Originally Posted by
John Nesbitt
(Last episode in the series 'You and the GCR')
Perhaps the worst plight of a vessel is to be caught in a gale on a lee shore. In this connection the following ... rules should be observed:
1. Never allow your vessel to be found in such a predicament.
LF Callingham: Seamanship: Jottings for the Young Sailor
For this last posting in the series, I depart from my earlier practice. Till now, we have basically been discussing what happens when something goes wrong. You have doubtless already guessed that everything in these posts came from incidents I observed at the track this year.
In this piece, I want instead to discuss those things you can do to prevent unhappy outcomes.
Based on all I have seen this year, I offer the following first principles. If you follow them, you will be much less likely to have problems in your racing.
1. Maintain situational awareness. Keep your eyes moving at all times. Check your mirrors. Check the flag stations. Be aware of other cars around you, and how they are moving with respect to yours. Be aware of cars coming up on you.
2. Save some bandwidth. If you are spending your entire mental budget on simply lapping at some speed, you won't have any brain power left over to deal with emergencies or unusual situations. I have interviewed drivers coming off track whose eyes were quite glazed over. They had overloaded their ability to process information.
3. Be predictable, especially in mixed-class race groups. Hold your line. Don't suddenly change your line, thinking that it will allow faster cars to pass. They saw you before you saw them, and they most likely made a plan based on your trajectory. Don't surprise them.
4. Make a plan. Be ready for the unexpected or unusual. What will you do if the car in front spins after you have committed to a turn? What if you lose oil pressure? Are you even checking the oil pressure? In the moment, it will be too late to think about what to do. It's better to have thought scenarios through in advance, and to be ready.
5. Obey the Rules of the Road. Read section 6.8.1 of the GCR (or page 12 of the Portable Driver's Advisor). The rules for on-course conduct are really quite simple. They boil down to seven words: 'No Contact', 'No Blocking', and 'Leave Racing Room'. Please remember that 'incidental contact' does not exist anywhere in the rules.
6. In a spin? Both feet in. I continue to be amazed at how many drivers forget this simple rule from drivers school. Almost every month, I see a collision caused by a driver failing to keep the brakes on when spinning, reaching the top of some slope, and then rolling back into traffic.
7. Do you have an exit strategy? Practice getting out of your racecar with your eyes closed. If it catches fire, you will have a short time in which to get out and possibly little visibility. Can you get out in 6 or 7 seconds? After you crash, it will be too late to practice. Also, did you arm your fire system before going on track? Make that part of your pre-session checklist.
8. Work on your decision-making skills. I see a wide variety of bad outcomes. Yet virtually all of them fit in the bucket labeled 'Poor Choices'. Ask yourself, does the gain justify the risk in making this move? Can I achieve the same result by waiting till the next turn or the next lap, or by taking a different approach? Is this really a good idea? So often, I see incidents which have everyone asking, "What was he thinking?"
I hope this series has been interesting and informative. I'll look forward to seeing you at the track.
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