HPDE @ VIR w/ BMW CCA

[Eidolon]

I finally got a few videos of time spent at VIR posted. The first is just the 3rd lap of the 4th and final run on Sunday, October 2nd. Second video is full course, the whole 25-minute session. We got a total of 7 sessions on track, each about 25 minutes in length and as many laps as we could get in in that span of time.

My instructor was a guy named Mark Whorton, who personally drove a yellow C5 Z06 Vette that he'd done a little suspension and engine work on. Nice car, and he was a GREAT instructor.

I felt this was one of the better laps of the day, so I picked this one to make a video. My dad's a home video editing hobbyist, so we used his computer and software to stitch it up and edit it.

3rd Lap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8osQsl9oc0

Full Course:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYs8oE1mlZE

[Doug Hilliard]

Nice job! Watched the first half but class in the morning dictates that the second half will have to wait for tomorrow!

[Eidolon]

Thanks! I went up with two friends who'd been doing this for years, and I got to ride around the track during a parade lap. They shared where their eyes were looking while we went around the track, and so when I got back on track I tried to mimic that and actually say aloud to my instructor what I was looking at. It helped me to make sure I was doing it and also put it out there for correction, if needed.

I am DEFINITELY going back! With better tires next time, though. :)

[TCorzett]

Looks like fun!


I am DEFINITELY going back! With better tires next time, though. :)
I was going to ask... what tires were you using?

-Todd...

[Eidolon]

I was going to ask... what tires were you using?
The Continental ExtremeContact DWS's. Yup, all-seasons. They did well, though, and the only sign I'd put them through their paces was some additional wear on the shoulders of the tires. Otherwise, the track didn't do much to them. The only trick is that they liked to slip and complain. But the slip was always predictable, so it was just a matter of knowing it and compensating for it in each corner.

[Eidolon]

Just edited the first post, since I realized I made the mistake of posting up the long whole-session video. I uploaded and added to the first post a quick 3:43 video showing just one lap. Since watching someone else drive around a course is kinda boring, it should be more bearable. *nods*

[Doug Hilliard]

Makes me want to get back on the track! What did you use to get the data during the runs?

[Posidon42]

I have the same question, the video overlay looks really cool.

[I12XLR8]

Nice video! I LOVE how the instructor can't keep his helmet out of the camera sight! I'm itching to get out and try this...somehow the organizers of G.O.N.E. need to incorporate a track day into the event!

[Eidolon]

Makes me want to get back on the track! What did you use to get the data during the runs?

I have the same question, the video overlay looks really cool.
First I gathered the data, then created the gauge overlay, then placed the overlay on top of the video I took with a borrowed point-and-shoot camera.

The data I recorded using my Android phone. The app I used is called Trackmaster by Trackaroo (http://trackmaster.trackaroo.com/welcome). You set split points on a map, and it uses those to track and time your laps. It can use the GPS in your phone or, if your OnStar module has Bluetooth, you can tether your phone to the GPS in your car. I did the OnStar tether. The only trick is that both the average smartphone and the OnStar module in our cars only update once per second, and that's not quite fast enough when you're moving at 100+ MPH. Split points occasionally get missed, so two laps will occasionally get counted as one long lap. The fix for this is unfortunately to get an external receiver. So the solution's not perfect.

The second portion is to create the overlay. In Trackmaster, export your data to video. This will save it off as a comma-separated-value file you can access as a file on your phone. Copy that to your computer, and then feed it in to the program RaceChrono2AVI (http://www.racechrono.com/news/?p=92). Make sure to read the directions, as this program is kinda finnicky. But it works, and its saving grace is that it's free. There are better apps out there for doing gauge overlays - I think some even put the gauges on top of your video for you, which this program does not - but they cost a fair chunk of change (one of the better ones is ~$160).

The third portion is to place your gauges on top of the video you took with your camera. In this case, I was borrowing a point-and-shoot camera that I'd mounted to the passenger-side headrest. I took the video from that and pulled it into a video editing program, then set up an overlay using the gauge video created by RaceChrono2AVI. It takes a bit of toying to get the two to line up in time, but it's pretty obvious once they're synched. If the speedo needle rises when you hear the engine roar with more throttle, you know you're on the right track. :)


Nice video! I LOVE how the instructor can't keep his helmet out of the camera sight! I'm itching to get out and try this...somehow the organizers of G.O.N.E. need to incorporate a track day into the event!
To be fair, the camera is mounted to the headrest of his seat, and it's not centered in the car. :) If I'd put it on my headrest, it would've looked like I was having the same issue! ... Which I probably was.

[Kermit]

Looks like fun. I would love to do this too. Have a buddy that takes his cars there a lot. One of them happens to be a G8. I think the last time he went, he told me but the price was too much for my blood at the time.

[mdg8gxp]

Outstanding video. I can't wait to get the suspension sorted out for some time at Summit Point.