Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques for May 2, 2022

This week in Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques I have a lot of great information to help you both on the track and as you build your motorsport career. Enzo Mucci shows you how to create the mindset to win, Blayze answers the question as to why you may feel lost in a specific corner while Ross Bentley explains if tires generate the same grip in braking and acceleration as they do in cornering respectively. I also bring you the details about Mazda Motorsports’ North American scholarship program, my interview with Motors Formula Team’s Ludovic Peze and much more. Finally, I have two driver snapshots that you will hopefully find helpful.

Racecraft Tips & Techniques

• Enzo Mucci looks at how to create the mindset to win in the video above.

• Blayze answers the question of why do I feel lost in a specific corner? “If you feel like you are lost in a specific corner and just can’t find a rhythm its usually down to one of two things: not understanding what your objective is in that corner, or more commonly, a lack of visual reference points.”

• On his Speed Secrets site Ross Bentley answers the question: Do tires generate the same grip in braking and acceleration as they do in cornering? “The short answer to your question is “not necessarily.” Some tires do generate a relatively equal amount of g-load both laterally and longitudinally, but others don’t. Due to tire construction and tread design, a tire can generate more longitudinal (braking and acceleration) grip than lateral (cornering) grip.” He expands on this in his column.

• Kelly Collins, Sporting Director and Advisor at GT Celebration, provides winning insight to the maximum lap around Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the video above.

• In Grassroots Motorsports pro driver Patrick Long gives some Porsche 911 driving tips from the February 2009 issue.

• Grassroots Motorsports also looks at how to make track time both safe and fun. “The basics are simple: Run laps upon laps upon laps. Most groups offer both classroom and in-car instruction—often available for both novices and seasoned vets—while also setting run groups based upon driver speed and experience.”

• This is part 1 of a two part show on the Your Data Driven podcast they interview F1 suspension guru Richard Firth. “In this show you’ll learn about how Richard Firth got into F1, about getting the most from relatively under resourced budgets, about how to approach your setup and testing. He also reveals where you can find the most lap time on any track.” You can listen here.

• On Racer.com the SCCA exlains the difference in braking points in enduro vs sprint racing. “Enduro and sprint races can look and feel remarkably similar on track. They’re both wheel-to-wheel action that reward pinpoint accuracy in braking, turn-in, throttle application, and more. The giant difference is a single SCCA Enduro National Tour race is conducted over two days, with each day consisting of eight consecutive hours on track. Sprint road races, such as those held during most Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing weekends like the Hoosier Super Tour, U.S. Majors Tour, and Regionals, see upwards of 35 minutes of track time for a single race. Another significant distinction concerns tires, since Enduro National Tour participants are limited to street tires with a 200 UTQG rating. Those differences require specific brake pad strategies.”

• Performance Track Day have announced that Jan Magnussen, Jordan Taylor, and Andy Pilgrim will be their instructors this year and that they will be holding a Performance Track day at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY the week following the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18 and 19, 2022. You can register here.

Driver Development News & Resources

• Racer.com has an excellent article called MX-5 Cup Scholarship: Calling all Mazda racers which gives details on the excellent scholarship programs offered by Mazda Motorsports in North America. “Any driver competing with a Mazda in any SCCA- or NASA-sanctioned racing series during the 2022 season can be considered to take part in the MX-5 Cup Scholarship Shootout. There’s no application process. Instead, Mazda Motorsports keep close tabs on everyone who is presently racing a Mazda. Winners of specific championships automatically receive an invitation to participate in the Scholarship process.”

• The DPM Next Gen Foundation has announced their ambitious new plan for women In motorsport. “Ideally be able to provide support, mentorship, advice and guidance,” Michelle tells Females in Motorsport. “We want to reach out and cultivate relationships with various communities, and then we want to be the liaison between those communities and the people and organisations that can really provide the opportunities – we’re the intermediary.”

• Last week I mentioned how Buggyra ZM Racing and Motors Formula Team have joined forces with the target of entering the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours with a lineup and team mostly of African descent. Last week I interviewed the founder of the Motors Formula Team and you can read about him and his plans in The Motorsport Journey of Ludovic Peze.

• Toni Breidinger has confirmed her departure from the Busch Beer ‘Accelerate Her’ program I have reported on before and she does not seem too impressed. “It’s important that people know – if a company isn’t on my car or my suit or my helmet they aren’t my sponsor,” Breidinger continued. “I’m focusing on my sponsors that are actually being about it and putting my car on the track and really supporting women in sports.”

Driver Snapshots

Learning from the experience of others is key to succeeding in any walk of life and racing is no different. In Driver Snapshots, I will feature the experiences of various drivers where you can get some perspective on what they have gone through (and continue to go through) as they work to make their motorsport careers happen. I hope you can take some lessons from these experiences and apply them to your own motorsport careers.

Johnny Edgar on Making Difficult Decisions

Johnny Edgar has had to call time on his racing season due to a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. But making the decision to stop racing was extremely hard. “It wasn’t coming naturally, I had to think about everything a lot more. I knew what to do but I just couldn’t do it.”

Difficult decisions, especially related to your health are never easy to make when they impact your passion, but it is important that you separate what you would like to do from what you need to do and make the appropriate decision that is in your best, long term interests.

Marta García: “I like to inspire women and people who have dreams”

When anxiety led Marta Garcia to withdraw from the last race of the 2021 W Series Championship, she was quite open with why to her many social media fans. The young driver shared her experience on social media: “Sometimes we underestimate our mental health, and that’s not good. I’ve suffered from anxiety for a long time now and it has been following me throughout this season. And yesterday, I felt that I had to put my health as the priority, instead of racing. It’s hard to say that, but it is what I thought was best for me.” “Social media is really important and it has a big power,” she says. “It also helps others to fight for things they might have not thought possible. I like to inspire women and people who have dreams. I like being on social media for those things.”

Remember that you are not the only one facing obstacles and that by speaking out, you will help others dealing with the same struggles. Take a negative and turn it into a positive.