By Pramoda Ravi, shared to Motrolix.
Everyone says “smooth is fast”, well, they’re not wrong. The issue with everyone saying “smooth is fast” is that it’s such a vast amount of knowledge crammed into one word, smooth. Every day I learn something new, but after a few years of experience this is what I’ve come to understand by that saying.
Think ahead: Stay a move ahead. If you’re about to apex a corner, think about where the car should wash out to. Always think what’s going to happen next. This is one of those small things that greatly cuts down on lap times and incidents. If you’re focused on hitting an apex, you’ve probably missed the exit. As soon as you clip the apex, you’re thinking about when to power in, and where the car needs to end up.
Be calm: As easy as that sounds it’s one of the most difficult things. When I’m agitated, my reaction time is slower, and my ability to think ahead is also cut down. On the straight away, open your hands, take a deep breath, and relax. You can’t be smooth if you’re agitated.
Understand physics: The biggest issue I’ve seen everyone have when they first start off is overworking the tire. Physics has a funny way of butting into what your inputs are trying to achieve. You can do one of three things at any given time. Brake, accelerate, or turn. Do two of those three things at once and you over work the tires to the point they might lose traction. You brake; turn, and then you accelerate. Gauge how far you have, what speed you should be going, and how much traction the tires can hold and accordingly do one of those three things at once. When you start to accelerate, accelerate. Don’t go on/off the throttle, do it once and do it right.
Be easy with it: By that I mean be gentle. Don’t crank the wheel, don’t stab the brakes, and don’t mat the throttle instantly. Turn the wheel, smoothly. When you start to brake, ease into it. When you throttle in, imagine you’re on ice. Instant brake/throttle/turn will unsettle the car, in other words those mistakes cause you to go into the grass. That works opposite too, ease off the throttle and ease off the brakes. Let off the brake too quick and the weight will transfer to the rear which will cause understeer as you enter the corner.
Smooth is fast, and that’s a true statement. At first it’s difficult to know how to be smooth, but seat time is essential to learning how to be fast. It takes time, practice and lots of patience. Work at it and you’ll achieve what you’ve been working for.
Pramoda “Promo” Ravi has years of experience around race tracks of the Midwest and is a driving instructor at Michigan’s Waterford Hills road course.
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