Jeremy, I had the same question about the advice in that
article. Interesting that it was not attributed to anyone.
My SFR gurus have emphasized to me that the important thing
in autocrossing is speed into the longest straight, just as the
article recommended for racing.
I question the idea of worrying about the slowest corner, if
only because the time gained by a small increase in speed
at 20 is very small, and your biggest risk is going into
that corner too hot, messing up the whole next straight.
Better speed into a straight means that for every second of that
straight you are gaining time, not just the first one. "The patient
driver will win".
The one tip to the contrary I have gotten and that seems to work
for me is that for turns of > 90 degrees, hug the inside rather than
worrying about a line (The Michelle Reitmeir Rule) which you
have to apply selectively ;-)
Jerry Mouton mailto:jerry@moutons.org Laissez les bons temps
rouler!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Bergsman" <jeremybb@leland.Stanford.EDU>
To: <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 1:48 PM
Subject: best line
> Could people comment on the learning to autocross article in the recent
> Sport Car? My question concerns the advice to drive the shortest path
> through the course and concentrate on the slowest turns rather than
> approaching the turns like in road racing where you will try to increase
> exit speed before the straights. To what extent does this decision depend
> on your car's acceleration/handling mix?
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Jeremy Bergsman
> jeremybb@stanford.edu
> http://www.stanford.edu/~jeremybb
>
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