How to get faster lap times at Willow Springs Raceway

[@mojoman8789]

Willow Springs race track brings wonderful memories to me. Back in 1968, I went to Jim Russell’s Racing School. Then the school was using Lotus formula ford cars. The thrill of sitting on a gas tank and the frame of the car transferring hot water made my day. Watching the apexes and speed was great knowledge I still use today. At 78, I’ll still enjoy a drive on a good mountain road with lots of corners. I hope this classic icon to racing history stays alive and well. 😊

[@gluten-freeguru]

Awesome - my favorite part is the last, where you go turn-by-turn and narrate what you did well/could improve upon. You're such a natural at this - people of all levels will benefit immensely by providing you their videos and having you coach them after-the-fact.

[@doca8792]

Good advice. Best is to do a two day high performance school there. I’d be doing 1:35’s in a bone stock 996tt with street tires after some real good hands on lessons.

[@carlmclelland7624]

Excellent explanation of Willow. I raced a Lotus 61 formula Ford for a decade with HSR-West, although my racing heritage at Willow goes all the way back to 1963. (Note: the Lotus 61 had ancient suspension compared to other 1st generation FF's (Mk6 Titan, Lola, Merlyn, etc). With fresh tires (Dunlop FF spec), I could go flat from power applicaiton entering turn 1 to braking for turn 3. Set up for the rest of the track, the car didn't like to turn in for turn 9 the way you drove the Boxster, but your line is best for the size/weight of the car. (The Lotus weighed 942 pounds). MY ultimate speed secret was - and you hit on it - THRESHOLD BRAKING!!!! I was a deputy Sheriff (traffic enforcement) in my 'day job,' and one of my collateral assignments: EVOC instructor. I learned threshold braking to the degree it became a subconscious action for me, thus, I could go deeper into a corner than other FF's and get off the brakes sooner. Oh... in the Lotus I'm also flat after braking for 5 until I brake for 9. My lap times were in the low 1:30, and with fresh tires I'd get into the 1:29's. If a person will listen to what you're teaching in this video and practice it, they'll improve their lap times!!

[@fullthrottledriving]

Thanks for the terrific feedback! I made this tutorial when injured from a skiing accident with a month of inactivity. It's sort of blossomed into a business, where we do Personalized Video Coaching and lots of track tutorials. I'm glad it was helpful!

[@mikem5390]

Great stuff Bryan, much appreciated. I'll be at Willow after the summer break. I recenly replaced my Boxster... picked up Terry Barnum's Cayman S. A fun car!

[@ninekrpm1]

You should update this with the new track pavement.

[@fullthrottledriving]

I'll probably make an update next time I run at Big Willow, but currently my wife and I are sharing double-duty in a Porsche 991.2 Cup Car and the speeds are so much faster than most cars that it might not be as informative for the DE or TT drivers, or Club Racers, that we typically serve. I did post a qualifying lap my first time in the Cup Car at Willow, on used tires, and it was quite a bit faster than the 991.1 GT3 street car we used for the tutorial. It might be informative since it was on the new pavement. Let me know if this is helpful or not. Thanks. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZCciJScmqx3a9U

[@ondreue]

Subscribed 🎉

[@ontrack-offroad]

Wow, this is fantastic. Thank you!

[@fullthrottledriving]

I’m glad it was helpful. I made this when learning how to edit videos so it’s pretty rough, but I’m glad it’s useful for people. Let me know if you have questions. If you ever drive at Utah Motorsports, I’m happy to help you.

[@shaftwhy6791]

Thanks for making this video, very insightful! Can you make one for streets of willow as well?

[@fullthrottledriving]

I'm glad you liked the video. We live in Utah and now mainly attend POC races and time-trials at a few select tracks. Streets of Willow doesn't have wheel-to-wheel racing, so it's not one we'll likely get to in the near future, but it's a super-fun track. I can offer personalized video coaching for Streets, as I've recorded lots of video there and I think we have a track record on the "old" surface in a 991.1 GT3. The video coaching would be where you send me a link to your video from Streets, I annotate it much the same way I do my KZbin videos of my own driving, and you get a personalized coaching video to use for your next time at the track. It's on my site at fullthrottledriving.com/shop - Have fun out there and stay fast..

[@p71nero]

Great video, enjoyed watching it. I think the biggest challenge of Big Willow for most people is just the raw speed that you have to carry through most of the track. Turn 8 and 9 are very intimidating and so is using the full track on 1. Excited for next time I can get out there

[@fullthrottledriving]

Totally agree! Hope to see you at Big Willow. Porsche Owners Club has an event Feb 4-5, 2023.

[@p71nero]

@@fullthrottledriving yeah i'm gonna be there

[@johnshuarwamirama]

great video, you should mute sound when you go to slow motion takes

[@humpasuar]

I wonder if its the cars handling. I can usually take the Toyota gr86 a little faster around those corners. Get close to those same times. However I trail brake most brake zones. Turn 3 I feel is close to the speed I take. Cept I slow to 80mph coast around that corner and throttle into turn 4 and go around 65 to 70. Turn 7 is where I get trouble. If I get to comfortable I can spin out.

[@faYte0607]

This is so educational. Do you also have it for the small Willow?

[@fullthrottledriving]

I'm glad the video helped. I don't have a tutorial for Streets of Willow. I have a video of me spinning out badly at Streets of Willow, but it was from 7 years ago when I was a rookie. I haven't driven it since it got repaved, so I'd have to drive it again since there will be a lot more traction and grip.

[@faYte0607]

@@fullthrottledriving do you recommend a beginner to go on big willow or streets? The road surface of willow looks terrible compared to some tracks we see on the east coast or even Europe.. maybe just the dry desert climate we live in

[@fullthrottledriving]

They should be repaving all of Big Willow soon, or maybe it's already completed. I know they had finished turns 1-6 a couple months ago. Streets of Willow is less intimidating and slower, but fun and challenging. Big Willow only has 9 turns but is the fastest track in terms of average speed. If you have a choice, maybe do Streets of Willow first. I like the counter-clockwise direction. Streets can go in either direction, but Big Willow is always clockwise. Have fun!@@faYte0607

[@fullthrottledriving]

If you like this track tutorial and our other free tutorials, we can take your driving to a whole new level with Personalized Video Coaching. We've gotten rave reviews, so it's time to spread the news. We're at fullthrottledriving.com

[@andycjin4955]

Great video! I've only done one track day so far on Streets of willow, so I'm a complete newbie. It was really fascinating seeing the turn by turn breakdown. Can you explain why you need to add throttle after lifting off the brakes? Does it have something to do with front and rear weight transferring? Thanks!

[@fullthrottledriving]

I'm glad you liked the video! It was our first one, and we've been making lots of Speed Tips our web site and KZbin Channel, Full Throttle Driving Academy. fullthrottledriving.com The reason for applying throttle immediately after releasing the brakes in turns 2 and turn 9, especially in a mid-engine car like a Spec Boxster, is to transfer some weight to the rear tires to increase rear grip. This is true for fast corners where there's no trail-braking (braking and turning at the same time). In turn 9, we're braking just enough to set the speed and keep the car as flat and balanced as possible so it doesn't get upset. It's such a high-speed corner that the priority falls on maximizing traction on the rear end, which tends to get loose in turn 9. That's also why I straighten the steering wheel going from turn 8 into 9, and do all my braking in a straight line, with a pretty light, long brake pressure. Turn 9 is a unique beast. I just published a KZbin video on how to drive a hairpin corner, which uses a completely different technique. If you'd like personalized video coaching of your session at Big Willow, we'd love to review your video after the event. Stay fast..

[@andycjin4955]

@@fullthrottledriving Hi, thanks for the response! Both my cars right now are front-engine (Mustang GT and M2 Comp) so does that still apply in the same way? Will definitely stay posted on your channel!

[@fullthrottledriving]

@@andycjin4955 The front-engine cars will be even more tail-happy upon lifting throttle or applying throttle. We used to have an M3 and it was a blast to drive at autocross since it was so easy to rotate in corners. It took a lot of finesse to keep the rear-end planted. The M2 Comp, from what I have read, is a superbly balanced car, and the physics remain the same in that there's a big chunk of weight in the front but that weight can still be transferred with your feet. When going through turn 8 at Willow, if you lift the throttle just a tad, you'll feel the car turn in a bit, and when you smoothly apply throttle mid-corner, you can feel the car push out a bit, so you'll be dancing with the throttle pedal through turn 8. The steering wheel is a "suggestion" to get the car aimed, but the real magic comes from manipulating the car with your feet - gas and brakes. We'll be adding more Speed Tips on this, as it's an orchestrated dance and it gets complicated to explain in isolation. You can feel this on the street to experiment - if you're on a 30 MPH sweeping corner on a SAFE street, hold your steering wheel steady in the corner and then slightly lift the throttle - the car will turn in more sharply. If you apply a bit more throttle, the car will push out, without you moving your hands at all.

[@andycjin4955]

@Full Throttle Driving Academy wow, this is some amazing insight, especially the part where you mention how the steering is just a "suggestion". I habe some great open roads where I live and i may try it when it is safe. Thank you again for your lengthy and detailed response. I subscribed, looking forward to more content 🫡

[@JayZroad]

RIP mic 🎤