Don't presume.

Let's continue the series of articles about getting ready for track season.   

The vast majority of the time things go smoothly on the track but there are times when things go wrong.  It's just the way it is and as CG says, if you track often enough it's not a matter of if but of when.

In this article about open passing I mentioned awareness, let me show you what happens when you take things for granted.

I was at Summit Point last year, running in the instructor group when I came, with a group of other faster cars, upon a car running very slowly off line, letting everyone through.   Like a fool I presumed he was doing just that, running slow, maybe with a problem and pointing all traffic by... so I followed.   What happened next is, as they say, history.

I was mad at myself for trusting the other driver had seen me,  I was pretty pissed the other driver turned in without looking and his explanation that he was showing his passenger the racing line...

In the end you have to be an adult and accept that this kind of thing will happen and you just take it as it comes.  There was some explaining to do but we both took our lumps, shook hands and went on our way.  I used a hammer to bend back the sheet metal, got a new tire and drove just fine the next day.  

I was quite lucky to have friends who helped me fix the cosmetic damage perfectly and at a very reasonable cost.

Next week we will see what can happen when things go REALLY wrong.

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