Hello,

As per topic really..

Can someone be a professional racer without knowing much/anything about the car (how its built, how things tick)?

I only ask because some sports/hobbies you really don't need to know much about the equipment to be 'world class'.

Edit: Thanks!

Edited 13 October, 201015 yr by JLneonhug

I reckon skilled yes - professional you'd struggle.

(You're welcome!)

Edited 13 October, 201015 yr by TriggerFish

You don't have to have been a horse to be a jockey.............

2 different professions 1 driver 1 a mechanic but to know how it works would help

Edited 14 October, 201015 yr by BigTam

it would help if you could understand the limitations of the machine you are using, so i think it is necessary for a pro driver to know his/her car

Well a rally driver needs to be able to make simple repairs and change a tyre, and F1 and the like need to know about gear ratios , differentials ,ride height ,brake balance etc

For what values of "how a car is put together"?

You don't need to know how an IC engine works to understand "harder in roll means less predictable breakaway, and poorer traction".

You'd pick things up through osmosis just by hanging around the mechanics.

You might start out knowing nothing but you'd pick stuff up.

As long as you can articulate the car's handling for setup changes I don't see why you would need to know anything.

Except rally drivers. Do they not have to do their own servicing work at some checkpoints?

Of course they can, I remember watching a documentary in the 80's called days of thunder, that guy was pretty talented On a serious note you can learn to be a mechanic but you cant teach natural talent. You either have it or you don't.

Actually, on further thought, understanding how to adjust suspension to change handling is an advantage, but some of the greatest racing drivers of all time, if given an ill-handling car, just drove around the issue, rather than trying to tune the suspension to improve the handling!

OTOH, I've seen it said that Michael Schumacher's problem this year is that the current spec front tyres don't support his "turn it in and as long as the front end's stuck the back will follow it" driving style. I make no pretence of similar talent, but know exactly what he means; I loathe a very understeery car too (and this makes my view that the Elegance is a well-handling car odd given the vRS model's rep as an obdurate understeerer, unless the heavier FARB and no RARB on the standard vRS has upset the balance of the front and rear roll rates?)

Edited 15 October, 201015 yr by KenONeill

I think you can have a natural talent, but mechanical knowledge is an advantage.

For instance, we had a company go-Karting event a few years ago, and one of the girls in the office who doesn't drive got in a car and drove like an angel once she got the hang of it. She seemed to have a natural feel for steering braking and positioning on the road. She was soon pushing some of the guys who though they were fast.

She also loved every second!

Phil

A decent knowledge of physics would be more beneficial. An understanding of weight transfer etc is far more important than knowing why the pedal does what it does...

James Hunt admitted he didn't know "a spark plug from a bath plug" but was still a brilliant driver, especially because he could explain graphically to his mechanics what was happening.

Few proffesional rally drivers get their hands dirty, other than perhaps helping change a wheel on a long stage, but the Clubman will often know more. Nowadays they are rarely forced to do their own "servicing"

Edited 15 October, 201015 yr by Llanigraham

Natural talent is the ability to feel what a car is responding to, and

know how to take advantage of its strengths, and compensate for its weakness

I don't think you need to know how the car works to be a good driver, I think you simply have to know what difference certain settings make to help get a decent setup but even than a large part of that appears to come from the team. Even rally drivers who need to know a little more about their cars usually can't fix anything other than the complete basics such as a flat tyre when they break down and their cars are very simple compared to the likes of an F1 car. The skills associated with being a good driver are rarely associated with mechanical skills.

This topic reminds me of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf40OzfwOo

John

Never seen that video, very good

I thought it was quite funny, it must have been particularly entertaining for the mechanics to see the two drivers trying to put the car together.

John

That's awesome, they must have learnt some tricks to sabotage Vettels car!

Thats a good video.

Back on topic - I think it helps to know a little about the way a car works to aid driving it. For example if driving a front wheel drive car and then a rear wheel drive car, you should know where the engine is driving the wheels from, for greater stability and handling