A post a while ago about racing at the CA Speedway which is a smooth and very fast circuit with NASCAR turns 1 and 2 that the good 'ol boys hit at about 200 MPH got me to thinking. This past year was the first time I actually went around turns 1 and 2, foot to the floor without lifting and it scared the hell out of me. My top speed is somewhere around 130 to 135 MPH and the car felt stable and hugged the bottom line well. It sure seemed fast at the time. So last night I watched some video my daughter shot with the hand held camera from on top the pit suites and we sure looked slow, seeming to take forever to go by and get to turn 3?! I watched the Ferrari F1 also that was there a couple of years ago and he was doing about 190 MPH and that seemed right speedy as he went by. Anyways, does this seem the same to most others that are wheel to wheel racing?

QUOTE (john rogers @ Jan 19 2006, 09:24 AM)

Anyways, does this seem the same to most others that are wheel to wheel racing?

yes, same thing here. in car feels/looks fast, from the sidelines, it sometimes looks OK, on video (from the sidelines) it looks *always* too slow.

in car video sometimes feels fast, but usually is kinda odd because the field of view of the camera doesn't change.
if you're actually driving, you constantly move your field of vision, which gives you a different experience.

and to make it even worse, try being a passanger in a fast car with a good driver.
even if he/she doesn't go any faster than you would yourself, it still will make you almost ...

nothing compares to the actual driving of a car around the track ...
Andy

While the camera will not change in perception, the driver perception will, as more and more experience is gained.

BTW, I never liked the feeling of being a passenger either.....Must have something to do with not being in control of what's going on.

Andys

Last time I watched the Monaco Grand Prix on TV I got a real dose of this. Those F1 cars looked fast from all the outside views, but then watching the in-car camera... holy cow... the buildings flying by, the crazy speeds through the S turns. A whole different league on the perspective.

We did something in 2004 that supports this as well. At the last DE of the season, which was also the track's last session before closing for the winter, we took the corner workers for rides. The corner workers at the track are employees - not club volunteers, so many of them had never been around the track at speed, but worked there for years. I went out to work a corner since I had experience, you should have heard these guys & gals reactions on the radio! It was insane. When they got done with their rides they were giddy like a school girl. There responses generally included comments like "I never realized they went that fast" and "It doesn't look like they're going fast, but now I know they are!"

RUF on the Ring

Here's a cool in car video of someone driving a RUF around the ring. He nuts!

QUOTE

I never realized they went that fast" and "It doesn't look like they're going fast, but now I know they are!"

We did something the same thing a few years ago.. and got the exact same reactions from the workers.

The perceptionof speed is odd. When I work the pits, I know our car is doing upwards of 170 in places, but it doesnt look fast. When you see a single car moving you have no reference. When I see the same 170mph car pass a few GT3Rs then I have a sense of speed.

QUOTE (Rand @ Jan 19 2006, 09:44 AM)

Last time I watched the Monaco Grand Prix on TV I got a real dose of this. Those F1 cars looked fast from all the outside views, but then watching the in-car camera... holy cow... the buildings flying by, the crazy speeds through the S turns. A whole different league on the perspective.

Those in-car shots had me on-edge, and I was in my livingroom! It looked like a video game on 1.5x speed replay.
I noticed this at the IRL race in Richmond last year. From the stands they look semi-fast...but when you went down 3 feet from the track...ZOOM they could blow your hat off!