There are amateur drivers, and then there are professional drivers. A pro driver doesn’t drive at their limit; they drive at the car’s limit. They will always be on the cusp of what the car can do; the razor edge between grip and being tossed off the track. The tires will be squealing, the brakes red hot, engine’s valves will be ready to shoot through the hood, the car screams down the tarmac, it’s rev needle bouncing off the redline and its front tire lifting off the ground as the rear ones hug the road. The late and great Ayrton Senna has a quote describing this limit in a way no one else can:
“On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, ‘Okay, this is the limit.’ As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.”
Pros are about at that limit.
They are in a league of their own. No matter how hard amateurs try they can never get on par with that level.
Pros know about everything about speed at the limit. Each driver has his own unique technique they’ve learned from experience. They know how to raise the bar even higher when the situation calls for it. They have that spirit that amateurs don’t. That’s the territory of pros.
Until armatures take part in circuit competition and develop skills they can’t use the full potential of their cars.
And there are technical reasons you can’t get into that limit even if you want. You don’t have works cars and access to knowledge & parts whenever you want. You drive a production road car. No matter how hard you try to purpose built your car for time attacks or downhill there is a limit. And you can’t use the redline as you wish without risking of blowing the motor.
So if you want to dive to YOUR limit, while your car is never a very powerful car, you should be ready to wring every last bit of capability out of it. And only an experienced downhiller can do it, with the help of other facts.
So, orthodox style is the traditional type, who adapts circuit trained techniques to the street. On the other hand, downhill style is a peculiar type, who specializes only in mountain downhill.
When you compete in teams, if you ever have to face a highly skilled orthodox driver, be sure to not to choose a same style driver against him. Because you will not have a chance against an orthodox driver in a clash of traditional skills.
They have top level traditional skills. With competition trained skills they won’t show any weakness. The sense of shaving time off, mental ease at the limit, real tire management skills and stamina… those things can’t be attained by amateurs.
So it’d be the right strategy for you to throw a change-up, instead of fast ball. Because that time a traditional strategy will put you at disadvantage.
But amateur street drivers naturally have one or two advantages on downhill. All other things are in favour of orthodox style.
1. Right turn
Normally street drivers have one certain advantage here over competition drivers; their weakness is right turn (Some countries drive on left side of the road and others on the right side. Let’s say you drive on the left and continue this conversation). Not all right turns, but at certain right turns, that weakness highlights. To the right of the centre line is dead zone, occupied by opposing traffic. Most can’t attack a right hand corner without worrying about a head on collusion. No one can give it 100%. But with experience you can come close to that.
In motorsports, you don’t have to worry about opposing traffic. So track day drivers are not used to this kind of driving.
So on downhill, in counterattacks; many drivers always stay outside at right hand side corners. If you can combine that with your strategy then you can overtake at a specific point.
2. Experience on downhill
Your strength lies more or high on the downhill itself.
If someone drives on the circuit, over time they get used to safety, and grow fearful of the mountain, especially downhill. It’s natural because there are no escape zones, and you don’t know what’s beyond a blind corner. A less experienced downhiller can’t maintain a high pace in a course without any escape zones. So whoever driving on downhill must have a sense of downhill driving and great experience on downhill. That’s the advantage you have and they don’t.
To get the full use of it you must combine it with your strategy. Then, the combined performance of you and your car can clear a corner at a speed that a less experienced downhiller would think impossible.
Orthodox drivers are trained to control their car a half step before such a situation occurs. But an experienced downhiller can keep controlling the car until the very end, while a less experienced downhiller chickens out. That backing away will cause the car spin at the most critical moment. At that moment if less experienced downhiller continues keep going, he won’t know whether he will clear the corner or crash. His fighting spirit will be defeated by the fear of going off the course.
When it comes to the downhill, the driver who has more experience on downhill is a notch above the other driver.
So if you are on circuit, your chances would be very slim, but the downhill is your stage, so there is no need to flinch at opponent’s title. Do not worry about things which you have no control over. Do your best and leave the rest. If you have a good strategy and as long as you don’t make mistakes you have the possibility to win.
Thank you.