Brent writes:
>I think I could point my car in the right direction,
>but I don't think I know what that line is yet.
If it makes you feel any better, I've been
autocrossing 17 years, and I still don't know what the
right line is. And I don't know when to brake. I can't
walk a course and figure it out. The more I try to
figure it out, the slower I go. I finally just gave up
and then somehow people think I know what I'm doing. I
haven't a clue.
Maybe you have the potential to figure it out, so I
won't stop you on your quest. I think there is the
"right line," but it's determined by all these other
factors, like how fast you're traveling, for example,
and how early you get on the gas. You might find the
right line, but someone else will find the more right
line.
But I think if you focus on the basics, like slow
steering, braking in a straight line, and looking PAST
the turn, the rest all sort falls into place, even the
elusive "apex". But it does take lots of practice,
because really what you're trying to do is find this
balance between smoothness, which feels slow, and
aggression, which feels fast. I do know that the
sooner you get on the gas, the faster you will exit
the turn. You can enter a turn too fast, and then
spend the rest of the turn hanging on, when maybe if
you slowed it down a little bit at the beginning, you
could have gotten on the gas really early. How slow?
That's the hard part. You're not alone!
There's this happy spot in the middle, and that's what
we're all trying to find, but no one ever really gets
there unless you're Siddartha. That's why we keep
autocrossing. You fit in quite nicely. :)
-Katie
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