proper starting etiquette

[evanwebb]

So the other thread got me thinking I'm a sucker. On starts I don't surge or try to get a run, I try to maintain fairly steady speed that is sort of the average of who is around me wherever I am in the pack. Is everyone else trying to anticipate the start? Frankly what Tristan said about laying back and getting a huge run just sounds like cheating to me? I trying to get a run on everyone else before the green is shown acceptable?

Section 6.2 of the GCR talks about the field being at a "constant slow speed" prior to the start, getting a run prior to the green seems incompatible with this. Also, the GCR talks about improving your position as "moving out of line or passing", and I believe that shoudlrefer to moving out of your "row", not just your "column".

Too conservative? Maybe this is why I feel like I rarely get a good start?

[Streetwise guy]

Push the starter until you get the black- then you know whats ok that day. Each starter has his own idea of what is and is not acceptable- what passes for a clean start at one of the tracks I race at would have you parked for the day at the other one.

[lateapex911]

Push the starter until you get the black- then you know whats ok that day. Each starter has his own idea of what is and is not acceptable- what passes for a clean start at one of the tracks I race at would have you parked for the day at the other one.

I assume you mean the black flag? You're kidding right?

[JLawton]

Evan, I hear the sound of a can of worms opening!! LOL


I don't do the "lay back" method........ And maybe that's why I'm a crappy starter too. In the other post I said i would do anything I can to get an advantage as long as I don't get black flagged. I think you only have a 50/50 chance of making the "lay back" method work (unless you know where the starter is going to throw the green). I don't like those odds.

[Knestis]

There was a great quip in this past weekend's coverage of the Spanish GP about Mario Andretti. Apparently he was great friends with the starter there, back when they used to wave a green flag in F1. Mario asked him when he was going to wave the green, and the starter replied, "Mario, when you go, you can be sure I'll wave the flag." Or words to that effect.

I like starts and I treat them as an opportunity to have fun. This is going back to the days when I drove the slowest car in the region and the only chance I had to run with ANYONE unless it was raining, was at the start. So I'm pretty assertive about trying to maximize any advantage I can get. I also think I'm pretty good at it but it might just be that most of the rest of us don't care. And the downside of playing that game is that sometimes one gets caught flat-footed and get dealt a net loss.

I'm also almost always back in the pack, so by nature there's more accordion influence. This means there's more to be won or lost depending on how the variables are manipulated. That's part of the fun.

And to me, it's not a matter of laying back multiple car lengths. That's a false promise. It's about relative instantaneous acceleration relative to the other cars. That can be gained in very small amounts of distance, and multiplied over the much greater distance down the length of the start straight. The trick we're trying to engineer is "going" while the other guys/gals are "not going," and have that work out in a way that's helpful, relative to when the green flies.

One other little detail: For me, it's Job One to be on the inside of Turn 1. Then the inside of Turn 2, 3, 4, and rest of the first lap. We're never truly up to speed at that point so it doesn't matter if my line isn't optimized, and the last thing I want is to get gobbled up in someone else's mistake: Those tend to go OUT rather than IN.

K

[shwah]

I play it straight. Try to form up as consistently as the car in front will allow and focus on reacting instantly to that green. No games until after that happens, there is enough worry about then - do you push the guy that was sleeping in front of you, or only leave half of your car on the racing surface as you pass him?

[tbtapper]

Well, I'm certainly not a great starter but for a perfect example of what NOT to do IMO check out the video of the start poted as a response to someone looking for a video of the VIR race last weekend.

In MY opinion the driver that came down the inside of all the cars in front of him ON THE FRIGGIN GRASS should get at, a minimum a drive through. The fact that he apprears to rear end another car that then sets in motion a huge mess that likely damaged other totally inocent competitors is UNACCEPTABLE.

This happened to me last year at CMP. An IT7 car blasted down the inside of the grid past all manner of ITS/ITR cars at the start. Now if you're familar with CMP, we were using the front start/Finish, this is not only a LOW probability outcome move it's GUARANTEED to cause exactly what it did.

This individuals stupid, adolescent behavior cost me thousands of dollars and the entire year out of racing in order to get my car fixed.

Real race car drivers understand that at the start you do not give up ANYTHING but very rarely is it an opportunity to make up for a poor qualifying performance. If you are faster than someone in front of you then let the situation chill just a bit and then make high probability moves under much more controlled circumstances.

This is just my opinion but in reading Pobsts' column I suspect this is his philosophy and a philosophy I would much rather follow than the yahoo that took me out.

Travers
ITS19

[ITA_honda]

plain and simple, if the guy in front of me goes, I go.
If they guy in front of me slows, I slow.
we usually always run with ITS and im in ITA so I never have the front row start. usually in row 2.
So it helps cause I can see the starter thru the car ahead of me.

but im usually calm, cool, and colective on starts. I keep up with the pace but usually dont look to pass before the first turn unless there is a great oppourtunity to.

"No race has ever been won in the first turn, but many of them have been lost there"