Oh yes, the joys of tracking with fewer solid walls

[Bruce H.]

We have a number of high speed Bucket List tracks within a day’s drive of the Toronto area, but you really do have to drive many hours to find one with decent runoffs that “might” be forgiving enough to survive cautiously playing at the lofty limits of something like a Viper for anyone not named Chris Harris.

There was a time when I didn’t even know anyone who hadn’t hit the wall at my home track, the infamous Mosport (now called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park-CTMP), but there’s a second smaller track there called the Driver Development Track (DDT) that was designed for more safely developing some car control and track skills. Safety is sort of a relative term though, with a student spinning a Viper at low speed in the dry perhaps maybe only going 2 wheels onto the grass runoffs, and an advanced driver going off big and taking the full agricultural tour. Now all that nice grass tends to take on the traction properties of ice when wet, and going off big could mean hitting one of the few solid walls, or a grid search of the surrounding woods to find where the car finally came to a halt had it not been for the continuous perimeter tire wall they installed.

The Ontario VOA club planned a fun day for members, joining a DriveTeq track school there on June 5th. Unfortunately it rained on and off all day. I looked at it as an opportunity to probe the car’s handling at, and beyond, the limits of grip at much lower speeds, and in a much safer way than is possible on the high speed tracks I tend to drive.

The in-car video shows a couple of laps from three sessions. It starts with the first morning session after a heavy downpour with standing water in many areas, and me aggressively probing grip and handling at the limit. Jay (JTNT) is riding along, perhaps thinking this could be it, and whether his will is up-to-date. The Corsa tires would lose grip very easily and frequently when purposely pushed, ABS kicked in noticeably, and stability control perhaps as well although I couldn`t feel any intervention if it did. The test was to see if I could maintain control at the limit when driving aggressively in the wet, and it actually felt very controllable there…good job SRT!

The second part of the video is from a session with very wet conditions but no standing water, and light drizzle. A surprising amount of grip is building and I`m focused on putting together smooth laps that don`t invoke ABS or much steering correction by monitoring tire feedback through the steering wheel and ears. Our club president, John, is riding along. We`re following a buddy of mine with his Civic Si. The FWD car was really quick in the rain on its soft stock suspension and excellent Continent Extreme street tires.

The last part of the video is from a later session with drying track as I start to turn up the wick. John`s son, Jonathan, is riding along. Tire temps and grip were rising, the satisfying soundtrack of softly squealing Corsa`s had just begun, and then it started raining again! This would be the final opportunity to put together a quicker lap.



I`m not sure that this experience will help shave dry lap times on the big track at Mosport or anywhere else, but it was very instructive about the car`s handling in wet conditions, and the ability of a focused driver to be able to control the car in low grip situations that I experience frequently when driving on public roads. There`s just no substitute for seat time driving on the limits of grip in a controlled setting. It just makes you a better prepared driver.

I tried this track two years, 18000 miles and a few sets of front tires ago, and shortly after buying the Viper. It was a beautiful dry day, and here`s a video showing how entertaining it can be with some decent dry grip….



I tend to forget how much fun some of the smaller, lower horsepower, and driver development type tracks can be. The latter let you play on the limits more which is always fun. NOLA was also a lot like that at NVE2. Other than that it's mostly high speed tracks I know, and Virginia International Raceway stands out as being a little safer than most.

What are some other tracks that offer safe run-offs that you guys have found fun to track?

Bruce

[TA Two Oh]

A well written and interesting write-up, as always, Bruce. Kudos for showing the wet laps behind the well driven Civic Si; not everyone would post that.

Our "home track", Calgary's Race City Speedway, closed in 2011. It was fairly high speed with one longish straight and one really, really long straight, and a few corners where downforce made a difference. A new track opened in 2013 180 miles away near Edmonton and it's got more turns, they're generally tighter, and with 5 very short straights. Horsepower and downforce don't matter nearly as much at the new track. At first, like a lot of people, I missed not being able to hit the high speeds, both on the straights and in the turns. But, besides being thankful that we have a place to run again, I've grown to love that tighter, more technical track. And a nice bonus is that from the pits, you can literally reach out and touch the cars as they hit V-Max for that track, then brake hard for a right hander. Not that I'd recommend doing so but the point being that when you're not driving, you're less than a yard from real action. The track is mostly surrounded by fields, so overall it's got safe runoff room. But there are two spots with walls that have collected a few cars so you do need to pay attention.

[Dr.Ron]

Nice videos. I noticed you were fine talking with the instructor while you were sliding around in the wet on the slower laps, but when it was dry and you were up to speed, you waved off the kid from asking questions. : )

may I ask what mount did you use for the videos, and did you use a camera or your cell phone to record?

Ron

[Bruce H.]

A well written and interesting write-up, as always, Bruce. Kudos for showing the wet laps behind the well driven Civic Si; not everyone would post that.

Thanks. I didn't have the camera on at first with my Civic buddy so you missed the really embarrassing part where he gave me a pass by (which I kinda thought might be a bad idea as I got half way passed him, and then switched back a few turns later. That new track sounds like fun!

Nice videos. I noticed you were fine talking with the instructor while you were sliding around in the wet on the slower laps, but when it was dry and you were up to speed, you waved off the kid from asking questions. : )

may I ask what mount did you use for the videos, and did you use a camera or your cell phone to record?

Ron

No instructor. We had quite a chat before and after those particular two laps. i guess I have more limited bandwidth as speeds increase. I was using a dash cam mounted behind the seats.

[Dr.Ron]

Bandwidth- good one. lol

Was it mounted to the rear window then?

[LmeaViper]

Thanks for the video's. I ran at Shannonville a few times when I lived out East and quite liked the track.

Is your camera mounted directly to the inner back window?

[Bruce H.]

Thanks for the video's. I ran at Shannonville a few times when I lived out East and quite liked the track.

Is your camera mounted directly to the inner back window?

That is another fun track I haven't driven since first starting out. I'd probably have a riot there for a change of scenery. These small and tight tracks can be murder on expensive tires though.

Camera mounting photos for you and Ron...

[J TNT]

Hey I recognize that Shoie X 12 Helmet with the Flaming arrow....lol !

Actually Bruce I kept quiet thinking that we are running at 9/10th's or better and didn't want to distract you ! And if we put 4 wheels onto the grass in the rain , the car would accelerate even Faster and get airborne !!!....lol ! Normally I wouldn't get into a Fast car as a passenger on a wet track , but given your smooth approach , talent and measured technique I jumped at the chance to be the first passenger and glad I did !
I walked away realizing how good the Gen 5 Viper and you are in the rain and dry at the Track !

Driving Fast in the Dry is one thing , but Driving fast in the rain brings it up another level ! I also learned I should be braking later in the wet on Corsa's .....lol !

We had 35 members come out in the wet which became dry half way through , which most found to there surprise it enhanced there learning curve if they took a measured approach !
It was also insightful for some members who where passed on a wet track by a fast and talented driver in a "Civic SI"........LOL !
You can't buy talent and it was good that some people recognized their limitations

With all the smiling faces that day , I guess we'll have to plan more track days !!!

[Bruce H.]

Thanks Jay! It was great sharing that standing water intensive learning session with you. Let's do a dry day together next time!