Originally Posted by
marqueemoon
One thing I've learned when the grass gets chewed up and slick you can often find the most traction a little to the outside. I found myself swinging from one side to another quite a bit today.
I generally try to take off camber stuff high so I can drift down if needed, but the same thing applies. If there's firm ground on the low side try it.
Don't be afraid to get up close and personal with the tape.
Related to this, the line that gets burned into the track isn't necessarily the fastest one. It pays to experiment. There was one very sandy, bumpy, right-hand turn into a downhill on day 1 at Gloucester. Most of the cat 3s were following my advice above to come in wide and turn in late. But that wasn't the best line on this corner - it was so loose and bumpy on the outside that guys were just tip-toeing through and losing tons of time. It took just a couple of practice laps to figure out that it was much faster to come in tight on the inside of the turn, eliminating as much of the really treacherous terrain as possible and use the ample room on the exit of the turn to straighten out and set up for the next corner.
That's why you should do practice laps. Don't just assume that what everyone else is doing is the right line. Try some alternatives. And if you're struggling with your line in the race itself, try something different on the next lap. Experimenting with different lines will ultimately get you around the course faster.