Learning to drive fast properly thanks to Driving Events

Earlier this year, I wrote an opinion piece, effectively calling out not only the wider motoring public but also myself for not being as good as I thought I was.

It’d been some years since my last track days, in my own cars at tracks far away from where I’m now at home in Queensland, something which became clear to me when I took to Queensland Raceway in the Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Though I never felt like I was driving it unsafely, looking back at the footage I was so far behind the car’s limit – as well as my own – that I knew that if I wanted to get the most out of a track day, I needed help.

Thankfully, Melinda Price – former ‘Castrol Cougar’ and experienced racer – invited me back to Queensland Raceway to take part in a track day hosted by her Driving Events team, with tutors at my disposal to teach this driving dog a few new tricks.

Equipped with a Toyota GR Yaris GTS – which you can read about here – I first took to the shortened Clubman layout by myself to start the day and get a baseline run in, seeing what my skill level was at before working on it through the next few sessions.

At the end of the 20-minute outing, my best time was 1:08; not terrible, but I was still trying to grow confident in the car, though I thought I had worked out the track.

How wrong was I?

For the next session, Marcos Flack joined me in the car, giving me guidance around the track not only as someone who has logged hundreds of laps around ‘The Paperclip’, but also general driving tips from his time climbing up the ranks to Carrera Cup.

Immediately, it was clear as to how much more the car could give, and how best to capitalise on its excellent platform.

With all-wheel drive, adjustable front-to-rear torque distribution and limited-slip differentials all-round, the GR Yaris provided a good intermediate base for a driver like me who has an understanding of going fast, but who’s still working on their ability.

Under Marcos’ instruction, I broke far later into turn one, getting the car moving and angled into the corner to drive out faster. This was the most daunting section of the lap, given the immense speed being carried into the right-hander, as well as the big ripple strips on the exit.

Using his tuition, I learnt not to just use the brakes to stop the car but to also use them to turn it, minimising wheel inputs and using its momentum, crucial to not only quick lap times but also keeping the equipment happy.

After a few more laps of getting up to speed with what the GR Yaris could do and where the track goes, Alice Buckley joined me in the car, drawing on the knowledge of the track which gave her two TA2 wins on debut last year.

From here, it was about dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s, getting the final pieces of the puzzle into place.

Though it never made sense to me watching racing on TV, I got my first try at making a double apex from a corner at the circuit’s final turn.

Initially taking the corner as a hairpin with a more traditional ‘U’ line, Alice taught me how to make a ‘V’ instead, using the tyres to scrub off speed, but without wasting additional time.

Although it was torturous on the front Michelins, this alone saved a few tenths of a second, and will be helpful to know should I ever turn up at Sydney Motorsport Park’s turn 2.

With Alice dropped off and no one in the car, I set off to do some more hot laps, eventually registering a best time of 1:03, saving a whole five seconds off my original time, all the while feeling like it was less frantic.

That perhaps was the biggest lesson, that smooth is fast, and fast is smooth – my best laps were when I was making defined, linear inputs to the steering, throttle and brakes, rather than constantly trying to give them a thrashing, which only ends up with corrections.

Even with tyres starting to struggle due to the heat cycles, it became far easier to put in consistent, repeatedly fast laps when being told what to do and when to do it, with the GR Yaris holding its own against much faster cars on the day.

Though we continued to pound around the circuit, the tyres began to beg for mercy amid the rising track temperatures, with my times falling by a second or more by comparison.

To finish off the day, I gave the keys to Marcos and let him have a go – not exactly generous of me given the punishment delivered to the GR Yaris already, but he seemed keen to give it a test.

And that he did, utilising it to 100 per cent of its potential to match the best time I’d set that day, but in a car which was looking forward to a relaxing drive back to Brisbane.

While I’ll never challenge Marcos or Alice for lap times, their tuition showed me just how much more I’m capable of, and just how important it is to always be open to learn.

Note: This track day was offered to Torquecafe as a part of our partnership with Driving Events. This article was not directly paid for by Driving Events, and is an honest review of the service they provide.