The adventures of Debbie the girl : racecar driver

[Ian c]

Adams got recommended to me a while ago .
Ill pm you if we ever head that way .
Likewise pm me if you're ever going to Irvine ...

We will be there again today after work .
She wants to drop another second

I have been trying my best to boost her confidence from the beginning ,
But the autocross on Saturday did my work for me
She had a great instructor called Kurt , and and that has DEFINATELY helped her mindset .

[Ian c]

We set off later today ... Full track .
Lots of bumping

Debbie cut her best time in the first race , then again in the second . Totaling about half a second I think .
I cut mine in the first race by about a tenth , then dipped in the second

[jb92563]

Do you know about racing line apex, braking, and power application techniques?

You will get that during your PDS course on friday, but heres a link
The racing line | Taking corners at speed

You can download the manual for the PDS from the pcasdr.net site as well.
Porsche Club of America | San Diego Region

Late apex is neat because you get on the gas early and really accelerate out of a turn fast and may work well with the electric carts if the traction is sufficient and will be good practice for autocross.

[Ian c]

Yeah late apex works well on the karts , we are practicing things that where taught to us at the ax and most work and times are coming down ...
I'm working on a different technique at the moment though on a couple of "overtaking" bends , and was only a couple of Tenths slower than my previous best after the first attempt ... I wish these arts where 2-seaters and we had instructors

I just got a confirmation email on the drivers school with a link , but haven't checked yet if its the same one you supplied earlier .
Thanks for that BTW

[Ian c]

So the latest on this .....

We went and did 2 races on the karts on Thursday night .
I got my best time on the first race , Debbie was just off her best time .

In the second race I concentrated on late apex on three corners that could be considered as going into a strait (2 were no strait but had full throttle 90* turns)
It felt faster , smoother , more controlled ... But was a second off my earlier race

Debbie concentrated on her lines as usual , but getting on the gas sooner ..
And got her best time ever .
Consistent throughout the 14 laps too

I was around half a second off making the "best times of the week" list , and Debbie is just short of a second behind me . (This will probably grow to me being a second off by the time the weekend crowd have finished)

It appears to be working .
She is getting more confident and comfortable , plus getting better each time we race .

I have been expecting the sd pca driving school to be a MASSIVE boost to her driving skills and confidence , and as she is eager to learn I think it will be huge success .
Maybe enough to see the year out doing 4-5 more auto crosses then trying a DE or two next year

I don't know who she spoke to from the San Diego region , but she's talking about wanting harnesses fitted .
Thanks for that .
You just cost me around a thousand dollars ...

[stephen wilson]

A late apex is to allow early acceleration, which typical carts have little of. So momentum, and not scrubbing off speed becomes the priority. Generally speaking, the higher powered a car, the later an apex can be utilized.

[Ian c]

You are correct , although these electric karts have good acceleration

At the end of the "strait" strait , there is a 180 then a 90* strait .
I take the 90 flat out so I'm calling it a strait ...

This 180 is one of the Overtaking places I talked about earlier and have stood there spectating to see what the more experienced guys do both on an empty track and when they hit traffic there .

I could do with instruction as about the only way I know I got the 180 right is I'm carrying more speed through the flat out 90 and the tyres are near the limit making the turn .

Then I'm too fast into the next 180

Great fun though !!!
We are going to go again today

[Ian c]

Thought I'd update as it's been a while ....

We moved house and problems at work meant I have been working 7 12hr days a week .
So we had to cancel all auto crosses and driving school

Work has eased off and I'm taking a couple of days off during the week to finish the yard and will be finished shortly , so looking at carrying this on .

The boxster has been eating rear tires every couple of months and Debbie has been complaining about the ride quality , so I booked it into hergesheimer for an alignment and inspection and that 5 minute drive from home to there was the first time I'd driven it since last year ....

What a dog !!!

Her pss-9s arrived on Friday to go with the tarret adjustable bits and the new top mounts should be here sometime next week .
I'm currently at work and looking at prices to replace all moving parts in the suspension and I'm thinking it makes sence do do it all at once
I'm also talking with Ira at tarret about adjustable swaybars but I'll leave them until she has more hours on the new suspension .
Maybe the end of the year ...

We're booked for two autocrosses at the end of this month , one in San Diego and the following week at eltoro . So it looks like I'll have a little bit of time to get it all installed and set up ....