April’s Car Control Clinic @ Thompson CT

A first for the NEQ Club, this April, sixteen drivers attended an Advanced Car Control Clinic. It provided a rare opportunity for us to test the limits of our cars in the reduced risk environment of an autocross style handling course.

In the morning we navigated a slalom course intended to teach us how to get our rear ends loose and maintain control of the car. We progressed from there to course with a decreasing radius turn which helped us further develop a feel for loss of traction and how to compensate and correct that action to regain control.

After a morning among the cones some of us had it all figured out. A mini track was set up with slalom and a tight carousel, and we practiced getting the rear end loose only to elegantly catch the drift with a some maintenance throttle and some nimble counter-steering. The animation below is what it’s supposed to look like when it’s done well. Kudos to Victor Becker (below) for providing such a perfect demo.