my tips list

On this Blog.  
by Pierre Martins

Unlike most other guys I like to share what I learn about track driving and motorsport in general. Yup, I’m your regular walking-talking Wikipedia of useful petrol-head hints and tips. Hell, I can even tell you what to do when the neighbour’s barking dog keeps you awake at night. – Just cut a one inch piece off your garden hose and shove it up the dog's ass. That way the dog loses all back-compression, rendering it incapable of barking, he-he-he…

Anyway, I’ve got plenty more where that came from -

A guide for track day virgins

I’ve received a couple of emails recently asking for tips and advice for people who want to do track days, so I've decided to put this little guide together. What follows here is not intended to teach anyone how to drive fast, but more how to get through your first track day without making an ass of yourself.

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Become a thinking driver

Things happen very fast when you’re out there on the race track. There is really no time for thinking and you have to drive on instinct.

The thinking part you have to do in the pits, between sessions. In other words, the actual driving part is the net result of your thinking.

To become a ‘Thinking Driver’ you need to learn how to turn your thoughts into driving…

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Brian Beckman’s Physics of Racing Series

The how’s and why's of punting a car around a track.  The entire Physics of Racing Series (PhoRS) by Brian Beckman, PhD, reproduced here with permission.

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So you wanna race, do you?

Well, have you ever heard of a Hurry-Curry bird? - It’s a bird that gulps curry in hurry and ends up flying backwards to cool down its ass. It reminds me of overzealous people who indulge in motorsport without due consideration - people who hurtle into the sport without considering whether or not they’re cut out for it, or whether they can afford it.

The outcome is inevitable – Get into this sport without proper research and you’ll get burned up the wrong end. That is why I’ve gone to great lengths to write about the questions you should ask before you enter the sport…

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On brakes & bekker moments

You may think that the job of your brakes is to slow you down, but have you ever given any thought as to the physics of how brakes actually work?

The common misconception is that brakes just slow you down by the pads squeezing against the discs, but there is much more to it than that…

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How to remember the flags

Humour stimulates one’s memory, so here’s a light-hearted way of remembering the flags and how you should react to them next time you’re out on track…

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Kyalami Track Notes

Picking the right lines and smooth driving are crucial if you wanna go quick at Kyalami. Some people say it's a 'stop & go' track because you come from high speed sweepers into relatively tight corners.

My general advice is to put that mentality out of your mind. The easiest way to make up time at Kyalami is getting off the brakes a fraction earlier in most turns. The track is wide enough to carry relatively high corner speeds everywhere…

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Looking Ahead

The common sense with regard to ‘looking-through-corners’ on a race track is set in the fact that the further you look ahead, the more time you allow your brain to process things that are hurtling towards you when you’re travelling at speed.

It’s the basis, the foundation, for fast track driving…

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How and why front splitters work

Front end splitters on a race car produce aerodynamic down-force by creating pressure differentials in the air that the car moves through at speed.

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Whether you’re actively involved in racing or just spending time at race tracks often, you inevitably see, hear and learn a lot of stuff. Light-hearted or not, I sincerely hope that my tips will add to your learning experience.

Cheers,
Pierre.