High Performance Principles

7 Steps Toward Total Car Control

Essential techniques for maximum enjoyment driving a sports car

Your 7 Steps Toward Total Car Control
Foreword 5
Step 1:
The Perfect Driving Position 7
Step 2:
Traction Matters 14
Step 3:
A Balancing Act 23
Step 4:
Vision & Planning 30
Step 5:
Accelerating, Braking & Gear-Shifting 40
Step 6:
Steering & Cornering 50
Step 7:
Controlling Understeer & Oversteer 59
In Closing 69

3
Welcome to High Performance Principles
I’d like you to explore with me what I believe to be
the essence of high performance driving.

To me, it’s all about having a fundamental knowledge

and appreciation of the forces acting upon your car,
and how you influence these forces with advanced
physical skills and mental focus.
Since 2003, it’s been my great privilege to have
helped keen drivers develop their confidence, speed,
safety and enjoyment at the wheel of high powered
sports cars. Over the pages ahead I am going to
share with you many techniques to help achieve
the same improvements. By building layers of
knowledge and understanding, my aim is to give you
the foundation of total car control.

I hope you enjoy the journey…

Ivan
T hompset

4
Foreword
Before we jump into specifics, It’s widely recognised that we go through 4 key phases of learning:
I’d like you to briefly think back to
when you very first learned to drive. Unconscious Incompetence
The physical actions required to control Is when we neither know nor care; we don’t know what we don’t know.
a car at even a base level required
significant concentration, leaving little Conscious Incompetence
conscious brain capacity spare for
Is when we realise we don’t know how to do something, yet would like to be able to.
detailed observations or ‘reading the road’.
With practice of course, it all became
so much easier, instinctive even; the
Conscious Competence
physical aspects of driving becoming Takes us to the stage when we can do something, but only by concentrating on it; such as
subconscious as repeated actions first when you passed your basic ‘L’ test.
built and then reinforced pathways in
your brain. Unconscious Competence
Is where you are now with your driving, where you are so practiced at something that
you can do it without really thinking.
Unconscious competence is fundamentally a good thing of course, freeing up the
conscious mind to concentrate on what is happening outside the car rather than
inside. Trouble is, it’s all too easy for the conscious mind to wander, leaving the
subconscious to drive on ‘auto-pilot’ with limited control.

So, to get the most from your sports car and driving, we need to next to add an extra level...

5
Combining Unconscious Competence with Permanently Conscious Planning.
You may be asking, just what this has to do with enjoying your sports car, so let’s get to the point.
The art of high performance driving is as much a mental skill as it is a physical one.
It involves getting both conscious and unconscious parts of the brain working on a much higher plane than is common in most
people’s driving; as attested to by a great many TCC customers and illustrated by some course reviews throughout this e-book.
We therefore need to develop the ability to fully control a car at speed without needing to really think too much about the physical
actions to achieve it. This leaves plenty of capacity for your conscious mind to soak up ever-changing information and plan for the
many variable factors that determine our safe speed and total control.
Lets get started...

6
Step 1:
The Perfect
Driving Position

Discover how to feel ‘at one’ with your car

Alleviate back pain and fatigue
Essential for your control, safety and comfort

As drivers, we have just 3 points of When I meet drivers for high performance It can be easy to adopt an overly relaxed
physical contact with our car: the seat, coaching, one of the first things I driving position which, over time, feels all
steering wheel, and pedals; making a frequently need to address is driving too normal. But the problem with this is
correct driving position fundamental to position; sometimes making quite radical that it effectively separates us from the
total control. changes to seat and steering wheel car, making us less connected with chassis
adjustments for optimum control. and tyres, and therefore limits our control.
To ensure you are seated to best
advantage, follow the sequence on the
next page.

7
Seat Height Seat Base
This is the first thing to check, and adjust if necessary. Whilst Always adjust the seat base before the seat back, finding the
you need a commanding view all-round through the windows position to best suit your leg length. To gauge this, there needs
(and, of course, over the steering wheel rather than through to still be a comfortable bend in your knees when the clutch
it!), the lower you sit in the vehicle the more ‘connected’ you will (if applicable) and brake pedals are pressed all the way down.
feel; better able to sense the car’s balance and behaviour. Make this adjustment with the engine running to ensure you get
full brake pedal travel.
So, set the seat base as low as you can whilst maintaining clear
vision through all windows. Avoid the temptation to sit high in an Fine tune the seat base position so that you can comfortably
attempt to see the car’s front corners; this is all but impossible operate the pedals with the balls of your feet, for greatest
in nearly all modern cars, and we want your eyes working much, strength, or with the toes for maximum sensitivity. This all
much further ahead. permits optimum control of the pedals, with subtle flexing of
the foot from the ankle rather than moving the whole leg. In any
Sitting low in the car encourages your eyes to look up, not
emergency braking situation, it also allows maximum strength
down; also serving to lower the centre of gravity within the car,
braking to be applied and sustained.
resulting in less body roll through corners for improved high
speed handling.

8
Seat Back
Sitting too close to the steering wheel, or too far away, To exacerbate matters, without upper body lateral support from
jeopardises control and safety. Being too close prohibits the seat, drivers are inclined to ‘hang on’ tight to the steering
smooth and fluid control of the steering, and risks serious injury wheel through faster corners in order to support their upper
should the airbag deploy. body weight. Their tensed arm and shoulder muscles inevitably
make steering inputs harsh and abrupt when they should be
It’s very common for sports car drivers to recline the back of
silky smooth.
their seat too far, leaving their arms virtually straight to even
reach the steering wheel. This greatly prohibits proper steering So, allow the seat back to do the job it was designed for, by
control, with drivers lacking the leverage to turn the wheel adjusting it to support your body all the way from the small of
smoothly and accurately. The inappropriate grip low down the back to your shoulders. This usually means a more upright
on the wheel, or a one-hand-only hold, and/or the inevitably position than many drivers naturally favour, but is critical to
harsh steering inputs that result from straight arms are all proper steering control on corners. Maintaining core stability
undesirable and best avoided. enables your shoulders and back to relax, and the steering wheel
to be controlled smoothly and precisely, with a light hold that
Also, having the seat too far reclined tends to leave the upper
allows you to feel the grip in the front tyres.
back and shoulders unsupported, especially through corners,
as drivers will subconsciously lean forward out of the seat
toward the wheel. Unsurprisingly, this lack of core stability both
limits control and leads to the rapid onset of fatigue, frequently
inducing back pain or shoulder ache.

9
Steering wheel Head restraint
Adjust the height and reach of the steering wheel to allow a Where applicable, adjust the height and/or angle of the head
comfortable bend in the arms when holding the wheel at the restraint so that its middle is level with your ears and positioned
9 and 3 position, whilst your back and shoulders are still firmly 2 – 3 centimetres away from your head. This is not so much
supported by the seat. about control as protection from whiplash in the event of a
If steering wheel adjustment options are limited, fine-tune the collision where you are hit from behind (not that this should ever
rake of the seat back if necessary so that it works in conjunction happen once we have coached you On Road!).
with the wheel. In vehicles fitted with competition-type seats,
which lack adjustment other than forwards and backwards,
compromises may be required. Within reason, correct positioning
for the arms and full steering control should take precedence over
the legs.
Ensure that your view of the instruments and warning lights is
unobstructed and that you can operate all controls comfortably.

10
Checking your position
Having followed these simple steps, you should find that as In the great majority of cars, you should now find that
much of your body as possible is in contact with the seat and maintaining a 9 and 3 grip on the steering wheel feels natural
that you feel in command of the car. You can readily check and comfortable over long periods, and that the gear lever falls
that your driving position is correct by relaxing both shoulders readily to hand. Obviously, mirrors should be adjusted to allow
in to the seat, then reaching your arms out straight ahead of full usage without exaggerated head movement.
you to rest on top of the steering wheel, at ’12 o’clock’; keeping To maintain full support from the seat whilst driving swiftly, you
your hands out-stretched, as illustrated above. If the seat and may find it helpful to keep your left foot pressed gently against
steering wheel are correctly adjusted, your wrists should now be the footrest whenever not needed to operate a pedal, firmly
resting on the top of the steering wheel. holding you in full contact with the seat.
If the perfect driving position is radically different to how you
sit at the moment, a sudden and dramatic change to where you
should ideally sit may feel awkward and uncomfortable. In which
case, make the transition gradually, adjusting the seat a little at
a time each time you drive until you are in the correct position.

11
 according to our clients


Although I have been advanced police trained, IAM and ROSPA I didn’t consider myself a bad driver at all, at least until I met Ivan
Gold, my driving has been totally transformed since knowing you. and began to realise just how much I did not know. This Total
I owe you so much. You’re simply explained observations over a ďĊĴīďăT­ĮĴÐīÆă­ĮĮœ­ĮÌÐťĊðĴÐăř­ăðåÐÆì­ĊæðĊæÐŘĨÐīðÐĊÆÐ
sustained period on open roads, country lanes and at Millbrook for me, one that has changed my whole outlook on the road and
have led me to become a safer, smoother driver. In fact, I am driving; understanding the bad habits most of us have, even
driving with a smoothness that I would never have thought of. without knowing it.
Name withheld for security reasons Driving well is a priceless skill and taking this course was one
of the best decisions I will ever make with regards to cars.
Understanding car dynamics and the way even my little BMW
reacts to every control input I make is just amazing: I never
I always thought I was a safe driver, but having you point out believed this course could change me so much as a driver.
my vulnerabilities was eye-opening. Realising just how much It’s amazing how much fun and how calm driving can be when
pertinent information was escaping my consciousness was, done right!
frankly, disturbing. You provoked more concentration in me
J. Roth
than usual, clearly demonstrating the extent to which we usually
switch off our brains when driving. Driving well (quickly and safely)
requires, I now know, a level of concentration and awareness well
beyond what I was used to. In summary Ivan, you have taught me
so much more than I expected.
C. Davies

12
Step 2: Traction Matters
Every force acting upon your car as you Four factors dictate the amount of When it comes to the size of the contact
drive is transmitted through the tyres, traction we gain from our tyres: patch of rubber actually hitting the road at
making choosing and using tyres correctly any given time, this is roughly equivalent
critical to total control. 1. The degree of friction between the tyre to the size of a CD case on average size
and road surface; which depends on the tyres. Not a lot, you’ll agree. Of course,
Getting to grips with your tyres tyre’s composition and construction, sports cars have significantly wider tyres
Traction limits and the 100% rule plus the surface being driven on. to increase the contact patch size, but let’s
Maintaining and maximising traction 2. The amount of rubber in contact with not get too carried away. The rear tyres
the road; the contact patch. on a 661 BHP Ferrari 488 for example, are
305mm wide, but that’s still only 55% wider
3. The vertical load on the tyres caused than those fitted to a Ford Mondeo with
by the weight of the vehicle, and where less than a third of the power.
that weight sits.

4. And, crucially, the inputs made

by you, the driver.

14
The 100% rule
Any tyre, no matter how costly and well- Available Traction
engineered, can only offer a certain level
of grip, i.e. 100%. The better the tyre, 0% 100%
of course, the higher the level of grip it
will ultimately provide, but every tyre Accelerating or Braking Input
has its limit. Exceed that threshold, and
a skid or slide follows. Put simply, the Steering Input
more of a tyre’s grip capacity we use for
accelerating or braking, the less we have 100% 0%
left for steering; whilst the more we use
for steering, the less that is available for Asking too much of tyres is a common To illustrate the point, imagine driving in a
accelerating or braking. driver error, especially in a highly powerful race, when outright pace and lap times are
car. To maintain proper control, all inputs all-important. Approaching a low-speed
need to be smooth, precise and, where corner, it is reasonable to assume that you
possible, gentle. It’s crucial that the throttle would be using 100% of the tyres’ grip for
and brake are each used in complete braking. But, should you attempt to turn in
harmony with the steering: they are toward the corner without relaxing some
intrinsically linked and problems occur of that brake pressure and releasing some
when this link is ignored. of the tyres’ grip capacity to be used for the
steering, the car will be unable to turn and
instead push on into understeer.

15
An even more powerful visual analogy, For the public road, absolute control and
and one I’d encourage you to keep at the safety are paramount of course; whereas
forefront of your mind when driving swiftly, outright speed clearly is not. To keep a
is to picture a length of string: tied at one generous margin of safety, so as to allow
end to the bottom of the steering wheel; any immediate change of direction or
and at the other end to the big toe of your speed if necessary, therefore means using
right foot. This length of string is just no more than 75% of the tyres’ grip unless
long enough to allow your foot to apply in an emergency situation. This is achieved
full throttle when the steering wheel is through smoothness; a critical component
completely straight. Any steering input of performance driving and a recurring
will therefore pull your foot up a bit. And theme in this guide.
the more you turn the wheel, the more the
It can be awkward to determine where
string pulls your foot up from the throttle
the limit of grip actually lies (in some cars
(or brake pedal).
more than others), and therefore be able to
judge when you are running close to or at
75% of the tyres’ capacity (let alone closer
to the edge of the grip limit). This can only
be done safely in a controlled environment
such as Millbrook Proving Ground that we
use for Dynamic Driving coaching.

16
Choosing tyres
When it comes to replacing the tyres on Just like cars, all tyres are a compromise: complement the weight, power, and
your sports car, be sure to choose ones one tyre cannot be perfect at all things. handling characteristics of specific cars.
with the appropriate speed rating for The greater the tread pattern, the It’s therefore usually sound advice to
your vehicle as recommended in your less rubber on the road and, generally choose tyres that are recommended as
owners’ manual. The speed rating refers speaking, the less the ultimate dry grip original equipment for your particular
to the maximum sustained speed that level. Conversely, the less tread pattern, car; in addition to being appropriate
can be used safely on that tyre, with the the greater the capacity for dry grip but for your intended use. The higher the
range of ratings that apply to sports cars less ability to disperse water or maintain performance of your car, the more critical
illustrated below. traction in wet conditions. this becomes. Understandably, there
Back in 2003, when I still led BMW GB’s can be insurance implications if a car is
M Power Institute, M3 CSLs were sold with fitted with tyres that are not endorsed by
Speed Maximum
the option of either regular or Cup tyres. The the manufacturer. Porsches for example,
Rating Speed (MPH)
latter resembled virtual racing slicks with must be fitted with N-rated tyres.
W 168 a bare minimum amount of tread grooves There are over 200 raw materials and huge
to be legally compliant for road use. They technology used in premium tyres these
Y 186
offered prodigious levels of lateral grip days, making them so much more than just
Z 150+ on dry roads, assisting the CSL’s sublime ‘rubber’. However, even the best tyres do
steering, but each car shod with them came degrade over time if a car is seldom used,
with an official warning and disclaimer that developing minute cracks that affect their
they were not to be driven in wet conditions! integrity and safety. Most manufacturers
Sports car makers work very closely agree that tyres should no longer be used
with leading tyre companies, going once they reach 6 years old.
to great lengths to develop tyres that

17
 Aquaplaning
Chances are, your sports car will wear out Though the legal minimum tyre Aquaplaning occurs when a wedge of
its tyres long before that time period but, tread depth remains 1.6mm (central water builds up between the road surface
when purchasing new tyres, it’s worth ¾ of the tyre’s width, around its and the front tyres, forcing them off the
checking that you are not buying old stock full circumference), it is strongly ground. This happens either as a result of
that’s been sat in a warehouse for ages. recommended to change tyres when excessive speed through standing water
To tell when a tyre was manufactured, there is still 3mm of tread remaining. or because of limited tyre tread depth. It
look for the letters DOT on the sidewall, Below this point, wet grip may rapidly can be felt through the steering, which
followed by four digits. The digits relate to diminish as water cannot be dispersed becomes vague and unresponsive.
the week and year of manufacture, quickly enough, producing an often There’s little that can be done to instantly
i.e. 5019 indicates a tyre made in the 50th alarming increase in stopping distances correct aquaplaning, other than to resist
week of 2019. and dramatic reduction in overall control. any temptation to brake or steer: just
smoothly release the accelerator and be
patient, as weight transfers forward and
the vehicle slows sufficiently for the tyres
to clear the water and restore control.
Beware that if steering is applied during
aquaplaning, the vehicle is likely to turn
violently when grip is recovered.

18
Winter tyres
To enjoy your sports car year-round in The colder the weather gets, the less If you choose to remain with summer
all weathers, it is well worth switching effective summer tyres become; tyres in all seasons, be sure to give
between summer and winter tyres as the extending stopping distances them sufficient time to warm beyond
seasons change. Historically in the UK, considerably. This goes for simply cold, 7˚C before asking much of them. It is
drivers tended to stick with ‘summer’ tyres wet roads as well as more severe winter of course, predominantly friction that
regardless of the time of year, and most conditions such as snow. The high silica generates heat in tyres: which in turn
still do. Trouble with this is, such tyres content of winter tyres, together with comes from either the longitudinal forces
have a critical minimum temperature, their sipes (tiny slits running across each of acceleration or braking, or the lateral
below which they cease to grip the road block of tread) make a big difference to loading from cornering.
so well. When temperatures drop below grip levels throughout the harsher winter Keep in mind that the ultra-low profile of
7˚C, the hard rubber compound in summer months; which seem to be getting later tyres fitted to most modern sports cars
tyres becomes less malleable, reducing and later each year. take much longer to generate heat than
their purchase on the road surface by a I used to advise running winter tyres from those with deeper profiles (which benefit
large margin. October through to March, but these from frictional ‘squish’ as the weight of
days I find myself fitting mine as late as the car keeps compressing the bottom of
December through to April. Though costly, the tyre as the wheel rotates). This means
they’re a sensible investment if you want that it can take quite a few miles on a
to use your sports car all year; or simply winter’s day to bring summer tyres up to
be safer in any car, for that matter. working temperature, if at all.

19
Under pressure Feeling the heat Running flat
Modern, premium tyres do not suffer If you attend track days, do keep a Fortunately, run-flat tyres are rarely fitted
if modestly over-inflated, managing to particularly close eye on your tyre to high performance cars. Their reinforced
retain their correct shape and contact pressures. If you are quick, and sidewalls make for a harsh ride when
patch with the road surface. On the consequently loading the tyres through combined with sports suspension and
other hand, though, underinflated fast bends, the heat generated (also remove much of the sensitivity a good driver
tyres are detrimental to control and through firm braking) will substantially can use to feel a car’s traction level. Unless
personal finances; with increased rolling raise your tyre pressures; especially if the run-flats are specifically recommended for
resistance and a tendency to over-heat, track temperature is also high. This needs your car, in which case the suspension will
especially when driven at speed. A low to be compensated for, so you may find be tuned to compensate for them, they are
pressure also allows excessive flex in the yourself taking a fair bit of air out of the best avoided.
sidewall, leading to a loss of control and tyres to keep them working at their best.
integrity; particularly when cornering. Just be sure to check them and
Unless your car is fitted with a reliable re-inflate once cooled, before
and accurate on-board tyre pressure heading back onto
monitoring system (TPMS), that gives public roads…
actual pressure readings, tyre pressures
should be physically checked at least
weekly and before every ‘spirited’ drive.

20
 according to our clients


Total Car Control Ltd are top notch trainers. As a female driver a situation like this again safely – and more importantly gave me
œ­ĊĴðĊæĴďĴ­āÐÆďĊĴīďăďåĉřĊМƭīșAœ­ĮĊȸĴăďďāðĊæĴďŦř the skills to never get myself or my car in that position ever again.
around a track as fast as I could, but wanted to gain real skills that I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Millbrook and to be honest thought,
would translate to the road. I wanted to understand how my car job’s a good un’. I wasn’t really expecting too much from the
reacts when put under pressure and how to handle it in tricky second day, on road. How wrong I was. Having gained so many
situations. I wanted to understand my car and how best to drive it skills on day one, taking these and practising them on some
to get the maximum fun and driving experience from it, safely. amazing roads that Ivan has managed to discover, I just honed
Having once spun a car on a motorway exit at speed as a ĴìÐĉȘAĴœ­Į­Ċ­ÅĮďăķĴÐĨăЭĮķīÐĴďÅÐÌīðŒðĊæĮďŦķðÌăř­ĊÌ
teenager, I had never really learnt from that experience, more, I ÆďĊťÌÐĊĴăřďĊĴìÐīď­ÌĮœðĴìAŒ­Ċ­ĴĉřĮðÌÐĮĴðăăÆď­ÆìðĊæ­ĊÌ
ì­ÌăÐĴðĴÌÐťĊÐĉřÌīðŒðĊæ­ĴĮĨÐÐÌ­īďķĊÌÆďīĊÐīĮȘAÆ­Ċì­ĨĨðăř guiding. From the start of the day at 9 am to the end at 4pm, the
say – that is now a thing of the past. From the moment of booking transformation was immense. I might add that the lunch and
and chatting through my expectations and goals with Ivan, I was ÆďååÐÐĮĴďĨĮ­īÐœÐăăīÐťĊÐÌ­ĊÌĴìÐåďďÌœ­ĮÌÐăðÆðďķĮĴďďȝ
counting down the weeks until my course. In short, if you want to become a more knowledgeable,
}ìÐťīĮĴÌ­ř­ĴTðăăÅīďďāœ­Į­ĨðŒďĴ­ăÌ­řðĊĉřÌīðŒðĊæ­ĨĨīď­ÆìȘ experienced, safer, more spirited driver (man or woman) that
Millbrook offers both the ability to drive fast, really fast, around a understands and feels more at ease with a powerful car, do not
‘handling’ track plus a hill course that simulates real roads a little look beyond Total Car Control. Thank you Ivan, you really have
more. Ivan’s approach to me being a lady girl racer was spot on. made a difference to my life ahead.
He made me feel at ease, not negative at all, only positive, which K. Bruzas
in turn brought out the best in my driving abilities. He counselled
me through my previous spin-off and helped me recreate it on a
safe area at Millbrook. He coached me how to get out of

21
Step 3: A Balancing Act
Time to consider controlling the balance and Sports car manufacturers go to extreme Common answers I hear to this question
weight transfer within your car; essential lengths to create vehicles with optimum are “speed”, and “how the car is loaded”,
elements in high performance driving weight distribution, both front-to-rear or even “road surface”. The simple truth,
and across the axles. Doing so makes for though, is that it’s you, the driver that
Discover the factors that destroy the
great agility, stability, responsiveness, will either maintain or ruin a vehicle’s
balance your car was designed with
control and safety; all desirable attributes inherent balance through your inputs to
Key techniques to minimise the negative in a rewarding drivers’ car. But what is the controls. Specifically, you affect your
effects of weight transfer the one overriding factor that can undo car’s balance to some extent every time
the engineers’ efforts, destroying that you accelerate, decelerate, brake, change
And how to use positive weight transfer
supreme weight balance? gear (especially downwards), or steer.
to advantage for added control

58%

42%

Most sports cars are designed with near-perfect weight distribution, to give fairly equal grip to all tyres

23
Acceleration Deceleration, braking and down-shifting
Accelerating transfers weight backwards, causing the rear Weight transfers forward when the throttle is released or the
of the car to squat down and the front to lift. This assists brakes applied. Though this gives enhanced grip for initial
acceleration in a rear wheel drive car, with the weight transition steering response, it can cause the lightened back end to
pushing the rear tyres on to the road and increasing grip (more become unstable and potentially slide out to either side in
weight on a tyre equals more grip; up to a given limit). oversteer (we’ll look at both understeer and oversteer in more
detail later on).
Conversely, the reduction in weight at the front end lessens grip
Unless sufficient braking precedes or accompanies it, or unless
and restricts steering control. Firm acceleration combined with
you rev match, changing down through the gearbox and re-
steering frequently results in a car pushing wide in understeer;
engaging the clutch also throws weight suddenly forward. Many
though harshly applied power may break the grip of the rear
modern sports cars feature an auto-blip on downshift function
tyres and cause oversteer. to compensate for any such ‘driver error’, but it remains an
issue in those without. Especially so for those with rear wheel
drive, when using the gearbox in this manner causes a sudden
reduction in speed of the driven axle. The instant loss of wheel
speed, combined with the forward weight transfer it creates,
can cause the rear wheels to lock briefly in extreme scenarios,
with obvious consequences.

Grip Grip Grip Grip

24
Get a grip Steering
To minimise the detrimental effects of weight transfer, and When cornering, weight is transferred to the side of the car
therefore maintain good balance and stability to the chassis furthest from the apex; loading the tyres on the outside of
and optimum grip in the tyres, all key control inputs need to be the corner and lightening those on the inside. This can cause
smooth, precise, gentle and well-timed. This is fundamental instability and lead to either understeer or oversteer, depending
to safe speed and driving pleasure on road or track, allowing on the steering input and other contributory forces acting on the
you to enjoy and exploit more of your car’s performance whilst vehicle (i.e. accelerating, decelerating or braking).
keeping it constantly able to respond instantly and accurately to Making any of these driver inputs either suddenly, too much, for too
changing situations. long or at the wrong time exaggerates the negative effects on a
The perfect driving position that we introduced in Step 1 will have vehicle’s balance, thereby reducing grip and compromising control.
set you up ready to achieve great smoothness with your use of
the controls. We’ll soon be introducing techniques to help you
transition deftly between pedals, plus apply and release steering
inputs with finesse.

25
Traditional thinking…
There are 2 trains of thought when it comes to achieving safe Braking very firmly from speed all the way in to a corner can
yet fast pace in a modern sports car. One side of the argument have a similar effect on a car; placing too much of the vehicle’s
is indisputable: your sports car generates maximum overall weight on just one tyre. This leaves the other three with limited
grip when it is balanced as the manufacturer intended, with grip on the road and the car inclined to over-rotate...
approximately the same amount of weight over each tyre.
Further, making just one input to the controls at a time serves to
minimise weight transfer and therefore keeps the car stable.
This is why we were traditionally taught, for example, to always
brake in a straight line; releasing the brakes before applying
steering for a bend in the road. This avoids multitasking, such
as combining braking and steering at the same time, which
would clearly complicate the physics involved and reduce
overall stability.
To simply illustrate the point, picture a four-legged chair. It is, of
course, most stable when all four legs are firmly on the ground.
Now imagine tipping the chair forward a little on to two legs: the
balance is affected and overall stability reduced, yet the chair
remains controllable. But what would happen if you then tipped
the chair on to only one leg? It would want to rotate around that
fixed point, becoming very unstable and difficult to control.

26
Versus contemporary
And yet, there are situations where deliberately making your car we, as enthusiastic drivers, have the opportunity to eliminate
less stable, less balanced, may make it more controllable. This is this tendency, effectively balancing the car more neutrally once
especially true of most modern cars, even very powerful sports cars. again by deliberately keeping the front tyres pressed firmly
If you think back to exotic cars of 30 – 40 years ago, 300 BHP was onto the road for enhanced grip whilst subtly lightening the rear
considered to be hugely powerful. These days, you can find that in tyres. You might think of this as being similar to a boxer in the
hatchbacks. As time marches on, cars are getting ever faster and ring, poised on the balls of their feet, ready to react in an instant
more powerful; tyres are getting fatter and offer more grip; and to whatever comes next.
active safety technology is becoming all the more sophisticated. We’ll look at the application of positive weight transfer in more
At the same time, modern cars are also supremely comfortable, detail in Step 5. Yet the key point here is that once you have
cosseting the driver and largely insulating them from the road in mastered maintaining good balance in your car as you drive,
the process. Meanwhile, drivers are generally becoming less and you can build further on your skill set by deliberately adjusting
less engaged in the physical and mental driving process, so the the balance for enhanced grip on given tyres when beneficial.
chasm widens between man and machine. This can greatly assist high performance driving techniques,
Manufacturers understand a need to compensate for all of this… including cornering.
Largely gone are the days when sports cars were engineered
with neutral handling; where they would lose grip with both axles
at the same time when driven smoothly to and beyond traction
limits. Nowadays, understeer is prevalent, being deliberately
engineered in and meaning that the front end will lose grip
first; telegraphing to a driver that they should probably back
off a bit. And whilst understeer is largely safe (certainly more
instinctive for most to react to than is the case with oversteer),
it is far from dynamically pleasing or in any way fun. Thankfully

27
 according to our clients


I found Ivan and his company Total Car Control totally professional I really appreciated your explanations, the level of detail, and
at all times. They always “did what it says on the tin”. The training relevance to my F-Type R’s performance. You’ve certainly
is way beyond just high speed driving, it really is “Total Car heightened my appreciation of the balance of the vehicle, the
Control”. loading on the tyres, and how to gain the most feedback – in
The coaching is a bespoke service entirely based on the practice, opening the envelope of both performance and safety.
customer’s requirements. Ivan’s skill set is such that if you want ZåÆďķīĮÐșœðĴìĴìðĮAȸŒÐ­ăĮďÌÐŒÐăďĨÐÌĉďīÐÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐȘAĴœ­Į
it, he can provide it. At a very early stage Ivan ascertains what great to explore the capability of the Jag’s protective systems,
you want to achieve from the course. My requirement was to
and to get a feel for just ‘how’ provoking I need to be to exceed the
be totally comfortable with my car, to me a very highly powered
levels of grip and road holding available, even in the wet.
sports car; a schoolboy dream.
I honestly thought that trail braking with the left foot was going to
Having taken a 3 day Total Control Masterclass with Ivan I am
becoming a very different driver. I am more thoughtful about be a stretch too far on the day, but wow it just seemed to fall into
other drivers’ intentions, more positive in where I place my Ĩă­ÆÐȯAÆ­ĊďĊăř­ĴĴīðÅķĴÐĴì­ĴĴďĴìÐÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐřďķðĊĮĨðīÐÌðĊ
vehicle for maximum safety. I am always making sure that if an me as the day progressed. All using balance to enhance grip and
unforeseen situation occurs I have the maximum amount of time performance – like magic!
to deal with it. Overall it’s a very rewarding feeling, knowing much more about
During the masterclass that Ivan gives, you will learn to drive what ‘good’ looks and feels like now, to be able to drive a section
quickly, sometimes very quickly, but ALWAYS safely. I really of road just how I want to – accurately, smooth and safe, and
enjoyed it and wish I could come back for more next week. My occasionally fast of course! You’ll remember my initial objectives
expectations were exceeded, and I can’t recommend Ivan or his were to explore both the car’s and my own limits, learning more
approach to driver training highly enough. about us both to allow me to get the most from our time together:
B. Moore job done!
M. Baillie

28
Step 4: Vision & Planning
Making good decisions and refined driver High performance driving demands an As mentioned before, driving is a largely
inputs at speed are hallmarks of the elevated level of conscious awareness, subconscious process for most people,
skilled high performance driver using to best effect the brain’s at least most of the time; especially when
capacity to assimilate and make use on familiar journeys. If we accept that the
How to take, analyse and use information
of key information. This supports the majority of road users out there with us
as you drive
unconscious competence that comes with merely travel, rather than actually ‘drive’,
Key techniques to develop observation experience and practice; at least, with it’s clear that we need command of not
and anticipation practice of correct techniques. just our own vehicle, but also of the wider
driving environment.
Why accidents don’t just happen and
speed doesn’t kill

30
A state of mind
As a species, we are not terribly well designed to
travel at great speed. Even Usain Bolt was unable to
break the 30mph barrier on foot (though he wasn’t
too far off, at 27.8mph). Combine this with the
amount of time in general that most people spend
with their eyes working at very short range (such as
when in conversation, using a computer, cooking,
working with their hands, watching television or
reading etc.), and it’s little wonder that our eyes feel
most comfortable and relaxed when focused on
a short to middle distance. Consequently, it takes
conscious effort to continually adjust focal length,
systematically searching for information.
When I first meet them, few drivers are in the habit
of really ‘stretching’ their observations to look as far
ahead as they might. When driving rapidly, any lack of
depth to observation and planning has a detrimental
effect on balance and control, and makes the word
“suddenly” all too common in drivers’ vocabulary. The
techniques that follow will help banish “suddenly”
from your driving…

31
Relative speed
Speed, in itself, is not dangerous. Inappropriate speed, on the Combine this with the roughly ¾ second it takes for a typical,
other hand, can be lethal. Modern cars, even sports cars, are attentive driver to identify a hazard and start to react by
generally so comfortable and cocooning that our sensation of releasing the throttle, and the car has travelled over 20 metres
speed, or lack of it, can be misleading: speed often no longer before it even begins to slow from an initial speed of 60mph.
feels fast. By contrast, think back to your first car. Chances are, The higher the speed, the less time we have to react to
60mph felt pretty quick. You probably clearly heard not only the hazards of course, plus the further we will travel before the car
engine note and exhaust, but also the tyres on the road surface responds to our inputs. And unless your car has ‘ground effects’
and a good deal of wind noise. These days, even inexpensive aerodynamics, the less efficient the steering becomes as a
cars are remarkably well sound-proofed, bizarrely divorcing the result.
driver from the realities of speed; which is not always a good It can be argued that modern cars’ braking systems and
thing. materials are greatly superior to those used even 20 years ago,
To compound the issue, as a unit of measurement, ‘miles per thereby helping to reduce braking distances. Yet the simple
hour’ is rather hard to quantify: a mile and an hour are simply truth of the matter is that the additional time it now takes
too long to readily visualise. It can be more helpful though, most drivers to identify and then react to hazards outweighs
to think of speed in terms of metres per second (or feet per the benefits of the better braking systems in most cases. This
second if you prefer), as these are much easier to appreciate… means that overall stopping distances have actually increased in
It comes as something of a shock to many, that at just 30mph recent years. Scary.
we’re travelling 13.4 metres (or 44 feet), every second. So at High performance driving is therefore so much more than just
60mph, which still feels really slow, we’re covering the length of controlling a car at speed. It’s knowing when as well as how to
2 articulated lorry trailers per second. use that power and speed to produce a fast, smooth and yet
safe driving style. And that is dependent on taking, analysing,
using and giving information.

32
Observation
Used properly, a scanning technique provides sufficient Many drivers seem to look without really seeing, their vision
information to allow a fast yet safe driving style. Constantly blinkered and staring at a set distance; typically on the back of
sweep the far, middle and near distances ahead, plus to the the next vehicle ahead. They therefore frequently fail to plan for
sides and rear through your mirrors. Start by looking as far evolving hazards, often as a consequence of weak anticipation.
ahead as possible and reeling your vision in towards you. To We tend to see what we expect to find, and therefore so easily fail
be clear, by far distance I mean extend your vision right to the to see what we’re not looking for. This is why so many incidents
horizon, way beyond where our eyes naturally rest. Read deeply occur “suddenly”, and leads to the common excuse or apology of
in to what you see, looking for detailed information rather than “He came out of nowhere” or, “Sorry, I didn’t see you!”
just a broad summary. As speeds rise, the details make all the Observation links are helpful in prompting anticipation of certain
difference. hazards. For example, on a country road, spotting a freshly cut
Be sure to look through the most appropriate piece of glass: hedge or bits of straw on the road suggests a tractor could be
approaching a tight bend, particularly to the right (in a right around a corner anytime soon. Whereas a church spire seen
hand drive car), include strong glances through the driver’s door sticking above distant trees from a quick bit of road probably
window to see where the road goes, and plan how you want to means an urban area and lower speed limit ahead. A cluster of
get there. street lamps in the distance indicates a roundabout; whilst a
Take in details of the road surface, including repairs and single street lamp ahead on the right tells of a junction on the left.
surface changes that can affect traction, plus the camber and, Wheelie bins at the side of the road mean it’s collection day, but
of course, the white lines. Look out for micro-climates where where’s the bin lorry? If the handles of the bins on your side of the
dampness or frost lingers, causing instant changes in grip level; road are largely facing outwards, the lorry’s yet to collect. This
such as on shaded hillsides, areas of deep shadow beneath might mean that it’s somewhere behind you and not an issue; but
trees or buildings, or on bridges. As part of the information it’s much safer to anticipate said bin lorry on the way toward you,
gathering process, note the external temperature and consider stopped in the road around the next blind bend, with other road
the effects this may have on your tyres and grip level. users trying to get by it.

33
Sensory input Reading the road
In conjunction with observation, it’s important to involve the The most common ‘black spots’ for speed related accidents are
audio, olfactory and kinaesthetic senses as well. Being aware of bends and junctions. Even experienced drivers can misjudge
the engine note, the sound of the tyres and brakes, plus noise appropriate speed and either lose control or be unable to
from other vehicles and the wider driving environment all help in respond to the mistakes of other road users.
making good decisions. Likewise, smelling freshly cut grass on There is a great wealth of information available, plus clues to
a summer’s day may warn you of a potential tractor trimming the hazards that go largely unnoticed by most drivers. Signage
verge ahead; whilst the odour of hot oil or brakes can forewarn and paint on the road are obvious examples of this. Rather
of mechanical malady. than take them for granted, consider why the local council has
Sitting as low in the car as practical and maintaining precise invested so much money when you see a plethora of warning
contact with seat, pedals and steering wheel assists in using our signs or significant levels of paint on the road. For the most part,
kinaesthetic sense to judge the relative position of neighbouring councils tend to be reactive to road related fatality, meaning
parts of our body, and the effort required to either move them or that the roadside furniture tells a story of what has happened
hold them still. This communicates to us the g-forces acting on previously at any given location. Put simply, the more money
the vehicle and tyres. spent, the greater the historical risk.
And yet the volume of road signage, or indeed the lack of it,
can be misleading. No doubt you have seen instances where
a multitude of chevron boards would seemingly herald a really
tight and treacherous bend, only for you to find a very modest
bend and maybe wonder what all the fuss is about. At other
times, you may have been caught out a little when a bend
really tightened up, becoming severe, but without much or any
warning at all. This is all down to what has or has not happened
before at those specific bends.

34
Thankfully, there is a fail-safe way of accurately judging the Once the limit point starts to move away from you again, you
severity of any bend you approach: by reading the Limit Point. can start accelerating smoothly. But by how much? When the
The limit point is your furthest uninterrupted view of the road limit point is running but not to the extent that it significantly
ahead, where the left and right sides of the road converge. As you increases your uninterrupted view of the road ahead, you need a
drive, the visual limit point constantly evolves and will appear to do gentle ‘containing’ throttle to keep your car balanced at a constant
one of 4 things at any given time: speed; as the bend remains at a constant radius.
Only once the limit point visually moves away into the distance
1. Move towards you (albeit briefly), i.e. your uninterrupted view of can you afford to apply firm, progressive throttle. The quicker the
the road foreshortens limit point runs away, the more power may be safely added (taking
2. Stay static; so that you are visually catching up towards the into account all other factors of grip levels, hazards etc.).
limit point In summary, when driving swiftly on public roads, ‘chase the limit
point’. When it slows down, so should you. When it speeds up, so
3. Runs with you, i.e. the limit point is moving, but not increasing can you. Safe speed is ever one that allows you to stop, on your
the length of your vision
own side of the road, in the distance you can see to be clear:
4. Accelerate away from you, i.e. your uninterrupted view of the anything beyond this is, to put it mildly, optimistic!
road lengthens Mastery of reading the limit point as part of a fast and fluid driving
The limit point visually moving towards you indicates your initial style can take a little time and coaching, yet is highly rewarding;
approach to a corner. The longer the limit point stays static (so enabling you to press on and thoroughly enjoy your car. The key
that you are closing toward it), the tighter the bend will be and the being to always match your speed to vision, grip and hazard levels.
more you may need to reduce speed accordingly.

35
The ‘System’
You can use the information gained from thorough observation to To maintain balance and stability in the vehicle, always enter
create a detailed driving plan based on the ‘System of Car Control’. hazards at an appropriate Speed. A common driver error is to
This is a cornerstone of advanced driving techniques for on-road enter too quickly, still trying to slow down, upsetting the car’s
safety, ensuring that we are always in the right place at the right balance and reducing overall traction.
time, and becomes ever more critical as speeds build. Once the correct speed has been reached, take the appropriate
The System comprises 5 distinct phases, which need to be Gear to allow full control through the hazard, including the ability
applied in sequence: to gently Accelerate through and then firmly away afterwards.
1. Information
2. Position
3. Speed
4. Gear
5. Acceleration
The Information phase runs throughout the System,
encompassing all the other phases, as it is constantly changing.
As information evolves, so too must your driving plan.
The Position phase refers to placing your vehicle on the road
to maximum advantage. This could be to allow optimum pace
(the ‘racing line’), but is always prioritised for vision and safety
through all manner of hazards.

36
Commentary driving
We can all mentally process information many times quicker than
we are able to put our thoughts in to spoken words. As a result,
commentary driving can be a really powerful way of developing
and practising how you analyse and use information at the wheel.
There is rarely enough time to put into words everything of
relevance that can be seen, heard, smelt and felt. This makes it
necessary to prioritise the information and hazards you identify,
together with what you plan to do about them. For maximum
benefit, focus your commentary on key information and hazards
that you identify or anticipate before you reach them, as opposed
to ones you have already dealt with.
You may feel uncomfortable talking to yourself like this, yet it will
help stretch your observations further ahead, gaining more time
to form an effective driving plan and make earlier decisions. It can
also prompt you to seek out greater detail in what you see; and
should certainly encourage a very high level of concentration. As
with anything, it gets easier (and better) with practice; being just
one of many techniques that raises your game and enables safer
use of your car’s performance.

37
 according to our clients

I very much enjoyed the Total Control Masterclass and gained

vision when driving and that in a bend the effect of looking at the a great deal from it. A primary point I have carried over from
your tuition is perhaps basic, but so easily forgotten: to be in a
line. I am also enjoying working on my left foot trail braking condition of concentration and continual analysis of everything
technique, with the emphasis being on that smooth transition that is happening all around you, and to be aware of how your
from braking to applying throttle. The greatest ‘eureka’ moment positive actions can dictate, to a greater extent, a safe conclusion
from the course for me was driving on the High Speed Circuit. It to any given situation.
changed for ever the way I will look at ‘the road ahead’! Going beyond this, the biggest advantage I gained from the
P. Draper course was visual. Your limit point instruction, and linking that to
the approach to and exit from bends, has really transformed my
driving and increased my enjoyment. I really do now search for the
Thanks for a very interesting and stimulating Total Control limit point in everyday driving, and another bonus of your course
Masterclass. I have a multitude of thoughts swirling through my is that thinking about this, plus all the other topics we covered,
head as a result. My longish journey today was a totally different makes keeping up the level of concentration very easy…
drive; no autopilot but instead an exercise in safety bubble
J. Knights
planning and road awareness. More concentration, certainly safer
and a lot more involving. I never realised how bad the general
standard of driving was on UK roads and how much I needed to
protect myself from it…
S. MacDonnell

38
Step 5: Accelerating, Braking & Gear-Shifting
Time to explore the finer points of Watch in-car footage of any talented high
adjusting speed; keeping you firmly in performance driver and you’ll notice that all
control as you enjoy your car to the full their inputs to the vehicle are smooth and
gentle: quick, yes, but always smooth. This
How to balance acceleration or braking
is key to outright pace and total control,
with steering
both of which rely on maintaining balance
Maintain and maximise traction under for optimum traction.
g-force loading
Key techniques, including threshold
and trail braking

40
 Optimal Throttle Application Ease and squeeze
The Perfect Driving Position, introduced back in Step 1, facilitates
using the pedals with great finesse. Keep your right heel in one
Full
place on the carpet, ideally in line with the brake pedal, as this
requires more strength than the throttle. Then swivel your foot
from the ankle to comfortably operate either throttle or brake
using the ball of the foot or, better still, your toes. Using the ankle
muscles like this allows precise control; much more so than lifting
and lowering the whole leg with heavy duty, insensitive thigh
muscles.
As a basic principle, practice ‘easing and squeezing’ subtly on
Throttle

the throttle and brake pedals whilst pivoting your foot from
the ankle. The objective being to go from zero to full throttle
and back to zero, plus from zero to maximum braking and back
again, smoothly yet swiftly; minimising longitudinal weight
transfer as you do so.
Rather than a steady increase in power, the degree of optimum
acceleration that may be applied builds in a nonlinear curve
Gentle with speed. The slower the speed, the more gradually extra
power may be added to avoid the likelihood of braking traction
Slow Fast in a powerful car. By contrast, the higher the speed, the quicker
more throttle can be applied...

41
 Threshold braking
Remember the 100% rule introduced earlier in Step 2, and the When it comes to track driving, optimum braking force is
tyre grip trade-off between either accelerating and steering achieved at the point just before the tyres lock, known as
or braking and steering? For total control, full throttle may only threshold braking. Step over this line and, depending on your
be used when there is little or no steering input; otherwise car, either a skid develops or ABS kicks in to help maintain
understeer or oversteer are likely. directional control. Using ABS inevitably extends stopping
Aim to make your transitions from accelerator to brake (and vice distances as the brakes modulate, as of course will not braking
versa) silky smooth and seamless. Any passenger should not be firmly enough. Mastering threshold braking is therefore
able to perceive the moment when one pedal is released and worthwhile if you intend to venture out on to track days (and is a
the other engaged. This degree of finesse minimises unwanted critical skill for road as well as track in cars without ABS).
weight transfer, maintaining balance and poise in the chassis for The first consideration when aiming to lose speed as quickly as
instant responsiveness and excellent traction. possible is how to maximise traction of the front tyres. Under
Releasing the brakes smoothly is just as important as when severe braking, forward weight transfer is very significant,
applying them. Consider how you release the brake pedal when meaning the front tyres do nearly all the work. Within certain
driving swiftly. Jumping off the pedal quickly releases the limits, the more weight we place on the front tyres before we start
compression in the suspension all at once, instantly unloading braking in earnest, the more traction they have. Hence the harder
the front tyres and significantly reducing their grip. Turning in to we can brake without activating ABS or causing a lock-up.
a bend with the front tyres unloaded provokes understeer and
takes the fun, as well as the control, out of driving. Conversely,
feathering off the brakes gently keeps weight over the nose and
the front tyres loaded, assisting accurate turn-in to bends.

42
 Optimal Braking
Slower
them down onto the track and increasing their traction. You can
then rapidly build firm brake pressure right the way through to
around 7 on the scale without overwhelming that traction.
Swiftly
Speed of Input

The tyres are now close to their extended grip threshold though,
so we need to slow the progression of additional braking force
through to 8 or 9 and the edge of grip: our most efficient braking
Softly point for maximum speed reduction.
If too much brake pressure is applied, and the wheels lock or
ABS activates, ease off marginally until the wheels can be felt to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
start turning properly again. The tyres are now working at 100%
Braking Force (Pedal Pressure) capacity, providing maximum braking. This does of course leave
nothing left for steering, so a further lock-up will follow if any
Picture this scenario. You are driving on a track, at high speed steering is attempted without first releasing more of the brake
down a straight, approaching a tight, slow corner. The track is dry pedal pressure.
and warm; grip levels are good.
Now I’d like you to visualise a braking scale from 1 through to 10;
with 1 being the gentlest squeeze of the brake pedal and 10 being
full leg pressure. If you were to suddenly stamp on the brake
pedal, straight to 10 on our braking scale, you will activate ABS or
lock the tyres and start to skid early on; certainly much sooner
than necessary.
By contrast, if you squeeze more gently to begin with, up to say
2 or 3 on our braking scale, you pre-load the front tyres, pushing

43
ABS ABS (Emergency) Braking
Whilst threshold braking is extremely useful as part of a
planned high performance track drive, it remains immensely
difficult to use in an emergency situation. This is where ABS
comes in to its own.

Speed of Input
If a pedestrian steps in to the road in front of you, or a car pulls
out of a junction immediately ahead, chances are you will need
to steer as well as brake to avoid the hazard. This makes it
significantly harder to achieve and maintain threshold braking,
especially when adrenaline kicks in and concentration is
focused on avoiding a collision. Braking Force (Pedal Pressure)
ABS systems control each wheel individually. This allows In any real emergency braking situation, when ABS is most
constant adjustment of the braking force applied to each certainly your best option, forget any finesse with your foot.
wheel to compensate for weight transfer and changes to the Simply stamp hard and maintain as much pedal pressure as
road surface/grip level beneath each tyre. Whilst stopping required to avoid the hazard as you steer. For those of us that
distances inevitably increase over precisely applied threshold cut our teeth in cars without ABS, and had it drummed in to us
braking, the ABS systems fitted to high-end sports cars allow never to brake and steer at the same time, it takes a little practice
tremendous directional accuracy combined with remarkably to create new neural pathways; re-training the brain to accept
rapid stopping ability. the ‘new’ best practice. And this, of course, can only be done in a
controlled environment away from public roads, such as Millbrook.
Above all else in any such emergency avoidance, it is critical that
you look for and focus on your escape route so as to avoid the
collision; mindful that you steer where you look.

44
 Exit

Trail braking
We have previously explored the dynamic benefits of keeping your Turn-in
car as evenly balanced as is possible, and covered why, in most Apex
situations, braking is best completed in a straight line. This shifts
weight directly forward, evenly on to both front tyres, providing Acceleration
good traction and allowing the brakes to be released smoothly Steering
before steering input is added to the equation. There are times
Braking
though, as alluded to at the end of Step 3, when deliberate weight
transfer can greatly assist the performance driver.
apex or clipping point. As we are looking to finish braking later,
With most modern cars being engineered to understeer when so we need to defer the start of braking… Brake later than
grip levels are pushed, they can struggle to turn-in accurately to normal and continue braking whilst turning in to the bend;
tight bends when approached ‘enthusiastically’ in the traditional trailing off the brake pedal smoothly in the process (hence the
manner of completing all braking in a straight line. Trail braking term, trail braking). The 100% rule still applies, so the braking
is an exceedingly useful technique in such cars, using intentional input must taper off as more steering is added, and the brakes
weight transfer to help rotate the vehicle through the corner. released completely by or before the apex.
Our objective here is to get the car lined up for an easy and Incredibly helpful when mastered, pinning your front tyres to
accurate corner exit as soon as possible; the straightening apexes, this technique requires great caution. The deliberate
steering wheel permitting very firm acceleration good and early weight transfer destabilises the rear of the car and can readily
out of the bend. To achieve this, we need to keep perfect grip in lead to it over-rotating if ‘over-cooked’. Consequently, this should
the front tyres (i.e. no trace of understeer), so that we can take a not be used on public roads until first introduced and consolidated
very clean and precise apex. on a track or proving ground, and usually requires expert coaching
With a tight bend (or one that has an unhelpful camber) this to master. This is especially the case when done with the left foot,
means carrying some braking force into the bend, toward the which takes braking to a whole new level again.

45
Gear shifting
Many drivers with manual transmission still use the gearbox to To avoid detrimental instability, gears need to be engaged
help reduce road speed through engine compression, often in smoothly. We’ll take for granted that your car has a synchromesh
preference to braking. Years ago, before braking technology gearbox, which obviates the need for double de-clutching yet still
became so advanced, this was not only acceptable but requires finesse. There are 3 key techniques to consider:
necessary. Yet the efficiency of modern brakes now makes this
much less relevant. Not least because it can lead to problems 1. Reducing speed before taking a lower gear
unless good technique is mastered (or of course, your car 2. Selecting a lower gear whilst maintaining the original speed;
features automatic rev-matching). i.e. rev matching
Failing to match engine speed and transmission speed at the
time the clutch is released to engage a lower gear results in a
3. Selecting a lower gear whilst braking; i.e. heel-and-toe
downshifting
detrimental snatch as the lower gear brakes the driven wheels.
This results in sudden forward weight transfer and a potentially Looking at the first 2 of these techniques, we’ll start with wanting
significant decrease in stability and traction. The higher the a lower gear to suit a reduced speed. On approach to a hazard, a
speeds involved when this happens, of course, the greater the corner for example, use the brakes first to achieve the new speed
effect. And with this all being about performance driving, let’s desired. This shares the braking force over all four tyres and
assume you’re enjoying a spirited drive. allows gentle and progressive forward weight transfer.
Unless really pushing a car to its limits, aim for just one downshift
per hazard. Bypass any intermediate gears as appropriate, with
the single downshift timed to either coincide with the release of
the brakes or to overlap with the end of braking...

46
When wanting to maintain initial road speed, only now in a and permit a seamless engagement of the clutch before power
lower gear, you simply need to rev match. Press down fully on is smoothly reapplied.
the clutch, simultaneously releasing the throttle and moving Many current sports cars, whether manual or automatic/
the gear lever to neutral. Take time with the change, pausing automated manual with paddleshift, are of course programmed
momentarily in neutral with slight pressure on the gear lever to rev match when down-shifting in order to smooth out each
towards the new gear. This allows the synchromesh cones gear change and maintain stability. Yet it’s much more fun to do
to match the speeds of the input and output shafts ready for it yourself.
smooth engagement.
Heel-and-toe downshifts are somewhat more complex, and
As soon as the initial resistance to the gear lever weakens, merit a substantial article in their own right. This is a technique
select the new gear. By now, the engine revs will have dropped to that is best understood in-car, with coaching.
idle speed, making for a harsh transmission snatch if the clutch
was to be released right away. Immediately prior to releasing the Moving up through the gearbox for maximum acceleration still
clutch, therefore, briefly blip the throttle to raise the engine revs requires accurate coordination of the gear lever and pedals,
but without the blip on the throttle. Quick and smooth up-shifts
can be completed before the engine revs fall to idle speed,
minimising forward weight transfer during each gear change.
Full throttle may be maintained when paddle-shifting up through
the gears.
By all means contact me if you would like guidance on double
de-clutching, heel-and-toe down-shifting, or indeed any other
aspect of high performance driving.

47
 according to our clients

A big thank you for the amazing 3 days of education on how to
drive a vehicle safely to its potential. Your explanations of the
My day at Millbrook was particularly memorable and the physics and dynamics of vehicle handling made my learning all
subsequent road day taught me a lot about my own driving. the more interesting and gave me a better understanding of my
I’ve long considered myself a reasonable driver with a good Ferrari’s behaviour.
awareness of what is happening around me and the ability to Many thanks again for 3 most wonderful, entertaining and
drive whatever car I happened to be in smoothly and briskly. educational days. You have really opened my eyes as to how to
The purchase of an Aston Martin Vantage prompted a bit of drive a vehicle properly. I have never experienced anything like
a re-think when I realised the car was taking charge and not this before.
me. Ivan’s tutoring was a revelation both in terms of handling
M. Stefanutti
the car and awareness of external factors. I’d read about
left foot braking and even half-heartedly tried it on a few
The quality and depth of the course is outstanding and Ivan’s
occasions, but under Ivan’s expert guidance I quickly came
attention to detail is amazing. Whether at Millbrook or on the
ĴďīЭăðĮÐĴìÐÅÐĊÐťĴĮðĊĴÐīĉĮďåŒÐìðÆăÐÅ­ă­ĊÆÐæďðĊæðĊĴď
ďĨÐĊīď­ÌșìÐæ­ŒÐĉÐĴìÐÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐĴďæÐĴĴìÐŒÐīřÅÐĮĴďķĴ
corners, particularly when combined with trail braking; very
of my pride and joy. Having driven for almost 40 years I thought
ÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐȭÅķðăÌðĊæȘwďåďī­ĊřďĊÐÆďĊĮðÌÐīðĊæĴ­āðĊæ­Ċřďå
there might be the odd ‘tweak’ to my style but it was a real eye-
these courses – just do it.
ďĨÐĊÐīĴďťĊÌďķĴìďœĉ­ĊřðĉĨīďŒÐĉÐĊĴĮAŒ­ĊďååÐīÐÌĉÐȘăă
D. Lanceley
his efforts over the 2 days were aimed at improving my skills as
a driver and I was grateful for his patience, his sense of humour
and, at times, his lack of nerves! I can think of no way that this
course could be improved. The day at Millbrook was fascinating,
challenging and intense, and on the open road it was a joy to put
the skills I had learned on the track into operation.
I. Sims

48
Step 6: Steering & Cornering
Consistently precise cornering at speed When we learned to drive, whether it was
is hugely rewarding, and a key attribute of 50 years ago or last week, we were taught
the high performance driver the nonsense that is ‘pull-push’ steering.
This antiquated method was very relevant
A fundamental problem with driver
back when steering wheels were around
training
the size of an oil drum, when inputs were
Different scenarios demand different transmitted through rudimentary steering
techniques boxes and when power steering was
unheard of, yet has been perpetuated by
Cornering lines and apexes
the authorities as “the right way to steer”
First things first, let’s get something ever since. Which is shameful when the
straight: there is no such thing as “the technique has such limited application in
right way to steer”. There are many ways even remotely modern cars.
to steer a car. Some work better than
others. But there isn’t a single way that
is always better than all the rest. We just
need to understand the advantages and
limitations of key techniques, plus when
and how to employ each one so as to
maintain total control; especially when
cornering at speed.

50
The basics
Before exploring specific techniques that will serve you well, let’s keep the wheel straight. By contrast, how much more control
consider how best to hold the steering wheel, and why. For the of that steering wheel do you think you would have, in the same
most part, steering with just one hand encourages undesirably scenario, but now holding the wheel at 9 and 3? If you’re still not
harsh and/or imprecise inputs and generally limits control. There convinced, go and try it.
are always exceptions, and some drivers are quite adept with one As speeds rise, there is all the more reason to maintain a
hand, but overall, two hands on the wheel is a given. constant, balanced grip on the steering wheel. Importantly, keep
Ideally, position your hands on the wheel at ‘9 and 3’ rather than a light, gentle grip. Doing so enables you to steer smoothly and
the traditional ’10 and 2’. For a start, this places controls such as precisely, plus quickly when necessary. It also helps you feel,
indicators and gear shift paddles within immediate reach of your to some degree at least (depending on your car), the grip of the
fingers. And with modern small-diameter steering wheels, this front tyres on the road surface through the steering wheel.
wider and slightly lower hand position gives you greater stability Should that grip diminish and the tyres start to slide (on a bend
on the wheel, able to make very precise and gentle inputs. In affected by a micro-climate, or diesel spillage, for instance), you
general, the wider apart your hands on any modern steering will feel that lack of grip sooner plus know how much steering
wheel, the firmer your control will be. lock is currently applied and where the front wheels are pointed.
Here are 2 simple analogies to illustrate this point. Firstly, You can therefore respond accordingly.
imagine riding a bicycle, holding the handlebars near the This becomes much, much harder if your hands are forever
headstock, and how much harder this would make it to steer changing position on the wheel; which is what happens with
really accurately compared to holding the handlebars out much traditional ‘pull-push’ shuffle steering.
wider, say at shoulder width. Secondly, you’re sat in your car
now; with both hands positioned side-by-side at the top of the
steering wheel. Think how easy it would be for someone to pull
down on one side of the wheel, no matter how hard you try to

51
It’s important that steering feels comfortable and fluid. This It’s much easier, and therefore more instinctive, to emphasise the
starts with making sure you are sat correctly in your car, which pulling input. The trouble with this is that it too readily becomes a
is fundamental to full steering control at speed. Your back and tug on the steering wheel, effectively snatching at the front tyres
shoulders should be properly supported whilst you have a relaxed which reduces their grip.
bend in the elbows with both hands positioned at 9 and 3 on the Building on this foundation, here are the primary steering
wheel. techniques for total car control.
In normal driving conditions, position your thumbs on the rim of
the steering wheel, or the moulded thumb pads if your wheel has
them. You are now effectively giving the ‘thumbs up’ sign as you
gently grip the wheel. This position allows great precision and long
Fixed input steering
distance comfort, as well as discipline. At higher speeds, when The high-ratio, ‘quick’ steering racks fitted to sports cars make
a little more physical strength may be required for the steering, this technique appropriate to most corners that can be safely
you may prefer to hook your thumbs over the spokes of the wheel. driven beyond around 30mph, plus many larger roundabouts.
The majority of sports car steering wheels are shaped to facilitate Consequently, fixed input steering is a predominant choice as
both of these thumb positions. soon as we get on to national roads, away from the low speed
confines of town centres.
For greatest finesse and total control, start your steering inputs
from the wrists as opposed to using your much stronger arm With fixed input, which derives from competition driving, our
or shoulder muscles. An objective here is to ‘guide’ your car, not hands remain in constant contact with the steering wheel
wrestle with it. To that end, try to subtly emphasise the pushing wherever possible. Maintain the 9 and 3 grip on the wheel and
up inputs, ideally with your thumbs, supported by gentle pulling apply as much steering lock as required for a given corner, even if
inputs. This will encourage finesse, helping you start each this means fully crossing your arms briefly.
steering input by merely hinting to the tyres what is about to
follow; forewarn them, if you like.

52
 Key benefits of fixed input steering:
• Simple to use; most find it quite an easy technique to adopt
• Promotes smooth, fluid and accurate steering inputs
• Can be applied and released very quickly, when necessary
• You always know precisely where your front tyres are pointing
• Assists in your connection to and ‘feel’ for the road
Every technique has its weaknesses too, and with fixed input,
there are 3 main ones…
Important point to note: your shoulders should remain supported • The amount of lock that can be easily applied, without
by the seat back at all times, regardless of how much steering repositioning a hand, is limited to around 180˚ in either direction
input you need to apply. This way, you maintain core stability, which
• You may find that a full cross of the arms feels unnatural or
enables you to keep your arm and shoulder muscles relaxed.
uncomfortable
If crossing your arms is insufficient for the bend you are
• A deployment of the steering wheel’s airbag could cause
negotiating, release the grip of your lower hand (which will be
serious injury
about to push up against your other arm). Reposition it higher
near the top of the wheel as appropriate and continue adding Addressing that final weakness, it’s a fair point that moving either
more steering lock in one smooth movement. When releasing hand beyond the 12 position on the steering wheel would result
the lock to exit the bend, start by turning as far as your crossed in a very painful punch in the face if the airbag triggered, as they
arms permit, then reposition the lower hand above your other arm come out at around 120mph. But the airbag will only deploy in a
again. This returns both hands to where they started from, back collision, which is the antithesis of what this is all about achieving.
at 9 and 3. In which case, there’s no reason for the airbag to deploy!

53
Pre-emptive steering
This technique complements rather than replaces fixed input The actual steering input commences with the right hand leading
steering. It’s best for bends that require more than 180˚ of with a smooth pull up, over and down on the wheel, so that the
steering wheel rotational input, such as a tight hairpin. It’s right hand ends up in or near its ‘normal’ 3 position as if the wheel
also great for drivers who find it either impractical or too was straight, only with the wheel now turned to the right. The
uncomfortable to use any significant cross of the arms. It wheel has been pulled through the left hand, which now balances
involves initially moving one hand or the other on the wheel, the right hand at 9. In this way, your hands are lightly poised on
taking a pre-emptive grip just before starting to steer. the wheel, with you able to instantly and easily adjust steering in
Approaching a very tight bend to the right, slide your right hand either direction in the mid-corner phase if necessary.
up around the wheel; potentially over as far as 10 or 11 on a clock Key benefits of pre-emptive steering:
face depending on how much steering input you will require. • Mid-bend, your arms are in a comfortable, natural and strong
Meanwhile, the left hand maintains its normal position at 9. position
• You have options to readily adjust steering input in either
direction mid-bend
• Can be applied smoothly
• Offers a good degree of precision
The main constraints with this technique are:
• Needs practice to know how much pre-emptive hand
adjustment is required
• Relies on pulling motion alone, which must be kept gentle and
smooth
• Requires consistently good planning and bend assessment

54
Other options
There are numerous other ways to steer of course, the most maximum traction and pace. Take a steady, balanced line through
instinctive being hand-overhand. This can be an effective way of fast, wide radius corners, using ‘slow handed’ steering inputs to
winding lock on or off in a hurry, such as if the backend stepped minimise sideways weight transfer. The apex, or ‘clipping point’,
out on you in violent oversteer that you are a little slow to respond should be geometrically in the middle of the bend in order to
to. Here, finesse plays second fiddle to speed if a spin is to be maintain constant speed and steering through the apex, smoothly
prevented. The downside with handover-hand steering is that it’s building to full power as steering is released by the exit to the
very hard to know just where you’re front wheels are pointing. This bend.
can lead to applying too much steering; over-correcting the initial The tighter the radius of a corner, however, the later the turn-
slide and creating a secondary skid in the opposite direction. in point and apex. Turning in too soon and effectively running
out of road before fully exiting the corner is a common error to
Quick hands, slow hands avoid. Having reduced speed as appropriate, steer smoothly with
Just as the technician that services your car has a complete set relatively quick hands to promptly align the car with the corner’s
of tools at their disposal to help do the job properly, dip in to your exit whilst maintaining a gentle, balanced throttle. Then start
driving skills tool chest and select the steering technique that is squeezing on more power as the steering unwinds.
most appropriate to the hazard you are approaching. Reading the Maximum steering ability is needed from initial turn-in all the way
limit point, introduced in Step 4, indicates the severity of corners to the apex in corners, making it necessary to be a little patient
and allows ample time to determine correct steering technique. before applying the throttle. Too much acceleration too soon
When it comes to choosing a line to follow through a corner on would transfer weight to the rear and unload the front tyres when
public roads, safety must remain the key consideration. Position they still need to grip, creating understeer, so let the car settle
for vision, to both see and be seen, and drive at speeds from into the apex before piling on the power.
which you can stop safely in the distance seen to be clear. But,
looking at cornering from an ‘ideal conditions’ perspective, it helps
to understand when to turn-in and how to judge corner apexes for

55
 Exit
Mental imagery
To maintain balance and stability, aim to make just one steering
input per corner rather than needing to adjust the amount Turn-in
of lock applied several times as the bend progresses. This is Apex
achieved by looking far enough ahead to plan the exit to the
corner as soon as possible. Most drivers are naturally inclined
to only plan the entrance to a corner as they approach, finally
looking at the middle part of the bend as they are already on
top of the entrance, and at the exit only when they are half way
through. This inclination becomes all the stronger as speeds
rise, and inevitably leads to numerous adjustments in the
steering through each bend; the driver sawing away at the wheel
and causing havoc with the car’s stability.
So, approaching a bend, look as far through it as possible, using
all available clues as to exactly where the road goes. Plan the In summary
exit to the bend as early as you can, linking the correct entrance Steering and cornering is a highly involved and immersive topic
and exit points in your mind, and steering becomes harmonious. that could very easily fill all these pages and many more, yet is
Once this is mastered, extend your skill by linking more complex, one that the vast majority of drivers pay little or no heed to. I have
double-apex corners together to form a single bend that barely touched upon the subject here; just enough to start you
requires just one steering input. And consider how you can link thinking about how you point your car down the road. If you really
compound corners, i.e. where left and right bends can be made want to know how to take corners properly, I can only recommend
to flow harmoniously from one directly into the other. that you get in touch…

56
  clients
according to our 

On the journey home I was a totally different man – completely Thank you so much for the two day driving course, I had such
exhausted and drained, totally exhilarated, incredibly excited a great time and really feel I have improved as a driver. I have
and psychologically stimulated to the ‘n-th’ degree. It was ĴďĮ­řĴìÐťīĮĴÌ­řďĊĴìÐĴī­Æāœ­ĮĉÐĊĴ­ăăřĴðīðĊæ­ĮAœ­Į
a fabulous day, brilliantly planned, bespoke tailored to suit absorbing so much new information: I really did not believe
me and enormously worthwhile. I learned so much, not only that I could learn that much about driving, and am a little
about my abilities as a driver but particularly about my car, embarrassed as I thought I already knew a fair bit.
its capabilities, its technology and the excitement of driving The second day on the road was superb as I could implement
it safely at speeds and tolerances which I would never have œì­Ĵřďķì­ÌĴ­ķæìĴĉÐďĊĴìÐťīĮĴÌ­řșÅķĴ­ăĮďì­ŒÐřďķ
thought I was capable. I had more fun and enjoyment than I navigate to me the areas I need to be in, when to brake,
can remember for a very long time. accelerate and what I should be looking out for. All in all it really
Your coaching was truly expert and even my wife now says was two great days, and I am loving the RS4 even more; my
that I am driving so much more smoothly, although I don’t think ÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐðĮķĨ­ĊÌAåÐÐăĮďĉķÆìĮ­åÐīďĊĴìÐīď­ÌȘ
she has realised how much faster we are going! For 50 years If anyone really wants to learn how to drive correctly they need to
I have always prided myself at being rather good at knowing go on this course, because quite simply they do not without it...
where the apex of a corner is – how wrong I have been. What a
D. Westinghouse
huge difference it makes when you get it right; I now no longer
even look at the same part of the road as I have done for half a
century!
J. Rodwell

57
Step 7: Controlling Understeer & Oversteer
In this final chapter, we look at avoiding Few things blunt driving pleasure as Preventing a skid or slide is, of course,
plus controlling understeer and much as uncontrolled understeer preferable to needing to correct one. Yet in
oversteer;key factors that can otherwise or oversteer. At best, the advanced high performance driving there is a good
easily undermine your confidence electronic stability control fitted to all bar chance you will exceed available tyre grip
the most raw and track-focused modern at some point, so let’s look at the causes
Causes and effects, plus prevention and
sports cars is triggered, temporarily and effects, plus how to regain control.
correction
restricting power and independently and
How the weight distribution of your car intelligently applying individual brakes in
determines its handling traits a bid to regain full traction. At worst, the
reduction in grip results in a total loss of
Essential skills to keep you safe and in
control and a collision.
total control

59
Just what is understeer and oversteer? Prevention is better than cure
When it comes to vehicle dynamics, understeer is when the car Skids and slides are the result of poor balance combined with
takes a wider radius of turn than that commanded by the driver excessive or inappropriate driver inputs, or excessive speed
through the amount of steering applied. In engineering terms, for the available grip and inputs required to negotiate a given
there are many factors that contribute to the way in which a hazard. Either way, unless a slide has been initiated deliberately,
vehicle steers, but the main one that concerns us as drivers is it is always the result of driver error (and not the weather, or any
the way the tyres grip the road. other factor we might try and use as an excuse).
Put simply, understeer is when the grip of the front tyres has To prevent such a loss of traction, especially in cold and/or
been exceeded, causing them to begin sliding to some extent wet conditions, all actions and inputs must be smooth, gentle,
across the road surface. They are unable to follow the radius accurate and well timed. This, of course, takes us back to
prescribed by the steering angle. Physically, the front wheels maintaining balance, effective planning and skilled use of the
are travelling faster than the rear wheels. This results in the car controls; all the elements introduced in previous chapters.
pushing wide through a turn, potentially running out of road. In
blunt terms, with uncontrolled understeer you see your collision.
By the same blunt token, uncontrolled oversteer is where you
do not see what you hit, as the car is either travelling backwards
or pirouetting into the scenery. Oversteer simply means that
the vehicle is turning more than the steering input requires, as
a result of the rear tyres losing grip and starting to slide to one
side or the other. Physically, the rear wheels are now travelling
faster than the front ones.

60
How will your car behave?
Individual sports car handling characteristics will vary greatly, A traditional rear wheel drive “muscle car” type layout, with both
even in those designed with good front-to-rear balance, the engine and transmission being front-mounted, will generally
determined by the actual positioning of the weight. Nearly all understeer first when driven at the limit. The lack of weight
modern cars have a tendency to understeer initially when at the directly over the rear wheels can lead to a rapid transition to
limit of grip, but some engine layouts are more prone to under or oversteer.
oversteer than others.
Many front engine, rear wheel drive sports cars are fitted with a
transaxle gearbox at the rear axle. This helps distribute weight
more easily and evenly, and having a mass of weight at either
end of the vehicle provides a high polar moment of inertia,
helping with high speed stability. Any over-rotation, caused
by the rear tyres sliding sideways in oversteer is likely to be
predictable, and the longer the wheelbase, the easier any such
oversteer should be to correct.
Conversely, a mid-engine layout makes for a low polar moment
of inertia. This enables the car to change direction multiple times
in rapid succession with precise ease, but the lack of weight at
either end makes the handling less forgiving when the limit of
adhesion is breached. Most mid-engine cars produce a prodigious
amount of mechanical and aerodynamic grip, providing fairly
neutral steering and a great sense of security, though will swap
ends very quickly once that grip is finally exceeded.

61
 A rear engine, rear wheel drive car inevitably has a bias of
weight to the rear. Clever engineering these days usually
means a split of approximately 60% rear and 40% front, so
not as uneven as you might expect. This results in something
of a pendulum effect when the car rotates, pivoting around
a point between the front wheels (rather than around a point
at the centre of the vehicle if it had a 50/50 weight split).
Despite this apparent disadvantage, it actually makes for
very neutral steering even when close to the limit of grip.
Oversteer, when it does come, needs to be anticipated and
controlled swiftly to avoid swapping ends.
Most front wheel drive cars are particularly prone to
understeer. The rearward weight transfer when under
acceleration reduces the ability to steer and the effect is
exaggerated by the front tyres trying to do two things at once.
Braking hard for a corner then puts so much of the weight
on the nose that the rear becomes unstable: carry the hard
braking in to the corner and oversteer becomes likely.
The characteristics of cars with all-wheel drive will be
basically the same as for their two wheel drive variants, based
on engine and gearbox positions above. That said, the weight
of the extra axle will have some bearing on overall weight
distribution and handling.

62
 Understeer

Correcting understeer
We know that understeer is a result of the front tyres losing m
entu
adhesion to the road surface, caused by either excessive m
Mo
acceleration and/or steering, or excessive speed for the
steering angle required compared to available grip. To regain
control, it is necessary to first remove the cause of the skid.
Wheels Rotating
Easing off the throttle (and braking if necessary), when Faster
understeer occurs is instinctive and helps restore grip thanks
to the reduction in speed, together with forward weight transfer
Intended Path
pressing the front tyres on to the road. Unfortunately, it is also
an instinctive reaction to wind on more and more steering lock Wheels Rotating Actual Path
to try and force the car to turn. This merely exaggerates the Slower
problem though, as increasing the steering input when front
end grip is already lost takes the tyres yet further from the point Therefore, the simplest way to correct understeer is merely
where they will regain grip. to reduce power. Just ease off the throttle whilst maintaining
constant steering input, and wait for the tyres to respond; which
they will, given a bit of time. Yet the best and quickest way to
correct understeer, though it is partially counter-intuitive, is
to also briefly release a little (though by no means all) of the
steering input at the same time as easing off the throttle. Doing
so enables the tyres to regain grip that much sooner, and the car
respond to the steering input still applied; allowing more lock to
then be applied if needed. This is one of those occasions when
less equals more.

63
 Oversteer

Correcting oversteer m
entu
In order to correct oversteer, we must again remove the cause. m
Mo
First, though, we need to understand what that cause is. Power-
oversteer, as the name suggests, is a result of excessive power
overcoming the traction of the rear tyres.
On the other hand, lift-off oversteer is caused by significant Wheels Rotating
forward weight transfer mid-corner. The sudden transition Slower
leaves the rear tyres with insufficient grip on the road and leads
to over-rotation of the vehicle.
Because the causes are completely different, so too are Wheels Rotating Intended Path
the methods to recover each type of oversteer. There is one Faster
Actual Path
common theme, at least, and that is with the steering. Turning
towards the slide assists recovery. In the heat of the moment
though, it is not uncommon for drivers to forget which way to The speed at which counter-steering (also known as opposite
turn, or indeed to turn the right way initially but then change lock) is applied to correct oversteer is crucial. Done quickly,
their mind when the car doesn’t react instantly. control can be regained before the drift angle becomes too
large to contain. React too slowly though, and a spin becomes
likely. With the countersteering applied, allow the vehicle time
Top Tip to respond. The time this will take depends on many factors,
Your hands on the steering wheel naturally follow where your including the car’s weight distribution, balance, suspension,
eyes lead. So, regardless of which way the car is facing as you wheelbase, the tyres and the grip level...
slide, keep looking in the direction in which you want to go and
your steering should follow.

64
A common mistake to avoid is over-correction of the steering. When there is insufficient space to accelerate out of lift-off
This can create a pendulum effect as weight suddenly transfers oversteer, or when a slow or inappropriate reaction has allowed
from side-to-side and develops very considerable kinetic either type of oversteer to reach a point of no return and a spin
energy. In turn, this often results in a secondary slide that is unavoidable, all that’s left is to immediately dip the clutch
frequently develops much more quickly than the first, and is (where fitted) and brake as hard as you can to a complete stop.
therefore all the harder to catch.
The disparity in techniques to re-establish grip from an
oversteer slide relates to the throttle. To correct a slide caused
by power, release the throttle smoothly to remove the cause. If
the angle of drift is really severe, dipping the clutch (if you have
one) serves to disengage all torque from the rear wheels and can
prevent the car being pushed all the way around in a spin.
In a lift-off oversteer situation, the problem stems from a lack of
weight over the rear tyres, so smooth acceleration will transfer
weight to where it is needed to restore grip. This is very counter-
intuitive though, and requires ample space to complete safely.
Another point to note is that any harsh or excessive acceleration
in this situation is likely to increase or prolong the oversteer, only
now caused by the power.

65
Active safety systems
Chances are, your sports car has a very cleverly engineered Yet no matter how clever the system is on your car, it cannot be
active safety system called ESC, or some other acronym expected to defy and overcome the laws of physics, and should
depending on the marque. Electronic Stability Control, not be relied upon to save the day.
as alluded to in the introduction to this chapter, sits in the
background as a default setting; waiting for the driver to make A last word on oversteer
a mistake. By constantly monitoring certain aspects of the car Drifting. For many enthusiastic drivers, being able to gracefully
(including the individual speed of each road wheel, the angle powerslide out of a bend, or deliberately sustain a drift, is a tick
of any steering input, throttle pedal position, plus the car’s on the bucket list. The fine balance required between vision,
physical attitude regarding pitch or squat, yaw angle and lateral planning, throttle and steering is certainly satisfying; and not as
acceleration), against a prescribed algorithm, ESC is ready to hard to master as you might imagine.
leap to your aid if required.
But this exuberance can only be learned (and realistically,
On high-end sports cars in particular, ESC is massively only applied) in a controlled environment such as on a track or
advanced and hugely effective. Especially when in its default Proving Ground; where it can become just one of the myriad
‘fully on’ state each and every time you fire up the engine. No skills and techniques that combines to give you total car control.
doubt your car also has setting options to partially and fully
disengage ESC should you wish to. In selecting to partially
disengage the system (probably referred to in your car as ESC
‘Sport’, or ‘Sport Plus’, or ‘Track’ or even ‘Race’ mode), you elect to
defer the point at which the system intervenes to support you.
Quite simply, the system allows you greater dynamic latitude,
and hence the ability to get things somewhat out of shape,
before it cries enough and uses individual brakes to try and
stabilise your vehicle once more.

66
 according to our clients

If you had told me in advance the amount I would learn in the two
days I would never have believed you – my driving has become
Ivan came highly recommended to me by a friend who had
so much smoother, safer and more enjoyable since, and the
been through a similar experience of owning a car they didn’t
technical and observational skills you taught me have made a
understand how to exploit in an enjoyable and safe fashion. The
fantastic difference. For anyone considering taking this course
feedback was, in a nutshell, ‘you need this guy!’
I would advise you to do it – you don’t need to be a petrol-head
The course itself was educational, extremely enjoyable and above
all rewarding. Ivan communicates the science behind how to drive opportunity to experience understeer and oversteer in a safe
quickly and safely very cleverly and he ensured I understood the environment, learn trail-braking and left-foot braking is not to be
concepts before moving on. I improved massively over the 2 days
and you will get so much more out of your car, even in day-to-day
has greatly transformed me as a driver. I now think consciously driving conditions.
about every corner I take in the car, positioning correctly on
Dr J. Tanqueray
approach, trail braking when appropriate into the corner whilst
looking for the exit as early as possible and clipping the apex
correctly. What really amazed me is how aware and calm you are all of the time
For those who may not yet be convinced as to whether you need to – I don’t know how you do it to be honest. In high speed cornering
book with TCC, ask yourself this: if you are serious about improving situations that requires total professionalism, skill, judgement, trust
in anything, wouldn’t you get some professional coaching? It really and poise. You are an incredibly instructive and passionate teacher,
is essential, and you won’t regret it for an instant. and I feel I’ve been trained by someone at the cutting edge of specialist
expertise. Great fun, great 3 days, great company!
H. Al-Seaidy
C. Mee

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In Closing
We buy and drive sports cars for the sheer joy they give us, for
the exhilaration, satisfaction and visceral harmony of human,
machine and the open road.
I sincerely hope you have found the 7 Steps Toward Total Car
Control an enlightening and useful introduction, and are now
ready to instigate the tips and techniques in to your driving to
enhance your control, safety and, above all, driving pleasure.
These are just some of the great many skills covered in
our High Performance Masterclasses, which are a perfect
opportunity for you to learn more about your sports car and
about yourself, to unlock the full potential in both.
If this introductory e-book, together with any other material
you may have read, is already enough to give you what you
need to realise your driving ambitions, that’s wonderful. But if,
like the many hundreds of drivers before you that have taken
courses with me, you think you too might benefit from some
friendly and down to earth, bespoke one-to-one coaching in
your own car with me, please do get in touch to discuss how a
carefully tailored Masterclass will benefit you…

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 according to our clients


I really enjoyed my two days with Ivan on the Total Control I have been waxing lyrical about the two day Total Control
Masterclass. The course was perfectly judged for my level of Masterclass at every opportunity. The course was superb and just
experience, being challenging and yet hugely rewarding from start what I needed. After 30 years of ‘disconnected’ driving, it was like
ĴďťĊðĮìȘAÆ­ĉЭœ­řåÐÐăðĊæĴì­ĴĉřÌīðŒðĊæì­ÌĮðæĊðťÆ­ĊĴăř a breath of fresh air. Reawakening skills I had long forgotten as
improved, that I can get more out of my GT4 on track and road, well as adding skills I never had previously.
more safely, more of the time. I highly recommend this course to The combination of a day at Millbrook and a day on the open
anyone with a performance car who wants to get their own ability īď­Ìœ­ĮĨ­īĴðÆķă­īăřķĮÐåķăȘAœ­ĮĮÆÐĨĴðÆ­ă­ĴťīĮĴș­ĮA­ăīЭÌř
closer to that of the vehicle they drive. considered myself a competent and progressive driver. I most
J. Carey wanted the opportunity to learn the handling characteristics of
my new car on the test track, but how wrong I was. Not only did I
have the chance to feel the dynamic handling of this superb car,
Spending the day with Ivan has had a fundamental and permanent I was introduced to safe, smooth, progressive on-road driving. A
impact on my driving. Learning left foot and trail braking so real eye opener.
quickly was fantastic and the line I take when out on the road is Ivan is a really good coach, and knows his stuff. He has a nice
ĨÐīĉ­ĊÐĊĴăřÆì­ĊæÐÌȯďŒÐī­ăășĉřÆďĊťÌÐĊÆÐðĊÐŘĨăďðĴðĊæĴìÐ relaxed style which makes for a very enjoyable couple of days. Not
potential of my car is hugely increased. It was a great day, great fun only is this course a ‘must do activity’, it should be compulsory! I
and I’ll certainly be back. Įì­ăăÌÐťĊðĴÐăřÅÐÅ­ÆāåďīĉďīÐțðĴðĮĮďďďďďĉķÆìåķĊĊĊĊĊĊĊȝ
J. Gordon D. Harrison

70
 according to our clients

I really enjoyed our 3-days together and learnt so much; My Total Control Masterclass was a fantastic 3 days: I learnt so
much about the car, about roadcraft and also about myself! I was
knowledge is simply brilliant and you really helped me understand so impressed with the training and so impressed with the car! It
how to become a much better and safer driver. My aim was has given me a much deeper understanding of what both the car
to improve my driving abilities so that I could better exploit and I are capable of, as well as many aspects of driver safety and
the performance of my Cayman GT4 and 997 Turbo in a safe, awareness – both the car and I were comprehensively tested!
controlled and enjoyable way. Not only did you make that happen, As a result of my time with you, I have enjoyed the last 4 months of
but the amount of knowledge and insight that you provided helped
my understanding of driving progress from a black-and-white driven much more smoothly and understood so much more about
what I am looking at, the road and its conditions and what the car
Initially, the amount of information and concentration that is telling me.
viewing this new world required from me was challenging, but you As you predicted Ivan, my better half is also very happy as my
carefully coached me to acclimatise and be able to process all driving has become a lot safer and smoother in her eyes! Many
of this new information in a way that started to become second thanks Ivan; your hard work and patience has been worthwhile
nature. I noticed driving home from Day 3 that I was constantly and importantly has stuck with me! I look forward to some more
assessing the road in front of me in a totally new way, which made time together next year to progress my knowledge further.
me feel much safer and in control of my driving environment.
J. Stanley
Simply brilliant 3-days!
M. Pidgeon

Plenty more customer reviews can be seen at [Link]

71
Video: Client Reviews

72
 according to our

Total Car Control is proud to partner:

The best performance upgrade you’ll ever make

HR Owen

Whatever standard you are at or think you are at, you will learn
so much and gain so much more enjoyment from your supercar
than you thought possible
Supercar Driver

73
I look forward to upgrading your performance too…
Enjoy
 [Link]
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