Passing - It's an Art!

I was thinking about what I've done to improve my driving skills since racing with the club last night. There are two things that I've been able to do... One is to settle down and just drive (thanks Marm)... the second is learning how to pass...

Passing is not just getting past the guy in front of you. That's easy. Passing is doing it cleanly and at the right moment. Now... I'm not saying I am a passing expert. I still have the occasional accident (sorry Mark ) and I still have TONS of room for improvement, but I have made some serious strides in that area. Especially when compared to when I started with the club (which happens to be the same time I started racing in Lobbies). So... Here it goes...

1. BE PATIENT!!!!
   If there is one thing I've learned about racing (online and in general), you have to have patience. The second you start getting all excited and anxious about getting past the guy in front of you (or even racing in the mirror worried about the guy behind), is when you will make stupid mistakes! What kind of mistakes? Stupid ones! Like....
   -- Passing in a tight section because you "think" you can do it
   -- Not committing to the pass
   -- Overcooking a corner and going wide/off yourself or knocking the car you were passing off the track (or spinning them)
   -- Braking WAY too late and overshooting or smashing someone
   
2. Know the Track!!!
   If you are not familiar with a given track, the best thing to do is hang back in and follow. If you don't know the turns, it's hard to judge where you can cleanly pass.
   -- Don't just practice hot-lapping. You need to not only know how to take the turns, but where you can actually pass. This requires racing with others and intentionally getting behind people.
   -- Know how YOUR car handles the track. If you are already pushing it to keep up with the guy in front, then stay behind him until HE messes up...
   
3. If you are unsure, DON'T DO IT!!!
   I can tell you how many times I fell victim to this one. "I think i can do this... *SMASH* ....Sorry Man! "... "I'll just outbreak him... Oh Hi there Mr. Hasselhoff!"
   -- Know the limits of your car on the track... Practice late breaking... practice different lines.. IF you need a practice partner, ask someone in the club (I know I'll help)
   -- Knowing you can make the pass is essential to making a clean one!
   
4. Know your Car....
   If you are not all that familiar with the car/tune you are running, then take it easy... It's easy to get into trouble with an unfamiliar car... Just because the tune comes from FRank, doesn't mean it comes with Mark or Viagra as as driver!
   
5. Finally... Learn how to drive the guy in front of you....
   WTF does that mean...? Well... Push the guy in front of you (without touching) by driving your lines and staying in his mirror. He knows you're there and may (most likely) make a mistake that you might be able to take advantage of...
   
6. There are only two ways your are going to get past the more experience and faster drivers. Both require practice, but it's worth it!
   a. The first is you have to wait for a mistake and then pounce on the opening.
   b. The second is to know your car, track, limits and set up the pass.
   

Patience Example 1 (Good):
Last night at some point after the series race, we ran Maple Valley B-class. I decided to run my March series Lancia Stratos (which has been gathering dust since March). Mark, Joe, Southern and a few others did the same. Mark, Joe and I were out in front pretty quickly, and we started to pull away from the pack. To my surprise I was out in front followed VERY closely by Mark and Joe. I managed to keep my cool and stay in front the entire time, and finished 1st. It's rare that anyone beats Mark, and it's not so rare to have him in your mirror waiting to pass. If I had made ANY mistakes, Mark would have been all over me, passed and gone! Mark was riding my bumper a few times, but I remained calm and so did he (he knew I had to mess up to get a clean pass in). I race my line and used my car that I know VERY well to stay in front...

Patience Example 2 (Bad):
In the same car back in March, we ran Sedona at some point. I was still running with full auto, and just turned off TCS and STM. I was a MESS... I tried to outbreak Borus, hit him and ran into the grass... I got SO nervous when others were around me that I would spin myself out (was watching everyone else instead of my lines). I would drive too fast and hard when being chased... You name it, and I did it.. POORLY!!

Ultimately it's only a game, but it's also a simulation for racing... We are a group of average joes, but that is in attitude and doesn't mean we can't get better as a group of drivers! That said, there will ALWAYS be contact in our races. Why? Well... someone will always be learning, and that's what we are all about here! Marm actually had me in several Lobbies racing me in my mirror helping me get over the jitters... It helped... Thanks Marm!

Good stuff Lou! That Lancia was super fast on Maple last night...

I'm not that great at passing, people just get nervous when I'm behind for some reason. I don't bite!

This, I think, is why I enjoy racing with the club so much even though I'm relatively horrible at it. The difference between running a 15 lap race where one CAN take one's time and be patient versus a 3 lap public lobby race where you pretty much HAVE to be an impatient ass if you actually want to win is amazing. I think this is something that can be stressed for new members who might not be used to racing with a club: we do long races. You'll have time to pass eventually.

Luckily for me, the adjustment is easier, since I've always been careful and not really caring too much about winning in public lobbies, but I am also working on being much LESS careful with my racing. While practicing for this week's event I knocked 4 seconds off my time just by not worrying so much about keeping everything clean and tidy all the time. *sigh*

nice tips lou. I find myself focusing a lot on the car in front of me instead of watching my line (probably the reason why I went off the track so many times on wednesday...)

beefsupreme42 wrote:nice tips lou. I find myself focusing a lot on the car in front of me instead of watching my line (probably the reason why I went off the track so many times on wednesday...)

Really good post Lou!

I'm the other way, I'm worried too much about what's behind me, and I end up 'being driven' instead of just racing my race. ...this will be worked on.

All good tips, if I could just add one thing with this.

Lou's example of Mark behind him is a great example. IF you think or know your definitely faster or can legitimately hold off the guy behind you race as hard as you can.

However, if you are doing everything you can to prevent the guy from passing, LET HIM PASS. There's a difference between holding onto your spot while running your line and blocking a guy.

You'll know the difference when you see it. If a guy has a nose in on you, give him the room. It's happened to me a few times, I always make sure I'm courteous to those guys who I know are faster. Last week at Hock Frank was behind me up until Lap 7-ish. For the next lap or two he was really close, a few times on my bumper, but like lou, I kept running my line pulling away here and there. It got to the point he was on my bumper and got the teeniest bit of a nose on the inside so I gave him the room and off he went.

From there it's YOUR job to let him pass and just reverse roles.

Just my $.02 on making sure the courtesy is there as well. ALL of us have gotten much better since the beinning of this. Thank god we did collision off for the Ring Series in Feb! haha.

Good point CASH on the role reversal... If you call out to the guy behind to pass you, it's now YOUR job to stay out of the way. You just green lit him to go by, now it's up to you to ensure it's clean!

On the let them pass notion.... That's a personal and situation call... I would have made the same call as you running with Frank... If you know the guy is faster, and you have no chance of beating him side by side, you may want to consider waving him by... BUT... That is your call... Just don't block them... It's one thing to keep to your line, but it's another to intentionally block another driver in an Official Club Series or set race... In a club lobby however, have fun with it (I still owe you one Joe!! ...

BiggLou55 wrote:Good point CASH on the role reversal... If you call out to the guy behind to pass you, it's now YOUR job to stay out of the way. You just green lit him to go by, now it's up to you to ensure it's clean!

On the let them pass notion.... That's a personal and situation call... I would have made the same call as you running with Frank... If you know the guy is faster, and you have no chance of beating him side by side, you may want to consider waving him by... BUT... That is your call... Just don't block them... It's one thing to keep to your line, but it's another to intentionally block another driver in an Official Club Series or set race... In a club lobby however, have fun with it (I still owe you one Joe!! ...

Agreed Lou, Series races just make sure you aren't blocking. Regular races, well, "Rubbin' is racin'!"

Well, I failed in Passing 101 last night. At least for the first couple of laps.

Shame on me. I think under a public lobby I would've been booted for that. The bright side was that I didn't gain any position from any of the contact. I just hurt myself more than the other driver.

I did the same on Saturday night to Beef... We were running the B-Class Muscle leg of Around the world, and he and I were duking it out the whole race for 1st... Beef held #1 from the start, and I kept pushing... With 2 laps to go, I lost my concentration heading into to the first turn and nailed him. He spun and told me to go, but I waited... I would have won if I had gone, but it did not seem right, so I waited for him to recover.... IT also gave Case a chance to catch up...

BiggLou55 wrote:I did the same on Saturday night to Beef... We were running the B-Class Muscle leg of Around the world, and he and I were duking it out the whole race for 1st... Beef held #1 from the start, and I kept pushing... With 2 laps to go, I lost my concentration heading into to the first turn and nailed him. He spun and told me to go, but I waited... I would have won if I had gone, but it did not seem right, so I waited for him to recover.... IT also gave Case a chance to catch up...

I still think that was partially my fault because I hit the brakes way to early and kinda squeezed you to the inside of the track

I thought I was inside? You spun to your rear-end went right when we hit...

Either way... I'm not going to take a win like that! My intention at that point in the race was to get past, so at the very least we were both at fault.. Me for late braking and you for whatever it is you think you did there... Bottom line is you were in front of me, which makes it my responsibility even if you brake early (unless it was an intentional blocking maneuver, which it wasn't!)....

Just throwing it out there as a free offer and it stands any time!

If anyone wants to race and is looking for help with ANYTHING that involves actually racing the car, whether its passing, or running a faster line. Cornering, braking. All of that stuff, please feel free to ask me for help, and ill gladly try to work on things with you.

The 2nd half of the June series i decided i was no good at tuning/painting so i decided to help out my "teammates/countrymen" in a different way, basically with breaking, cornering and coming out of corners hard. Also adjusting lines to setup wonderful passes, and I'd be one to admit it seems like the "help" helped.

And please don't think I'm some kind of know-it-all, cause thats not me, I have very much to learn when it comes to racing, and I enjoy listening to other peoples comments and information, specially when it helps me out and i can chop some over time off my laps.

[quote="Viagra DUH"]Just throwing it out there as a free offer and it stands any time!

If anyone wants to race and is looking for help with ANYTHING that involves actually racing the car, whether its passing, or running a faster line. Cornering, braking. All of that stuff, please feel free to ask me for help, and ill gladly try to work on things with you.

The 2nd half of the June series i decided i was no good at tuning/painting so i decided to help out my "teammates/countrymen" in a different way, basically with breaking, cornering and coming out of corners hard. Also adjusting lines to setup wonderful passes, and I'd be one to admit it seems like the "help" helped.

And please don't think I'm some kind of know-it-all, cause thats not me, I have very much to learn when it comes to racing, and I enjoy listening to other peoples comments and information, specially when it helps me out and i can chop some over time off my laps.[/quote]

I'm always willing to help people with that too...but it's alittle harder for me since I can't speak directly to everyone!

Markve91 wrote:I'm always willing to help people with that too...but it's alittle harder for me since I can't speak directly to everyone!

Now that you mention it Mark.... why is that?