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Had a great time on the track (first time, silver 2006 Mazda MX-5). Enjoyed exploring the cars limits which I found to be very forgiving with it's lower horsepower and weight distribution. Learned a few pointers to stay concentrated on next time-- do not follow the car in front of you, follow the track, had a close moment with a WRX turn 5W. Not sure if it would cost more or what not, but a timed lap would be nice as I have no idea how well I was doing. Some laps I purposefully let the back slide out for fun, others I concentrated on consistency and smooth entry/exit. Next time I might download a GPS laptime app on my phone. Overall great event, and drove the car home 3 hours to San Jose no problem.
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Hey Ben,
Glad you had a great time. Addicting isn't it? :) Hope you come back for more soon!
Honestly, if this is your first few times on the track, don't worry about lap times for confirmation of improvements. Sometimes that can be a recipe for disaster if you start chasing numbers.
My recommendation, learn the proper lines and cues first. Lap times will drop naturally as you get everything else right. There's a constant mental checklist you should be doing (some are below in no particular order for examples):
Am I looking far enough ahead and in the right spots?
Where are my braking zones?
Where is my turn-in/apex/track-out and am I able to nail those marks every corner, every time or am I early/late?
Are the flag workers signalling anything?
Check your mirrors for overtaking cars and be courteous and deliberate with point-bys.
Be aware of cars you are gaining on and what's ahead of them. No sense running up on someone's bumper if there is traffic ahead. Be patient for them to give you point-bys.
Use a long start/finish straight to 'decompress' from the lap you just did and get ready to do it again.
There's plenty more but I don't want to completely inundate you. Two very quick pointers that will help you improve:
1) Can you spot your mistakes when they happen, explain why they happened, and correct on the next lap without an in-car instructor having to point it out? If you can self analyze like that you'll improve in leaps and bounds. Your Miata is an excellent platform to work. You will get immediate feedback when you do something right/wrong.
2) Are you noticing your braking zones starting sooner? That's a good indication you got the last corner right and are carrying more speed into this one. Build on that.
Well, before this becomes a novel, welcome to the track! SCCA has an excellent program going here and I hope you take advantage of more events!
