10 Mind and Body Mods for Better Track Performance
1. Invest in a Gym Membership
Many people are under the mistaken impression that driving a car on the track is not a physically demanding activity, as if the car does all the work. But, as anyone who has woken up sore the next day knows, there is a huge difference between track driving and commuting to work.
Porsche, in typical German fashion, has created motorsport-specific workouts, and even opened up gyms called Human Performance Centers inside of many of their Porsche Experience locations (Atlanta and Los Angeles in the USA). As an added bonus, work out there and the guy on the machine next to you might be a F1 or rally driver, instead of some random meathead. You can watch the official Porsche take on it in this video.
2. Strengthen Your Core
Part of what you will be working on at the gym is stronger core muscles with better stamina. If you are tracking your street car, or even a dedicated car with race harness and big side bolsters, your core has to work hard against the lateral forces in ways it doesn't in everyday life. Your arms and legs can't make accurate inputs if your body is flopping around the cabin.
You will most notice a lack of core strength in the last session of the day when you notice just how heavy your helmeted head feels. Remember, if you corner at 1g you might as well be sitting on a wall, and your back and abdominal muscles have to hold you upright. Here's a series of videos with driver specific core exercises.
3. Cardio Endurance
Track day driving may not be as demanding as a triathlon, but it will get your heart rate up and wear you out over the course of the day. If you are not used to doing a physical activity, such as jogging or spinning for 30 minutes at a time, you are going to find your reflexes and reaction time at the end of a 30 minute on track session severely impacted. No need to do anything high impact and ruin your knees, but pick a cardio routine and work your way up until you are working out for as long as your typical track session. If you are planning on doing any endurance racing, cross training to do triathlons isn't a bad idea at all.
4. Add Lightness
The last body mod you can make to improve your performance is to lose some weight. Most of us can stand to lose a few pounds, and not only will it make you feel better, it will make your car faster. When you think about how much people will spend for carbon fiber body panels, and lightweight wheels, it just makes no sense to carry around an extra 20 lbs of human spare tire around the waist.
5. Memorize the Track
If you can commit the layout of the track to memory, you will be much better mentally prepared when you actually start turning laps. There are many ways to do this. Before you get to the track you can review in-car videos from nearly anywhere on YouTube (sometimes even featuring a similar car to yours). If you are lucky, you can find an accurate copy of the track on a video game or online simulation, allowing you to actually drive it before you get there.
Most events will have a track walk in the morning before they let cars out there, sometimes even with instruction from an experienced driver as you walk, and you should take advantage of it. The 996 sim above in Tokyo will let you drive tracks at Fuji Speedway, Suzuka Circuit, Nürburgring, Monaco and over 100 others.
6. Hire a Coach
You can think you are doing all you can, but nothing will convince you otherwise like taking a ride in the passenger seat with a real pro driving your car. Pay attention to their braking zones, apexes and throttle application. Being fast is a matter of minimizing the slow sections, and going as fast as possible for as long as possible. If you can get on the brakes later, stop harder, and get back on the gas sooner, you will be faster than the driver who brakes too soon for longer before hitting the apex. Doing it in your own car allows you to learn much more than going for a ride in the instructor's car.
7. Back to School
If you can't get a coach or instructor to take you around in your own car and point out your issues, the next best thing is to take driving school. There are many places you can learn to drive a race/sports car, but as a Porsche enthusiast, the best one is the Porsche Sport Driving School. Perhaps the best thing about taking a class is they typically have you drive their cars, so there is less worry about damaging your own.
8. Go Beyond the Limits
Using a school car allows you to explore, or blow right through, the limits of braking, turning and accelerating. Most people are held back because they think they are cornering or braking on the limits, but in reality they have no idea where the limits are. With a powerful, competent car like a Porsche, the limits are so high that when you do exceed them you are often going way too fast, and the consequences are expensive.
The Mazda Miata or the new Toyota/Scion/Subaru sports cars are designed to be much closer to the limit at street speeds to allow you to explore them with less dire results. Intentionally getting your car a little sideways, or braking so hard that you lock up the wheels (or activate ABS), allow you a better understanding of exactly where the limits are.
9. Be In Control While Out of Control
Drifters, rally drivers, and dirt track racers all know that just because your wheels are spinning and you have exceeded the available grip, that doesn't mean you are out of control. If you live up north and drive in the snow and ice, of course you have already learned a lot about controlling skids and slides when traction is lacking. The Porsche Sport Driving School has a wet skid pad (or a snow course in Finland) specifically to help drivers be more comfortable when their cars start to break traction. Once you understand how to control a slide and gather it back up, you can get much closer to the limits of adhesion without worry.
10. Conquer Your Fears
A big part of going faster is pushing past the limits you are afraid of crossing. Many times there is plenty of speed left in the car, but your mind holds you back because you just don't have the courage to enter a corner any faster than you already are. What can you do to get over this fear? Well, you don't have to drive with a cougar like Ricky Bobby did. Meditation, yoga and other practices can help you calm down, lowering your overall anxiety level before you get in the car and letting you push further (pictured above the yoga instructor for Porsche HQ in Atlanta).
Sometime all it takes is the peace of mind of track day insurance, or driving a school car, to allow you to push through the fear plateau. Another good technique is to follow a faster driver in a similar car, using their lines, apexes, and braking zones, and knowing you should have similar levels of grip. Practice makes perfect, but practicing the same bad habits is not as good for you as practicing someone better's habits.
For more advice about your Porsche, and how to maintain it or fix it, click over to the How To section of the Rennlist forums.