I'd been in a bit of a rut in terms of GPL lap times since buying my
Logitech FF wheel and CH Pedals. I hadn't been able to better a
personal best on any track, and was usually about a half second to a
full second slower on most tracks. A lot of this was due to completely
changing technique (started left foot braking).
I don't do a ton of hotlapping as a rule, and my personal best at Monza
was only 1:30.07. This was in a Lotus with a setup adapted from Alison
Hine's Coventry setup (re-geared for the Cosworth engine).
I decided to give GPL Spy Girl a try and downloaded it along with Greger
Huttu's Monza replay and setup from Schubi's site
([link lost in import] His time was 1:26.92. I took
notes on the differences in our driving, loaded up his setup, and took
to the track. On the fourth lap, which wasn't even very clean, I was
back down to 1:30.1x. And on only the 14th lap I broke the elusive 1:30
barrier with a 1:29.67! A couple of laps later I hit 1:29.7x and on my
last lap I felt like I was going to go even lower but my fuel-starved
engine started to sputter in the Parabolica. Even with this loss of
power, I ran a 1:30.2x!
I re-loaded Spy Girl and compared my new personal best with my old one.
Almost all the time was made up in the Parabolica (later braking and
shifting up to 3rd very early for more traction on exit). I'm still
losing a ton of time in Curva Grande and through the Lesmos, so with a
little bit more practice, I can shave off quite a bit more time.
I know this time is no big deal for many of you, but I was pretty
stoked. And it only took about 20 minutes!
Dave Ewing
--
*****************************************************
David A. Ewing
*****************************************************
