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Originally Posted by Grizzly
I have a question about Mr. Walton's driving style. I'm by no means a road racer, so I'm looking to learn something here. My experience with curves has been limited to pursuit and evasive driving, but I've always been taught to drive absolutely smoothly and to never to upset the car. I was always told that a blindfolded passenger should feel that they're being driven down a straight road (yes, I realize that's an exaggeration).
I noticed that in every turn, Mr. Walton turns in hard, then yanks the wheel back and turns in again. Is he doing that on purpose to shift weight? I can't imagine that he's misjudging every turn, but that doesn't seem like the fastest line to me. Can someone tell me why he turns in like that?
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Actually smooth on the street and on track is equally important and safe. What you are seeing with Rich's driving is the various slip angles the car is going through on the track at various speeds, which requires driver input to correct. Rich turns in hard to keep the momentum of the car up. The 2.5L Boxster is a momentum car on the track. If you drive it like a high HP car (late apex, rely on throttle, etc.) you will be slower than carrying momentum. In a 2.5L car, it's all about not losing speed versus slowing down and then regaining speed.
While you're in the car you'll find that the driver inputs such as Rich's are smooth, not abrupt. In comparison to some other drivers I've been passengers with, Rich is very smooth. I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to drive on the track, but in several spots of a track you are in 4 wheel drifts. These drifts require you to steer the car with your hands and your throttle, constantly changing the inputs to account for the track traction and camber.
At turn 8 in the video, we are drifting sideways through a turn at over 105MPH. Subtle, but you can feel it. And it's lots of fun!
Thanks,
Bill P.
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