Postby Loren » Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:33 pm
Yeah, makes total sense. On courses with options, sometimes you really have to think about the options and how things fit together.
So, which option(s) did you take wrong? I guess there were 3 of them. The first "Key West Box" that led into the optional slalom. The entry of the optional slalom, and the box on the return side.
The first box in and of itself really didn't matter, you could take it either way. Same with the second one, really. The box itself could be taken either way, it's the position it put you in for the next element that was critical.
IMO, you really wanted to EXIT the optional slalom on the left. That gave you a nice straight stretch and an easy setup for the cross-course sweeper. To get that good exit, you had to enter the slalom on the right. And it was a WHOLE bunch easier to get to the right and enter that slalom at max speed if you took the first box to the left.
The return side was possibly even more critical. (I never tried either of these options any other way than what's in the video) If you took that box to the left, you were forcing yourself into a 3-cone 50-foot spaces slalom. Taking it to the right, you could stay in the gas longer... and possibly (if you had enough grip, which I was never confident that I did) flat-foot it through that oddly spaced finish slalom.
My favorite part of the course, I think, was the very last slalom section. The last cone is spaced 50', the one before it was 100' or something like that. If you didn't set up for it, that 50' spacing could be painful. But, the 100' before it gave you plenty of room for an exaggerated setup to late-apex your way into it (and early apex the final cone). I tapped the brake coming out of the Box, and immediately went back to full-throttle to the finish. Bumped the 2nd gear rev limiter just as I crossed the finish line.
Note to self: You've found Mark Hackett's kryptonite.
Loren Williams - Loren @ Invisiblesun.org
The "Push Harder, Suck Less" philosophy explained:
Push Harder - Drive as close to the limit of your tires as possible.
Suck Less - Drive something resembling a proper racing line.