Miata Mailing List: January 1995, Message #191
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   From: Mac 
Subject: on the ragged edge
   Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 18:42:35 -0500

	That what's on the back of a friends SSC Miata.  Racing team
is called PMS racing.  ;)  
	As far as driving your Miata on the edge I can't reiterate
enough what Doug has already said.  Drive it smoothly!  The Miata is
so responsive to tiniest of input you have to drive it smoothly.
A trick I tell some of my students is to imagine that you have a case
of Waterford Crystal long stem Champagne flutes in the trunk and you
don't want them to fall over and break. Not at $150 a stem! :)  Realize
most of my students are Ferrari owners and they think they already know
how to drive fast, so I have to give them something they can relate to.
It seems to work for a few laps then they start doing things stupid again,
like braking real hard way before a turn so they can feel "More G's"
as they accerate in their TR512 before and through a corner.  Don't laugh
I had a student repeatedly do this swearing all the time (he was a personal
injury lawyer) he was going faster.  I had to show him otherwise taking his
car further and further to they edge until I almost bought his $220,000
car from him.  I said almost, the tires regained traction and I regained 
control far enough away from the wall to escape damage.  I pulled in
the next lap and he quit braking then accelerating before corners.
					-Mac.
				'95 Montego Blue - Leather

PS I think Skip Barber or Jim Russel has a school in the Pacific NW.
I can check.