rec.autos.simulators

Pabst"

> >Racing sims are of course....not yet produced with that kind of detail
> >(although I believe the day is not far off that they will be).  But,
there
> >are still "lessons" to learn in this type of thing......when visiting a
new
> >sim track.....or preparing for a league race at a track you've not raced
on
> >recently.  A virtual "track walk" can be done by making several slow
speed
> >(I use first gear only) laps.....from in-car, and various F-10 type
> >views.....just to get my mind "reset" to the particular track before I
start
> >running race speed laps.  This only takes a few minutes.....and I've
found
> >it to be as valuable in sim racing as it became in real-world racing for
me.
> >Some of you might think this is stupid.  Well, lots of drivers thought
what
> >Pete Cunningham did was "stupid" too!  You can "take or leave the lesson"
> >for what its worth to you.

> I don't think it's stupid to make 'recon' laps of a track you don't know.
> Problem is, I never seem to learn anything that helps...

> Eldred
> --
> Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
> Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
> F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

> Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats
you
> with experience...
> Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

>   I agree with Franc on this one...but with ONE caveat:
> The track ACCURACY is spot on...but they are not the prettiest tracks out
> there....Having said that...I'd rather have the track accurate than cute.
I
> just wish there was some way to convert those tracks into the n3/N4/GPL
> system...

> Elevation, banking, camber, slope......particularly on road courses....in
> the braking zones.....are critical to fast laps....and good race setups.  As
> a driver, you don't get an appropriate "feel" for these elements from within
> the***pit.  This is because the normal "references" our brains
> need......are mostly absent once we put on our helmets....and climb into the
>***pit (including open***pits....but to a lesser extent only than closed
>***pits).  This is primarily due to the artificial horizon induced by the
> dashboard....reference for our eyes/brains....and the restricted peripheral
> vision induced by racing helmets and the race car***pits themselves.  To a
> very great extent.....this applies to sim racing as well as to real-world
> racing.  And, this may be the reason we don't seem to get the same "feel and
> perspective" for the elevation changes....and track banking....in our sim
> racing as we do when visiting the real-world track for the first time.

> When I was running in the ESCORT Endurance Series in the late 1980's......my
> first year on the tour....meant I was being introduced to new race tracks
> almost at every event.  I was a totally rookie in pro racing at the
> time........so I figured what I needed to do was to follow the routines used
> by all the veteran drivers.....to come up to race speeds when ever we began
> a weekend event at a new race track.  The "race teams" usually began
> arriving at the track on Wednesdays....and the drivers usually showed up on
> Wednesday nights or Thursday mornings.  The first "practice sessions"
> usually began Thursday afternoon.  I noticed that you could hardly ever find
> any of the drivers on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.....anywhere else
> but out walking the track!  And, the ones most dedicated drivers at doing
> this "walking of the track...notebook in hand.....totally alone and without
> distraction"......where the guys who also had the most experience at the
> tracks.....they were the veteran drivers........not the ones with the least
> experience, us rookies!  That was a "lesson" for me......and I never forgot
> this.  Not oddly......those were the same drivers who first started setting
> competitive lap speeds......and first dialed in their race setups.....in the
> early practice sessions!

> Everyone had different techniques for these "track walks"....as I learned to
> call them.  And, some of the veteran drivers were better at it than others.
> I learned some great stuff from Peter Cunningham........a veteran driver
> even back in the late 80's.  Peter told me that no matter how many races
> he'd done at a particular track......he always did the same "track walk"
> routine......even at tracks he'd run just a few weeks prior (in a different
> race series).  He said (without going into great detail).....that it "reset"
> his mind's eye for the current track......banking, surface texture, turn
> camber and so forth....preparing his senses and hand/eye coordination for
> racing on that particular track for the next several days.  He would even
> stop walking when ever he got into the braking zone of a turn that was at
> the end of a mid to high-speed straight.  He'd actually carefully feel the
> track surface....with his bare hands.....crouched down sometimes in a
> crawling position on his hands and knees........particularly looking for the
> small stones that were uncovered from the tarmac or concrete (depending on
> the track surface type)....for how much the stones were ruffed...or polished
> from previous races.  He'd note the stone surfaces....moving his initial
> braking markers up track (earlier) for smooth stones.....and down track
> (later) for rough ones....and all variations in-between.  Of course, he'd
> also make note of the more obvious things like any new track patches that
> might have been laid since his last race at that track!  It will be of no
> surprise to anyone that I tell you that Peter Cunningham was almost always
> the first driver....and the earliest to come up to competitive race
> speeds.......and he always contended for the "pole" on Friday afternoon
> qualifying runs.

> Racing sims are of course....not yet produced with that kind of detail
> (although I believe the day is not far off that they will be).  But, there
> are still "lessons" to learn in this type of thing......when visiting a new
> sim track.....or preparing for a league race at a track you've not raced on
> recently.  A virtual "track walk" can be done by making several slow speed
> (I use first gear only) laps.....from in-car, and various F-10 type
> views.....just to get my mind "reset" to the particular track before I start
> running race speed laps.  This only takes a few minutes.....and I've found
> it to be as valuable in sim racing as it became in real-world racing for me.
> Some of you might think this is stupid.  Well, lots of drivers thought what
> Pete Cunningham did was "stupid" too!  You can "take or leave the lesson"
> for what its worth to you.

> Regards,

> Tom