Ask a race instructor anything..........
Discussion
How many genuinely good people do you get?
Do you/your colleagues (if you have any) blow smoke up peoples arses to make them feel good? This has been my experience so far where instructors tell me that I’m good and usually just need to make a few small changes. If that were the case I’d be on a grid racing somewhere but I’m not.
Do you/your colleagues (if you have any) blow smoke up peoples arses to make them feel good? This has been my experience so far where instructors tell me that I’m good and usually just need to make a few small changes. If that were the case I’d be on a grid racing somewhere but I’m not.
Mr MXT said:
Tell us about the time you were most scared?
Fortunately I'm too stupid to feel fear.The most I tend to get is occasionally uneasy at which point we're going to head back to the pitlane for a conversation.
Minimising risks is very important so the risk of offs in this job is mostly from the ones you didn't see coming, if you see them coming at a distance you need to fix them sharpish or stop the session if that's not looking possible.
I've never really been particularly scared while having an off, there's still a job to be done which tends to focus the concentration away from fear (and there's the being-stupid thing).
sc0tt said:
Will you stay around long enough to answer the questions?
I've no important flights to Captain right now so I'll do my best.sc0tt said:
Who is the most famous person you have taught?
I did the ARDS test for Sam Callahan the other week (X Factor contestant), does that count? 
Nice guy actually and a reasonable driver (given his minimal previous experience).I've met and briefed Sir Chris Hoy a couple times, another nice guy but I've not been in car with him, a couple of mates have and apparently he's very, errrr, committed (I guess that's how you get to win loads of medals!).
Are you a really good driver, or a good teacher? Or both, I guess.
I always wonder if instructors are just experienced and know the theory, or are actually quick drivers themselves.
Like the stig, for comparison, can you jump in any car and be quicker than most? And if so, where does that come from. How do you get the quickness without the familiarity with the car?
I always wonder if instructors are just experienced and know the theory, or are actually quick drivers themselves.
Like the stig, for comparison, can you jump in any car and be quicker than most? And if so, where does that come from. How do you get the quickness without the familiarity with the car?
SAS Tom said:
How many genuinely good people do you get?
There's a huge range, occasionally you get the odd one where you are just looking for details and tweaks but most have decent gains to be made.SAS Tom said:
Do you/your colleagues (if you have any) blow smoke up peoples arses to make them feel good? This has been my experience so far where instructors tell me that I’m good and usually just need to make a few small changes. If that were the case I’d be on a grid racing somewhere but I’m not.
Some are more complimentary than others, I like to think I'm more about encouraging to get the next level of improvement. If someone's doing something well it's worth mentioning even if to ensure they don't try doing it differently but most drivers I sit with are looking for the next progression rather than just being told how good they already are.Whether you are on a grid somewhere is more likely to be a factor of cost or whether you even want to race rather than just a question of ability. If you are racing I would expect an instructor to push you harder whereas a trackday driver might be a little more risk averse and an instructor would allow for that likelihood.
Slagathore said:
Are you a really good driver, or a good teacher? Or both, I guess.
Hopefully I'm OK at both but there's always someone quicker. I originally come from a trackday background which is unusual in this game and not always popular with colleagues but I do race and have won enough times to look credible.Slagathore said:
I always wonder if instructors are just experienced and know the theory, or are actually quick drivers themselves.
Like the stig, for comparison, can you jump in any car and be quicker than most? And if so, where does that come from. How do you get the quickness without the familiarity with the car?
Driving different cars is an interesting one but I'd guess I could swap seats with 9/10 of the guys I instruct and immediately go quicker while describing how I'm doing it.Like the stig, for comparison, can you jump in any car and be quicker than most? And if so, where does that come from. How do you get the quickness without the familiarity with the car?
It's surprising how much you pick up about how a car feels from the passenger seat so if the driver is already quickish I'll have an idea of what it's like and if he isn't then it won't be hard to demonstrate the next level of pace that I'm looking for him to achieve anyway.
If you were driving your wreck of a Lotus Elise on a track and you noticed flames in the engine bay behind you, which of these would you not do:
1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
p4cks said:
If you were driving your wreck of a Lotus Elise on a track and you noticed flames in the engine bay behind you, which of these would you not do:
1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
More importantly, would you even get in such a vehicle ? Surely you would have a quick look round before setting off ? You know, look for inappropriately positioned exhaust outlet ?1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
Ari said:
Have you ever told an IT guy that he should turn professional only for him to reply 'no thanks, I'm making s
t loads in IT'? 
If I ever find an IT guy that's good enough for me to suggest it I'll let you know t loads in IT'? 
p4cks said:
If you were driving your wreck of a Lotus Elise on a track and you noticed flames in the engine bay behind you, which of these would you not do:
1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
I'm struggling to decide what the right answer might be here 1 drive 200m past a marshal's post
2 remain on the track and completely ignore the grass to your right
3 remove your gloves
4 remove your helmet
5 get out and open the bonnet
6 keep saying oh no not again having clearly not learned the error of your ways the first time
Exige77 said:
More importantly, would you even get in such a vehicle ? Surely you would have a quick look round before setting off ? You know, look for inappropriately positioned exhaust outlet ?
Sadly much as I'd like to only get into cars that I've had time to throughly check over first that's not a luxury I'm always afforded but I have refused to get into cars before now and I regularly make safety suggestions to drivers about the prep of their trackday weapons.I have also in the past suggesting the removal of the following items from inside the car prior to going out in it -
A full steel tool box.
A loose spare tyre.
A back seat passenger.
Spare helmets.
I can only bring one time to mind when I was in a car that was fully on fire, it was a 911 and as the turbo detonated at the end of the start/finish straight at Mallory; the back end was ablaze but fortunately we could still see where we were going. The driver (owner) started to pull over immediately but I directed him towards the next manned marshals post, had both of our straps off while still rolling and exited swiftly. I don't recall saying "oh no", "oh no", "oh no", I must have missed that part of the training.
I couldn't see a thing for smoke as I got out of the car so I walked away from it (also fairly swiftly) to find that the smoke was in fact the powder from the jumbo sized extinguisher that the marshal emptied over us as we were getting out
. I then looked behind me to see the fire car landing in a gravel trap, he'd gone off on our oil .EddyBee said:
Do you do and tuition for/on track days?
If so where abouts?
Yep, I work for a couple of organisers, I enjoy mixed trackday instructing so that's the stuff I mostly aim for. I cover most circuits but don't tend to get down to Brands much as it's a long way from me in the north midlands.If so where abouts?
ColinM50 said:
Is this a racist thread?
Almost, but spelt differently.Boobonman said:
One of the many reasons I don't work on experience days any more 
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