The story of two bad wrecks and how experience teaches that managing expectations is key for track days (and even more important for wheel-to-wheel racing).
Just one week into F1's summer break, we've found ourselves rewatching some of the 2022 season's highlights. One of the most memorable moments so far has to be Willy T's podium interviews after the Miami GP.
Metal-to-metal contact seems to happen at every race weekend. Sometimes the consequences are minor (we’ve seen lots of tire rubber on fenders) and sometimes the consequences involve major damage to one or more cars. Less often discussed are similar incidents where there is no contact, but where a dangerous situation is created (e.g. you force me off the track).
To hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest continuous drift, one would have to know how to manage mistakes. Imagine keeping a BMW M5 going sideways for 51.28 miles! That’s what this week’s guest contributor, Johan Schwartz, did to set the record. But Johan knows about more than just drifting. In fact, he’s a multi-race winner, racing for Chevrolet in a Chevrolet Sonic in the Pirelli World Challenge, an instructor at the BMW Performance Center, and a driver coach. Enjoy and learn from Johan.
You are probably already a very good driver. If you’re someone who reads this newsletter, you’re also pretty technical and well-informed on theory. So you probably know about the friction circle, the challenges of trail braking, the string between the bottom of the steering wheel and the brake pedal, and the excitement of getting light over the crest into the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca.
Gino Manley is a track day and endurance racing junkie based in the Southeast, and through hard work, seat time, and making some solid friendships, has risen to the ranks of racing in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR.
The great thing about ChumpCar is the chance to practice passing with fairly big closing speed differences and unknown drivers. Winding Road Team TFB test driver Will Faules shows what we’re talking about in this short clip from ChumpCar at Circuit of the Americas.
Moving from High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) events or lapping days to racing is, well, exhilarating!
You’ve been participating in HPDE and track day events for years, and now you’ve decided to tackle wheel-to-wheel racing. And now… how do you prepare for this step? What should you expect?
For those who have yet to discover an entry point into on-track performance driving, the process of getting there can be a bit intimidating and confusing at times – it’s one of the main reasons who we decided to create this series in the first place.
Racing isn’t cheap and, like many things, it ends up costing more than you might think at first. In our experience, the costs are a cause of stress for some racers. Learning the facts and setting more realistic expectations can partially reduce the stress. If you go in with eyes open and build a decent budget, then there are fewer surprises and more happiness.
Because Winding Road Racing offers organized arrive & drive racing in Spec MX-5 Challenge, MX-5 Cup and Pirelli World Challenge (as well as SCCA, NASA and PCA) we frequently get questions from road racing novices.
We want to mention one less well-known element of Chump that we think makes it a great series for more experienced drivers.
In my experience, people — fans and racers alike — are somewhat confused about contact in motorsports. There seems to be an impression that contact is okay, just like there may be an impression among casual fans that fighting in the pits between drivers is okay in NASCAR.
It’s your first track day, and you’re excited to finally be there. You may have the guts, but are you prepared to handle a road course? Many first-timers make mistakes. Here are some common ones that you can address before you get out there on the track or attend your first autocross event:
The Guide to Road Racing: Winding Road Magazine’s ultimate guide to getting your start in racing.
As they learn performance driving techniques, most drivers demonstrate the same pattern when it comes to using the brakes; beginners either have no idea how effective their brakes are at shedding speed or they immediately abuse them. Then, the timid ones flop to the other side by extreme braking by the end of their first day. All beginners, at some point, typically overuse this pedal.
So you want to get started in competitive road racing, but you don’t know where to begin? Fret not, as this is the first chapter in our ongoing series chronicling my journey toward the goal of becoming a bonafide race car driver from a background devoid of previous motorsport experience. Accordingly, I’ll be starting this process with nothing more than the desire to challenge my fellow man in the arena of amateur motorsport and a vehicle to do it with. So, where to begin? Well, above all else, I knew there was one simple question I needed to answer: What do I need to do in order to get involved?
When was the last time you were stuck behind cars on the track that you knew you were faster than? You had to fight tooth and nail to get ahead, but it wasn’t enough. Stuck in mid-pack with a voice on the radio telling you to work harder and move up in the pack but, ugh! It was just arduous….
The 2020 SCCA Runoffs at Road America ended two weekends ago, and we’re still reading stories of both glory and despair within the car counts of its 26 classes that graced the Fall-foliage-covered track.
TC America action is where it's at. Photo: HPDHonda Performance Development (HPD) and Skip Barber Racing School (SBRC) have partnered to include the HPD Civic…
In our previous segment of the guide we introduced you to Track Night in America, a new SCCA program designed to serve as a low-cost entry point into driving on road courses with street cars. Within the SCCA ecosystem, it’s fair to consider Time Trials as the natural next step up the ladder from Track Nights in terms of driver experience and progression, and along with autocross events, for many it serves as the first exposure to a competitive driving environment. That newfound element here serves to ratchet up both the intensity and driver’s responsibility to be keenly aware of his or hers situation on-course substantially.
Do you remember your first driving experience at a track event? For most people it was, “Wow, what an eye opener.” For me it was even more. It became an identity crisis.
