Alright folks, buckle up. Been tinkering with cars longer than I care to admit, and Tom Bailey’s advice? Yeah, heard the hype. Figured I’d try weaving his top five winning tips into my own routine down at the local track this weekend. Skeptical? You bet. But here’s exactly how it went down.
The Garage Setup
First thing Saturday morning, I rolled the car out under the single bulb hanging in my garage. Cold coffee in hand, I pulled up Tom’s list again.
- Tip 1: Know your car like the back of your hand. Okay, obvious, right? But Tom means really know. So I stopped just driving it. I crawled underneath. Tapped every bolt connecting the suspension. Grabbed a torque wrench – actually checked if everything was tight, like actually tight. Found a loose bracket near the rear left shock. Wouldn’t have spotted that just glancing.
- Tip 2: Practice starts until your clutch cries. My poor clutch. Drove out to this abandoned industrial park – concrete, loads of space, nobody around. Parked. Launched. Stalled. Launched again, wheels chirping. Stalled again. Felt like an idiot practicing stop-starts for nearly two hours straight. Left knee was shaking. Smell of burnt clutch? Oh yeah, thick. But eventually… smoother than my grandma’s gravy.
Track Time Tinkering
Got to the track Sunday. Weather was perfect, sun out, track warm. Tom’s next tips were track-only.
- Tip 3: Brake later, but smoother. My usual style? Stomp the pedal late and hard. Tried braking later like Tom said. First few laps? Missed my markers completely, overshot two corners. Almost ate gravel. Felt wrong. Slower. Kept at it. Focused not on jamming the pedal, but pushing it down firmly, progressively. Started hitting the turns smoother. Found extra seconds I didn’t know were there.
- Tip 4: Look where you want to go, not at the wall. Sounds silly. But in the heat of it, that barrier looks big. Practiced consciously snapping my eyes to the exit point as soon as I hit the turning point (“apex,” the fancy folks call it). Corner after corner. Instead of staring at the edge of the track, I looked ahead, down the straight, to the next turn-in point. Car just followed. Weird how that works.
The Final Push & The Result
Last practice session before timed runs.
- Tip 5: Tyres. Heat them. Feel them. Trust them. I’m usually stingy, baby them. Warm-up lap? Barely pushing. Not this time. Pushed harder on the out-lap, felt the tyres squirm, heard them talk. They got sticky, really sticky, hotter than I usually let them. Felt grippier mid-corner than ever before. Took a deep breath and leaned on ’em. Held.
The timed runs? Put all five together. Smooth launch thanks to the clutch torture. Braked later but smooth into turn one. Eyes already on the exit. Felt the tyres bite. Through the complex, same deal – look ahead, brake smooth, trust the grip. Crossed the line. Checked the time.
Knocked a full 1.3 seconds off my personal best for that circuit layout. One point bloody three! From doing dumb stuff like checking bolts and staring at exit signs. Tom Bailey? Yeah, okay. He might know a thing or two. Gonna try it again next weekend.
