Friction Circle & Slip Angle
One tyre, one grip budget. Brake, corner, accelerate — every force shares the same pie. Peak grip lives at 5–8° of slip angle. Past the edge, grip drops fast.
MODULE ONE
Foundations
The physics underneath every input. Master these mental models before you turn a wheel — every other technique becomes obvious.
Weight Transfer — The Engine Behind Everything
Brake → weight forward (front grips, rear slides). Throttle → weight rearward (rear plants, front lightens). Cornering → weight outward. Your RF is especially sensitive: +50 kg roof, near 50:50 balance, short 2,310 mm wheelbase.
Your Weapon — Know Your 30AE
ND2 RF 30th Anniversary. Racing Orange. ~175 whp on VersaTune RON 97. Torsen LSD biases torque to the gripping wheel (2.0–2.5:1). Öhlins DFV coilovers. Never lift mid-slide — a throttle-unloaded Torsen loses its locking effect.
MODULE TWO
The Four Inputs
Throttle, brake, downshift, eyes. Every gymkhana element is just a sequence of these four — done in the right order, at the right time, in the right amount.
Throttle Discipline + Slow-In Fast-Out
Imagine a string between the steering wheel and the throttle. Full throttle only when the wheel is straight. Brake straight, turn in, trail to apex, full throttle out.
Heel-and-Toe Downshift
Right-foot ball on brake, left foot stomps clutch, right edge blips the throttle. Match revs, drop the gear, smooth clutch out. The Öhlins DFV transmits any driveline shock straight into yaw.
Vision Discipline
Eyes one element ahead. Braking → look at the apex. At the apex → look at the exit. Exiting → look at the next. Eyes on the cone you want to avoid = you steer into it.
Trail Braking — Carry the Brake into the Corner
Threshold-brake straight (ABS on while learning). Bleed off at turn-in. Brake fully off at the apex. Excess trail brake produces brake-induced oversteer. Works at any entry speed — slow corners or 80–100 km/h sweepers.
MODULE THREE
Building Blocks — The Gymkhana Vocabulary
The six elements that appear on every gymkhana course. Learn them in order: launch → donut → 180° → 360° → slalom → figure-8. Master the vocabulary before you string sentences together.
Standing Start — How Every Run Begins
DSC off, ABS fuse pulled, 1st gear, tyres warm. Hold 3,000–3,500 rpm — never redline. Find the bite point with the left foot, release smooth over half a second, throttle to ~80% as the clutch engages. Eyes already on element 1.
The Donut — Throttle as Steering
1st gear, 5–8 km/h roll. Cone 1.5 m off the front corner. DSC defeated. Full lock, stab 70–100% to break the rear loose, settle at 65–75% to orbit. Eyes locked on the cone — never on smoke or hood.
Handbrake 180° — The 4-Count Fast Entry
Move to the far outside. Clutch in. Sweep the wheel. Pause 0.2–0.3 seconds. Pull the hydraulic handbrake lever, thumb on release. Exit at 30–40% throttle and build progressively. Speed window: 25–35 km/h dry / 20–25 km/h wet.
Tight 360° Around a Cone
360° = handbrake start (first 90°) + donut orbit (remaining 270°). 1st gear, 20–30 km/h, 1.5–2 car widths offset. 0.5 s handbrake yank only. At 30–45° rotation, throttle becomes 50–70%. Orbit at 55–70%. At 270° identify exit, at 320° unwind, at 360° drive out.
Slalom — Rhythm Is Everything
Drive PAST each cone, alternating sides. Eyes always two cones ahead. Initiate every direction change BEFORE the cone, never AT it. Steady speed with maintenance throttle — you want lateral grip budget, not forward acceleration. Slalom is a metronome: lock to the cadence.
Figure-8 — Two Donuts Linked
Establish steady left orbit at 65–75% throttle. At the centre, unwind to STRAIGHT for a heartbeat — drop throttle to 30–40%. Hands flow wheel from full-left to full-right lock in one motion. Re-apply 65–75% on the right circle. Master figure-8 → master every linked element.
MODULE FOUR
Advanced Techniques
For when the basics are reflex. Rotation without a device, mid-corner brake taps, pendulum entries, and the high-speed hairpin that beats a handbrake stop on the next straight.
Hairpin — The Non-Handbrake Way
The four-step method: late brake → heel-toe → trail brake → throttle out. Late-brake hard in a straight line down to 25–30 km/h. While still braking straight, heel-toe downshift to 1st with rev-blip. THEN turn in and trail the remaining brake — 60% → 40% → 20%. At the apex: brake off, unwind, throttle on. Track out wide. Trades raw rotation for higher exit speed — often FASTER on the next straight.
Lift-Off Oversteer — Rotation Without a Device
Use for moderate-to-high speed corners with flowing entry. Approach with speed, turn in. Abrupt lift snaps weight forward, rear unloads, tail rotates. Countersteer immediately to match yaw. Reapply throttle smoothly. Too early lift = understeer. Too late = cannot catch it.
Throttle Steering — Right Foot Is Your Real Wheel
In a slide, the right foot steers more than the wheel. More throttle = wider arc. Less throttle = tighter line. Snap shut = violent rear snap. Smooth modulation, never stab.
Left-Foot Braking — Two Pedals at Once
Right foot holds throttle. Left foot brakes briefly. The brake tap shifts weight forward — front bites — kills mid-corner understeer. Brief, smooth, surgical. Stab equals snap.
Scandinavian Flick — Pendulum Rotation
2nd gear at 4,000–5,000 rpm. 50+ km/h entry. Counter-flick 10–15° away. Maintain throttle — never lift (a throttle-unloaded Torsen loses its locking effect). Within 0.3–0.5 s, snap hard into the corner. Catch with countersteer + throttle.
MODULE FIVE
The Safety Net
When the rear steps out — and how the brake circuit behaves with no ABS to save you. Reflex protocols and the trade-offs of a fuse-pulled car.
CPR — Spin Recovery Protocol
Correct: countersteer fast, match the yaw rate. Pause: hold the angle, 10–20% throttle, do not add more countersteer. Recover: unwind in sync with the car straightening. Never snap throttle shut.
Brake Bias & ABS-Off Handling
Pull the ABS fuse for 180° and 360° handbrake elements — otherwise the rear cannot break away. Stock RS bias is FRONT-heavy at roughly 70% front / 30% rear (the front Brembos do most of the work). Without ABS, threshold-brake by feel: 80–90% pressure, just under lockup. Lockup recovery procedures inside.
MODULE SIX
Setup & Race Day
Damper clicks before the run. Linking corners on course. Mental resets when a run goes sideways. Walkthroughs and breath-counts on the day itself.
Öhlins DFV 1-Way — Damper Adjustment
25 clicks total, controls compression and rebound together. CW = firmer (0 = fully hard, never run zero). CCW = softer. Practice baseline: 14F / 16R from full stiff. Competition firm-up: 12F / 14R. Run rear 2 clicks softer than front for rotation. Minimum 2 clicks always.
Corner Linking — Where Races Are Won
The winner is not the fastest through any single element — the winner loses LEAST time between elements. Plan two elements ahead. Where you EXIT corner N is where you ENTER corner N+1. Sacrifice the lesser corner. Carry momentum through transitions — your job starts at exit, not apex.
The Rhythm Reset — When a Run Goes Sideways
Every driver makes a mistake mid-run. The mistake itself is rarely fatal — the REACTION is. ACCEPT, do not replay. One deliberate breath. Re-aim eyes two elements ahead. Re-enter at NORMAL pace, not REVENGE pace. Reset is a competition skill — practise it.
Competition Day Ritual
Walk the course 3–5 times. Mental run with eyes closed and 4-count breathing. Pre-grid: DSC defeated, ABS fuse pulled, warm-up lap, dampers set, hydro handbrake check, 1st gear. Cone displaced beyond marker = +2 sec. Finish-box miss = +5 sec.
