Page 62 - April 2023

Tr a c k R a t s
The Long St ory of Why We Aren? Left -Foot
Bonus: Updat e on Fast Feet Pract ice Result s
Fast
Feet
From last month:
? a few of you skilled drivers are going to roll your
eyes and wonder why I?m not left-foot braking,
especially given that I have a PDK (no clutch).This is
the story of how that came to be ? and how one day
with a pro coach solved this for me.
Years ago, my very first instructor suggested I learn
to left foot brake. It takes work to master that skill,
especially well enough to trust it at 100+ mph
heading into a corner. That means you have to work
on it during daily driving. After a few months, I was
confident enough with my left foot to use it at the
track. It did seem to improve my lap times by
eliminating the delay between throttle and brake.
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Unfortunately, I didn? have a data system at the
time, so we can? be sure.
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One fine track day, heading into The Hairpin (Turn 5)
at Barber, I found myself stuck with my left foot
jammed on the brake pedal and my left knee stuck
under the bottom of the steering column. I had
?submarined? under the 3-point seatbelt and was
unable to get my foot off the brake. As things go, it
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wasn? that awful ? you?d much rather be stuck on
the brake than on the throttle, right? But it?s not very
good for lap times.
I discussed this frustrating experience with people
62
t
Braking
By Shar on St ew ar t
This link is a video of how to wrap harnesses correctly:
https://youtube/zGcN-JAMw3c,
Cable stitch knitting is easier. Yikes.
at the track who suggested that harnesses would
solve that problem and probably improve my
driving overall. Harnesses have the added benefit
of holding your body in place so you no longer
need to use legs, arms, knees, elbows, and feet to
counteract turning forces, resulting in more precise
control and less fatigue.
Ok! Sold! Let?s shop for harnesses. I enjoy
shopping for car parts (just not for shoes or
clothes).
To install harnesses, you have to have something
solid as an attachment point. There are three
options for that:
1) Schrot h: there is a system that will hook
into the rear seat seatbelt fittings. This is a great
solution if you have a rear seat. Sadly, there was
an engine where my rear seats would have been in
the 981 Cayman S. In addition, the Schroth system
is a 4-point system, which is not approved by PCA.
I understand why they made that decision on
regular 4-point systems, but this one is different,
so if you aren? running in PCA events, they are
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worth a look.
www.schrot hracing.com/it em/schrot h-quickfit -pro/