Don’t Lift
Apparently one thing to bear in mind — scratch that — to etch into your permanent memory as the driver of a mid-engined sports car is that if you are in the midst of a high-speed turn, you don’t want to lift your foot from the throttle. Lift before the turn and at the end of the turn, but not right in the turn.
This advice comes from the same guy who did that video below. He was driving his Lotus Elise at a HPDE event at the road track in Reno and spun off the track into the gravel at 95 mph. Why? He entered the turn too fast and didn’t realize it until mid-turn. He lifted his gas foot, which causes a weight transfer to the front wheels, releasing the rear wheels at a moment when they’re already wanting to slide. Thus, the car rotates and leaves the track.
We really need to practice before the race. And to read up. And to pray. Lots of praying.
Guess this re-affirms the advice that you not get into the throttle during a turn until you absolutely know that you will not need to get out of it.
But if you do make a mistake and come in too hot or get in the throttle too early and you do need to lift…but can’t for fear of a spin/wreck…what’s the alternative? Try to drift your way through the turn? Play automotive pinball with the other vehicles?
Yeah, that seems to be the problem this guy had, he was too hot and still on the throttle. I think that the answer is that you’ve just got to come in not so hot and not on the throttle at that point, so don’t make the mistake of still being on the throttle when you get into the turn. That’s little comfort if your foot is still on the wrong pedal though. I think maybe that the better answer is that you voluntarily run off wide off the turn into the grass and that will slow you down. Might get you black flagged, but the spin would do that too, and at least in a voluntary off-road you probably don’t break anything and you are less likely to spin out.
In LeMons, though, you probably just hope that someone is trying to make an outside pass and just shoulder up to them.