Quote:
Originally Posted by michics
As far as track events are races , I'd agree as far as the equipment wear and tear are concerned. But as a whole if you approach it as a race where you have to pass everyone on the track and are complaining that a slower car does not move over for you then I'd say your at the wrong place. Go do wheel to wheel instead.
Our midwest event structure will put super fast cars on the track with slow 4 cylinder cars of various makes. So everyone must drive accordingly. It is about the enjoyment factor not about who is the fastest.
Just my 2 cents worth.  |
As Dave speaks to below the issue is the organizing body as they should be responsible for ensuring drivers of a similar skill level are on track at the same time. What car you are in is far less important.
When on track (in a non race) you should always drive your line at your speed; being consistant and predictable is what keeps you safe from causing a crash. If a faster car comes up on you it it their responsibility to pass you safely; your only responsibility is to stay your course and not react to them; this way you just become another predictable track obstacle to navigate around.
The only exeption to this is when you start out in beginner groups with dedicated passing zones; in those groups you need to hold your line but when a faster car catches you in a passing zone let off the gas to allow the inevitable to happen quickly and safely.
As long as the organizer of the track day polices the drivers, when you graduate to a more advanced run group you can count on people being predictable and passing is no big deal. In fact I prefer a more crowded track where passing becomes another element of the experience and hunting down and passing a car ahead of you is a rewarding experience.
Time trials is a race against the clock and in NASA the TT guys run in a mixed group and a lot of passing happens in that race. They run some TT sessions with HPDE4 (the most advanced bon competition group) to aclimate people to stress of a race environment and prep them for a comp liscence.
When you are signed off to run in an advanced group you are approaching the track day as a race and so is almost everyone in that group. If you just want to cruise the track then a beginner group with restricted passing zones is where you should be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash68
It's a fun event with a lot of killer cars (if you're into Mustangs) but it is not run well IMO or managed very seriously...
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Agree on all counts. They don’t actively police the run groups or pull bad actors off track so you end up with people crashing. It’s sad because there are a lot of nice people and nice cars and the carnage could easily be avoided.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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