Part 10: Baby steps

I won’t bore you with another of my ‘life has a funny habit of getting in the way of your plans...’ TED talks. Needless to say, it has continued to do so. In short, building your own house in the middle of a global pandemic, while also becoming a father and working at a start-up does not leave a lot of room for very much else.

However, since the last Rally Quest outing I have managed a squeeze in a few baby steps along the way.

I've been hammering my sim rig, learning about trail braking, tyre management and race-craft. Also, I acquired all the protective fireproof gear I'll need for any upcoming adventure, bar a crash helmet which I'll borrow for now.

But the most significant step has been upgrading my car to something I can learn to race in – a Toyota GT86. It’s not very powerful for a sports car, but it’s a dream to drive as I found out when I took it to another track cruise in January.

It's actually quite a sensible car when you think about it... It's a Toyota so it's reliable (even though it's actually a Subaru engine), it's got four seats (as long as the two passengers in the back have no legs) and there are ISOFIX points for a child's carseat in the back (though you have to move the front passenger seat so far forward it's unusable). A sensible family car for a sensible new father, obviously. Moving on...

These steps led me back to Hampton Downs, and their track day driver training course. If you don't know, track days allow anyone, from regular Joes (Liams) driving GT86s, all the way through to pros driving monstrous GT3 competition cars to spend a day honing their skills out on track. It's not a race, but it is full throttle. By taking this course I hoped to get some practical mechanical tips about track days, learn about the etiquette and get some pointers for my driving.

After arriving at Hampton Downs I met up with Mike from Track Time who was to be my instructor for the day. We kicked off with a couple of quick exercises to make sure both the car and I were not going to fall to pieces when it mattered most. I was to accelerate to 60km, and stop within 8m when given a signal. After my first run was less than spectacular I switched to left-foot-breaking, a pro skill I'd been honing on my sim rig. That did the trick. I passed this and a few other similar tests swiftly and we moved on.

The rest of the day was broken up into two extended track sessions around the full big boy circuit with Mike riding along-side me in the passenger seat of my car. I changed into my gear and in a jiffy we were out on track.

 

Thankfully the track wasn't too busy, though we were quickly buzzed by these two GT4 monsters:

After 5 laps, with speeds touching 170kph, we pulled into the pits and jumped out to the smell of caramelised mechanics. Nothing to worry about I’m told. Don't put the handbrake on now or it will warp the brake disks though. 

I asked Mike what a typical time at a track day for this car would be. He said it would be a 2:15. My best time from the first session was a 2:20.5. I knew I had not done particularly well and that confirmed it. I would like to submit the following excuses for your consideration; I had to learn a new part of the track, I had to learn to push a new car, I had to unlearn several bad habits I'd picked up from sim racing, and, how do you use gears again? As I've learned a few times on this journey – it takes me a little time to pick up new things.

For the second session Mike thought we might be able to shave 3 seconds off for a 2:17 if was able to smooth out the kinks in my driving. Whatever the time would be, I knew I could do a lot better.

After a short break and brain reset we headed back out on track, and things just magically fell into place. I was far from perfect, but my driving was considerably more fluid than the first session. Smoother steering, more apexes clipped and more braking points hit. Towards the end of the second session the tyres were overheating and brakes fading but my technique was continuing to get stronger and stronger.

So, how did I get on? My best time (and last of the day) was a 2.13.9. A full 6.6 seconds faster than my previous best. Mike described my driving as “definitely above average” – a description I will very gratefully take to my grave. He also confirmed what I sensed – “you’re not afraid.” Indeed, it seems that I had tamed the adrenaline beast that once hounded me. Sure, it was there, but no longer controlling me. I can now ride said beast into battle. However, I must remain cautious as this was occasionally leading me to push things a bit too far, costing valuable seconds.

I'm really happy with how the day went. It certainly feels like I'm making solid progress now. I have the tools, knowledge and confidence to take some further tentative baby steps out on my own. So, my next step will be to take part in a full track day, solo. TTFN