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 No worries, Tim hopped in...  No worries, Tim hopped in with each student to diagnose their respective issues, and then took a turn behind the wheel to illustrate the correction. Here he's showing us the correct way to enter the "S" curve just before pit lane.  The biggest difference we...  The biggest difference we had to adjust to wasn't the dramatically stickier tires, but the much more responsive and less forgiving handling characteristics. Properly wielded, the Mazdas could yield exceptionally fast laps times, but there was little room for error and no nanny system to reign in bad decisions. Heel-toe shifting was also dramatically easier, thanks to the closely spaced pedals.  Everything we had learned...  Everything we had learned in the previous three days was leading up to the fourth and final day. Rather than Vettes, we started out in Bondurant's rotary-powered Formula Mazdas on the Maricopa oval.  That same increasing-radius...  That same increasing-radius turn that initially gave us problems in the Vette on day one reared its ugly head again, and caught us unprepared in the Mazda. Our error here was improper trail braking combined with a too quick turn-in. We learned to use the lessons learned from the skid cars to correct ourselves after getting used to the Mazda's handling characteristics.  After lunch, we headed over...  After lunch, we headed over to the lake loop. After an introduction ride with Tim in the Caddy, we did a familiarization lead/follow on the lake loop and carousel. The line is the same as before, but the transitions feel very different in the Mazdas.  Once he felt we were ready...  Once he felt we were ready to handle it, Tim opened up the Maricopa oval so we had the full track. This created a much more technical course that introduced not only two slight elevation changes, but also higher speeds through the corner, making proper braking and corner entry critical. We'll admit it; we did do a slow 180 once in the tight transition from the lake loop to the carousel.  There's always risk when learning...  There's always risk when learning to push your limits, but it looks worse than it actually is. Just like their big brothers in F1, these Formula cars are designed to sacrifice their extremities to absorb energy from the impact rather than channel it to the driver. The driver of this car walked away without injury and stepped into another Mazda to complete his sessions. Luckily, he'd purchased the optional insurance.
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