Speed limits for track days is a terrible idea

Recently Road & Track published an article suggesting speed limits be imposed at Track Days and "Driving Schools".   It got a quite a bit of play and discussion but,

It's a terrible idea.

The proposal is a 90 mph limit for beginners and 100 mph for experienced drivers.
It should be fairly obvious speed limits on a race track situation are unenforceable.   Speed gun every car and pull over all offenders?  Install GPS devices into every car to be individually checked after each session?  How?

The reason given for this is that today's cars are so capable that they are much faster than race cars of the past, minus the safety gear.

That is indeed true for speed and handling, yet a modern 2015 road car with 27 airbags and assorted safety feature might protect the occupant better than a 30 year old home built race car.
Given how track days are run by hundreds of different organizations, arbitrary speed limits will just drive clients to the "no speed limit" companies.

In all my years on track I have seen quite a number of crashes but I can can only think of one that happened on a straight and that was because of rain.   Most happened at speeds under 90 mph.
Heck, I've seen a bunch of cars totaled on parking lots while dodging cones at 60 mph!

Controlling a student is the job of the instructor and it is the job of the organizing entity to put him in a condition to do so.

Want to improve safety?

Don't cram sessions so that instructors have more time with their students before and after sessions.
Vet your instructors more carefully,  let's be honest, many are there just for the free track time and some for the ego trip.  Really great instructors are rare.

Want to slow cars down?

Build temporary chicanes with cones for beginner students.  Industry events for motoring journalists do versions of this.  It will not be popular but that's the proper way to limit approach speeds to corners.

Don't allow slicks and r-comps for beginners.

Organize skid pad sessions!

The article cites the death of several instructors  but it's worth noting that none of those deaths were caused by excessive speed as much as by borderline criminal negligence of circuit owners and organizers:

The death of the instructor in Florida at the now defunct Disney Raceway  can be blamed on the jackass who decided it would be ok to run the track backwards.

The death at Summit Point Raceway's Jefferson occurred on a low speed "fun drive" event and highlighted the need for tracks to get their act together when it comes to safety, trees should be nowhere a car could even remotely hit them.    Summit Point,  fun track that it is, has had safety standards straight from the 1960s.

It's up to the consumer to understand the safety level of some of these tracks:  you could drive 150 mph all day at COTA and be safe, you could get in big trouble at 60 mph elsewhere.    Organizations have to demand higher standards from tracks.

Of course on the opposite end is economics: it's a fact many tracks are struggling financially, new tracks are being built in the Country Club model, not open to the public.

Insurance premiums have gone up  at least 35% this past year, yet reputable organizers have no way of proving their events are any more or less safe than Sideswipe Bob's Open Track Mayhem Circus.

There is no sanctioning body in the US that can  grade procedures and quantify risks for each event.  

Two ways to go here:  in the UK,  our friends at Destination Nurburgring, tell us how they must submit to their insurers detailed descriptions and risk assessments for each event.  A lot of paperwork  but help comes via the Motor Sport Association, a national organization regulating motorsport activities, it furnishes certifications to underwriters.  By providing standards, the MSA helps both organizers and insurers.

The opposite would be Italy where tracks have their own coverage and they don’t ask organizers be insured. The person we spoke with said that in any case, coverage for these activities is so sketchy there, that chances of a company paying out are almost nil.

You are essentially on your own.

Take you pick but arbitrary speed limits are definitively not the right solution.

That "I Drive Flat Out" Guy Really Exists And He Drives a Corvette Z06!

You all remember the seminal "I Drive Flat Out" parody clip from 2010 right?   It was a spot on caricature of "That Guy" so many of us have run into over years on track.

Well, I'm happy to report that in 2015  "That Guy" is alive and well and drives a Corvette Z06!

Years ago, the Axis of Oversteer used to award the ASSIE award to drivers who displayed epic asshat behavior on track.   We might just resurrect it for this "That Guy".




It's one thing to drive like a pussy on the banked turns because you suck so bad, it's a whole other thing to yell   "Eat my fuckin' dick, you little bitch" (about 6 minutes in) after passing a driver that is clearly letting you by, because you're ..."That Guy".

Hilariously, Mr. Flat Out gets passed on the banking every time, because he sucks so bad.

Predictably this just serves to fire him up more,  "That Guy" dive-bombs  slower cars left and right on his quest for track justice with Cato, his instructor,  occasionally karate chopping the air,

Raphael over at Jalopnik, who has more patience digging though the background of these things than we ever could, says the motivation here was Flat Out's disagreement with a Motor Trend comparison between the Porsche 991 GT3 and the Corvette Z06.

Yeah, "f!@k Motor Trend",  their  driver was clearly not driving flat out!

Amusingly , the GT3 seems to be very happily holding its own under acceleration, which might be the real surprise of this video.  Must have been because in the Porsche "was a professional driver with a race team"  while Flat Out has two half days on track ever which is all that his awesomeness needs.

So, congratulation Mr. Out you win the 2015 Assie Award.  I'm sure your Corvette buddies are real happy you perpetuated THAT stereotype!

Battle of the knobs: US vs UK

They both use the "elbow on window" driving technique for better cornering but who prevails,

Left Hand Drive?



or Right Hand Drive?

Bunny Attacks BMW M3 GTS

It's the latest attack of the suicidal, anti-car animal brigade in a year that has seen much animal on track car violence.  

Bunny lovers should probably turn away now and not clic on "read more".

A Week End At The Circuit Of The Americas.

While we had a good time poking some fun at Mr. Jesus Take The Wheel Porsche driver a while back, he actually had the last laugh because, one way or another he made it around America's newest track and home of the US Grand Prix, the awesome Circuit of the Americas while we, and possibly you,  have not!

Curious, we asked our friend Annand Sharma, who happened to attend the very same event to give us his impression of the track and facilities.   Take it away Annand....

Photos: MVP/SSP and Annand Sharma

First off, huge thanks to AC for letting me post this up for Axis of Oversteer. I’m not a pro race car driver like some the other contributors, but just a track-tard who got one of my dream track toys a few months ago, a 3.8 GT3RS.  It’s my first 911 and CotA was my second track event in it (first was at Seca.)

MVP Track Time hosted the event and this was my first event with them. I was a bit nervous about that and the 3 day tow from the California Bay Area.

Obviously this was their first event with CotA so they tried to hold the run groups to advanced and intermediate only.  As more videos come or any attendee can attest to, quite a few people inflated their resumes to get on track here. There were more incidents than there needed to be and a lot of egos that didn’t need to be.

Leading up to the track day the organizer, Mark, was very communicative and send out great, clear logistical information. During the entire “situation” where the track days were up in the air, he kept us in the loop and had our final confirmation that the day was still on.

They had organized a group rate at 2 hotels, both were 15-20 minutes from the track. The hotels were kind of in between downtown Austin and the track. The parking lot at the hotel was great fun every morning with tons of GT3s, GT3RSs and Corvettes being warmed up while the drivers fought off the inevitable BBQ comas and hangovers.

How to prepare your car for track season.

If there is one thing we learned at Axis over the last almost 10 years of beating on our cars hard it's that everything is a consumable, everything.

We asked James Clay, team boss at Bimmerworld Racing and founder of the very successful BMW go fast bits store Bimmerworld.com, to outline a few basic principles you should follow as you prepare your track car for the coming season's battles.  Here is his advice:

Go over the car completely.
Or at least as completely as you have gotten into it to modify it, plus a little bit.

Things assembled at the factory have a tendency to stay together for a long period, but performance parts have a shorter lifetime, sometimes require additional care and feeding, and even hardware has a tendency of loosening up. Whether stock or performance, when you track a car hard or use it in a more demanding environment than the designers intended, things wear out faster.

Contact an expert on your car and get their recommendations on what to replace, and remember to do this preventatively – if you are reactionary, you will be blowing a lot of money to be at the track, watching well-maintained cars go around while you work on yours.

Consider the safety level of your car.
A lot of people are bringing street and multi-use cars to the track, that is certainly acceptable and expected, but do be aware of the risks we take on the track and consider installing some basic safety gear, even if it won’t make your car go faster.

At a minimum, I would like to see drivers that are dedicated to this sport have harnesses and a HANS on. Schroth makes bolt-in 4-point harnesses specific to a lot of car models that are compatible with a HANS, and as a guy who has wrecked my fair share of cars, I can assure you that it can happen to you and a HANS will make you feel a lot better the day after, if not keep you alive in some situations.

Nothing on your track car is permanent.
This is a tough concept to swallow when you spend $1k per set of wheels ( or even per wheel for a nice forged piece) and yes, f you buy nice parts, they will serve you well, but everything on a tracked car has a maintenance schedule and a fatigue life.
Some cheaper items like wheel studs and stainless brakelines should have an automatic periodic replacement interval. Pricier items like wheels should be very well cleaned and closely inspected periodically, both in the areas you can see when they are on the car and the areas you can’t.

If you don’t have spares, buy some.
Your spares package doesn’t need to be extensive but some basic items will save your tail, or make you someone else’s best friend for life.

Some basic suggestions for any car are: fluids (oil and brake), brake pads (you know you are going to use them sometime), 2 of each accessory belt (yes, two so you can toss the first replacement if you don’t figure out why it was thrown the first time) and a radiator/expansion tank cap.
This goes for an assortment of nice tools as well. Not having to walk the paddock or try to make some bargain bin tool work will make you a lot happier at the track when you inevitably have to work on your car more than you would want to.

Buy a data system.
Make the most out of your track time and remember that practice makes permanent – perfect practice makes perfect… In 2012, “data system” means a data unit as simple as the new AiM SOLO for under $400. This invaluable piece of equipment will help get you up to speed faster and will be instrumental in your progression as a driver, no matter what your current level. When you are shopping, ease of use is critical and something with a predictive lap is a huge benefit. If you have a more dedicated track car, fully-featured dash replacement data systems start around $2,000 and with integrated warning lights, they are good protection for your cars moving parts.

.

Hellaflush @ Fuji

We're suckers for a well produced promo, too bad it's a touch far for us to attend! :

Hellaflush Japan – October 1, 2011

This is the official announcement of our first event in Japan which will be held at Fuji Speedway (FSW, for short). Hellaflush X. We are very excited about this event and with the help from our friends at AF Imp, G-Fine / Grace, AME Wheels, Rays Engineering, Alpinestars, Air Runner / ACC, Rotiform, Super Street, RAYS Engineering and Speedhunters.

++++

本日を持ちまして、ショーカーの登録を終了させて頂きます。エントリーして頂いた皆様、本当にありがとうございました。スタッフ一同、皆様のご登録に感謝するとともに、10月１日に富士スピードウェイでお会いできることを楽しみにしております。

FatlaceTV

.

miG-19

Love it!

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Track Day Hero Award

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Mad Mid engine FIAT: Motore Centrale R240

You could think of the Motore Centrale R240 as a FIAT 500 Abarth backwards but a more correct comparison would be with those mad mid engine creations by Renault, the Turbo5 and the Clio V6. Don't look for a FIAT warranty though, the Motore Centrale (Mid Engine) is a project of Lucarelli Monza and Aznom S.r.l of Codatronca fame.

The idea was to have a perfectly balanced car with the ideal mass distribution found on much fancier vehicles. As with the French cars, the Abarth engine in a 500 is moved behind the driver, replacing the rear seats. The rear suspension has been replaced with the fancy subframe with double A arm, fully adjustable suspension you can see in the picture above.

Brakes are 335 front and 305 rear with monoblock 4 piston calipers, Bilstein shocks and Kumho track day tires. Abarth engine is tuned 240HP and 240ft-lb.

That's the "touring" version, available with fancy leather interiors by Aznom etc. A R280 "Pista", track version will also be available, 280 hp900kg/ 1980lbs with full FIA cage, data recording and a racing Limited slip differential. A light track car that is not a Lotus might be of interest.

Axnom is hoping to produce 30 Motore Centrales per year and will present the cars at Monaco Top Marques, April 14 to the 17th.

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Well, that blew up real good!...

A fast Corvette has a slight ...malfunction at Road Atlanta in this video by Ken Brewer...




homet

Have a nice Week End!

I'm off to Thunderbolt!



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Ferrari 599 GTO, Nürburgring onboard

This first Nürburgring Ferrari 599 GTO onboard video may not be an especially fast lap, in fact there are some huge lifts where there really should not be any and some serious pussyfooting around the twisty sections but, on the plus side he gets up to 182 mph on the back straight and that's with a slow exit out of the Galgenkopf corner.

The big Fiat's exhaust note, when you catch a bit of it through the wind noise, is just glorious.

Still, you'd think if you owned a GTO you could spring for a full version of editing software and a proper GPS data recorder...look at that GPS map and jumpy speed display! Get a Traqmate buddy! :)

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David Murry Track Days at VIR

Call this a blatant plug if you want, we don't care, Dave Murry is a friend of Group 52 and any friend of Group 52 is a friend of ours.

David Murry Track Days promises the same open track, for advanced drives only experience as G52 but at the lower latitudes of Virginia International Raceway and with the added bonus of access to instruction from Murry, a racer with almost 30 years experience. The next event is October 13-14. Please go.

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Group 52: the Rat's still where it's at.

If you don't know the Rat then you don't know Jack, but if you ever do get to run with Group 52, the east coast's best, expert only, invitation only, open track club you will have know Jack.

We talked about Group 52 before here, it's where you go when you've had enough of the various car club "driving schools" and you are grown up enough to be fully at ease on track and just as good at looking ahead while keeping an eye on the mirror so you don't panic when 600HP (OK fine, 450) crashman trucks roar inches from you into a braking zone. It's all cool, everyone there is (mostly) in total control and (generally) an adult. I've now been to quite a few of these events and every time I'm amazed at how well having essentially a single rule (don't be an a-hole or you'll go home and never return) works.

Continued after the jump

More pictures on TracktimePhotos.com

It was my first time back at Watkins Glen since the catastrophic engine explosion in my MCoupe exactly one year ago and I was happy to see that despite year old track tires I was able to do a few laps in the 2:12 range, the same as with the old expired S54. I did however have some issues...again with a leaking differential which kind of ruined my first day. But, I ended up fighting the urge to quit and the diff problem was resolved. That interesting issue and how it was resolved in my next post.

I was there with Axis Adil who was running his newly acquired 997 GT3 for the first time. He did very well, running in the low 2:10 with ease. There is no way around it, 997 gt3 are awesome cars. (you might want to turn the volume down for this one)



It was also interesting running the "Short course" for the first time. Having that long straight after the outer loop sure puts a different prospective onto "turn 10" (which becomes turn 6, I think). Here are a couple of rather slow I'm afraid, laps right before I was black flagged for leaking diff oil...again.



Group 52 is by invitation so by all means I encourage you to seek someone who can recommend you (including us). Remember though that those who sponsor are responsible for your actions and will also be sent home if you mess up. Not an issue if you are ready. How good do you have to be? hmmm let's say that if you can drive a Mini Cooper S around the Glen like this guy you will be fine!

Sports Utility Vehicle

What's at the end of the rainbow? Fine, it's a bit hard to see but it's our idea of what an SUV is...find out after the jump


Adil's Porsche 997 GT3 SUV

Lotus Exos T125 World Premiere: Lotus raises the stakes

The competition is fierce in the Track Day World Championship, Ferrari Fxx and 599XX, Pagani Zonda R, not to mention any number of British built barely legal contenders. Today Lotus raised the bar for the non-racing, track only market with the Exos T125 presented yesterday at Laguna Seca.

Our West Coast friend Rahul Nair, who attended the premiere and shot these videos and pictures, tells us the Cosworth powered Exos has a carbon fiber tub and a configuration inspired by current spec Formula 1 cars including carbon suspension and brakes but, as you see from the pictures, it rolls on a low profile tire similar to what F1 will likely move to after 2013.

The engine, a 3.5L V8, produces 650HP at 10,300 RPM (with a 10,800 "push to pass" option in case you find a Zonda R at your track day). The package is made more user friendly by allowing 4500 hours between engine rebuilds and a starter motor. No word if a UK only "street legal" kit will be offered but if so, it will be undoubtebly be hailed as "...actually quite comfortable"



Twenty five Exos are planned at a cool one million dollars apiece. The entry ticket will give the owner access to special track days and instruction from actual Formula 1 drivers in not just driving but also fitness. Think of it as the best gym class you even bought!

Huge gallery after the jump.
(thanks to Rahul Nair)






Home

They will drive...FLATOUT!

Hang on...who's that guy??


(pictures RSR Nürburg)
It's our buddy Ron Simons, the boss at RSR Nürburg. Someone must have been smiling at the end of the day!

Imagine the sound...probably went something like this:



More after the jump



















Bonus video: Ron chasing a 599XX at the Hungaroring, site of this week end's Grand Prix.
It's tempting to think this is an illustration of the "I drive...FLATOUT" video, but I think the 599 was just hanging around for Ron, in a Lotus 2-Eleven, to film him.

I will drive...Flatout!

"I belong to all the major internet car chat forums, I will post negative review of your organization.."

Laugh but, they are really out there...and some of us have to get in the passenger seat occasionally!

For a comprehensive list of driver's excuses don't forget to check out the originals on JUSTGOFASTER.COM!



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"We Do Sideways Here"

The title is an ironic take on a classic reprimand of "...we DON'T do sideways here." by a Porsche Club of America official to our own CG who had "dared" to hang it out during a PCA track event. No such problems at the Scuderia Hanseat driving school as on of our favorite international tracktard heros, Maxige, shows in the clips below. In case you wonder why, after some 50 years, people still love 911s... I believe the answer is right there.

Scuderia Hanseat is a driving school program at the Nürburgring, it's a multiday course which ends with a final exam. You can read about it here

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