Shine wrote:I'm finally licensed! Well, not technically, I still need to send in my medical for final approval, but I completed the license course last week. Now I'm focused on my first raced, which I hope will be at MSRH later this month.
Congrats. I'm just heading into my second season, and I prefer to think of it as my second rookie season. The 6 month layoff makes me worry about how much I may have retained. So, rookie-to-rookie, my suggestions for the first race(s):
1. Keep it clean and be conservative. The SRF community is tight and you want to earn your stripes by being someone people can trust and feel comfortable around. And who wants to show up at the Chief Steward's office as a rookie? Besides, it's bad form to win your first race.
2. It all starts with qualifying. If you don't get a good quali lap, the weekend starts out in a hole. Ask me how I know. Do not roll out for qualifying with brand new brake pads.
3. Close is safe. Going into a turn side-by-side, you'd rather be 6 inches apart than 6 feet apart. OK, maybe 12 inches. Point is, as a new racer (former HPDE-er), the tendency is to seek maximum space.