The SEC Forum at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

When getting to the finish line first is the only criterion, you drive the car a lot differently. It's a violent movement where you push the limit of physics. The tires will only grip to a certain force. Braking hard to throw the weight forward onto the front tires increases that grip force - allowing you to power harder through a turn. Once you're through the apex, you're hard on the throttle to power out. The tires are operating right on the limits of static friction. Your body is constantly eating all these internal forces as the car slams from forward inertia to side inertia to rear inertia.

When someone else is paying for the tires, suspension, engine, and transmission, it's a fun way to drive (albeit painful).

Many race cars, but especially F1 cars, are designed to last only as long as the race itself.  They're effectively rebuilt completely, after each use.  If a race were ever to run 5 or 7 laps further (at full speeds) than was intended, the majority of the cars would start breaking down and failing to finish.  Of course they have rules in place to prevent this from happening.

Many race cars, but especially F1 cars, are designed to last only as long as the race itself.  They're effectively rebuilt completely, after each use.  If a race were ever to run 5 or 7 laps further (at full speeds) than was intended, the majority of the cars would start breaking down and failing to finish.  Of course they have rules in place to prevent this from happening.

Kinda impressive that the engineering can be that precise.  And does nothing to reduce my belief in the I'm-telling-you-it's-a-real-thing-don't-gaslight-me-bro Planned Obsolescence.  

Heh. Your experience on the track sounds amazing! I've never done that nor anything like it.
I know the basics of how its supposed to work, but clearly doing it with a 'real' car on a 'real' track is a different world. Obviously, there has to be constraints, since racing is about pushing the physics to the limit. Going over that limit likely means damage and injury.

Heck, even when I'm driving a regular, unfamiliar car, it takes me a minute to learn how it accelerates and stops without jerking the passengers around. Learning how to drive with 'both feet' would, well, take some time indeed!

One event we had was a tight gymkhana like affair, for time.  The first 200 feet or so required a full throttle acceleration and then hard braking to make a 90° turn (cones).  My group did it 3x each, I got slightly better, but was still a laggard.  One fellow in our group beat everyone handily.  

Then they had one of their guys do it, they claimed he'd never done that pattern before or even seen it.  He beat our fastest guy handily.  Of course, he knew the car well.  But he was a "pro" of some ilk, part of their team.  

I don't think I could beat his time if I was there every day for weeks.

The most fun was driving on COTA flat out, we were hitting about 140 mph on the back straight.  That got a bit scary, you had to keep at it and then hammer the brakes near the end.  Of course ABS makes this a lot easier, and the computers would iron out a lot of other mistakes for us.  Driving it with all the nannies turned off likely would have meant a lot of grass.

One event we had was a tight gymkhana like affair, for time.  The first 200 feet or so required a full throttle acceleration and then hard braking to make a 90° turn (cones).  My group did it 3x each, I got slightly better, but was still a laggard.  One fellow in our group beat everyone handily. 

Then they had one of their guys do it, they claimed he'd never done that pattern before or even seen it.  He beat our fastest guy handily.  Of course, he knew the car well.  But he was a "pro" of some ilk, part of their team. 

I don't think I could beat his time if I was there every day for weeks.

The most fun was driving on COTA flat out, we were hitting about 140 mph on the back straight.  That got a bit scary, you had to keep at it and then hammer the brakes near the end.  Of course ABS makes this a lot easier, and the computers would iron out a lot of other mistakes for us.  Driving it with all the nannies turned off likely would have meant a lot of grass.

That gymkhana sounds like an autocross. My brother has a Mazda Miata in which he competes in autocross events.

Mustangs and Camaros participate in the same autocrosses that my brother's Miata does. Their greater power does them little to no good on the tight courses.

Tires are a MAJOR thing in a tight course.  The cars I was driving had Michelin Sport Cup Twos on them (changed out daily).  With smooth pavement, the suspension is somewhat of a minor factor.

Of course these soft rubber tires don't last long.

It was fun anyway.  But the road course was funner.