Driver Journal // May 2025
When I was thinking about what to write for this weeks entry I was having a really hard time coming up with ideas. The car has been parked since Calabogie, and likely won't see the track at the upcoming Ontario Time Attack School and Event #2. I've been fussing over some cosmetic issues with the car, which I will talk about one I can make it in to a more complete post. For now, I got a suggestion I really liked from a friend which I'm going to try this week.
I personally feel like a lot of motorsports enthusiasts tend to get distracted a lot by their machines. It's very common to be chatting with other drivers and have them talk about things that the car is doing that they don't like. The car might be understeering, oversteering, or in general just not behaving the way they expect, and therefor affecting the drivers ability to meet their goals, whether that be a new personal best, or a class podium. (We tend to call these driver excuses.) For this post, I want to take a good look at how I've developed as a driver over the past few years, and give myself a starting point for a journal I can reference as I continue my journey.
Baseline
I'm going to use 2023-2024 as a baseline measurement, and a measurement of improvement. I'd done time attack in 2022 as well, but that was with my focus. Since that car typically spent upwards of 50% of the day on jack stands, I don't see the value in picking apart my driving from that era. 2023 was also the year I bought my BRZ, so this keeps the platform consistent as well.
The best way that I can think of to measure improvement is by looking at the data that I've collected. If you're reading this and have an interest in data collection, I use Racebox. Racebox will show me accurate GPS data so I can analyze min and max speeds, corners speeds, and it also measure G-force. I do, however, have a blind spot when it comes to driver inputs like brake, throttle, and steering. But we will make do with what we have.
The Importance of Sim Racing
I have come to realize that Sim-Racing is more different from real life motorsports than I originally thought. I still firmly believe that there are transferable skills, and I maintain that it was a key point in my development as a driver. I used to spend hours sifting through driver development videos on YouTube, watching hours and hours of people talking about the racing line, trail braking, slip angle, etc. So when I finally went to the race track for the first time, I already had an advantage, and was praised by my instructor, who couldn't believe that I'd never been to a race track before.
Taking It To The Next Level
The real turning point for my driving happened when I invested in my Motorsports Safety Foundation certification, and completed the training at Calabogie Motorsports Park. I was very lucky that I impressed the coaches with my conflict resolution, customer relations, and my ability to be assertive. I did not, however, impress them with my driving. I was invited back to spend time with the coaches to improve my driving skills to their standards.
During the few months that I was doing this training, I learned a lot about car control, and vision. Vision was actually the thing I struggled with the most (and something I notice my students with similar Sim Racing backgrounds struggle with.) If your vision is confined to a (insert monitor width) box, it can be very jarring to be told to look at something that seems far away, or even beside you in some cases. Learning about vision and reference points was a game changer for me, both on the track and in the sim. It was one of the main drivers in my decision to purchase a triple screen setup, so I could see as much as possible.
On top of all that, learning to feel what the car was doing underneath me was also a learning curve. While in the sim, all the information from the car comes through the steering wheel, except of course what you see on the screen. When driving a car near or at the limit on a track, there are sources of information all around you. Sounds, vibrations, g-force etc. I was learning on the spot how to interpret all of these new sensations. Luckily my coach was very patient and helped me through the learning process.
After 3 full lapping days with my coach, they put the head instructor in the car with me for a check out. Now, I'm not sure if it was the pressure, or if it was because it was the first session of the day, but I did some of the worst driving I'd ever done with him in the car. They say it's normal to fail your drivers license test at least once, I like to think this is also true for Calabogie check out rides. Having taken quite a hit to my confidence, I went and had a chat with my coach about what had happened. Without a second thought, he picked up the pieces and got me back in the drivers seat for the next session. I spent two sessions with him, and one session with a different coach who fluffed me up a bit by telling me I drove better than some of their current coaches. They put the lead instructor back in the car with me, and not two laps later he asked me to pit, and told me I was signed off, and to go have fun.
Since then I've returned to a few of the tracks I ran in my first two years of OTA to compare lap times. My Racebox is a somewhat new addition to my gadget collection, and have unfortunately misplaced the data that I used to log on my phone using Track Addict. I have a few YouTube videos of laps I've done in the past to reference, but I'll be taking more care with my data moving forward.
All that being said, let's take a look at some track specific notes a numbers.
Calabogie Motorsports Park
I want to start with Calabogie, partially because it quickly became my favourite track to lap, but also because I exactly zero data for this track. At Calabogie HPDE days, running timing devices in cars is not allowed. This means that all I have to go off of my own personal feel.
The Good
Temptation very quickly became my favourite corner. The fact that I can throw the car in with barely any brakes, using the brake pedal to move the rear of the car around on entry, and waiting for the precise moment to get back on the throttle is incredibly rewarding. The head coach even pointed this corner out specifically to me, because he really like the way I took it.
Turn 1 and turn 16 are both high level of commitment corners. They are fast left handers that require a lot on confidence, and a lot of balance. These two corners are where I learned to balance the rear of the car with the throttle, and pushing the car through the corner, rather than just coasting. Turn 1 specifically, I am told, is where the instructors pass judgment on those who brake, as most cars can get through it with a bit of a lift, and a lot of hootspa.
The Bad
One of the things I learned while perfecting turn 8 (temptation) was to "keep the energy in the car." This was my coach's way of saying my corner speed was too slow. What he means is he doesn't want me to allow the car to settle mid corner. Keeping the energy means keeping the momentum, or g-force, in the car completely throughout the corner, ultimately keeping the tires at their limits. I managed to figure this out in temptation, but still struggle to do it in some corners. At Calabogie, these corners are the two horseshoes. (turn 5,6,7 and turn 11, 12a, 12b)
When I was still learning the ins and outs of the track, I would consistently over slow the car finding the apex of 6 and 12a. This is partially to do with the gearing on the BRZ being a bit weird through these corners. I seem to be between 2nd and 3rd gear here, where 2nd is too slow and revs are too high, but 3rd bogs down when exiting the corner. I'm still not sure what the best way through these corners in the BRZ is, but part of me things some stickier rubber and a proper alignment might increase my corner speed to the point where 3rd no longer bogs.
Shannonville Motorsports Park
I really quite like the track at Shannonville. It's engaging, fun, and the car feels at home there. It has a Turn 1 not unlike the Turn 1 at Calabogie, except in the other direction. The infield section is a lot of fun, and was a good test of the vision skills I had learned at the MSF Level 2 course 2 weeks prior.
I unfortunately don't have any data for Shannonville from before my coach training. I have misplaced the data I logged at OTA in 2023, but according to the OTA historical results, my personal best is a 2:10.576. That year I ran Michelin Pilot Spot 4s on stock alignment. The next year I came back with some Firehawk Indy 500s for a lapping day and did a 2:10.27. It's hard to say where I gained the time, but it felt like it was in the infield, and I like to think it was a product of my new found vision skills.
I haven't actually lapped at Shannonville since then. Not because I don't want to, but because it's possible to get free lapping days with certain groups if you instruct for them in exchange for track time. Because of how long this post is getting, I'll save the Shannonville notes for the next time I'm there.
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park DDT
The driver development track at CTMP is a pretty good time. It's also really accessible because it has a fairly low average speed. This is because it's almost entirely corners with very few, and mostly short straights. Ontario Time Attack also runs what they call the 1 kink layout which removes the second bus stop chicane and creates a pretty long run up to the last chicane. Truth be told, I hate this track (in like a love hate kind of way.)
I have a video of my fastest lap on this track, which I set at an OTA event 2 years ago. It's on my YouTube channel if you're interested. It's a 1:44.5. I don't have any data beyond what appears in this video for that year, but I do have some up to date data from a lapping session I did the following year. My fastest lap at DDT after becoming a Calabogie certified coach was a whopping 1:44.7. This frustrated me considering the improvement I was able to make on my Shannonville time earlier in the year. That being said, the session had be very wet all morning, and I have been reassured by other drivers that Indy 500 wet performance doesn't hold a candle to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, which the car was wearing in the above video. That still didn't stop me from having to bandage up my pride that day.
The Good
DDT is where I started to realize that I much prefer fast, long corners to short technical sections. I'm a big fan of turn 2 at DDT because even on hard street tires the car feels fast and nimble.
The Bad
There is a lot I don't like about this track, including, but not limited to, this is the track where I spun a rod bearing. I'm fairly certain that wasn't the track's fault, but I still get nervous while I'm there, and I probably will for some time. DDT also frustrates me because I constantly feel like I'm between gears, leading me to either short shift the car, or push it to the limiter. (I don't like this option because hitting the limiter on my car doesn't "ping" like a lot of other cars seem to do. It simply cuts throttle to zero. So I either have to shift of just lift and let the car coast in to the corner.)
Similar to my problem corners at Calabogie, I'm hoping an increase in grip will allow me to get my apex speeds up in these corners where I'm between gears which, I'm hoping, will help me not be so uncomfortable on this track.
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park GP
By far the fastest track that I've ever been on, the Grand Prix track at CTMP is one that, despite the risk, really enjoy. Having saved this one for last, I realized that could be because it's 90% fast sweeping corners. In 2023, at OTA, I managed a 1:45.65, which landed me 5th in class, an OTA best finish for me.
Unfortunately, like Shannonville, I haven't had the chance to revisit the track since then, and look forward to collecting some more data to compare to this video I took from that year at OTA.
My Takeaways
Getting trained by Calabogie coaches fast tracked my learning of real life performance driving. But by no means is it the peak of my learning. Having now written all of the above, I realize that moving the car quickly through slow, technical sections is something that I struggle with. Stickier rubber is something that I do want to experiment with this year to see if it helps, but at the same time, I know that I need seat time.
I've barely scratched the surface of developing a driving style that suits me, and developing the car to suit that driving style. There are still things that I'm doing that are surely holding me back, for example, both DDT times I cited above, I had full traction control enabled (I was scared of the rain.)
So for my next journal entry, let's set some goals.
- Work on regaining my confidence. I lost a lot of confidence in the car last year when I broke my engine. I realize that there were things that I could have done to prevent it, and I have now done those things, and continue to do those things. But it will still take time for me to trust the car fully.
- Practice going fast in slow sections. Everyone and their dog seems to be renting DDT this year, so it should be easy to get some practice. I also have been following Auto cross in Ottawa and hope to attend a few of those events as they pop up.
- Turn traction control off (at least for a lap or two.) I've always run with traction control off, or in track mode, depending on conditions. The BRZ is really the perfect platform to practice with it fully off. I know I can do it, but I've always been concerned about the risk of crashing, and never tried.
I'm thinking I try to do a journal entry at least once a month, so if you are interested in my progress, and want to see if, and how I meet the above goals, then mash that subscribe button.
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