Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Require Driving School? Yes or No?

[E M (pokiebaron]

When I downshift, I usually on let the clutch out half way.  Not sure if
I've been doing it right all these years or not?  lol  I think I read the
double clutching sequence in Bondurant's book on high performance driving,
waaaay back.  I've never adjusted the pedals in my old car, I've just
developed ankles that can bend in rather funny ways over the years. :-)

I remember Mansell once saying when asked if it takes a lot of concentration
to drive a F1 car flat out.  He said, "Not at all, we drive 10/10ths without
ever giving it a thought.  Only thing we think about while doing so, is the
race, and what we're chatting about over the radio to our crew chief
about".  I think the same applies to the road.  If things go wrong, and you
have to stop and start assessing your options, chances are, you'lle still be
thinking about things as you drive into what you're trying to avoid. hee
hee.  Best to know what you and your car can do under controlled conditions,
and do it often to remind yourself. ;-)

Ed
911SC, who's been chased out of more than one wet parking lot by
police/security people for having just a little too much fun. ;-)

2009/2/13 Doug and Terri Anderson <dnt [at] dock.net>

> On heel and towing - First NO car today actually has the set up of the
> early
> F1 cars where by one of the pedals is below each other.  Older cars - 50
> years ago?  Yes.  Not today - Most of what we do is double clutching, by
> rolling our foot onto the gas, especially on a down shift.  Clutch in, 5 to
> N, clutch out. Roll throttle or blip, Clutch in, N to 4.  All the while
> braking - sometimes.
>
> That said, at Riverside - preparing for turn 6, downshift 5th to 4th
> through
> turn 5 while braking, (see above) Back on the gas hard up the hill through
> first apex, do 4th to 3rd downshift, let out clutch,lift off gas - back end
> reverse torques and tail comes around - hard on gas through second apex
> down
> the short chute to turn 7.
>
> One time, with an instructor in the car,  I had the gear shift knob come
> off
> doing the 4 to 3 shift.  I handed the knob to the instructor and continued
> on my merry way.  heh heh
>
> DOUG
> As for driving school?  You bet.  Ran our daughter through normal Porsche
> auto cross season.  Can not tell you how many times my racing experience as
> saved my bacon on the highways and byways - mostly spinal cord reaction -
> none of this see think do crapola.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rick Lindsay" <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
> To: "DOUG" <dnt [at] dock.net>
> Cc: "Ferrarilist" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 8:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Require Driving School? Yes or No?
>
>
> > Oh Mike, cut it out and tell us what you really think.
> >
> >
> > --- On Fri, 2/13/09, Mike Fleischer <themightytoe [at] gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> From: Mike Fleischer <themightytoe [at] gmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Require Driving School? Yes or No?
> >> To: "rolindsay" <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
> >> Cc: "Ferrarilist" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> >> Date: Friday, February 13, 2009, 9:31 AM
> >> OK
> >>
> >> I have been reading this thread for a bit and as an HPDE
> >> instructor, I
> >> will put it out there to my Ferrari list pals who I think
> >> are a great
> >> and entertaining group...  Would I want to share track time
> >> with you
> >> guys on a road course?   Hell no, I value my life too much.
> >>
> >> Bunch of back seat drivers if I ever saw them...  I would
> >> be genuinely
> >> surprised to see more than 10% of this list be able to
> >> execute a heel
> >> and toe down shift consistently or to run a single lap in
> >> any car, let
> >> alone their prized Ferrari at 10/10ths.  Seriously your a
> >> bunch of
> >> waxers when it comes to real driving, the PCA and BMW CCA
> >> guys would eat
> >> your lunches no question.   No question the rides look and
> >> sound better,
> >> but don't fool yourselves into thinking the 370Z auto
> >> rev matching was
> >> not built specifically for you just like those F1 paddles
> >> in 80% of new
> >> Ferrari's.
> >>
> >> As for the ZR1, yeah its a monster of a car, and not for
> >> the
> >> inexperienced, but in the hands of a bad driver, a Jetta is
> >> dangerous.
> >> The problem is not the horsepower though, that's like
> >> saying the problem
> >> with guns is all the bullets... (hope this stays on topic
> >> after
> >> that)...  I am a firm believer that in the US of A, driver
> >> training is
> >> abysmal, no one should learn anything more than the rules
> >> for dodge ball
> >> and the proper form of a sit up from their gym teacher...
> >> We Americans
> >> start out with terrible training and then spend the rest of
> >> our lives
> >> adding bad habits to that poor training.  I know many
> >> adults who could
> >> not manage to parallel park to save their lives.  Take the
> >> bad training
> >> and habits and throw in a total lack of regard for your
> >> fellow man and
> >> you have a bit of a dangerous situation.   Before you point
> >> fingers at
> >> all those kids who are getting bad training... What did you
> >> do to
> >> improve the same bad training you received?  I learned to
> >> drive in the
> >> UK and even that was not sufficient training in my
> >> opinion...  I pro
> >> actively went out and attended many driving schools and car
> >> control
> >> clinics right after I got out of college.
> >>
> >> I think that driver training is changing, here in IL (state
> >> of
> >> corruption that it is) driver training is probably the most
> >> strict in
> >> the country, they just bumped new driver seat time
> >> requirements from 50
> >> to 100 hours of logged driving with a licensed driver
> >> (parent) or
> >> instructor before a license is granted.  Kids here need to
> >> keep a log
> >> book (like a pilot in training).  I think that is a step in
> >> the right
> >> direction.  Next step is mandatory in car testing for the
> >> first few
> >> years of driving, and retesting at regular intervals (like
> >> every 5
> >> years).  (Hey that would create jobs too...)  No
> >> demonstration of safe
> >> skills, no license.  Plain and simple.
> >>
> >> No matter how much training you give, there will still be
> >> someone who's
> >> skills are exceeded by their egos and our insurance rates
> >> will go up...
> >> I don't blame them anymore than I blame people in Texas
> >> for letting
> >> black mold grow in their duct works for raising my
> >> insurance rates...
> >> Rick go check your ducts man!
> >>
> >> :)
> >>
> >>
> >> Larry B wrote:
> >> > You mean if I hand my wife the keys to my Ferrari she
> >> might not come back alive? Hmmm.  For as long as I've
> >> owned it she hasn't planted her rear in the driver's
> >> seat, but this gives me reason to rethink that position.
> >> >
> >> > Okay, just kidding.  Probably.
> >> >
> >> > LarryDate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:14:12 -0800From:
> >> cavallino_rapante [at] yahoo.com
> >> > . . . . Do we really toss the wife the keys to our
> >> Ferraris and hope they come back alive?
> >> >
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