Consistency Matters:Track Day Guide to Getting Better

Consistency

As a coach, I would define consistency as being able to consciously run lap times within 0.500 seconds of each other. Anything more than this is a bit of a stretch, and ideally, we would like to see even tighter grouping though half a second is generally a good place to start. This rule applies regardless of the track. So why is it important?   

Testing and Tuning

Before we even talk about competition let’s talk about modifications. Many people who attend track days want to modify their cars and rightfully so. Fast is fun and it’s fun to tune. However, if you can’t group your lap times closely then you’re really wasting your money. Being consistent allows you to see if a mod actually made the car faster as opposed to you getting lucky with your line or braking points. It adds clarity to the picture. 

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Moving up the Ladder

Most enthusiasts I have coached come from a street background before attending track days. At some point, these enthusiasts generally take an interest in racing and want to try their hand at wheel-to-wheel racing. All forms of circuit racing bank on this principle: if driver A is faster than driver B, but driver B can run within a close enough time and do it all day then he will more than likely win the race. It’s pretty simple. 

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Multilayered Mastery

When you can run the same time over and over again you can start to experiment with taking small risks in certain places to gain more time. Dive in 3 feet later in that braking zone after you know you can take it at the 100m marker every time and there is going to be little chance of a big lock up that results in a crash. By doing this you can hone in on what a fast laps feel like and then dial back your speed to prolong equipment life if you run in endurance races. This can also help to preserve equipment life should you find yourself ahead of the field in a sprint race. 

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Plan of Attack

Driving on the exact same “line” each lap is the foundation in all of this. After the line has been found you need to take each corner in the exact same way which means using tons of reference points for turn in, throttle picks up and braking zones. By doing this, each lap and locking into the line you can begin to pile on the speed and truly chop chunks out of your lap time. Happy hunting. See you at the race track. 

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