AUTOMOBILE: my firsth test on oval
I did my first test on an Oval to complete my Indy lights 'rookie test' at Homestead speedway. I had been looking forward to this day ever since that I decided that I wanted to race in America. Naturally I was a little (very) nervous in anticipation of what was to come, as it was a totally new experience for me. Prior to the test I had done a lot of research for driving on an oval. I tried to get my hands on as much in-car footage as possible so that I could study the different lines that you take and the way you position the car, steering inputs e.t.c so that it would be less of a shock when I finally took the wheel myself....Trust me when I say...that NOTHING! can prepare you enough for the experience of driving an Oval for the first time.
Firstly I have never driven a car faster than 135mph. With the Indy lights I would be taking the car to 190mph+ and never lift the throttle once. Physically the car was not very hard to drive , despite the fact that the car pulls over 3 to 4 G in the
corner you don't particularly feel it as you are packed in so tight into the car with extra headrests to protect you in case of an accident. However, the biggest challenge is overcoming the mental barriers. The team told me that on average, past drivers took between 25-40laps before they managed to run 'flat out'...I felt very ambitious and I was desperate to impress so I set myself a goal that I had to run flat within 10 laps. I managed to run flat on lap 7! Admittedly I don't know quite how I managed to do it as I was purely adrenalin fuelled and things were happening far too quick for me to realise what was going on! After a quick break, the team made a few changes to the car to dial out some built in understeer that they ha
d created to make the car 'safe' to drive. I did another 10 lap run and set a string of times in the 28.6 range, I was surpised to find out that that would have put me on P2 for this year's race!
For the rest of the day we went through a thourough program of setup changes to give me a feeling of how the car reacts to different changes for my future reference. Overall the car ran perfectly and didn't give me any problems, although in the afternoon we danced with the devil and ran with a 'loose' car and that was very....interesting ;-) haha my respect for the guys who drive the big cars rose quite a lot that day!
The only way I can describe the feeling you get driving on an oval is it is like sitting on a roller coaster and you are waiting at the very of the ride waiting for the big drop.. As you approach the corner you have to force yourself to stay flat on the throttle, because your instincts tell you that you are going to crash! As you
don't take conventional racing lines, you approach the corner at quite a tight angle in a corner where the radius on a flat surface in a normal car you would expect to at least brake and maybe downshift one gear...that's why you get such a buzz!
Overall I think it was a positive first test, however I still have a very long way to go before I will feel comfortable that I am ready for the first race and there is still a lot of hard work to do during the winter, but at least now I feel relieved that I managed to get my first day out of the way and even more pleased that I enjoyed it as much
as I had hoped!
Now, my focus will turn to my final winter test of the season before the testing ban at Houston on the 12th of November
Best Regards
Martin
Firstly I have never driven a car faster than 135mph. With the Indy lights I would be taking the car to 190mph+ and never lift the throttle once. Physically the car was not very hard to drive , despite the fact that the car pulls over 3 to 4 G in the
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d created to make the car 'safe' to drive. I did another 10 lap run and set a string of times in the 28.6 range, I was surpised to find out that that would have put me on P2 for this year's race!
For the rest of the day we went through a thourough program of setup changes to give me a feeling of how the car reacts to different changes for my future reference. Overall the car ran perfectly and didn't give me any problems, although in the afternoon we danced with the devil and ran with a 'loose' car and that was very....interesting ;-) haha my respect for the guys who drive the big cars rose quite a lot that day!
The only way I can describe the feeling you get driving on an oval is it is like sitting on a roller coaster and you are waiting at the very of the ride waiting for the big drop.. As you approach the corner you have to force yourself to stay flat on the throttle, because your instincts tell you that you are going to crash! As you
 |
Overall I think it was a positive first test, however I still have a very long way to go before I will feel comfortable that I am ready for the first race and there is still a lot of hard work to do during the winter, but at least now I feel relieved that I managed to get my first day out of the way and even more pleased that I enjoyed it as much
 |
Now, my focus will turn to my final winter test of the season before the testing ban at Houston on the 12th of November
Best Regards
Martin
