-
1 week ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
Min speed, vMin, or whatever you want to call it, is simply the minimum speed you’re carrying at the slowest point in a corner. I’m sure you understand why your min speed is so important, but to review:If it’s too high, you’re going to be delayed in beginning to accelerate out of the corner, hurting your speed down the next straight. If it’s too low, you’ll begin accelerating from a lower speed than ideal, and that will also hurt your speed down the next straight.
-
2 weeks ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
Max Verstappen. It seems that most motorsport fans either love him or hate him. No matter what your opinion is of him, you can’t help but respect his abilities. On a recent It’s Not The Car podcast episode that Sam Smith, Jeff Braun and I recorded, the question of why a driver could be a favorite came up. We thought one factor is important: how much a dri…
-
2 weeks ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
“Michael… you could see when comparing him to other drivers, he would have more of a tendency to go into a corner and see what was there, and cope with it when he found it.” - Ross Brawn talking about Michael SchumacherAs I prepare for the upcoming Corner Min, Mid & Max masterclass, I’m thinking about the difference between predicting and anticipating—p…
-
3 weeks ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
“Because I drive a FWD/rear-engine Porsche/momentum/fill-in-the-blank car, I turn in later/earlier/smoother/fill-in-the-blank, and use a later/earlier/middle/fill-in-the-blank apex.” “The line is the line and there is only one fast way to get through a corner and around a track fast.” “There’s a fast line, and then there’s a racing line.” “I have a special trick line for that corner.” I’ve heard all of those justifications for the way drivers drive through a corner or series of corners, and...
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
The length of a road trip can be calculated by the number of bags of chocolate chip cookies consumed on the drive from point A to point B. For example, from Vancouver in British Columbia to Los Angeles is a two-and-a-half-bag trip. Seattle to Chicago is a four-bagger. I’ve proven this to be fact.
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
Over the past year or so, I’ve raced in a few different “low budget” endurance race events. As far I’m concerned, racing in Lucky Dog, Champcar, AER, and WRL are really good series to practice one’s racecraft skills. With a mix of cars and driver skill levels, passing, being passed, and thinking strategically is critical. On the flight home from one of these events, with what I’d observed and experienced fresh in my mind, I wrote the following:What is racecraft?
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
Another Watch Party/Chat: This coming Saturday evening, I'm going to watch the TV coverage of the first Formula One race of the season, the Australian GP, and share my thoughts and observations, answer questions, and read and enjoy your comments. Since I'm on Pacific Time Zone time, it'll be on at 8pm on Saturday; check your local listings. Join me right here at: Let's have fun watching the race together.
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
The following are some random observations from the St. Pete Indy Car race last weekend. But before I get to that, a highlight for me was having a dozen or so subscribers of this Driving Directionspublication join me online while watching the race. Almost everyone participated in the chat, sharing their own observations, questions, and answers. To make m…
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
You could look at driving and going fast around a track as having two components:Physical Game: skills and techniques such as braking, steering, accelerating, where you look, and the line you drive. Of course, physical strength and stamina are part of this, as well. Mental Game: the mental game covers many areas: from the ability to focus to mentally rehearsing and programming a physical skill; and from managing your state of mind to how to learn a track more quickly.
-
1 month ago | 
rossbentley.substack.com | Ross Bentley
This coming Sunday I’m going to try something new, and I’m hoping you’ll join me. I’m going to be online in my Chat feed during the TV coverage of the St. Petersburg Indy car race, sharing my thoughts, answering your questions, and reading your comments. The idea is that you and I (and other subscribers) will be watching the race together, and having an online conversation.