UNAB0MB3R's guide to racing technique.

Im struck by the urge to type, and racing is my obbsession. So here are the techniques I use and love. Even just cruising around I use almost all of these. The extra thought proccess and practice makes me enjoy driving that much more.

Lets start simple:

Straight line acceleration from a standstill

Each and every car has a power band, that range of rpms that your engine will produce the most power. The key to accelerating as fast as you possibly can to either the finish line or a break point is keeping your car in this sweet spot for the entire duration.

Keeping the ball of your foot pressed against the brake and your pinky toe feathering the gas just below your powerband select first gear. Find your contact point with your clutch as lights turn yellow, and quickly (yet smoothly) remove your foot from the brake while engaging the clutch and throttle at the same rate.

Idealy your tires will spin, forget what you have been told. Launching a car from a standstill successfully includes slipping the clutch and spinning the tires, Both within reason of course. Power is lost here, but most engines have narrow power and torque bands, so the fastest launch will include wheelspin and slipping the clutch.


Braking, with heel-toe downshift.

Brake hard, Brake late, Brake straight. Remember it. Any forces used for Acceleration or Decceleration cannot be used for turning (thanks forza). If you brake hard and straight and enter the corner late you will end up hundreds of times better than the guy who decides to brake while entering the corner. If you really want to push your car to the limit you have to use 100% of your available traction for pulling your car around that bend.

Included in your braking you must select a gear so you are able to coast through the beggining of a corner and accelerate in that power band immediately after the apex. To do so while braking you use a simaler technique to the launch described above, The heel-toe downshift. Keeping the ball of your foot pressing the brake to slow your car for the corner ahead (Threshold braking: Not just for crashes), you press in the clutch while selecting your gear and blip the throttle with your pinky toe while quickly engaging the clutch once again. Whew, dont worry it becomes natural after some practice. The amount of this blip is relevant to your cars rpm change between gears. Note: Getting comfortable with it? Remeber to take the amount you are braking into consideration, as braking force inceases the rpm amount at which you need to match engine speed to wheel speed decreases.

Unsure of what gear to select? Remember your power band


The actual corner

Alright, enough of the easy stuff. Here it is, the moment of truth. You can either take it like a pussy, or push it to the edge. This is where races are won and lost. Know your car, Know your corner, and know how to deal with shit when it pops up cause it definately will. If it feels like your riding on rails your just not going fast enough (thanks some random car ad).

Okay, so lets look at the corner as a whole. You have your braking point, your turn in point, your apex, your exit position and direction of the next corner. All of these play factors in your ideal racing line (well get to passing, fuck ups, and variances next).

-Turn in point

To get the line right, it is vital to turn in at the correct point. Leave it too late and you'll miss the apex, too soon and you'll have to tighten your line mid corner. Get this right and you'll have set yourself up for a good line. Remember that the apex may be further round the turn than you can see, so make sure you learn the track and the apex points before driving in anger. Also remember to balance your car after braking. This is achieved by lightly pressing the throttle so you have no engine acceleration or decceleration. This is also a crucial point of your turn. It will single handedly ruin this corner and the entire length of track to your next braking point. Get smooth.

-Finding that apex

The apex is simply the mid point of a corner, and the point at which you focus on from the begining of your turn in. If you are lucky apexes are marked with a cone or red post of some sort. Remember that this has to be your focus from the start of your turn in.




-Track out point

Now you have hit the apex, time to accelerate hard out of that corner to the other side of the track. The track-out point is the last part of the corner. Since the goal is to obtain the greatest exit speed possible, if you’re passing the track-out point it’s essential to use the complete width of the track.


Use up every bit of track left. Don’t cut too deep into the corner exit if you don't have to or you’ll loose potential acceleration. Even if it’s just a tenth of a second, every bit of extra speed counts.

Combating oversteer and understeer


Understeer

Its all about balance baby, If your front wheels are slipping out while you try and turn in it means they have overcame thier traction limit. If we use some logic we can determine the back wheels are probably not slipping (If they are, you have lost control. Im not going to explain how to get out of that). Therefore we can use the back wheels to take some of the force. First and foremost however we have got to remove all unessicary forces from the front wheel. You may have fucked up by not braking enough, or too hard on the gas at your turn in point. Either way, correct it.

Next step is to either straighten up your steering and recorrect, or catch Dat' Ass back up to your front end so momentum can continue pushing you through that corner. To catch that back end up give the e-brake a quick jolt followed by some power to push your car towards the apex, and onto your next corner.*

Oversteer

There are two kinds of oversteer: Power, and Braking. Power is cause by providing more power to the back wheels then they can handle, causing them to slip your back end out. Where as braking pitches your car forward and lightens up your back end, causing it to slide out. Now, here comes the fun. Your direction of travel is detirmened by your angular momentum. (The force of your back end sliding - the force your counter steer is applying) If you want to remain going the right direction keep the sideways speed of your slide in check with your front wheels. If your heading to deep into the corner turn away from the corner harder and brake if your in control. If your too far towards the wall steer in more, and once again if you have the balls accelerate slightly. *

*I race rally cross man, If you have the correct track ways of doing this please feel free to share.

Overtaking

The only part of a race where you should be midly concerned about the unknown factor. Although, if your reacing league races know your opposition. Know thier driving styles, racing lines, straight speeds, lap times, drag time of thier underwear selection. Know it man, in a sport that demands perfection and where .1s detirmines lap difference it all can help you lead more laps.

-In a corner

First way is pretty simple. Draft up behind during the straight dive for the inside line just before your braking point and fly past as you brake harder and later. Note of caution: Watch out for the block. Someone too committed to outbraking is going to land two people in some hurt. There are two ways to black this attempt, first by anticipating the pull out in which case you should remain behind them biding your time till the next corner. The second is not allowing you to outbrake and taking a higher faster line where they have to brake less and carry more speed throughout the corner. Makes for interesting battles around a few turns, and also leads us to the next point.

-On the straight

Pretty easy, Its called slipstream or drafting. The higher your opponents speed, the more air the car has to fight through. If the car in front of you is fighting the air for you, you will have to resist much less air. As a result you get more speed for the same amount of work that the engine delivers. Once you’re close enough simply pick the right moment to pass your opponent.

That took alot longer than I expected. Whenever I see fit ill get to the rally techniques and what have you. Feel free to message me with suggestions, requests, or corrections.

 

Yeah, I tried to explain it as best i could. You use half your foot for the brake, the other half for the gas. Takes some work to get the hang of but its pretty fun once you get good at it.



The Scandinavian Flick
Rally/Loose surface

The Scandinavian flick is a technique used frequently in rallying, a method of deliberately breaking traction at the rear wheels of a car on loose surfaces in order to turn a tight corner rapidly. The tightest corners and hairpins usually require the use of a handbrake turn, but the flick can be used in conjunction with, or without the handbrake.

Here is where you are going to break your racing line a bit. As you approach your corner mid track get all of your braking out of the way. As you spot your turn in point turn sharply away from the corner and towards that point in a very quick flick like motion. Think of water in a fish tank, all your weight is now going to be on your inside tires. As you turn in to the corner (Flicking the car the other way) the reverse in weight transfer to the outside wheels should unsettle the rear of the car enough to break traction. * Trail braking is also a great way to control that ass end. See that next.

This will tighten the radius of your corner, allowing you to take tight corners with a considerable amount of speed.


Trail Braking
Rally/Loose surface

Trail Braking is simply braking during your turn in. Do most of your braking straight line, and slowly (and smoothly) release the pressure from your brakes from the point of turn in untill the apex. Why? Trail braking helps you rotate the car into a corner by transfering weight onto the front tires. This gives them more stick and will compensate for any understeer you might otherwise be experiencing. *Left foot braking Is a great compliment to this technique (and therefore the technique before that as well)


Left Foot Braking
Rally/Loose surface

This is where it gets tricky once again. In addition to your heel-toe downshift, finding your apex, and scandinavian flick you are going to do all of your trail braking with your left foot. This will not only cut the pedal switch times to almost nothing but master this and you will have insane amounts of control of your cars balance. While left foot braking you must keep your right foot modulating throttle to controll the balance of the car.

For example: You are in a turn and the rear of the car starts to slide out more then you want. You could release some brake pressure and increase the throttle. This will change the oversteer to understeer. The reverse is also true. If the turn tightened, you can change to oversteer by increasing brake pressure against the throttle. Also by balancing the brake and throttle you can get your car fairly balanced.



Want to see all of it in action? Here is come crazy ass footwork.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbU4GZkt7ig&feature=related]YouTube - The Rally Supercars - Walter Rohl[/ame]

 

Haha, its that stoned brain sometimes.....


Nah, other than the occasional lapping day. I prefer rally

 

Thanks guys! Sorry for the long windedness (sure, its a word. right?) I like being thourough.


Alright, todays lesson; Aggressive driving.

You know whats more fun than being two or three wide fighting for position? Absolutely nothing, but in order to remain in that battle you have to know what you are doing. Today I will cover how to defend your position in the feild. The key to remember here is the exact same thing as before: Be smooth I cant stress this enough. If you think the fastest way around the track is to drive as fast as humanly possible you are wrong. Not only wrong, but your reckless and no one likes a reckless racer. This video is an exageration of race physics, but it is also a great demonstration of what im talking about. Skip to two minutes.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JURJGAgM_Tc]YouTube - Fifth Gear MCW Metrobus Dogfight![/ame]


Alright, back on track. Here is the first senario. Your in the lead coming onto a long straight, next corner being an open hairpin right immediately followed by a hairpin left. You are traveling along the left side of the straight when you notice P2 drafting behind you preparing to make a move.

What I would do if I were P2 is pull out midstraight to arrive at the braking point side by side. A tenth of a second after you brake I will brake sending me shooting past with the inside line into turn one.

As P1, you need to realize you still have optimal line, and you will carry more speed through turn one into turn two. My line will be a car width over from the optimal racing line causing me to tighten the radius of my turn and therfore have to brake more in order to take the corner and leave myself pretty for turn two (the hairpin left).

So in order for you to remain in contention for P1 you need to set yourself up to take a wide line through turn one at higher speed in order to remain either side by side, or carry enough speed to get side by side before turn two. This is going to take aggerssive defence of the line, intimidation, and speed.

At this point you need to take it back to the basics, you are now P2 going for the inside line and out braking P1 in order to gain track position on the exit of turn two. You being side by side, or carrying more speed you should be able to just dart down the inside of turn two. Watch out for an attempt to cut this line off by P1, and if he does watch for loss of speed. You can always try the outside line again if you beleive P1 has lost enough speed for you to match him on the outside line through turn two. If he remains ahead patience is key, dueling for position is definately not the fastest way around a track.

So you got infront. Whats going to stop P2 now from pulling the same draft outbrake strategy on the next corner? Nothing. But thats the fun of racing.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAn_omLUO0Y]YouTube - Kamikaze F1 Duel - Gilles Villeneuve vs René Arnous[/ame]

 

Alright, I got one more tip, then I think I have exausted my knowledge of racing technique.

Once again, mainly for use on loose surfaces.

Dont brake too early. May seem obvious, but its more than losing time. When you brake too early for a corner you let off the brake too soon before your turn in. This gives your suspension time to settle and in this case is a bad thing. What you want to do is brake at the last possible second to keep that ass end up as you enter the corner. From here you can hit the gas to powerslide through the corner instead of trail braking.

Practice this to gain that smoothness every racer wants.

Well, thats about it for me. Let me know if any of this helped ya out. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about these techniques, or about racing in general. Like I said at the top; Its an obbsession.