After learning that, in a rear-wheel-drive car, the timing of a downshift can sometimes affect your stopping distance, I made a point of practicing my shifts so I could do them as quickly as possible.
From then on, I thought my corner entry speeds were always perfectly consistent. I was sure I was hitting every corner at exactly the right speed, without the slightest variation.
Or so I thought.
As I kept driving, I realized there were still some corners where my entry speeds weren’t quite consistent.
Not againーーーーーー!!!
Why, why, why?!
I’m doing the same thing every time!
I’m making sure my pedal transitions, braking points, and even my downshifts are all consistent, so why does my entry speed keep changing?!
I had no idea…
In the beginning, I thought, “Data loggers are cheating!”
So I didn’t use one.
But once I started using a logger, I finally figured it out.
The point where I started full braking was the same every time.
But my speed at that point—the maximum speed I had reached before braking—was different.
Then I looked at the longitudinal G graph and noticed that the points where acceleration stopped were different, too.
Those breaks in acceleration were the upshifts.
Aha!!!!
My upshift timing wasn’t consistent.
Now, you might be thinking, “Why are we talking about that only now?”
But whether you can shift up at exactly the right moment really does depend on the corner.
The worst one was Corner 2.
At Takasu Circuit, Corner 2 is very close to Corner 1. And because it switches from a left-hand corner to a right-hand corner, I accelerate through a gentle S-shaped section after exiting Corner 1.
The faster I went through Corner 1, the more demanding the line became through this section. It gets longer and longer before you can really call it either a corner or a straight.
That meant I was still steering while I was shifting, so I couldn’t really look at the tachometer when it was time to upshift.
Instead, I was listening to the engine and shifting when it sounded like, “Yeah, probably about now.”
My timing was all over the place, and that was causing my speed at the start of full braking before Corner 2 to vary.
I asked Takasu Circuit’s resident driving advisor, Kishishita-san, about it.
He just snorted, “That’s no good.”
So I grumbled about it and kept practicing until I finally figured it out.
Oh, so that’s what it was. Idiot!
Lesson Learned
Check the tachometer and shift up even while you’re steering.