Wouldn't want to be this guy's passenger . . . .

[jturrell]

YouTube - Caterham R500 Duratec @ damp Bedford trackday 23/10/10

[pi7ot]

I saw that yesterday.

I'm on those forums and the thread is kind of quiet.

 

In my opinion, that is the absolute worst case of ham fisted driving I have ever seen from a Caterham punter.

 

R500(my dream ) with a Quaife dog box and the guy just bashes it into a lower gear with no rev matching and with the car traveling too fast to be dropped into the next lower gear.

He seemed to be aware that it was wet in spots but did not seem to adjust his driving for the conditions.

As the vid went on, he got increasingly brutal, missing the apexes and braking points, driving in the grass.

Incredible. :willy_nilly:

 

I would not go near that guy.

 

m

[DeanG]

It is always good to remember that just because someone offers to let you fly with them or take a ride on the track you don't have to say yes.

[Croc]

I thought the track day rules were a little strange. You seemed to be able to overtake people under brakes and in areas where I would have thought you would have been banned. It seemed to be more of a semi-race.

 

The other thing that struck me was the diversity in speed of the cars on the track. There was a old ford fiesta circulating - against a R500 and a porsche 911 of some type. I assume that driver skill level was the defining criteria here?

[Kitcat]

I thot he did great. No one else cld remotely hang with him. He was in command of his car, he never spun, tho he did have a few "moments" . Sure, he used ALL of the track (and curbs, and grass, etc), but that is the fast way around.

 

I wldnt ride with him either, but I wldn't want to compete against him.

[turboeric]

I'm not sure I'd want to be driving the raggedy edge like that without better rollover protection.

[Mondo]

I saw someone with a quaiffe in his Caterham that wasn't use to it and downshifted by mistake... he lost a U-joint at best and damaged the box at worst (he did have one of those metal straps that kept the driveshaft from going crazy though it still did come thru the tunnel a bit.

 

They make automatic rev matching systems for bikes and I think sequential boxes... bikes also have slipper-clutches for downshifting (that would be nice).

 

Anyway, I agree he was aggressive and used the whole track but he is on a racetrack afterall so can't really knock him for getting after it... and it's his car to damage (hopefully). His passes were ok, though it must of been in the "advanced" group as there were no passing hand signals etc..

 

At least we know how he gets rid of stress;)

 

 

.

[escondidoron]

Croc said:

I thought the track day rules were a little strange. You seemed to be able to overtake people under brakes and in areas where I would have thought you would have been banned. It seemed to be more of a semi-race.

 

The other thing that struck me was the diversity in speed of the cars on the track. There was a old ford fiesta circulating - against a R500 and a porsche 911 of some type. I assume that driver skill level was the defining criteria here?

 

It looks pretty much like a track day at the 'Ring. Anybody can drive on the track and most of the time there are bikes on the track at the same time as the cars (the bikes really slow you down!). The passing rules at the 'Ring are pretty simple, you can only overtake on the left. The Cat driver only passes a single car on the right, a BMW at about 2:30, who stays left for the pass. That would be a no-no at the 'Ring -- for both drivers.

 

Also note the use of turn signals on several of the cars being overtaken. It is customary in Europe to use your turn signals to request a pass or show the following driver your intention. If you're behind someone who isn't giving way the last resort is to flash your high beams. They are sometimes referred to as the "light horn". Generally it is considered rude to do this.

 

These basic rules are in effect to a greater or lesser degree on the European tracks I have driven depending on who is running the event. some tracks / event sponsors require licenses and some don't.

 

BTW, if you think that this guy is getting too sideways you should try the 'Ring in the wet or snow!

[jturrell]

I have to admit, I enjoyed watching it. But it's not my kind of track day. Not only are the cars diverse in their performance capabilities, but what really made me nervious about it was the diversity in their weights. You have a super-light vehicle going wheel to wheel with heavy four-door sedans. Guess who loses when these two cars get mixed up? I guess everyone has different risk tolerances. If I were that aggressive (and I'm not), I'd have a full cage, HANS device, and a heck of a lot of life insurance.

 

While it's not my type of track day, I applaud this guy for posting his video. I'm sure it'll draw a lot of criticism. It takes guts to put yourself "out there" like that. I hope he lives to post many more.

[pi7ot]

It just got a titch warmer in there.

Apparently he and a couple of other drivers were in a novice session. Someone's called him out as a king.....

.

.

.

.

in the land of the Blind. :rofl:

(which is what I suspected anyway from his poor driving)

 

m

[BrunnyS1]

I thot he did great. No one else cld remotely hang with him. He was in command of his car, he never spun, tho he did have a few "moments" . Sure, he used ALL of the track (and curbs, and grass, etc), but that is the fast way around.

 

I wldnt ride with him either, but I wldn't want to compete against him.

 

Damned right, Jackie Stewart he aint but he gets the job done.