Customer Reviews

Secrets of Solo Racing: Expert Techniques for Autocross and Time Trials

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The author briefly and concisely covers every aspect of racing in general and solo in particular: the friction circle, correct line in turns, late apexes weight distribution and suspension compression in turns, acceleration and braking, optimizing the slip angle, left foot braking, trail braking, heel-and-toe with double declutch, and so on.

How to prepare yourself and your car for solo racing, as well as the basic rules, are covered here.

Hand position on the steering wheel here is explained better than in most books on competition driving. The author has devoted 9 pages to it, and exposed the "Shifty-Hand" and "Zaccone" methods.

The author writes that on higher-speed slaloms (series of pylons set in a line), you may need to be lifting the throttle or tapping brakes bit to get the car to do what you want it to do. I fully agree with the author. Someone can argue that constant throttle application is better to not upset the car. Throttle lift during slaloms is tricky to coordinate and will require practice to become expert. When you've found the limit with constant throttle application and cannot go faster, the throttle lift will give some additional mphs. For example, for a straight line of pylons at the distance of 25m (82 ft) the maximum speed of a FWD stock 1500 kg (3306 lb) car with constant throttle application is about 65 km/h (40 mph) and is around 80 km/h (49 mph) when using throttle lift. That's a big difference. When the car is at its speed limit, with constant throttle application, the front wheels tend to scrub, the car tends to understeer. With throttle lift, the rear wheels are sliding all the way around the slalom, but the grip of the front wheels are perfect, they always point to the direction of travel, that is what we need, the car overseers here, but it is OK.

Another important advise that the author gave is to hit the apexes. "Even if you are sure that the car will not go to the apex, turn in and hit the apex".

This is a very good book. It has a glossary, a bibliography and an index.

I would also recommend "The Front-Wheel Driving High Performance Advantage" by Jack Doo, Carroll Shelby in addition to this book.

I have just begun autocrossing this year. A fellow autcrosser reccemended this book. I was very pleased with the information. There are many diagrams to explain concepts and ideas. I was able to drop 1 second off my time in under a month. The only thing that I didn't like was that I drive a FWD vehicle. There was a very limited amount of information on these vehicles. But the few things that where there were very helpful. I applied the phyics to my driving, just not the chassis set-up advice. Otherwise a great book.

First, let me say that I am an accomplished race car driver, with several national championship road racing wins. My own driving style is smooth and efficient, with no wasted motion, and an emphasis on looking and thinking ahead.

Hank Watts' "Secrets of Solo Racing" is the first book that I've ever seen that teaches the style of driving that has made me a successful racer. Like the driving style, the prose is smooth and efficient, with no wasted words. It is simple and clear, and best of all, it can make you a better driver. While some parts of the book are specific to SCCA Solo racing, the driving skills you improve will help you on the road course or the street.

This book is good for all. It is easy to understand, goes over basics, goes over the more detailed stuff. As a novice to autocrossing, I found it very helpful to learn all the basics in one book. Anything anyone has told you about the basics out on the track has been listed here. Not a substitute for track time, and some of the autocross wizards have pearls but they might be jumping over the basics. An excellent read.

I highly recommend this book if you have any intention of being competitive in autocross driving. In fact, I would recommend it even for casual racers. Tons of great information on driving technique, the fast line, tire adhesion, preparation of the car and driver, and more. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to drive fast.

I've been competing in time trial events for about a year now, and bought this book to improve my driving. I found the information on how to drive faster extremely useful, and several ideas were introduced to me that I had not thought of before. The chapter on evaluating the course as a whole was also very useful and taught me how to evaluate a track - to know which sections are the most crucial. The discussion of suspension and car setup is good, but another reference will probably be needed for the serious chassis tuner.

I gave the book 4 stars because there are several chapters devoted to the process of autocrossing and time trialing (e.g. signing in, scutineering, etc) which I found less useful as it is something one picks up at your very first event anyway.

Although the book deals with both autocross and time trails, my experience is solely with autocrossing. For a beginner in this sport (like myself), I find it useful to re-read this book regularly. Initially, I focused on just getting around the course. However, as I become more comfortable on the track, I tend to remember more "technique" and tips from a re-read. Definitely a valuable resource, and highly recommended.

Great book, I just wish they would have had a diagram of a full course and how to run it. They showed one turn, with a late apex. made sense! They showed linking turns with early apex, into late apex. Made sense! But then when I got to the course for the first time, and it was like 75 linking turns? YIKES!

Still, this book taught me A LOT...

Well organized and presented, compactly written, and with information that addresses the needs and anxieties of novice level drivers, while also providing gems of understanding and perspective that can help advanced drivers, this is a book that is not only a good read, but a valuable reference work for those who want to know what is important to learn and master to be an expert performance driver, and for those who already know to be reminded lest they forget! I cannot imagine a motorsports library for a 'driver' that does not have this book. The focus on safety and preparation is particularly notable, and important. It may have been written more than 20 years ago, but as the laws of physics have not changed, neither has the value of the perspectives and insights in this book diminished. Once you have learned what is presented in this book you will be well positioned to enjoy high performance driving, competitive autocross or time trials, or move into wheel to wheel racing events should that be your desire.

I wish I would have read this book before my first Autocross. Would have saved me a lot of confusion at the beginning of the season. Not only does the writer define and examine solo driving skills but he also gives great insight to the operational procedures at the course. It was very helpful in defining the terms associated with solo racing. Well worth the cost. I'll be re-reading this book again before next racing season.