Okegawa Driving Critique

Okegawa Sports Land, Saitama in September, 2000

Weather: Fair

Condition: Dry

Best Lap: Not timed

- REPORT -

It would take an hour and a half from my home to Okegawa Sports Land. It was a weekday so I expected traffic jams here and there and left home early morning, but not so many cars were until arriving at the circuit. But..., what a terrible road just before the circuit! I supposed short cars could not pass over, but my RVR could do easily. I was welcome by a few dogs when I went into the building along the course to get the acceptance.

Lecture in the Room

Today's event is held by "IGNITION", and instructed by the stuff of "Yui Racing School (YRS)" . The chief instructor Tom Yoshida showed up and the lessons began in the room, which was not so big. Today's attendees were only 10, but the room was filled with us. For the lesson, I had expected to listen to practical theories about driving on a circuit, but I learned that I needed to get more basic theories and techniques, which were not only for a circuit, but also normally driving on a road. Refer to "Text Book" on the web site of YRS about more details of his theories, but for example, when we know that a car without any traction on turning should be led to danger, we can understand that we must always step on the gas from the entrance through the exit of any turns.

The below figures are from YRS. (You can not use them without permission.) They show you the limit of the grip for each tire.

For example, you can see the above situation with the tires on a drag race car just starting.	Handling for letting each tire work to its gripping limit is the most important thing on using your tires for the best.	On turning with speed-up or down, the length of the arrows is shorter vertically and horizontally because multi-forces are working against your car. We need to find out "Even throttle", which is stepping on the gas neither too much nor too little.

Go to the course!

Now, after about one-hour lecture in the room, we went out to the course of Okegawa Sports Land. First there, for inspection, we walked around the course with Tom's advices about any points to be paid attention. There were red cones at any important points such as clipping points and exit points. Finished it, after watching the other group doing the first practice, finally, we went into the course by our own car. It strained me so much because it was the first time driving on a circuit!

The first practice was braking. Lining on the back straight, going through the last turn, fully stepping on the gas on the home straight, and we would stop the car at the end of the straight by fully braking. What we had to think for it was to stop with the stable posture. At my first try, I could barely step on the gas, although fearfully. After everybody's try, Tom gave us lectures about our driving one by one. It was good because we could practice his lectures just after he gave us. We did it a few times.
The second was cornering. Through the home straight with fully stepping on the gas, braking as the first practice, we turned the first turn with touching the clipping point, and ran out of the turn.
Tom's advices for me about both practices were the same at the point that I had to handle anything more slowly and smoothly, not so quickly. I thought that I had to do quickly, especially on braking until then, so his lecture surprised me so much, and also it was so fresh for me.

Through all the course

All practices after that were driving through all the course with exchanging to another group at every 5 or 6 laps. Just after our every driving, we got some advice from Tom as well. Through the practices, I could understand that stepping on the gas too much led to under steering. Actually, I was about to go out of the track at the end of some turns a few times.

Special lesson

With us on the co-driver's seat, Tom drove our cars one by one! Of course, for my RVR as well. His driving was obviously different from mine. He drove with using the width of the course effectively, and especially smoothly in spite of his first driving my car.

Enjoyed very much!

At Tom's last lecture in this driving lesson, he told me that I could get to drive more smoothly and stably than before, except sometimes with sliding the tail. At this lesson, we were not timed our lappings, but anyway, I could enjoy driving on the circuit with RVR, and could get a hang of driving fast and safely. I decided to go to a circuit again someday, and then, I was aware that I had to think how to ask MAMA to let me go to a circuit.