First Race, but not first time on track

[lv2jmp]

Howdy!

My name is Dave Burton, and I'll be doing my first race at the SCCA Sunburn event at MSR Cresson end of this month.

I have been doing HPDE in my Corvette (C7/C8) for over 7 years. I've driven COTA, Cresson, Houston, Spring Mountain, Sebring, and NCM Motorsports Park, and Harris Hill.

I'll be in the FX class in my 2008 Dallara F-4. I graduated from Skip Barber Formula Racing School in late 2023, and bought my race car in March of 2024. I have my full comp license, and not afraid to use it.

I am looking forward to seeing my race friends at Cresson, and learning from y'all and hopefully doing better than last place.

I am so happy to be here, and excited to begin racing with my yet-to-be friends in the sport.

PM for my cell. If you are going to be there, I'd love to meet you!

-- Dave

[Steve Davis]

Dave,
Good luck at your first event. I suggest you give no thought at all as to what your finish position is or will be. Just relax, drive the car, DON'T take any chances, don't make any passes that are not 'easy ones'. It's never a good idea to mess up a new car in it's first race . It matters NOT where you finish - first, last or in between. After you have few races completed, THEN you can start paying attention to where you finish. With your experience, I think you'll finish just fine. Don't know what FX is like in your part of the country, but it's pretty slim every where I've been. Mostly you'll be ON TRACK with (but not 'racing with') cars that are NOT in your class. Don't forget which is which.

Steve, FV80

[Purple Frog]

Stay humble. Remember that to all the other entrants you are the "new guy" of unknown ability. So, they will be somewhat "concerned". That's normal. And it goes both ways. You need to try to study the group you will be racing in to learn any idiosyncrasies they may have.
You will be in a fairly fast car, so closing rates can get real interesting real fast, especially if the slow guys don't see you coming. And some folks might drive "interesting" lines that can catch you out. It might be best to follow folks that are slower than you through the corners and pass them on the straights until you get to know how aware they may be. So, in early sessions you might be spending most your effort learning the field and not trying to set any lap records.
And, Steve didn't mention it in his post above, but if your run group includes FV, you must respect that they have different lines and speeds through corners, so dive-bombing them into a corner can have negative results.

Its best to keep reminding yourself that Chip Ganassi is not there looking to recruit new drivers.

Have fun!

[lv2jmp]

Good advice all! Thank you much! Won't have FV, but will have FA(!).

Yes, these first few races will all be learning experiences, seeing how others are doing things, and learning on and off the track.

And I have to say, driving like this is FUN! Learning new things is FUN!

My #1 goal is "don't be that driver". #2 is finish the race. After that, it is gravy.

[EYERACE]

In retrospect from years and years ago......though I heartily recommend Skippy's 3 day racing school for beginners (as was I).....the thing that became clear to me after years of running my own Formula Ford and/or Formula Continental.......is that Skippy teaches you but also at the same time sets you up in a way such that you will not hurt their open wheel entry level car. They did not teach me how to be on the edge of the envelope.

Your Corvette probably has a greater top end than the Skippy car.......but it's not necessarily about top speed......open wheel at the lower levels (FF, FM, FC, CF, CFC as examples) is about driving it into-through-and-exit speed for the corners and set up. The F4 car is a LOT of car....more than Skippy for sure.

Speed will come......so be patient for several weekends. While you're in learning mode maybe run the old tires a few weekends. Left foot brake when appropriate. Stay on the line. No one else cares how fast and/or slow you will be....because there's nothing to gain other than a bigger or smaller plaque/trophy. Leave the ego back in the paddock, let others pass you if things are that close, be in no hurry to pass someone else.......experience their draft for a couple of laps. An F4 will be somewhat expensive to repair versus many other cars. If you have video when the session is over, watch it but...ignore lap times for the first several sessions. Test days often gives one a less full grid such that you won't need to watch your mirrors and can concentrate on learning the nuances of an incredible car.......have crew to do tire temp and pressure readings when you come into the pits at various times of that Test Day session. Wings are wings - run various settings and experience the feel rather than worry about times early on

[TimH]

Just a thought:

Try running first with almost no wing. The F4 will have loads of mechanical grip and that should be explored and learned before complicating things. Eventually you're going to be VERY fast but the ultimate speed won't come if you start off exploiting the car's advantages too soon.

[mikey]

I would actually recommend running maximum wing although you must be careful to avoid stalling airflow.
Max wing will be the safest and if you can keep up with others in the corners, then you can start reducing wing to pick up speed on the straights.
getting the set up right is the hardest part with formula cars so try to talk to other F4 owners and get as much information as you can to get into a decent neutral setting to start with

[mboian90]

Hi Dave,

Glad to see another car in SOWDIV! I run a FF in the area but havent made it out this year due to life interferences. For similar reasons I wont make it out to Cresson but hope to make the December event at MSRH.

Darryl Wills at Hillenburg Motorsports has recently campaigned a F4 car for one of their customers and would be a good person to talk to if you have burning set up questions. He will also be one of the fastest people in the run the group so not a bad idea to talk him.

My only useful "advice" would be that the race starts at Cresson are a little weird. The green is usually thrown on the straight heading into Big Bend and not on the straight where the timing line and and pit entrance are. The field forms up and the pace car literally just drives off the track to get out of the way before the corner station there throws the flag. This also makes the the formation lap really short so dont lollygag around thinking you have all day to warm tires. The above is in the sups (which I know you have read ) but it is usually not in an obvious spot.

Happy racing, hope to see you at the track someday!

Matt Boian