Tom O’Gorman: three easy ways to become a faster autocrosser

As editor, I got to read this before the rest of you. :)

And while out there between the cones this past Sunday, Tom’s voice was in my head. 

David S. Wallens said:

And while out there between the cones this past Sunday, Tom’s voice was in my head. 

In a "Obi-Wan Kenobi's force ghost talking to a half-frozen Luke Skywalker" kind of way, I hope.

Run 1 for me always seems to be about scrubbing my tires up to temp. Its a chance to learn the course at speed, and see how my predicted lines match what the car wants to do. I don't think I've ever had my fastest time run 1, so might as well get some other useful data out of it.

So cool to see the super-focused TomO excited about his runs!  

can we get an article about that car?  a) it looks hot as heck b) it's obviously quick af

Colin Wood said:

David S. Wallens said:

And while out there between the cones this past Sunday, Tom’s voice was in my head. 

In a "Obi-Wan Kenobi's force ghost talking to a half-frozen Luke Skywalker" kind of way, I hope.

Oh, totally. Basically, WWTD? 

rickbeen said:

can we get an article about that car?  a) it looks hot as heck b) it's obviously quick af

 

How about some specs? 

It is fantastic to get the inner thoughts of a multi-time alien, er, national champion!

Tom wrote: 

Identify the inside cone that defines the exit of the corner. Use the time on the approach to the corner to identify it and constantly reference it on your course walk. This will help you always keep in mind where the car is going to end up, and also usually boils a course down to five to 10 key visual references.

As you get better at #1, learning the inside cone that defines your exit, ask the question: Can I cut distance to get there? If you can, do it.

I'm having difficulty visualizing this.  I think of the corner exit being defined by a cone on the >outside<, with the apex defined by a cone on the inside.

Are you suggesting, rather than letting the run wide on exit (like we do on a road course), to consider holding the car in tight on exit to make a shorter run to the next element?  For example, a right turn followed by another right turn, to hold the first exit tight to the inside to point toward the next turn-in point?

I've started using the travel the shortest distance on road courses when it comes to slow speed corners; especially when the don't lead on to a striaght.

DWNSHFT said:

It is fantastic to get the inner thoughts of a multi-time alien, er, national champion!

Tom wrote: 

Identify the inside cone that defines the exit of the corner. Use the time on the approach to the corner to identify it and constantly reference it on your course walk. This will help you always keep in mind where the car is going to end up, and also usually boils a course down to five to 10 key visual references.

As you get better at #1, learning the inside cone that defines your exit, ask the question: Can I cut distance to get there? If you can, do it.

I'm having difficulty visualizing this.  I think of the corner exit being defined by a cone on the >outside<, with the apex defined by a cone on the inside.

Are you suggesting, rather than letting the run wide on exit (like we do on a road course), to consider holding the car in tight on exit to make a shorter run to the next element?  For example, a right turn followed by another right turn, to hold the first exit tight to the inside to point toward the next turn-in point?

I read the article and had the exact same question!