BensonHsu.com

previously the sileightymania.com journal.

Browsing Posts tagged speedtrial

I went to a Speedtrial event last weekend… there was a car control group reserved for us “car controllers”. The day was amazing. I couldn’t believe how akward it was for me that day… even though I’ve been out on that track many times, this time it felt like new. I think it was due to all of the learning that I’ve gained since the last time I was there. It forced me to look at the track in a different way… more possibilities, new entry speeds, new drifting lines, new techniques.

It was so strange being so unfamiliar with such a familiar track. I had a horrible time finding the correct lines and braking points and entry speeds of each turn… I was inconsistent throughout the whole day. But I am happy because this was the first time in a while that I was doing things to really challenge myself. It’s almost like when I first started learning and I had the hardest time trying to reach for something that was only a little beyond my reach.

In the end, I did a whole lot of learning… I noticed a lot of new things. I did 3rd gear braking drift at the bowl (and now I am getting much more comfortable with braking drift), I realized the importance of a few hundred rpms while entering a drift, I successfully feinted the skidpad 5 times, almost topping out 2nd gear at entry of the feint. I also learned that no matter what I’m concentrating on, I have to keep an open mind, because there is sometimes something I don’t see. I learned that from watching Hiro. Some things I brushed up on were smooth drifting exits, more precise steering, smoother drifting angles, and braking in the middle of a drift to change angle and speed.

So when’s the next event? Drift Day 4 held by Club4AG! Go sign up, I’m sure there will be plenty of learning and sharpening of skills that day. See ya there!

If you didn’t make it to the Speedtrial event on Saturday, then you should smack yourself right now!! (… waiting for you to smack yourself …) Hiroshi Takahashi from Running Free and Shinji Minowa from Hey Man! came over from Japan and gave us all silly Americans a show. They were great… showing us manji, chokudori, feint drifts, high speed, and smooth technique. I myself had such a great time, I honestly didn’t have much time to pay a whole lot of attention to our guests from Japan. I’ve improved so much since the last event that I could barely contain myself. I learned more than I ever hoped to… in the early morning part of the day, I was already doing braking drift (there was only one turn in the track where I used my side brake), entering drifts at 75mph, s-turns, feint motion drifts, and I even found out that I can show the peace sign while drifting with one hand. I also had the chance to help out my friends Johnny and Richard… they were drifting great towards the end of the day. Nadine and Tsuyoshi amongst other people took great pictures of me… thanks guys! I’ll post some more thoughts about the event as well as pictures later on this week (hopefully). Stay tuned!