Exercises and driver instructions Overall expectations of our student drivers: Our goal for you is for you to learn tools & gain an understanding of the dynamics of your car & your actions so you can make good decisions. To use what you learn today & Saturday so you can continue to learn as you drive on the track and the street for the rest of your life.

In order to guide you we will:

- Present a variety of skills and techniques in the “classroom” - Get you to think about today’s topics so you can relate to them Saturday in our practical sessions. Saturday exercises: 1. Skidpad clockwise and counter-clockwise: A circular track where drivers will learn the skills to master under/oversteer and what causes them. 2. Slalom through cones -increasing interval and decreasing interval. Learning to anticipate the slow turn in on ice, and to catch oversteer on completion of the turn in, developing a rhythm and experiencing the importance of weight transfer. 3. Avoidance -a slalom through cones where the driver has to watch for a signal to not make the next turn, with a focus on looking well ahead of the car. 4. Turning a corner on the track -incorporates acceleration, braking and turning, where you will experiment with unsettling the car to increase the rate of rotation.

In general, the exercises will illustrate weight transfer and its’ effect on traction and handling. We want you to learn to feel what the car is doing and train yourself to react in the best way. Instructor instructions to drivers for each exercise: 1. The Skidpad exercise will require a measured and careful combination of throttle and steering, think of the word “delicate” as you work on this. The goal is to circle the Skidpad as consistently close to the inside cones at the highest speed attainable, you can call this a “dance” at the limit of adhesion. Most vehicles, particularly RWD and AWD, will be fastest when in an oversteer condition. Ideally, all drivers will be able to use the gas pedal to steer the car lap after lap with minimal steering input. The result will provide drivers with the feel for the balance of the car and what causes imbalance. They should experiment with the effect of sudden throttle lift, or rapid throttle increase, braking, and left foot braking, while driving around the skidpad. 2. The Slalom exercise: Once again the throttle will help to steer the car, moderate braking may help to transfer weight to the front wheels to aid steering, but adjusting throttle is more likely to be successful and fast. The driver will experience what causes over and understeer and learn to make adjustments.

In the first one or two runs, try to set a steady throttle speed, and use steering to get through the slalom. After that, experiment with using throttle adjustments to aid in rotating the car. In a FWD or AWD you might try to add some left foot braking. Approaching the first cone you will accelerate then back off the gas to transfer weight to the front wheels and steer past the cone, watching to not steer too much past the line to the next cone. After the turn is complete you will accelerate to the next cone, the weight will transfer to the rear to help stabilize the drive wheels. And repeat! The goal of the Slalom is to illustrate how smoothness and balance count and the relationship between steering and acceleration and deceleration is reinforced. The distance between the cones will increase in the first exercise series. The second round of exercises, when you return about an hour later, you will run it in the opposite direction. In this direction the driver will have to learn to compensate for the changing rhythm, and be willing to give up speed along the way. 3. The Avoidance exercise challenges the driver to drive more instinctively, keeping his/her eyes further forward than the nearby cones, which has two effects: We drive where we look but also, we can react to what is ahead if we are in the habit of keeping our eyes looking forward. The goal is to be confident in what you feel (what you have learned) and to make adjustments based on visual cues. 4. Making a turn on the training track laid out on the ice. The goal is to simulate what a turn is like at higher speed, expanding on the developing skills and habits. a. The driver will enter the corner keeping in mind the “line” concept learned in the classroom b. The first time through the goal is to complete the corner at a steady speed and feel the reactions of the vehicle on the ice surface. c. Second time increase the approach speed then brake, hopefully feeling the difference on turn in with the weight transferred to the front wheels, making the turn then accelerating to complete the corner. You may want to practice this a time or two to work on timing of driver actions. d. Attempt to brake during the corner, AWD and FWD cars will benefit from this to help steering. Or use a slight, quick lift after initial turn in to help rotate the car. These may also be applied later in the corner if it is a long sweeper. e. Once a driver has mastered and feels comfortable he/she can attempt the “Scandinadian flick” as discussed in the classroom: Starting inside of the “normal” line the driver brakes and turns away from the corner toward the normal line, this “upsets” the suspension and allows the car to oversteer in the direction opposite the direction of the corner then abruptly turn in the direction of the corner allowing the tail to drift out then squeezing on the gas to continue the drift; remember to recognize the end of the corner and to accelerate OUT of the corner as early as possible.