Learning a new track

When heading to a new track for the first time, the Mazda factory drivers say it's important to do your homework

Going to a new track for the first time can be intimidating. Not only do you have a limited amount of time to get the feel of the track, learn your braking points and figure out just how much speed you can carry through each corner, you also have to determine how it's going to race – where are the good passing zones and which corners you have to maximize. Plus, a lot of the drivers you'll be racing against already know that stuff – they can spend their time fine-tuning and dialing in the car.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to get a good chunk of your learning done before you arrive. Thanks to the Internet, online video and sim racing, it's possible to get a feel for the track, approximate brake zones and have a pretty good idea of the line well in advance.

"I think it's about doing your homework before you get there," says Tom Long, driver of the No. 70 Castrol EDGE Mazda RT24-P in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and a driving coach. "Nowadays, there's so much good information out there from the Internet, videos to data and even coaches who put their perspective on things online – you can read track notes and things like that. There's this whole other side now with iRacing, and you can really get tuned into a circuit with a multitude of different cars, depending on what you're driving, with that kind of tool."

Read the full story at MazdaMotorsports.com