A helpful tip

I just got back from a late-night drive down my favorite road. It has many miles of tight twists and turns; it gives you and your car a workout.

As I was driving, I was reminded of one of the greatest pieces of driving advice I've ever received.

I was at a Mazda autocross event a few years back, waiting to take a Mazdaspeed6 through its paces when the track official shared this with us:

No matter how good your car is, or how good of a driver you are, remember that you are still bound by the laws of physics.

You have friction (traction). You need to balance out how you're using that friction.

The key to effective driving/autocrossing is always using 100% of the traction available at any time. It must be divided among accelerating, braking, and steering. You can't be using 90% on braking while attempting to steer with another 60%. It's not physically possible.

That piece of advice has since made me a much better (and smoother) driver. I respect the laws and limits of physics and have learned how to use them to my advantage.

Thought I'd share that piece of advice with anyone who still reads this blog.

PS. In case you were wondering, by applying that advice, I beat the target time in the Mazda (42.5 seconds) by .3 seconds - one of the few to do so on their first drive in the car.