Letting the Cougar Out. Novice Trackday Survival
This is not an all inclusive guide to trackdays and high-performance driver education events. This is selective advice from an empathetic driving instructor that has seen the novice experience from both sides of the car. I’ve been instructing for 10 years and realized that the events I was attending were not one size fits. A lot of novice drivers showed discomfort in attending their first trackday. I recently started a business called Paddock Club, in part, to help new drivers alleviate the insecurity and frustration that often accompanies those first HPDE events. There are a variety of ways to approach your first trackday. Paddock was built around a social, progressive style of high-performance education. This article speaks to this method.
My hope is to make your transition to the circuit easier and more fun. Some of this might read like fluffy stuff for the meek - but even Steve McQueen needed a sanity check every now and again. If you’re reading this, you’ve likely spent some time around the track or have some notion of what your hotboy track life will look like. Primer tip: it’s all too easy to overthink your next track event, buy too much equipment and festoon your car with thoughtful mods. No need. At your first events, a good night’s sleep will get you further than 5 grand worth of shiny bits.
Rule One: Have Fun
Have you watched Best Motoring’s Drift Bible? Keichi Tsuchiya gives some helpful advice while explaining the way of the drift master: you’ll learn faster if you’re having fun. Obvious, right? Why wouldn’t you emphasize fun? Driving fast feels like flying. It frees you from the mundanity of the everyday. Commit to enjoying yourself and you’ll handle the learning curve a lot faster. Drive slower and instead of exploring the limits of your car right away, indulge your senses. Go out in your first session and open up your vision, noticing all the details on the track. Next session, listen to the sounds the car makes; the sound of the wind, the tires, anything you pick up on. Third session, focus on the feeling you get through your hands, feet and ass. In your last session think about relaxing and breathing. This is your event. Don’t be afraid to be yourself around all the posers and masters. Wear a goddam sombrero and give no shits. It will keep the sun off of you anyway.
Find an Instructor You Vibe With
As a novice driver you will be paired with a driving instructor. Often, this person shows up in pit lane, gets into your car and commences a 10 minute interview before your first drive out on the track. I recommend taking the initiative to find an instructor before your first session. At Paddock we spend time getting to know our students. We recommend sim training to our students before going to a physical track. Some students have found it helpful to hang out and take rides with instructors before they commit to their first day of driving.
If you don’t have the opportunity to take the measured, slower approach, get to the track a little earlier than necessary so you’re registered, inspected, and ready to rock. Saunter around the paddock and profile a human subject with yellow numbers on their car and an instructor shirt. Ask yourself, would I want to hang with this person? Chat this person up and see if you get along and vibe a bit. Tell them about yourself and ask if they’ll right-seat with you. For both parties, this is a relaxed and natural approach, and you’ll quickly develop a rapport.
Learn the Track in Advance
It’s like studying for a test. Going in knowing the track will take the edge off your first experience. You can watch some videos, read some track notes (often on the circuit’s website), or find a simulator training space. Naid Naydenov, the owner of Crimson Simulation, has witnessed the benefits of sim training for first-timers, and believes all drivers can make better (faster) progress with some virtual seat time. Simulators replicate the real deal. Pro racers rely on them to prep for test days. “Seating position, steering and pedal forces, visuals, motion feedback, and general car behavior are in tune with reality,” says Naid. “Skills developed on the simulator will be directly applicable to real life track driving and racing.” For the novice driver, this means you’ll be a safer, more confident participant, “which result[s] in exponentially more fun at the track.”
Let the Cougar Out of the Car
Fatigue and stress are real things. On the day of your first track event, you’ll be getting up early, driving a couple of hours and may not have slept well the night before. Know this. Driving on the track induces anxiety in everyone—and is guaranteed to amp your adrenaline. James Hunt would make his McLaren vibrate without the benefit of a running engine. His adrenaline-soaked nerves would shake the car like an Etch-a-Sketch. Your first time will be very intense. You probably won’t have slept much the night before.The combination of fatigue and stress can desensitise you to risk, immersing you in the red-mist fog of the eternal adrenaline bog. Don’t let this happen. Let the track come to you. Don’t feel rushed to make up for any lack of skill or desire to keep up with the GTR that just walked past you. As morning becomes afternoon, you’ll be in your third session and running out of steam. Your skills are developing and your pace is steadily increasing. But here’s the thing, you’re not as sharp as you were the first and second sessions. Take it easy. When your nerves are roaring, let the cougar out of the car before it eats you and your instructor.
Get Your Feet Wet
Did the cougar metaphor freak you out? Are you unsure track days are your thing? That’s fine! It’s healthy to want to test the waters, and your instructor should be supportive. Go to a track day and hang for part of the day. You can borrow a helmet and get a ride along with an instructor. It helps to have some laps under your belt before you drive yourself—most new drivers can vouch. You’ll learn a lot and likely find an experienced (and down-to-earth) instructor that you can work with when you do get in the driver’s seat. Best effing part? Ride alongs are almost as fun as being behind the wheel. You can get in touch with any HPDE organization and ask about a ride along. If you’re near Lime Rock, shoot me an email and I’ll happily lend you a helmet and take you out for a few laps.
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Jon Miles has been an HPDE instructor since 2007 and lives in Beacon, NY. He’s a founding partner in Paddock Club, a trackday club in the New York Metro region and beyond.