pieces of advise I've heard. The
'break it - you bought it' attitude tends to keep you on the pavement. It's not
very brave, but you'll learn the track and perhaps race long enought to get the
experience to make it to a 'faster car'. Of course, by then you'll have gotten
comfortable and *be* faster.

by **GraDe** » Sun, 18 Feb 2001 08:07:12

I'm not super fast or anything but I do as I do in real life.
Just keep on circling the track braking very early, not sliding or anything
until I know what lies ahead no matter where I am, from that just keep
trying to learn new corner, get one, move onto the next...
To get braking points you simply have to choose a trackside marker, if you
feel your too late you'll be in the gravel, if you feel your too early go a
little deeper next time... takes a while to be very good at a track but just
lots of lapping is an unbeatable way of practice...
In something like GPL try watching some replays of others too as you can see
their braking points and everything since GPL allows you view a full lap
replay.

by **Peter Ive** » Mon, 19 Feb 2001 07:52:16

Find out in which direction the corners go and what is probably the most
appropriate gear for each corner. Once you know the order of bends and
have a good grasp of the ideal gear then it's just a matter of pushing
it a little more each lap with regard to where to brake, turn in points
etc.

Once you reckon you've got it pretty close to being on the edge without
flying off then it's probably time to start checking your setups.
--
Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington)
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rec.autos.simulators

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