2015 Autocross Solo Guide
Chapter 4: Driving Techniques, Looking Ahead
Chapter 4: Driving Techniques, Looking Ahead
Chapter 4 - Driving Techniques, Looking Ahead
Looking ahead is one of the most common things people will tell you to do when you first start autoxing. It sounds really basic, and it is - but that still doesn't stop novices, and sometimes intermediate drivers, from failing to exercise this habit. What people typically say is that you want to be looking 2-3 gates ahead (gates being an element/turn/offset). I don't know about an exact number like that, but what you definitely want to do is be aware of what's coming up ahead. Regardless, IMO sometimes looking ahead means just having it in your peripheral vision or awareness, and sometimes it means actually focusing on gates further down the course, actively looking at them.
General Awareness
When you only get 5-6 cracks at a course (3 at nationals), you don't want to waste a run because you got lost or confused somewhere out there. Looking ahead helps prevent this (duh). In this sense, you need to be aware of what is coming up & have it in your peripheral. When I walk the course, one of the things I'm trying to do is memorize a "general" course layout. i.e., "Left, Right, Sharp Left, Slalom, U Turn." I don't need to know exactly what it looks like yet - I'll find out when (before) I get there. I just need to know the basic element to know what to look for.
Then when I actually drive the course, my eyes look for that general element so I know where to go. This technique will help you know the course better without having to completely memorize it from the get-go, though you will eventually memorize it. Think about it like this - memorizing the course is looking ahead before you even get to the starting line.
Rally drivers have a million blind corners they have to fly through completely balls out - but what do they have? They have a codriver reading to them exactly what is coming up ahead - in other words, they have someone looking ahead for them, which lets them run through the course at full speed & confidence. In autocross, having a codriver doing that for you in the beginning will help you be faster at that particular event, but eventually you need to train yourself to do it on your own. One of the things I will be doing when I ride along is exactly that - probably shouting "GO GO GO" if I see it's relatively straight up ahead. Anyway, I think that's a pretty good illustration on how looking ahead adds speed.
Conscious & Unconscious Components
The other thing I do when I walk the course is I try to construct the line as I walk it. Keep in mind however, it may drive completely differently than it walked - often that is the case.
Regardless, looking 2-3 gates ahead helps me know what line I want to take when I enter a corner. The line you want to take going in is largely impacted by how you want to exit, so you need to "see" that full line going past beyond where you currently are. That bit alone adds so much speed - you know it's relatively smooth ahead, so long, long before you ever get there you keep your foot on the gas all the way through, or you know a sharp turn is coming two elements after the one you're currently at, so you know what angle/line to take through the next element, to execute better for that 2nd element. In this sense, looking ahead while on course translates to actively planning ahead to know exactly where to go & how to get there. This is the conscious component of looking ahead.The unconscious component of looking ahead is that, like many other activities, you will go where your eyes go - the same applies to driving a car. When you go bike riding, you look ahead - not at your front wheel. When you bowl, you look at the pins or the arrows ahead - not where the ball first touches the ground. With racing, you will steer where your eyes lead you - so look where you want to go, and your car will take you there. This sounds basic, but in the beginning a LOT of times you just look at the cone of the corner you're approaching and not any further than that. It's not just looking at the corner you're at that's a problem - a lot of people, and I'm guilty of this too, often look back in their rearview mirror, usually to see if they've hit a cone. For this reason, some people turn their rearview mirrors up & out of the way, for a little better view up front and so they don't try to look at what's behind. I leave that up to you - I'm not 100% comfortable moving forward until I know I did or didn't hit that cone, so I normally leave mine set where it is.
One last thing to keep in mind in terms of looking ahead - there are no cones on an autox course. They should never be in your focus, always in your peripheral. Let that help you focus the path you want to take through the course - the cones are on the outside of it.
Nice write up, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've always been interested in AutoX but have not yet had the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI like your points about looking ahead, and how you infer that this results in smoothly connecting several turns rather than just taking one turn at a time. I'm looking forward to your next chapter on driving inputs, and would like to hear your interpretation of the "traction circle" and how to effectively utilize the concept to minimize lap times.