Toasted Brakes at a Lapping Event - Need Advice

[DUFUS]

Ah, the kink. That's a beaut. There is such a thing as being too cautious though. I learned that at the expense of someone else's car the first time I was at Road America. The humans involved (beginner with instructor) were OK, so I'm not being that morbid. But I made sure to add "drive down the middle of the track and brake in the middle of the kink" to my beginner's DO NOT DO THIS list. I happened to be visiting race control at the time and watched multiple replays. The concrete wall beat the WRX (or was it an Evo?) every time.
It seems going too slow through fast turns can be as dangerous as going too fast through slow corners.

 

[ddd4114]

I was still pulling at least 0.9g at the apex

 

[SoundGuyDave]

There's a pretty simple formula for keeping yourself safe through the kink:

"Bow to The Kink, and keep the faith."

The first half: Bow to The Kink tells you to do some braking on the approach, and the #2 reference marker is a good place to get on the brakes. This does two things; first, it brings your velocity down from the Carousel exit, and second, it plants the nose to ensure steering authority. Initiate turn-in under maintenance throttle (novice/intermediate) or with VERY light trail-braking (advanced).

The second half: Keep the faith. This tells you that you NEED to accelerate through the apex, and that once you start that acceleration, YOU ARE COMMITTED. 50% throttle is generally appropriate. This transfers load onto the rear tires and prevents any sort of lift-oversteer or other nonsense.

This is one corner NOT to be overly aggressive with, and one where hitting the apex is critical.

Depending on your sins, however, you CAN recover from an error without destroying your car! If you go in too hot, or miss your apex, do NOT lift, and do NOT try to pinch the exit! Stay on-throttle, slowly reducing the amount of acceleration, and let the car drift off the left edge of the track onto the grass. Best case: you run in the grass parallel to the concrete, gradually slowing, then merge back onto the track surface. Worst case: You rub the left side of the car all the way down the concrete. A bit of bodywork, though, and you're back in fighting trim. If you lift mid-corner, or at exit, the back end will come around, mash into the wall on the left, then pin-ball you across the track where you bin the front on the right-side concrete. If you were going fast enough, you will wind up ricocheting back again, into the left side wall... MUCH more expensive than the first "worst case." Bottom line: Bow to The Kink, and keep the faith. It'll keep the car clean.

 

[OkieSnuffBox]

Can't imagine taking my HPDE toy out to a track with so much concrete so close to the track!

Move the concrete back and put a stack of tires in front.

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Okie, if you look hard enough, you can find a "dangerous" corner at ANY track! It's just a matter of how you approach that specific corner that will determine your chances for damage.

1. Blackhawk Farms Raceway: T7: If you go off, go off straight, it's flat and filled with weeds. If you try to "save" the corner, you drop into a swamp filled with trees.
2. Gateway: T7 feeds from the infield onto the banked oval track. The transition can get the car a little loose, and if you hit it with too much power down at the wrong angle, you spin the car 180* and slide up the track into a wall.
3. Putnam Park: T8 (carousel) if you slide off the outside, you will find a tire wall and Aarmco. T10: Too much throttle at exit, and you push out into the Aarmco that angles in to meet the track, protecting pit lane.
4. Autobahn CC South track: T3: early apex, and you find Aarmco. T5: Too much speed and you find a berm, tire wall, then Aarmco protecting a corner worker station.
5. Autobahn CC Full track: North/south transition: Too much throttle at exit, or lift oversteer, and you loop around to the Aarmco on the inside, protecting the south-track pit lane.
6. Mid-Ohio: Madness: outside line and you can find a wall; Thunder Valley: numerous sins, numerous things to hit!
7. Sebring: Final turn track-out is up against a concrete wall...

I could go on, but you get the idea. All you need to do is be a bit conservative in certain corners, and pick and choose which ones you're willing to drive more aggressively. I have been through The Kink hundreds of times, both in my own car, and in students' cars, and if it's taken properly, with focus and respect, it's a zero-drama event. Hell, last weekend, I made a pass right at apex of The Kink. I entered the Carousel 40' behind a CMC Mustang during one of the races, pulled up to his bumper, and we freight-trained the inside line past a 944 nose to tail... We both accelerated out of the carousel, I pulled right and got inside of the CMC car, we did our little brake-check at the two marker, went a touch deep, then accelerated through, and he popped over behind me midway between apex and track-out. No drama. We both knew what we were doing, went into the corner at slightly reduced speed to compensate for the altered lines, and got about our business.

In the end, unless you drive like a wild-man, constantly running off the edge of the track, the walls make no difference. Keep it on the black stuff, and you'll never find 'em!

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Oh, and I forgot... If you DO have an off, at ANY track, keep your eyes focused on where you want to be, NOT where you're going! It's called the "telephone pole effect," and if you stare at the pole, you WILL wind up hitting it! No different than (properly!) looking to your track-out point as soon as you have initiated turn-in, and you know you're on-line for apex. You will subconsciously drive to where you're looking. For good, OR bad.

 

[martin_nj]

It's called the "telephone pole effect,"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation is the real name for it but yours carries more emphasis on "don't do this"

 

[OkieSnuffBox]

^I know, I've had guys go down right in front of me when I used to track sportbikes.

At first it's, "Oh SH!T" then "don't look, Don't Look, DON'T LOOK"