Technology and Coaching

Technology and Coaching

Words by Ross Bentley, photos by Ian Rae

When I first started instructing high performance and race drivers, I relied on four things - my eyes, my butt, my ears, and my voice. That’s because most of what I was doing was sitting in the right seat, telling students what to do. As I began coaching (which is different from instructing), I added a fifth - my feet to walk to different areas around the track, so I could observe the car and driver from the outside. While today these are still the

main tools I use to help drivers perform better, I have added others. Technology provides us with many more tools. Over the past few years, the topic of how fast street cars have become, and whether instructors should be sitting in the right seat, has been discussed and argued over ad nauseam. As it should. It’s a serious topic. For a novice driver, there is no substitute for a good, qualified instructor in the passenger seat. Being able to instruct and advise a student in real time, and observe immediately what the driver is doing, is the best way. Technology cannot do a better job. With an advanced, experienced driver, someone in the car is more of a distraction for the learning process than it is a benefit. If I sit in the passenger seat with a driver of this level, providing commands and instructions, all the driver truly learns is how to follow my instructions. They’re not learning how to drive their car, based on what they see, feel, and hear. Let’s say you and I go to a track and I hop in your car, equipped with the latest and greatest data acquisition system, and set a sample lap. We look at my data - my speed trace, throttle position, brake pedal pressure, steering wheel angle, what gears and RPM I’m using - and then you go and work at matching what I did. What did you learn in that process? You learned what the car can do when I drive it (that may or may not be its limits). You learned how to copy my driving. What you didn’t learn in this process is how to feel the limits of the car, how to make it do what you want, how to figure out where the car should be placed on the track, how to feel how late you can brake for a corner, and so on. You didn’t figure out how to do that on your own, and you’ll need to rely on me (or someone else) to continue to set a datum lap to match. That’s a short-term fix, not a long one. If you’re looking for one fast lap, at this track, on this day, then this is a good way to go about improving. But if you want to figure out how to drive fast, consistently, at any track, on any day... and without someone there to set a sample lap for you, then this is not the best approach. What about drivers who fit in between the novice and advanced categories? Currently, there seems to be an on-off switch with most instruction; a driver has an instructor in the car until he’s “signed off to solo,” at which point the driver is on his own. On. Off. There should be a transition, a weaning-off of an instructor. And technology can play a big role in this transition process. How?

• Using data. There’s a whole book here.

• Using video. A book could be written about using video review and analysis.

• Using simulators. And once again, another book could be written about how to use simulators to help train drivers before they get on track.

• Using radio communication. Notice that this is the only piece of technology that allows easy real-time instruction and coaching. Not the sexiest piece of technology, but effective.

instruction to coaching from outside of the car. That’s agood thing for both the driver, and the instructor. There’s not enough room to get into the details of how each can and should be used, but one thing is clear: Coaches and instructors should be using technology.The more tools a coach has in their toolbox, the more productive they will be. Of course, I could have all the carpentry tools in the world in my toolbox, but I wouldn’t recommend you live in a house I built! It’s what one does with the tools that matters.Just because a coach has many tools, such as data acquisition systems, video and video analysis tools, simulators, communication tools, and so on, that doesn’t mean they know how to use them in a way that really helps the driver. In many ways, these technology tools have become too accessible, allowing anyone with a laptop, video camera, and data system to claim they’re thebest in the business.It’s what you do with your tools that matters. As a coach, I need to prioritize which tools Iuse, and make sure I’m using the right one for the job. It’s no different than knowing when to use an open-end wrench before a socket and ratchet. Some coaches get locked into believing that the ratchet is the only tool, when corner observation or simply asking the driver questions will lead to better learning for the driver - learning that lasts. Recently, I spent a day at Thunderhill coaching a driver in a one-on-one situation. Here was a driver who was seemingly stuck at a best lap time he’d not been able to improve on in almost five years. He was excited about me hopping in the right seat, riding along side him, and telling him how to drive faster. When I informed him that I would not be getting in the car with him, he was surprised. And disappointed. I reassured him that he would make good progress without me in the car, telling him what to do.In one day, he knocked just over four seconds off his best time. Without me riding in the car with him. For drivers who have come up through the car club high performance driver education (HPDE) ranks, having a right-seat instructor is the only model they know. For drivers who have come through the open-wheel race car ranks, coaching from outside of the car is the only model they know.The best coaches have experience with, and use both in car and outside-of-the-car methods to help their drivers.With the use of technology, coaching from outside the car is becoming easier. Not easy, but easier.Preparing drivers used to mean giving them a paper trackmap and telling them to study it. Now, video is critical- and not just for watching a bunch of laps you foundon YouTube (which may or may not be showing you the

Use your camera to record your lines, feet on the pedals, hands on the steering wheel.

After all it is all data!

right things). Using video to prepare should involve doing a “virtual track walk,” where you break down the track and study the details, preferably with an experienced coach sharing their insights.