A couple weeks ago, I had my second HPDE at Summit Point Shenandoah course. My first event there had a few hiccups , but I was ready for a re-do. I fixed my window and armed myself with ginger candies to ward off motion sickness. The event went well overall, except for one thing.
This HPDE was organized by Hooked on Driving. I had never run with them before. Each organization does things differently, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. At least I knew where to go and where to park from my last trip. Check-in was pretty standard, but the registration packet included stick-on numbers, which was a nice touch. Usually, I just put painter’s tape on my doors.
As I was walking back to the Miata, I heard my name being called. It was my instructor, Nick. The same thing happened at the first Summit Point Shenandoah HPDE. Prior to that event, however, I had always met my instructor for the first time while I was lined up at grid before the first session. I think meeting up beforehand is better. Things can get a bit anxious right before going out on track, so getting the niceties out of the way is helpful.
The first thing on the day’s schedule was “Orientation Laps.” Nick explained these were low-speed laps, without helmets, meant to get oriented/re-oriented with the track. I had never had these before, but instantly thought it was a terrific idea. Another gold star for Hooked on Driving! I met up with Nick, and he got in. The first thing he said was that the passenger seat was too high. This was not the first time an instructor pointed that out. I should really do something about that. Whenever an instructor says that, it makes me feel like they’re uncomfortable being in the car, which makes me uncomfortable – not a good thing for tracking.
The orientation laps were very helpful; the track layout came back to me quickly. It also gave me a good indication of Nick’s teaching style. He was laid back, and I could tell he really knew how to throw a Miata around Shenandoah quickly (he also drove a Miata). One thing worried me though. He told me that if I was having trouble finding the racing line, he would physically grab the wheel and put the car on it. I laughed at first, because I thought he surely must be joking, but he was serious. I wasn’t sure how that would go down, so I hoped it wouldn’t.
Before my first session, I ate a ginger candy. I had never eaten them before. I didn’t even know if they would work or when I should take them. Better safe than sorry. They aren’t exactly tasty, unless you like ginger I suppose. Despite the taste, I ate the candies throughout the day. To my relief, I never felt motion sickness. It could have been a placebo effect, or maybe I was more accustomed to the track, or maybe they actually worked. Either way, I intend to keep a bag around for all future HPDEs.
The day went smoothly. I got progressively faster, and Nick only took the wheel once – it wasn’t as shocking as I thought it would be. There was one time coming around the left-hander after the back straight that I carried a bit too much speed. That speed overwhelmed the steering angle I had, and I could feel the rear end begin to break loose. I had experience with this situation from a previous track day at the Main circuit. Then, I wasn’t able to correct it, but I thought a lot about what happened. This time, I realized the sensation and slowly let off throttle while gently counter-steering. I saved the car and kept moving. Nick was impressed.
There were two parts of the track that I had to focus on. The first was coming down the back straight. At the last event, my instructor kept telling me to stay farther to the right in order to set up for the left-hand turn. Nick only had to tell me a couple of times, so I successfully changed that habit. Instead, he had to tell me to brake deeper into the turn. To do so, he gave me a physical marker – the third-to-last stripe on the right-hand curbing.
Physical markers are a common tactic in track driving. Sometimes they’re used to identify a braking point; sometimes they help you aim the car over a blind crest. The markers can be anything: a curb stripe, a tree, a flag stand, a patch on the asphalt. You don’t want to focus so much on markers that you start driving point-to-point, but they can be extremely useful. I find them particularly helpful on high-speed portions of the track.
The second thing I had to work on was my steering input around The Hook. The quickest way around the turn is to keep the steering wheel steady. That means once you begin turn-in, you don’t move the wheel again. This is harder than it seems because the turn is not a perfect circle. At the point right before The Hook cuts in, you feel like you’re going wide, and it’s tempting to give more input. If you’ve done it right, however, the car will grab and complete the turn.
Getting The Hook right at Summit Point Shenandoah was a perfect case of setting up for the turn. Nick taught me to brake much later than I had been before turning in. If you got the braking point right at the beginning of the turn, you could go around smoothly without any additional input needed. All you had to do was maintain the throttle, or maybe let off slightly in order to help the rear end swing around and the front end grip more. This became an exhilarating corner once I got the hang of it.
The rest of the day went off without a hitch. I had the back straight down; I kept The Hook constant; I had no motion sickness. It was all smooth until the very last lap. Coming out of the Karussel, there was an uphill that bent to the right, led to a left, and then to a downhill corkscrew to the right. On the last lap, I took too much curbing on the inside while taking the left. That upset the car, and as I was trying to shift its weight to the right for the corkscrew, I spun. I went off track, but kept both feet in (brake and clutch in) and slowed the car down a lot, but not enough before making contact with the tire wall.
Luckily, it was a light tap. I was able to get the car back on the track and back to paddock. I searched for leaks, tested steering, and everything was fine. The only thing hurt was the right front quarter panel and my pride. Unfortunately, my GoPro was still not working, so I didn’t capture any of the excitement. Still, it’s important to know what you did that caused a spin. If it happens to you, analyze what happened right before. Be honest with yourself in identifying your mistakes. It will help you out next time.
Point-by Points:
- Look out for physical track markers – Your instructor will probably point these out, but you can look for your own. They really help orient yourself, especially around technical tracks.
- Keep calm and carry on – Stay calm if you go off track and make contact. It happens to nearly everyone at some point. It’s important to objectively evaluate what happened so you can fix it next time. It might even help you stay out of trouble at a different track.
- Bring ginger chews – You may not need these, but they do seem to alleviate motion sickness. They’re like a more natural alternative to dramamine.
