You entered
the race server one hour prior to a league
race to get some practice. You like the
track, maybe your favorite one, and would
really like to have a good finish. So you
load the setup and hit the track. Wow, you
put up a good lap time. Into the garage
for a couple more tweaks and back on the
track. You are climbing higher on the top
speed list. Seems like you will really smoke
those guys tonight.
We call this "winning
the practice". It is ok, gives you
some bragging rights, may even give you
the pole position, but does little to help
you in the long race ahead.
Doing good in the league
race requires that you practice race situations.
If you are in a fixed setup league then
practicing your race line to improve lap
times is important. If you run in an open
setup league then tweaking your setup during
practice is also important. These should
not take up the hour you have for practice.
If you are fortunate enough
to be in a league that has few cautions
then you will want to do some fuel and tire
runs. Check how many laps you can run on
the fuel and the condition of your tires
at the end of that run. Many times racers
practice pitting on fresh tires and then
during the race when you try to hit your
slow down point, you spin. Your tires are
worn and your slow down point has changed.
A couple runs to set the worn tire slow
down point is important. This will help
reduce the cautions.
Another thing to try that
will help with lap times is running different
lines around the track. Even if your running
a track where the outside line is slow,
chances are that sometime during the race
you will have to run it. If you can run
all lines on a track then you can run the
preferred line well.
The best way to do this
is team up with a buddy. Make a game of
it. Whoever is in the lead must run the
outside line. The guy in the back usually
will have the advantage on the low line
and should be able to get the lead back.
The guy on the outside line can try and
hold him off as long as possible. This technique
will help you during the race big time.
You will be able to safely run the outside
line while maybe even holding off someone
trying to pass for position. You should
also know where you have to brake and slow
down on the low line.
These are a few of my suggestions
to help improve your finish in the race
and maybe even reduce the number of cautions.
Lynn Hughes
Reed Setup Team |
