22 Car Racing Mistakes

Speeding roadsters on a F1 track or on an 8-road expressway gives an adrenaline rush to every man. It’s addictive and irresistible! But even the best racers spin wrong, bump into a wall, get stuck in mud after hitting a corner, and eat too much and end up feeling queasy at 300km/h. Here are 22 mistakes that ace car racers ask you to avoid on and off the track…

Don’t eat a heavy lunch before a race!

It wasn't an on-the-track mistake, but it took its toll there. Last year, when I was racing in the Scirocco Cup, I ate a HUGE lunch before the race (in my defense, I was hungry). When the race got underway, everything was fine till the last 4 laps. Suddenly, the food came back up to say hello. I was fighting in the top 5 and obviously that slowed me down a little. Lesson learnt! After that race, I only eat pasta now, that too in a small quantity to avoid any more goof-ups.

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Aditya Patel – Audi Racer

Wait till you know it’s the perfect team.

I would say the biggest mistake I made wasn't on the track, but off it when I agreed to be the first driver for the Indian A1 GP team. The team of people involved when it started off wasn’t capable of competing with the other countries and I left after 2 races because it was a disaster. By the time Narain joined them a couple years later, they had got rid of all the old people and re-structured the team to become very strong, so in hindsight I should’ve just waited for a little while longer before getting involved.

Karun Chandok – Le Mans 24 Hours Racer

Avoid puddles of water, to save yourself from sliding and ramming!

This incident is from the last round, last year when I was leading the championship by 5 points. It was raining hard during the qualifying, but I went out early and managed to get some good lap timings within 3 laps. I decided to take a cool down lap and headed into the pits. On the last corner, which is the slowest, I hit a puddle of water and just slid into the wall, damaging the whole front portion of my Race Polo.

Rahil Noorani – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Racing is addictive and irresistible!

Entering racing was the biggest leap of faith. I feel racing is very addictive and once you start it’s just irresistible. It grows within and it stays with you for life.

Munjal Savla – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Don’t be too hasty…

During the 5th round in Chennai last year, I was leading the race when the safety car came out. When the safety car indicated that it was heading into the pits, I slowed down the whole pack creating a gap with safety car, but I accelerated too soon and caught up to the safety car before it entered the pit lane. I had to then brake really hard to avoid the safety car. The guy behind me was caught off guard and had to brake even harder almost losing control.

Saurav Bandyopadhay – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Know the buttons of your car, thoroughly!

On corners, while passing a car, we generally use headlights. I ended up using the new paddle shift gear instead of the headlight lever. This resulted in me losing a few places in the race.

Angad Singh Matharoo – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Learn the schedule by heart

In 2008, during one of the races me and few other drivers didn’t read the schedule carefully. We went to a restaurant to have lunch not realising the qualifying was at the same time. Only a few drivers were doing the qualifying while the rest of us couldn’t make it back on time and couldn’t qualify for an important race.

Ajay Kini – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Gears are important!

This was last year when I was racing in one of the single-seater races. I was placed in the middle order of the grid and was hoping to make a few places during the start, but I mistakenly put the 2nd gear instead of the 1st and landed up at the back of the grid.

Niranjan Todkari – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Count the laps on your fingertips…

I was so engrossed in racing that I missed seeing the last lapboard. I was on the second position at that point and since I didn’t notice the board I didn’t push hard enough to move to 1st. It’s only after I saw the chequered flag that I realised the race is already over.

Ameya Walavalkar – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Silly mistakes can cost you your position. Avoid them!

At the last race during round two, I was running in 4th place when I decided to overtake my opponent in the front. I misjudged the corner and went off the line. This incident cost me 5 positions and I ended up at 9th. I think it was a silly mistake as I had two more laps to go to get a decent opportunity to overtake.

Avdumber Hede - – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Always monitor the speedometer!

Once while racing I was slightly ‘faster’ when it was raining, so I went off track and got stuck in the mud. I was just a few meters off the track, but couldn’t do anything and was left sitting in my car watching everyone pass by.

Donovan Vaz – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Concentrate on the road, always!

In one of the Polo R Cup races, I was leading with 4-5 seconds. I looked into my rearview to see how much lead I had and in doing so, missed the braking point and ended up spinning out. I had to let all the other cars pass and rejoin the race at the last position.

Mihir Dharkar – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Don’t let anyone overtake. Period.

During the first race of this season, I let one of my opponents pass me from the inside. Later on in that race, I tried to do the same, but the driver in front of me turned in and I couldn’t overtake.

Tabish Khan – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Hit it right at the corners.

Polo R Cup is my first step in motorsports. The major mistake I felt I made was that I couldn’t angle my car correctly when exiting the corners, which in turn led to a slower exit. So even though I was hitting the apex I couldn’t really carry enough speed on the straights.

Yatin Magu – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Don’t brake too late.

Earlier I was hitting brakes very late, leading to a fast entry and slow exit, which did not give me speed in the straight, so the experienced drivers came in faster. Volkswagen coaches helped me in learning to break at the right point near the corner.

Mahinder Khidia – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Avoid being defensive while driving!

Volkswagen Polo R Cup is my first racing experience and in my first race itself I met with an accident when I tried to be defensive in my driving style. But in the following few races I learnt that being defensive won’t help and I have to be confident with my style and choose a strategy I’m comfortable in.

Siddharth Sharma – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Go clean for a fast exit at corners.

Polo R Cup being my first outing, I faced difficulties on corners and was losing time while passing through. In the last few races I learnt that it’s not about pushing hard through the corners, but going clean and exiting fast is the key.

Hanoosh S – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Don’t get distracted!

There are two mistakes that I would like to correct. First is that I am always in a haste to make a lot of moves in the 1st lap itself. Second, that I end up worrying about who is behind my car and this distracts my focus.

Abdullah Alisha – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Wait for the right opportunity.

You should not be hasty in making moves, need to wait for the right opportunity, which was a costly mistake in my experience during Round Two of Polo R Cup.

Prashanth Tharani Singh – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Always check the tyre pressure.

Once I forgot to measure the tyre pressure before the race. That mistake eventually costed me the race.

A. Sandeep Kumar – Volkswagen Polo R Cup

From the September 2012 issue of FHM India.