In a message dated 11/28/00 12:41:20 PM, carlynneracing@home.com writes:
<< My Alpine will never win..... The car doesn't have the power and it's too
heavy. Most of the Porsches will blow the doors off of it in a straight line.
I'm not out there to win. To quote Dan Radowicz from CSRG: "My goal is to pass
someone. If I make a successful pass, then I've had a good weekend". Or
expressed another way...... The only real measure of performance is personal.
My goal on the track is to race as technically perfect as I can. If your in
front of me I'll "pressure you", but I'm not going to push you until you make
a mistake that sends you off course. My pass will be safe, and I may restrain
from passing you if there's question in my mind about it. Afterall, the prize
money is the same regardless of finishing position. >>
Well put and I completely agree with the above.
I would also suggest that we take the "successful pass" theme a step
further; Have you ever congratulated yourself for doing a good job as the
passee? You should. Doing a good job of being the passee can be very
important in an enduro. All but the fastest cars will be passed many times
by faster cars. It won't always happen on the straight. If you do a good
job as the passee, you not only help the passer, but you also minimize the
disruption to your corner/lap time. At the end of the enduro, it might make
the difference for your finishing position in your class. It will definitely
make a difference for the safety of everyone. It's all about watching your
mirrors and planning ahead.
You should also practice being the successful passee with cars that are
not faster than you are. The sessions of track time where I have had the
most fun were sessions where I was able to hook up with one or two other cars
and take turns passing and repassing each other. Instead of driving "hell
bent for leather" to stay in front of the other guy, wave him through and
follow him for a lap. Hopefully he will return the favor. Afterwards,
you'll both be grinning like idiots.
Doug Meis.
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