Run Group Criteria, Student Goals

Published: October 18, 2012

Note: in the following, the driver is referred to as "student" for consistency, even when they are driving solo.

Novice

A novice is attending their first track day. Most or all of what is being taught in the classroom and in the car is new to them. Because learning everything in one day, or weekend, is impossible, the material presented to novices is mostly aimed at the following goals:

  • Have a safe day: prevent crashes and off-track excursions
  • Learn fundamentals of how to drive a car on a road course ("the line")
  • Share the track with other drivers safely and efficiently
  • Have a good time

At the conclusion of the event, a novice should be able to:

  • Safely enter and exit the track (blend line)
  • Safely give and receive point-bys; safely pass other cars and be passed
  • Be aware of flags and react to them appropriately
  • Have an understanding of "the line" and be able to consistently drive it

Note that driving fast is not on the list. Without driving the proper line, it is impossible to go around the track at high speed.

Beginner

For the purposes of this document, a "beginner" is someone who attended more than one track event but has not yet achieved the goals listed above. Also, someone who attended more than one track event but is doing their first event at the current track may need help with "the line" and may not be used to dealing with other cars at this particular track, putting them in beginner category.

Goals for beginner drivers are the same as for novice drivers. It is expected that beginner drivers will reach the goals faster because they have more experience.

Solo

A student "graduating" from novice/beginner category is sufficiently safe to drive without an instructor. Some clubs stop mandatory instruction here. Other clubs continue mandatory instruction through intermediate groups.

A solo level student may request to drive alone. However, at this level the learning is far from over and further instruction is highly recommended.

Intermediate

An intermediate student drives safely around the track. At this point the student begins to learn how to go faster.

Techniques taught at the intermediate level are generally basics that are required for any high-performance driving.

Goal Setting

Student should begin to set goals for themselves. Each session should have a goal that is achievable within that session. Each day should have an overall goals that session goals are subordinate to. The instructor will usually able to suggest or provide goals for an intermediate student.

Braking

  • One brake application per corner
  • Brake hard

Steering

  • Smooth steering
  • One steering input per corner
  • Combine consecutive corners into one arc with one steering input
  • Unwind steering at track out

Throttle

  • Get on power earlier at corner exit
  • Balance throttle and steering

Shifting

  • Heel-toe
  • Single shift per corner

Vision, Awareness

  • Visual references
  • Consistent braking points
  • Aware of cars ahead and behind
  • Prompt point-bys

When these goals are mastered the student has good pace and is not holding up faster cars. These are the two criteria for promotion into upper intermediate group.

Upper Intermediate

A student at this level can run consistent laps at high speed. The student's goals shift from following the instructor's directions to figuring out where these directions come from, and creating and testing their own ideas for how to drive their car.

Goal Setting

Upper intermediate students frequently drive solo. It is therefore essential for students to be able to set goals for themselves for each session, each event and long term goals to work toward, as well as evaluate their performance against these goals.

Traction Sensing

"The line", as taught in the lower levels, is a general average and a safe starting point, not dogma. In reality race tracks seldom have geometrically perfect 90 degree corners, and pavement conditions, elevation, the car being driven, etc. affect the optimal line for each particular corner a car on a given day. Traction sensing is the ability to feel how much grip a car has in a corner, whether the line should be widened or can be tightened to achieve the best overall lap time.

  • Balancing throttle and steering on track out, while cornering at optimal slip angle
  • Making steering a function of throttle
  • Steering (rotating the car) with throttle
  • Trailbraking
  • Weight transfer via brakes or throttle for faster cornering

Braking

Traction sensing under braking - the student should be working toward threshold braking, if driving a car without ABS.

Car Positioning

Student should be working on ability to position the car anywhere on the track. This includes holding an inside and an outside line through corners. Arbitrary car positioning is necessary for open passing which is allowed in higher level groups in some clubs.

Advanced

Students at this level are capable of learning a new track without instruction. They can go to an "advanced" track day on a track they have never driven before and be on pace in their second session. They modify their driving style according to track and traffic conditions. Advanced students can have multiple fast lines around a given track and are able to determine which of those is fastest on a particular day.

Advanced students may be working on the following items:

  • Eliminate shifts - leave the car in a higher gear and take the turn faster
  • Use all track width - includes curbs
  • Evaluate whether a faster exit in a corner is worth slower cornering speed
  • Threshold braking
  • Endurance; overcoming "red mist"
  • Car setup for the student's driving style and specific tracks/corners

Odds And Ends

Data Acquisition

Somewhere around upper intermediate/advanced level, the difference between taking a particular corner one way vs a different way becomes impossible to measure "by the seat of the pants". Similarly it becomes impossible to measure trading speed in one corner for speed in another corner by feel. At this point a lap timer becomes a very useful tool. Having predictive lap time in particular is extremely helpful in fine-tuning lines and driving strategies. However, predictive lap time usually comes with GPS-based data acquisition systems which are fairly expensive ($1000+).

Car-Specific Knowledge

Up to the intermediate level, instruction is generally the same regardless of what car the student is driving. At upper intermediate levels and higher the student will benefit from using an instructor familiar with the student's car.

Similarly, upper intermediate and especially advanced students looking to push their car closer to the limit will benefit from instruction by a racer or a Time Trial competitor, as the latter are routinely pushing hard in competition.

Run Group Pace

Generally speaking, DE run groups are organized by driver ability rather than car performance. A student who runs faster pace than their current group should request being moved up to the next group. In the higher group, after safety, the second most important thing for a newly promoted driver is to not hold up cars already running in the group. Meaning, prompt point-bys to faster cars.

Most, but not all, clubs will promote a student to the next more advanced group if the student's driver abilities are appropriate for the higher level group, even if the student is not being held up by cars in the lower group. Generally a student has the option of running in a lower level group, provided they comply with the lower group's rules (most importantly passing rules), if the lower group's pace is more appropriate for the student's car.

Not Giving Point-Bys

"Faster car" means a car that laps the track in less time. In other words, if a car is immediately behind you at a certain point on a track, usually at the beginning of a straight, and on the next lap at the same spot the car is still immediately behind you, that car is "faster" and should be given a point-by. If you keep someone behind you for more than one full lap it is a good idea to find them after the session and talk to them. Most drivers don't mind chasing someone for a bit as long as the rivalry is friendly and the trailing, faster car knows it can get around the leading, slower car when desired.