HPDE

Paul Gerrard

GHIT 0259: Paul Gerrard – Author of Optimum Drive, Professional Racing Driver and Coach, and Top Gear USA’s “The Stig”

Do you REALLY want to be a great driver? If so, this is the episode for you.

Paul Gerrard is the author of “Optimum Drive – The Roadmap to Driving Greatness” and he knows what driving greatness entails as he has competed at many of the highest levels in motorsports and coaches many drivers pursuing their dreams. In addition, he was the Stig for Top Gear USA. Resume aside, he has a way of breaking down the pursuit of greatness that applies to virtually all areas of our lives, including racing. When he agreed to come on the podcast it was not an issue of what we should ask him, it was what we needed to leave out. Hopefully this is the first of many episodes with Paul.

And we learn the exciting news of Paul’s next book that he is working on to help

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) We discuss the natural skill vs learned debate about high performance driving and racing. This is great news for most of us.

2) A story about a bad tractor tire idea leads to a great Ayrton Senna story and then to a Jean-Claude Killy story.

3) How to develop a feel for what is fast and probably more importantly, how to improve your feel.

4) What is the key to becoming a great driver. It is a simple answer and the same answer for most aspects of your life.

5) Comparison on learning to be a racing driver at a racing school and a HPDE ladder system for a goal of professional racing

6) How vision skill issues can almost always be traced back to a lack of car control skills.

7) The importance of spending time on a skid pad as well as what to do when on the skid pad

8) Bill has read Paul’s book 6 times but still gets things absolutely backwards. Time for a seventh lap.

9) We digress into couples therapy for a few minutes, lol.

10) How the key to improving your driving is the fundamentals.

11) We also go into why a car that is understeering is so difficult to work with and why a car that is below the limit does not help you as much to improve your driving as you would expect.

12) The best brake initiation practice and how it differs from street driving.

13) Potential fallacies of the smooth is fast mantra. As always, Jackie Stewart is an example of the exception.

14) We also go into all of the listener submitted questions from our Instagram and Facebook.

To find even more from Paul, please go to:

https://www.theoptimumdrive.com/

Instagram at: @theoptimumdrive

Facebook at: The Optimum Drive

Paul’s blog articles can be found at:

https://www.theoptimumdrive.com/f1-blog-entries

Paul contributes to The Fast Lane Car YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TFLcar

Or email Paul at [email protected]

GHIT 0259: Paul Gerrard – Author of Optimum Drive, Professional Racing Driver and Coach, and Top Gear USA’s “The Stig”

DwD 0258: Overdriving vs Underdriving

On this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we talk about the two types of drivers we have on our team. Some of us approach track driving by overdriving the car and then backing down. Others of us approach the limit gradually working up to the limit. Both have their merits, but it is valuable to know what your default is and how to maximize your specific predilections, especially as an instructor or team captain. In this episode, we go into various indications of both under and over driving at a variety points across each lap.

If you would be interested in helping grow our sport of high performance driving and our podcast:

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

DwD 0258: Overdriving vs Underdriving

Better Leader or Better Following

DwD 0255: Are You Better Leading or Better Following (On Track)

On this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we talk through the common issues that many drivers have that some are much better setting the pace while leading another car and others are much faster trying to catch a car ahead of them. Are you a better leader? Or are you a better chaser or follower? Does it matter? Should it matter? We discuss our opinions. Please let us know your thoughts.

If you would be interested in helping grow our sport of high performance driving and our podcast:

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

DwD 0255: Are You Better Leading or Better Following (On Track)

GHIT 0254: New High Performance Driver Kim Coffey

GHIT 0254: New High Performance Driver Kim Coffey

A Command Performance for the Everyone Racers Podcast

Kim Coffey has been a car girl from a very young age and has recently discovered her passion for driving her car at the limit. It all started with a Supra Sunday with NASA and once the hook was set, she was off. She loves and drives her 2020 Toyota Supra for HPDE events, autocrosses and has even started Sim racing. If that wasn’t enough, she often takes her lunch at a local go kart track. We thought we would go over where she is this early in her driving journey and we are looking forward to seeing where she goes and what she decides to pursue in her high performance driving future.

There were some storm induced connection issues during the middle few minutes but most were easily editable and it resolved pretty quickly.

If you would like to help grow our sport and the podcast:

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) We wanted to make sure to satisfy our listener requests, so just for Jeff, Chris, Chrissy, and Mental from the Everyone Racers podcast we introduce Kim Coffey to the high performance driving community.

2) How did she approach entering the new to her sport and how things have progressed to this point.

3) Kim eventually found our recent guest Dave Peters’ HPDE Junkie website to locate her future track days.

4) A lot of people question the use of a classroom for HPDE. Kim provides some insightful comment on what she was able to learn from the classroom downloads at ACC.

5) Kim gives some great tips for someone going to their first HPDE to maximize their learning and improving their driving as quickly as possible.

GHIT 0254: New High Performance Driver Kim Coffey

Ross Bentley Coaches Our Team

GHIT 0250: Ross Bentley Coaches Our Team

Ross Celebrates Episode #250 and Coaches US!!!!!!!!!!

Did you ever wonder what a driving coach does for their driver? We were always curious. Ross Bentley was kind enough to show us the start of the process.

Ross Bentley was kind enough to continue our tradition of having him on as a guest to help us celebrate every 50 episode anniversary. And as long as he keeps saying yes, we will keep asking him, lol. For this episode, Ross was kind enough to offer to help coach Vicki and Jennifer. While the exact recommendations may vary between the two ladies, the process that Ross follows could be applied to your own racing/driving and the suggestions Ross makes may be able to help you specifically as well. One thing that we learned during this episode was that we really want to work with Ross as a coach even more now after seeing what he is able to do in this short period of time. We cannot remember a time where Jennifer and Vicki were more excited to get back to the track and try out Ross’s suggestions. As always, when we have Ross Bentley on, this is a good one and we are adding it to our can’t miss episode collection. The way that Ross coaches is so easy to apply, it is amazing.

If you would like to help grow the sport of high performance racing and our podcast,

you can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) Ross starts off with what tracks do we like and why. We end up talking a good bit of this episode about Mid Ohio, especially in the wet.

2) What are the first three questions that Ross asks nearly every student he works with?

3) Ross comes up with some great practice techniques that Jennifer and Vicki (and you) can do while driving to break some bad habits and train preferred habits away from the track to improve your on track performance.

4) We learn the importance of even minor improvements and how then can multiply over a lap or a stint and create some very large improvements in the lap time results.

5) Looking for alternatives to braking later or harder?

6) Ross also works with Vicki on several ways to help her (and you) stop over slowing for a turn

7) We also go over goals and ways of handling pressure and using pressure to improve.

8) How being too polite on a track can actually become unsafe

9) Ross also works with what the biggest ahh hah moments were for Jennifer and Vicki this year.

10) We love drills to try, especially at an HPDE or an open track day. Ross gave us some new ones to try. And we will at our next event. We will report back after or NJMP event in early November.

11) After the last podcast with Ross, we missed one of the listener questions related to breaking down a turn backwards. Sorry for the delay.

To find even more of Ross Bentley’s wisdom and information, several of our favorites are available at:

1) The Speed Secrets website: https://speedsecrets.com/

2) His Podcast: Speed Secrets is available at all the podcast platforms that we know https://speedsecrets.com/speedsecrets-podcast/

3) His Virtual Track Walks: https://speedsecrets.com/virtual-track-walks/

4) The weekly newsletter can be subscribed to at:

Speed Secrets Weekly

5) Free Track Maps: https://speedsecrets.com/trackmaps/

6) Free Driving tips: https://speedsecrets.com/driving-tips-2/

7) Free or nearly free eBooks: https://speedsecrets.com/ebooks/

GHIT 0250: Ross Bentley Coaches Our Team

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