Racing For Beginners

"The common mistake among most drivers is that they mix up the order," says JP Tuason, referring to the sequence of hand and foot movements involved in a flawless heel-and-toe exercise. Foot off the gas. Brake. Depress the clutch. Put the gear in neutral. Blip the throttle. Slip the shifter down one gear. Ease off the clutch.

Did I get that right?

Months of high fuel prices and frequent lectures by your father along the lines of "Please don’t double clutch or heel-and-toe because it’s hard on the clutch and yadayada..." can make one’s skills rusty. But that’s why I’m here at the Tuason Racing School (TRS): to learn new skills needed in the discipline of circuit racing.

The JP & Jeanette Tuason racing duo first offered karting clinics for young and old enthusiasts alike in 1998. They’re venturing into circuit racing clinics this year with TRS. All instructors compete in karting, saloon, and even Formula series, and are also members of Tuason Racing Team Oxygen (or TRP). Brothers JP and Mike Tuason head TRP. The elder JP is currently competing in the Asian Formula 3 Championship.

For P10,500, students get to learn the fundamentals of circuit racing, such as knowing and skillfully maximizing the racing line, understeer, oversteer, efficient braking, cornering, and shifting techniques – in a real race car and in a real racetrack (the Batangas Racing Circuit, or BRC). And using a program that the school developed from years of racing experience, as well as actual research from courses that the Tuasons took in top US racing schools.

In one day, students go through classroom lectures punctuated by intense sessions in race-ready Honda Civic hatchbacks. Stripped down inside and beefed up in the engine, brake, and suspension departments, the Civics offer students a rare opportunity to flog someone else’s race car.... within certain limits and considerations, of course. Break the car and you risk breaking your bank account in paying for the damages. Don’t worry about too much about bodily injury though; you’re also covered for up to P100,000 thanks to Standard Insurance.

As of press time, the basic course involves at least four driving sessions. Our media introduction skipped one very basic session though, since most of us already had motorsports experience. After a short lecture on race driving basics, the first real driving session involves a short go-kart size track where students get to familiarize themselves with the performance characteristics of the car.

In the interests of safety, all the cars are rev-limited to between 4500 and 5000 rpm. You’ll still be going fast in the first session alone though, reaching the top of 3rd gear at the end of the first sweeper if you get your acceleration and cornering technique right. Here you’ll also learn to modulate your braking. The end of the course is a 100-meter section where you have to come to a complete stop from 3rd gear. Do it right and you’ll stop well within that section. Do it wrong and you’ll lock your tires, overshoot, and come to a screeching (not to mention embarrassing) halt in front of fellow students and a frowning JP. It’s his car, after all.

"You need to be fast both in the straights and corners", emphasizes JP. Anybody can be fast in a straight line, he says. It’s the corners that matter. More correctly, how you go around them.

Much emphasis is given this time to heel-and-toeing thing. For those who don’t know, it involves braking and double-clutching to downshift at the same time, sync the revs, and save yourself from a blown transmission. It’s a skill that’s become rare these days because of the advent of synchronized transmissions.

Each student gets to drive at least four frenetic laps per driving session. In the last practical session though, it’s the student’s turn to sit in the passenger seat and see how the professionals tackle the circuit at full speed. An advanced racing course is soon to be offered. Already, the Tuasons are thinking of coming up with a sponsored competition series for graduates next year.

TRS classes are held once a month. It’s supported by Oxygen, Standard Insurance, Magic 89.9, Forward Magazine, Autoindustriya.com, Drive Concept Wheels, Bridgestone Tires, Honda Cars Kalookan, Blue Moon, Auto Line, Nodalo’s, Batangas Racing Circuit, Sparco, Lesonal Paints, and Paintworks. — For more details, call Tuason Racing Project at 5312962 or 5354769, or log on to their website @ www.tuasonracing.com.