Adapt

adapting driving style to cope with handling problems

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All race cars are sensitive to weather and track conditions, to varying extents. High-tech, high-strung race cars are especially sensitive to atmospheric conditions like temperature, pressure, moisture, wind direction, and so on, as well as to track temperature, proximity of opponents, and the like. And there is no such thing as a “perfect set-up”. A car that handles well at the start of the race may well misbehave halfway into a race. As such, the driver must learn to cope with an ill-handling car.

This section describes the driving techniques that can be used to ameliorate handling problems that develop during a race. There are limits to how much a driver can compensate while on track, given that the only controls available to him in the cockpit are the steering wheel, the pedals, and if he is fortunate the brake bias lever. Do note that the most important driving techniques a driver must master to look far ahead on the track and to be smooth with the controls. Smoothness is particularly important when using the steering wheel and when releasing the brake pedal. Also, master the use of left-foot braking.

Racing is about relative speed and absolute time: the one who is faster leads the race and the one who completes the requisite number of laps in the shortest amount of time wins the race. A typical race track has straights and corners. The major portion of the lap time is spent in corners. So, racing is mostly about cornering. And cornering is all about managing tyre traction using steering wheel, brake, and throttle.

Compliance, manoeuvrability, responsiveness, and stability issues must be sorted in the pit, during testing. There is nothing the driver can do about these issues from the cockpit. The only techniques the driver has at his disposal are those that deal with balance: understeer and oversteer.

CURES FOR UNDERSTEER

mild

• Rocking the steering wheel
  • As the steering wheel is cranked toward the apex more and more, it will become noticeably lighter at some point. This is the sign that the front tyres are about to exceed their slip angle limit. At this point, let the steering wheel come back toward the outside of the corner. This will bring the front tyres’ slip angles back into their operating range. Then, gently crank the steering wheel toward the apex again, and repeat the process.
  • This procedure enables the front tyres to operate at their maximum slip angle, without exceeding the limits and developing understeer.
• Left-foot braking
  • When understeer begins to develop, gently dab the brake pedal. This transfers some load back onto the front tyres, thereby restoring some traction to them and preventing a full-on understeer.
  • Do not apply an excessive amount of brake, lest the car slow down too much. And do not lift off the throttle when using this technique.
• Decreasing the throttle
  • At the onset of understeer, lift partway off the throttle. This transfers some load back onto the front tyres, thereby restoring some traction to them and preventing a full-on understeer.
  • Lifting off the throttle, even just a little, slows down the car. So, this technique should be used sparingly.
• Mounting the low kerb
  • Mount the inside-front wheel on the apex kerb, if the kerb is low. The scalloped surface of the kerb tends to grab the tyre, and this friction helps rotate a mildly understeering car.
  • Do not place the inside-front wheel too far onto the kerb. At many corners, there usually are tall apex guards on the outside of the low apex kerbs. Hitting these tall bumps will upset the car.
• Riding the crown
  • Old track mods, say those that model the 1960s or older era, have surfaces that are crowned, prominently. Use the inside of the crown like a subtly banked track surface. That is, instead of using the whole width of the corner as you normally would, place the car on the inside of the crown adjacent to the apex.
  • Do not carry excess speed into the corner, or you will push the car away from the apex, thus losing cornering speed.
• Dipping into the depression
  • Old tracks usually have many corners with noticeable depressions at the apex. And many corners have no apex kerbs. In such corners, it is possible to drop the inside-front wheel into the road depression, or even onto the dirt off the track, in order to help rotate the car. This is a common rallying technique.
  • Do not stray too far off the track, or you will surely lose cornering speed. When driving a rally simulator, pay attention to the co-driver’s warnings about tree stumps or large rocks at the apex.
• Nudging the high kerb
  • Old tracks have high, squared-off apex kerbs. Nudging the inside-front tyre’s inside wall against the side of the high kerb will help rotate the car.
  • Do not hit the kerb with the inside-front wheel, though. At a high enough speed, the force involved can bend the steering arm or even the front suspension. Use this technique with extreme care.

severe

• Manhandling the car
  • Sometimes, it is necessary to force a reticent car to submit to your will, and make it turn into the corner. To perform this manoeuvre, pitch the front wheels hard toward the apex with a smart crank of the steering wheel, and simultaneously loosen the rear drivewheels with a bit of extra throttle.
  • Left-foot braking will certainly help, while performing this manoeuvre. This is a common technique used to bring about a four-wheel drift through the apex. If executed too aggressively, however, it will worsen understeer, instead of curing.
• Scandinavian flick
  • On slippery surfaces, manhandling the car will only worsen understeer. A better, subtler technique is the Scandinavian flick. Initiate the manoeuvre by entering the corner and decelerating on a line that is slightly toward the inside, instead of on the conventional, outside line. While modulating the brake pedal, flick the steering wheel to the outside of the corner, and immediately flick the steering wheel back toward the apex. At the same time, come off the brake, go back on the throttle, and four-wheel drift out of the corner by counter steering.
  • Continually adjust the throttle pressure and the steering angle to keep the car on the cornering line.
• Handbrake turn
  • Although you may use the handbrake turn to cure an understeer at the entry of an ordinary corner, it is a bit too crude for that use. But this technique is the quickest way through sharp hairpins. As the car enters the corner, crank the steering wheel smartly toward the apex, and simultaneously squeeze the handbrake, then release it right away. This seizes up the rear wheels, and snaps the car into oversteer, scrubbing the rear tyres across the track surface.
  • Simultaneously counter steer to keep the front end in line with the swinging rear end. Return to the throttle, as soon as the car has spun round the apex.

CURES FOR OVERSTEER

mild

• Counter steering
  • When the rear end steps out of line, apply opposite steering lock to bring the front of the car back in line with the rear.
  • It may be necessary to modulate the throttle pedal pressure. This aids in four-wheel drifting through the apex. Ordinarily, it is not necessary to lift off the throttle entirely or to use the brake pedal to correct an oversteer.
• Increasing the throttle
  • Although it is counterintuitive, increasing the throttle can cure oversteer, under some circumstances.
  • Increasing the throttle transfers load onto the rear tyres thus restoring much need traction to them. The only way to know when it is appropriate to increase the throttle to correct an oversteer is to experiment and to accumulate seat time.

severe

• Decreasing the throttle
  • Decrease the throttle to forestall rear wheelspin.
  • This should be the last resort to prevent spinning out, because decreasing the throttle slows down the car.