IMHO, the fallacy in your reasoning lies in the fact that the clock is not
running. This permits you to get away with things you could not afford if
you were on the clock. Like a wider turn, or a slower turn that puts you on
the "right" side of the chute as you go through the lights.
Running this year's Nationals south course, I took a soft start because then
I did not push out to the left at that little righthand kink before the
start, which meant that once the clock was running I was positioned MUCH
better for a late apex on the first "real" turn that followed.
With a hard start I would have been faster through the kink and faster at
the startlight, but slower because of the tighter line through that first
turn. Hmmm. Sacrifice speed with the clock running or with the clock not
running? Tough choice. :-) Speed through the kink mattered much less than a
good line at the first turn, IMHO. With the clock not yet started, I had the
luxury to "give up" more at the kink in order to get that good line when the
clock WAS running.
That's how I saw the course. YMMV.
--Rocky Entriken
----- Original Message -----
From: <dg50@daimlerchrysler.com>
To: <autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: Start Design
> Here's the way I approach Nartionals-style "turn at the start" starts.
>
> Pretend for a second that the entry to the start is preceeded by a long
> straight - that it's a "normal" corner.
>
> What would your entry and exit speeds be, if that were the case?
>
> Now, consider that at the actual event, you're going to have your car
> sitting on the entry point with a speed of zero.
>
> How hard must you launch to wind up at the exit point of that turn with
the
> same exit speed as the thought experiment?
>
> For most cars and most turns (no, not all, there are car and course
> dependancies) that answer becomes "as hard as I can" because you'll be
hard
> pressed to get the car up to that maximum theoretical exit speed in that
> distance from a standing start.
>
> Is it tough? Yes. Is there potential for conage? Yes. But the payoff for
> getting it right is a substancial increase in speed as you trip the start
> lights. It's "free time", and depending on what the course looks like
> downrange of the start, it can pay off enormous amounts.
>
> ...just like the dragrace start...
>
> By putting in a "start hook" - unless it is obscenely pinched - a course
> designer has not absolved a competitor of the necessity for a dragrace
> start. The time payoff is still there. What he _has_ accomplished is to
> raise the level of difficulty of the manoever to the point were only the
> skilled (or the practiced) feel comfortable in attempting it.
>
> But the time advantage for a full launch is still there.
>
> DG
>
>
>
>
>
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