Great drivers are born not trained. How true that has proven to be in modern racing. Michael Schumacher was in a kart when most of us were amused by tops, kites and video games. Lewis Hamilton and other motorsport greats have all developed in such ways but the one thing that all of them have in common is the one thing they were all born with – a spark called so-much-talent-its-not-even-funny.
The other lesson from this is, a spark is never enough, you need to train to be a good driver – that’s why when Bridgestone offered me the chance to attend their Potenza Advanced Driving Course, I jumped at it – well firstly because I wasn’t born a great driver and secondly it’s difficult to give up the chance to trash around a track.
Held at the Dato Sagor track in Kampung Gajah, Perak – the trainers for the day were local motorsports heroes, Tengku Djan Ley, Faidzil Alang, Ng Pui Choon (PC Ng) and Admi Shahrul. Our entourage consisted of journalists and winners of a competition recently held by Bridgestone – the prize obviously being the chance to attend the Bridgestone Potenza Advanced Driving Course.
The 20 of us were divided into separate groups with each having a personal trainer. An old friend and a well known figure around ZTH columns, Tengku Djan was our personal trainer for the day and we made sure to press him to pass on as much of his knowledge to us. He happily obliged but sadly left the drifting out of the lessons. Maybe another time.
First lesson of the day, braking with the ABS system and target braking. The objective of this was to familiarise ourselves with the ABS system and the pulsing sensation that comes from the brake pedal whenever ABS kicks in. If you have ever felt it, you should know that it comes as an unpleasant surprise when you’re concentrating on braking and avoiding something.
The only way to deal with it? Learn when to expect it, deal with it, and concentrate on what’s ahead of you. ABS allows you to steer under hard braking and so the training included accelerating straight to a person with a flag standing ahead, slam on the brakes at a pre-determined braking point and steer to where ever he points the flag, which happens at the last possible moment, just as accidents always creep up on you out of no where. With the ABS working overtime to ensure grip doesn’t stray, steering is easily manageable, even when slamming on the brakes. So don’t panic the next time you feel your ABS working, just look at where you need to be heading and steer.
Second lesson of the day and probably the most useful in everyday driving – braking in corners with obstacle avoidance. Braking in a straight line is a no-brainer, all you got to do is look and brake. But things are a little more complicated when you’re committed to a corner and there’s suddenly an obstacle in your path. Chances are you’re going to mess up the balance of the car, either over or understeer and charmingly introduce yourself to the obstacle ahead.
In an ideal world, we would all just be able to drift around the obstacle but this world is far from ideal, so we were handed a car without ABS and told to speed into a corner and avoid the cones that were set in the middle of your path. What you see above is the result of too much speed and late braking, otherwise called an understeer.
To avoid killing any more cones than was necessary, the trick is to brake into the corner, look for an exit point, lift off to steer away from the obstacle and then brake again to stop. The idea is to not lock up the tyres so there’s grip to pull you away from the obstacle. Staying cool and calm is also key when dealing with such situations.
Third lesson of the day, the customary cone slalom which shows you how important it is to be driving with both your hands. Probably the easiest to learn but not the easiest to master, you often carry too much speed into a turn and end up messing up your entry and exit points for the rest of the slalom course. Most people underestimate the importance of using both your hands while driving, it’s very simple actually, drive with both your hands and you have more control over your car, simple.
The cone slalom is also important to understand the dynamics of a car’s balance and how to manipulate it to your benefit at speed. This of course varies from vehicle to vehicle so it’s also essential for a driver to understand how his or her car manages load shifts and balance when pushed. Only then will you be able to know how to react to an emergency situation without agitating the car too much – meaning it wont bite back.
Final lesson and my favourite part of the day; racing lines. While not really applicable to street driving, racing lines are a lot of fun and satisfying when done right. This part of the entire lesson also tests everything you learn except for obstacle avoidance of course. Most important here is to look where you want to be heading and for track driving, that is the braking points and entry and exit apex points. The images above depict the correct lines to be taken during track and race driving.
So with the lessons out of the way, the only remaining to be done is the time attack competition due to take place the next day. The time-attack is basically a compilation of the lessons from the day before. From braking in corners, to obstacle avoidance to racing lines, all came in handy. The fastest time of the day was clocked at 1:05 by MME Champion Faidzil Alang – in a Honda Accord.
According to the Malaysian Police, road accidents are increasing at an alarming rate of 9.7% per year for the past 30 years. With such an alarming raise in accident rates it is only wise to watch our driving styles and keep a look-out for dangerous drivers and to avoid them. If you’re able to attend an advanced driving lesson, do so and if you’re not, read up on advanced driving and practise alone in a safe and controlled environment. Its satisfying, helpful and it saves lives. Don’t be a statistic, drive smart.
