The following hints have been broken up into three stages. The first stage is for when you first start competing; the second stage is for when you have become used to competing; the third stage is for when you feel you are going as quick as

you can with your present techniques, and you want to drive to your (and your car's) fullest potential.

Stage 1

1. Remove all loose items from the boot and cockpit.
2. For best visibility, remove your hood.
3. 1. In motorkhanas, firmly fasten the lap section only of your seat belt. This saves you being bounced around and losing some control, but allows you to turn around freely - essential for reversing tests!
   2. In speed events, it is compulsory to wear your seat belt - do it up very firmly.
4. 1. Before the motorkhana events, always walk around the course and watch where you have come from and where you are going, then watch the way other competitors tackle the course. You lose more points if you travel in a wrong direction (WD) around the flags.
   2. In hill climbs, always walk around the track to familiarise yourself with the surface (and any holes), the sharpness of corners, and where the track actually goes.
5. When you first start competing, travel slowly, but aim for the neatest straight line between the flags or apexes of corners. Often slow neat and unspectacular driving is quicker than fast, wide and spectacular driving. As you get the feel of your car in this type of event, you can gradually increase your sped along those neat `lines'. travel only as fast as you feel you can confidently handle your car on the course/circuit.
6. In both speed and motorkhana events, brake only in a straight line. Your car could get out of control and spin, or you could `plough' straight on, if your wheels are turned when you apply the brakes.
7. 1. Check and alter your tyre pressures to suit the event and the surface. Tyre pressures will vary from car to car depending on firmness of suspension, width of tyres, engine horsepower, diff. ratio, etc. However, as a general guide, lower the tyre pressures for soft earth motorkhanas, run road pressures for harder surfaces and run well over road pressures for bitumen surfaces. E.g.:
      • for long green grass and soft earth: approx 16psi front, 12 psi rear
      • for short grass and hard earth: approx 24psi front, 20 psi rear
      • for bitumen motorkhanas: approx 36 psi front, 28 psi rear
   2. For speed events, tyre pressures should be raised very high to prevent the tyres rolling sideways on the rims. This should be around 40psi for better road holding with radials, and running about normal tyre pressure differences between the front and rear (e.g. 42 psi front, 40 psi rear)
8. Good competition performances are the result of a little bit of ability, a lot of practice and experience, being `psyched up' to the event and the car performing reliably.

Stage 2

1. 1. Excessive wheel spin when starting off in events can actually cause you to lose valuable seconds. However, `revving' almost to the point of wheelspin, or even a small amount of wheelspin, will usually assist in a quicker start - especially with a modified engine.
   2. Racing slicks in speed events, however, need a lot of wheelspin to warm them up so they grip better.
2. When you walk the course, look for entry and exit `lines' around one flag/corner to the next. In all events (especially motorkhanas), exit around the flag/corner in such a way as to line you up neatly for the next flag/corner. Think ahead to the next part of the course. In motorkhanas, you may need to approach wide of a flag, in order to exit close to a flag and be in line for the next flag.
3. In a motorkhana, you may end up `off line' and about to knock over a flag so you may decide to stop, reverse then drive around the flag. However, you may lose more than the 5 second penalty you have incurred if you had run over that flag.
4. In motorkhanas on soft surfaces, sharp turns around flags can often be carried out using the engine power - especially with a modified engine. Approach the flag fairly quickly, smartly turn on full lock and push the accelerator to the floor. Provided the tyre pressures are correct, the rear should pivot around the front wheels when the rear wheels spin and lose traction, because the forward speed causes the rear to want to keep going. You may have to keep `blipping' the accelerator in order to keep the rear wheels spinning and losing traction, so the car continues to sideslip.
5. 1. Oversteering: is when the car is `tail-happy' or when the rear of the car swings out in corners. This can be controlled by putting your foot down a little harder on the accelerator and turning the steering wheel into the direction that the rear of the car wants to go. As the rear-end slide stops, straighten up the steering wheel and drive on.

      Most people find it easier to control their spridget when it oversteers. An oversteering situation can usually be created by having the front tyres a few pounds (psi) higher than the rear.

   2. Understeering: is when you turn the steering wheel to go around the corner or the flag, but you `plough' straight on. This can be controlled by lifting your foot off the accelerator. As the `tail' swings around, straighten up the steering wheel, and gently start to depress the accelerator.

      An understeering situation can usually be created by having the rear tyres a few pounds (psi) higher then the front.

   3. Therefore, if the car `understeers' too much, increase the front tyre pressures, or decrease the rear tyre pressure.

      If the car `oversteers' too much, decrease the front tyre pressures or increase the rear tyre pressures.

   Remember, a small increase or decrease in tyre pressures (of 1 or 2 psi) can have a great effect on a car's handling (particularly in speed events) when you are close to the optimum pressures.

6. "Cadence" braking can be an advantage in motorkhanas on slippery surfaces. Here you pump the brake pedal firmly on and off, so that the brakes don't lock up causing you to skid. Thus you will brake quickly and in a straight line. This braking method can be an advantage on other surfaces also. However, on good surfaces, conventional braking is more effective.
7. A properly tuned and well-maintained car will always perform more efficiently.

   when did you last check over your car?

Stage 3

1. Double de-clutching can be an advantage in some competition events, to enable you to change back quickly to a lower gear - without crunching the gears. Prior to the event, notice the amount the revs drop when changing up from each gear - at a certain engine speed. Then, when you want to change down, de-clutch and put the lever in neutral, release the clutch pedal, blip the accelerator to bring the revs up by roughly the amount that you know is the rev difference between the gears, de-clutch again, then quickly and firmly push the lever into the lower gear. As you release the clutch pedal, quickly bring up the engine revs so that the car does not "jerk" or slow down suddenly. For this to work correctly and smoothly, it must be done quickly.

   With exact rev-matching, gear changes can be made without using the clutch at all -- which can be essential if ever your clutch "packs up" away from home. When you start, put it in first, then turn the starter - it should start up. When changing up, let the revs drop by the rev difference between gears, then smartly push the lever home.

2. 1. Handbrake Turns around flags could now be attempted, but a fully operational handbrake is essential. These turns will not be successful unless a reasonable speed is first obtained (above 10-15 mph) before reaching the flag. When the front wheels are next to the flag, turn the steering wheel on full lock quickly, depress the clutch, and pull on the handbrake. With the rear end thus locked up, the car will then pivot on the front wheels, and the rear end will quickly spin around. When you are almost facing the desired direction, straighten up the steering wheel, release the handbrake, and as you release the clutch, press the accelerator to the floor.

   2. To make handbrake turns easier, place a ten cent piece over the handbrake button, depress it, and tape it down (preferably with masking tape since it does not stretch). This makes the ratchet in-operative and prevents the handbrake locking when it is pulled on.
3. A "Front-end throw" is perhaps the opposite to a handbrake turn. After travelling in reverse at a reasonable speed and you want your car to be facing the opposite direction, turn your wheel on full lock, depress the clutch and lift off the accelerator. The front of the car will continue on, and so the car will pivot on the rear wheels and swing sharply around. When you are almost facing in the direction you want, change gear, straighten up the wheels, depress the accelerator, ease off the clutch, and so drive off in that desired forward direction.
4. To quickly change direction within a normal motorkhana garage, brake hard and slightly early and depress the clutch as you are entering the garage. If you are going fast enough and you brake, the front and rear brakes lock up but you still skid straight on. Since your rear end is now locked up and thus the gearbox is not turning, another gear can be selected without damage while moving: e.g. first to reverse or reverse to first. Then, before you stop, release the clutch and press the accelerator to the floor, and you will now wheelspin away in the opposite direction.
5. For top results in speed events, aim to be accelerating flat out then braking as hard and as late as possible - within common sense safety limits. Slowly accelerating, or holding the car at constant low revs, could lose you many seconds. this can only be safely accomplished when you know how quickly your car can brake, and how it handles.
6. You will never perform to your absolute top if you are even slightly worried about your car's reliability, because you won't use your car's full potential - so fix things before they let you down, and then drive to your top ability.