Good Illustration of the Benefits of Instruction

[Jack Olsen]

For guys who might be new to track days, or find themselves mildly annoyed by the idea of going out with an instructor, I saw this clip posted on Rennlist of a Top Gear segment. Apparently, Jackie Stewart had written in to say that he could take any of the on-air personalities out to any track and cut 20 full seconds off their lap time in a single day.

There aren't as many specifics as I'd like to see from the instruction itself, and Jackie Stewart is a better driver than most instructors -- but I think the clip shows how dramatic an improvement can be made when you're getting coaching, as opposed to figuring out how to do it on your own.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE CLIP

[coloradoporsche]

Funny when you realize that, as an amateur, you can go a lot faster with ~200lbs of extra weight in the car!

[Jon Merck]

Jack, you are dead on this one. I will never let my ego keep me from learning how to drive faster.

I asked my previous instructor to ride with me on a track very familiar to me but new to him. To my astonishment he pointed out a few things I should try and in the process of practicing these shaved 14 seconds off my time. I have been fortunate to meet this guy, he has cosiderable experience racing GT4 Panteras, Kremer 935's and other's. I rode with him at Roebling Road earlier this year and knew he had some serious talent. At Rockingham, I found that he had driven the 935's in Europe so I let him drive my car to show me it's capabilites and WOW! It has given me confidence in my equipment and abilities to push a lot harder.

[jluetjen]

200 lbs? That's certainly not Jackie. He's wee high to a jockey!

[arcsine]

I have done motorcycle track days where the instructors give rides to students on the back of their bike. Now their bikes were nothing special, just off the showroom floor, middle of the road bikes with some stickers on them. Neither the fastest things available nor hotted up. And according to the instructors, all of whom raced at least nationally, they are not doing anything close to race speed.

Completely shocking to go around the track at speeds FAR beyond what us mortals could do and they are doing it 2-up. And 2-up on a bike has HUGE concequences to bike handling. I gave up any idea I had of bike racing then and there.

[livi]

Thanks for posting Jack. That was a real eye opener and what a treat to watch such a brilliant legend. Makes me even more set on taking the step on to the track to learn the boundaries of my car. Not least for safer street driving.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Awesome. That's a 66 year old man and he's still fast as hell. Worked the guy all day long and though he got him down to 2:06, Jackie was 7 seconds faster than that!

Just imagine the times Jackie would turn if he were still 35 years old, in the same car and had all day long to practice the track!

[Joeaksa]

Has anyone seen the bit where Jackie had a salad bowl mounted on the hood of an old sedan, then drove it around the track? Inside was a tennis or other ball and it stayed in the bowl the entire time.

He was teaching smoothness, something that 99% of our drivers lack these days. It sure worked for him...

[arcsine]

I remember a story a couple of years ago when Jackie, whom was nearing 60 and years out of racing, tested a current F1 car on a dirty track with rain tires mounted. He went within an eyelash of the times posted by the current teams drivers. Must of been a humbling experince for the team drivers.

[jester911]

That is a great video. Kinda funny it comes along now.
I had some instruction from a national driver last month at Road Atlanta and I felt a lot like that.

Truly an inspiration.

[Zeke]

I'll have to log on on our other computer to watch it and I will later. But, I wonder how much time the man could take off some of the regulars' times at Willow? Somehow, me thinks Jack, Johnny, Chad, the 2 Mikes I can think of off hand, and many other regular Willow racers and Pelican members are well within the 20 second margin of improvement.

Me, on the other hand...........

I'm actually seriously thinking of going down to Bondurant later this year even though I don't have a car to drive. It sure couldn't hurt.

[Dixie]

It's rather funny. When you fiirst start out your goal is to get signed-off. You really don't want instructing. Then, after running solo for a couple years, you find you really want some instructing.

[Jack Olsen]

Rob (Capt. Carrera) makes a good point about ego getting in the way of getting coaching when you're no longer a rookie, but still not at your ultimate best. It helps if you've got a buddy who's slightly faster than you, and continuing to get better. One of the ways to leapfrog past him is to get some coaching and do a short cut on the next piece of the learning curve.

And while it's awesome to see Jackie Stewart doing this segment, it's probably worth mentioning that he didn't bring any magical "Jackie Stewart" ingredient to the table in making the TV host 20 seconds faster. Any POC/PCA/DE-type instructor could have gotten the same results for the guy. People sometimes get stuck on the idea that they'll learn something really special if their instructor is a pro. Usually, they're flattering themselves about how much they're capable of learning. No novice is going to have the tools to deal with the techniques that make a pro driver faster than a club racer. And professionals don't always make the best instructors even when their students are ready to learn the final pieces of the puzzle. However good a racer might be on the track, there isn't an automatic correlation with their ability to communicate ideas effectively. In fact, being a very focused and competitive driver can end up being slightly at odds with what makes someone an effective teacher. When it comes naturally to you, you don't necessarily understand all the different components of it as well as if you had to overcome a naturally 'normal' level of initial skill.

Tiger Woods' coach is not as good a golfer as Tiger Woods. But Tiger Woods' coach is probably a better coach than Tiger Woods would be.

[acapella8]

I loved the line -- "only go ON the throttle, when you're sure you don't have to go OFF the throttle."

There is alot of wisdom in that sentence.

[jluetjen]

Originally posted by Jack Olsen

And while it's awesome to see Jackie Stewart doing this segment, it's probably worth mentioning that he didn't bring any magical "Jackie Stewart" ingredient to the table in making the TV host 20 seconds faster. Any POC/PCA/DE-type instructor could have gotten the same results for the guy.

Tiger Woods' coach is not as good a golfer as Tiger Woods. But Tiger Woods' coach is probably a better coach than Tiger Woods would be.

I agree and I don't agree. Jackie's still got some magic that few drivers (short of Clark, Lauda, Prost, Senna, Shumacher and maybe a few others) ever had. He knows were the last few 10's can come from. I agree that the best "doers" are not the best teachers, and many great teachers are not the best "doers". But Jackie's skills transend the driver's seat and have always included the communications skills which are a key point of being a teacher. Getting coaching from Jackie is still a case of sitting at the feet of a master, while anyone else would merely be a great teacher.

[byndbad914]

great clip. I am losing my "balls" with age and I only turned 35 on Saturday! I hope to just be willing to get behind the wheel of a racecar at 66.

Excellent point about smoothness. First point I make to friend's any time I go out on a track with them and I am always surprised at how rough/jerky folks can be behind the wheel...

and the point about hitting the gas too early only to let off. classic. Seems so simple in conversation, but hard to keep under control on the track (for me at least). I want to GO, so that means hard on the gas all the time right

I can't wait to be back on the track again...

[PeteBrown]

Fantastic!

Reminds me of my first DE with the now President of the Northern OH PCA region, calling me "chicken" as I would lift and tap the brakes before going into the kink at Nelson's Ledges. Five years later, I still cannot go through there without a slight lift.

Instruction is a great thing, but I've learned that 911 instruction is best. Boxster and M3 instructors often do not under the particularities of the 911 handling dynamics in terms of late braking, lift throttle over-steer and challenge of trail braking.

[masraum]

Amazing, I bet, even for a guy that's driven all sorts of stuff and rubbed elbows with plenty of people, that that was a phenomenal experience.

[CarlP]

Damn! Sir Jackie was my boyhood hero. Really cool to see what he can still do. Bondurant sounds like a great idea.