Race Driving Fundamentals: Practical Demo
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Practical Demo
04.32
| 00:00 | - Now that we've learned about the different styles of apex we're going to send Andrew out on the track and actually see this in action. |
| 00:06 | So Andrew what we're looking for here is an early apex vs a late apex and we've talked during the module so far about where one particular style of apex location may give us an advantage so we've chosen one particular corner here which is the forest hairpin so can you talk to us about what's important about that forest hairpin? - Yeah it's a corner that you've got to think about what's next. |
| 00:30 | There's a nice big long straight next so you're focusing on the exit. |
| 00:33 | So to do that you want to have a bit of a later apex and straighten the run up onto the straight so and that'll change completely, if it's into a section of corner straight afterwards, so you're really focusing on the exit so making sure that apex is a bit later to straighten it up to get the run, get on that gas nice and early. |
| 00:51 | So again it's really just about understanding what's after the corner because this leads into essentially the longest straight here at Highlands Motorsport Park it really is a key corner that we want to focus on and getting that run out is so important. |
| 01:04 | Let's head out onto the track and we'll have a look at our apex points in a bit more detail to see what we actually need to be aiming for. |
| 01:11 | So now we're just going to have a look to see what happens when you apex too early. |
| 01:17 | See how much it affects us for the rest of the corner, so we're braking nice and straight, see it all the time, heading down to the apex way too early, see how much lock I've got on later on in the corner. |
| 01:27 | And as I'm trying to gas you can actually see the rear of the car snap into a bit of an oversteer there which really affects our exit. |
| 01:37 | This time we're going to hit the apex properly and see how much it really sets us up for a run into the straight. |
| 01:44 | We're braking nice and straight, we're looking down to the apex, turning in, rolling through the middle and then see how much quicker I'm able to get around the gas as I'm unwinding that steering. |
| 01:55 | And that's all because the apex was just that little bit later around the corner. |
| 02:00 | Alright Andrew you've just completed the understanding the apex module so you've gone through the forest hairpin there looking at an early apex and a late apex and exaggerating the two just so we can really see clearly. |
| 02:13 | Now it's fair to say that this particular corner really is the stereotypical corner that lends itself to a late apex, can you elaborate on that? - Yeah you want that late apex to really get that run out onto the straight but so commonly I see people on the brakes when I'm doing some coaching where they just naturally under brakes just feed their way down to the apex which creates an early apex which just destroys the exit of the corner so it's something that feels quite strange staying a bit wider over the corer to get that later apex to get the run but so often I see it where it just seems to be a natural thing. |
| 02:46 | Again I know I talk about it a lot but it's vision, I think people get on the brakes, they see that apex and naturally their hands follow them down to the apex. |
| 02:53 | They go right I've made the apex, time to get on with the rest of it but it's all happened too early that it just affects the exit of the corner. |
| 03:00 | - This really comes down to the car will go where we're looking so it's so important to look in the right spot. |
| 03:06 | Now interestingly with the data on that as well, when we overlay the two laps, one on top of the other, it becomes really obvious that when we take that late apex, because we need to slow the car down more and turn tighter in the initial phase, we do see, if we overlay the two laps, a loss initially in time during that braking phase and that turn in phase but that can be a little bit hard to stomach but we see that pays dividends the whole way up that next straight so it's looking at that cumulative effect, what we gain in this instance really far outweighs what we lose. |
| 03:40 | But of course that's just one corner, it's not always going to be that way so we do need to be a little bit mindful of how we apply it to different corners? - Yeah you do and you've got to think about what is coming up next and maybe there is a corner where you can bomb it down to the apex because you've got some camber so you can use that a lot more whereas other corners, if it's off camber you've got to think about what's going on there so yeah it's just constantly thinking about those sort of things and that's where your track walk comes into it as well and getting your head around what those points of apex are. |
| 04:12 | - Alright so again, not a lot that we can generally apply as rules to every track, every track is going to be different but just keeping these aspects in your mind about where abouts you're positioning the car to clip the apex for a given corner and experimenting as well can be a really good way of finding additional lap time. |
