Gymkhana: The XCAR team learn to get their Ken Block on

[MUSIC] This is Collin. He's a director of Cab Driver training with over 25 years of experience as a racer and engineer. He's pretty comfortable sideways. An on stage [UNKNOWN] course at Milbrooke test track he's convinced he can teach Jake's car to the do the same. The course has four key disciplines. The slalom, pin turn, figure of 8 and apex speed. Building up to two hot laps around the Jim Karner circuit. [UNKNOWN] lap wins. Drew will be pitted against Alex. They'll be instructed by Collin alongside Paul with Joe doing the time keeping. First up slalom. Slalom is a good exercise in management of understeering oversteering. If you squeeze the gas on too much, too little, too often. Not enough than the car would be imbalanced as it goes through the [INAUDIBLE] so it's a very good way to [INAUDIBLE] steering input and then give me the [INAUDIBLE] to achieve the moment you turn [INAUDIBLE] that's how we start reducing the electrons. [MUSIC] Wait, now watch this drive. He just said, watch this, didn't he? That's never a good thing. That may have been unnecessarily cocky. [MUSIC] Okay how was that Drew Slalom run. It was, it was interesting. It's harder than it looks. Just weaving in and out cones. It kinda looks very straight forward but there's so many. Different things I had to think about at the same time. So, I was combining the hand speed with the throttle. Every time I was trying to push one thing, I was forgetting about the other. Okay. But it, even when it was going right, I have to think about that as part of the whole course. Yep. So, going from one discipline, and then quickly thinking, okay, I'm now coming into the slalom, I need to put it together. And, it almost has to be [MUSIC] That you don't have to think about. Because, that's there. That you just naturally do it. It's interesting what you said there. You got some muscle memory now for the technique. Yeah. The more you do it the easier it will become. Once it's coming to your subconscious and you start to work it subconsciously. Yep. Then as you rightly say you might not have to think about it quite so much. What I would suggest you do is just work at it as an exercise, so [UNKNOWN] pick one thing that you're going to work on maybe on a particular run. Yeah. Work on that and then, if that works, work on something else the next time. So you're building up the skills. If you relate that to driving on circuits, you've just driven down that line of cones something in the region of 30 miles an hour. You've managed the steering technique. So if I go faster around a corner, perhaps I will turn a little earlier and a little more. Yeah. So there's various little areas that you're working on that re very similar to driving on the track. You'll see it all come together as, as you work the [UNKNOWN] I'm sure. Next up, pin turn. A 270 degree spin around a cone that truly tests your ability to manage over steer. I'm gonna ask you to drive from the starting point around the pin and then off down towards the start of the slalom. The key point of the exercise is to get' round this exercise with power oversteer. If, if you could master this we're startin' to look into the role of comfort and gettin' a grip on understanding how cars work when you drive at the limit of adhesion. So although you need to only go around that cone maybe 15 miles an hour, you're still gonna pick up some skills that you might use at 115 miles an hour. If I aggressively get on the gas then the front won't have time to lose grip, all that instant over steer because I've instantly got wheel spin. So quite simply how you apply the gas and when you apply the gas is very important in terms of succeeding in getting the car through over steer.>>I'll give you a demonstration. And then you'll each get around about 8 to 12 minutes to practice this technique. Any questions guys? Nope. No, you think you could relax and not look so fearful? because I'm sure you're going to enjoy it more if you do. Oh yeah I'm, I'm sure I will. After Colin had given the guys insight into what mastering drifting really looked like. As well as burning the tires off the Minara for good measure, Drew and Alex decided they were up for the task. Easy. Yeah, easy. Very easily do that. [MUSIC] There we go. There we go. There we go. Whoo. And whoa. [MUSIC] We like that. Yeah, that's really good. That's cool. That's actually pretty good.>> [MUSIC] [LAUGH]. Oh, now he's getting cocky. [LAUGH] [INAUDIBLE] If you're a smooth driver, which you appeared to be from the slalom [LAUGH] [INAUDIBLE] Yeah. Cuz your gonna have to really give that gas pedal a bit of a boost. [MUSIC] Come on, come on, come on. Yes, yes, yes, go, go. Enough. [MUSIC] He got the excitement. He did. I think he did. Alex and Drew both experienced the same initial problem of throttle control, both able to give the pedal a hard enough kick to induce the initial oversteer, but not quite quick enough in their reaction. [MUSIC] Actions to feather off. Alex managed to correct this soon enough. But Drew seemed to struggle with this a little longer. [MUSIC] Yes! [MUSIC] This is genuinely [UNKNOWN], because now, he's actually getting good. Then figure of eight. The figure of eight builds on previous exercises. And key skills like observation, quick and accurate steering, as well as good throttle management all come together in one beautiful movement. And as per usual, it's not quite as simple as Paul's made it look. We're gonna take one step further now and we're gonna look at observations and allowing the car to do as much work as possible so that we don't have to. We're gonna turn it. We're gonna kick the gas pedal, and we're gonna spin the back of the car around. It's now gonna be hand-eye coordination, okay, now it's all about gas pedal management. Again, pat on the head and rub on the tummy, like we were doing before, so banging on the gas to induce the induce the drift, and then gradually feather that bounce on the gas pedal off. As the drift starts to come to the point where you want to stop it. Okay. That's a lot to take in. Isn't it? And all that in a split second. Yeah, it is. This is getting fun. This is getting difficult. And guess who's up first. Yeah, it's my turn to go first. So you're up first, yeah. I'll do a little demonstration for you. Yeah. So you've got an idea on what you're gonna do. What I want you to do. Went on during the demonstration is a one you focus on where I'm looking and how little work my hands do. [MUSIC] Somebody's having too much fun. I mean, I'm shaking. The, the adrenaline rush of feeling it go around [MUSIC] Yeah. But also feeling that you're kind of in control. It's fabulous. Get in. Need to give this a go. [MUSIC] I, I felt good. The beginning was upsetting. Yeah. Cuz all it was horrible, horrible nasty squeally under [INAUDIBLE] but then yes. I, I, I felt like really like. Getting the **** as far out as possible. Yeah. No it doesn't look, I don't sense it's not that quick. No it, it's not quick but it looks good. Yeah. Now speaking of speed. Mm-hm. Apex Hunting. Okay. This, this I think I'm going to fail on. Well you've been saying that for the last couple and you've been beating me so I won't take your patronizing tone anymore and I'd like to move on. Right. Alright, let's go. Finally the apex speed in Catsbury's own Subaru Impressa. It's fastest part of the circuit and also where the most time can be lost. [MUSIC] Alex and Drew tried out all the cars on offer to choose their weapon of choice for the final lap, before both going for the slippery [INAUDIBLE] They'll both get two runs each and time penalties for hitting a cone are costly. But coming up first Bruce takes the pin turn neatly. This looks to be a very tidy run. The slalom is also particularly smooth. A huge contrast to Drew's tackling of the cones first thing in the day. Both Drew's runs are competitive. Very consistent with no penalties whatsoever though we won't hear the full times until the end of the day. Alex's first run looks similarly quick to Drew's. It may well go down to this very last lap. This final run is vital. [NOISE] This appears to be just a bit quicker than he's gone today. And now let's make it to the end of the lap. Lap unscathed. [LAUGH] [UNKNOWN] Missing the final box proves costly. As the instant five second penalty renders Alex's time uncompetitive. He'll just have to hope that he did enough on his first run. Oh, what happened? Hey. I braked too late that's what happened. Nervous about that? Just the whole lap. How did the whole lap feel? Oh well. I had a bit of fun. But clearly judging by all of your reactions it was pretty crap. [LAUGH] No, no. [UNKNOWN] You finished. The lap was very smooth. You seem to reflect on the previous laps and start piecing it together in a more refined way. And it, we were all saying, well, Drew, I think you've blown this. Yeah. Champagne's yours, eh? And then I [INAUDIBLE] it. And you blew it at the last [INAUDIBLE] Just at the last, what, [INAUDIBLE]? If you'd finished [CROSSTALK] you'd definitely beat me Ten minutes earlier. Yeah. But, now we need to see with that penalty. You still, you still win. Whatever it is, it's gonna be pretty close. So one of you had a fastest lap of 45.22 and one of you had a fastest lap of 44.75. Wo, ho, ho ho. And the winner of the champagne. It's Alex. [APPLAUSE] Well done sir. [LAUGH] Pride, Pride right here. Well done dude, you defeated very well. You're going to be delicious this evening. Thank you so much for a great day, we've enjoyed working with you and I. [INAUDIBLE] [CROSSTALK] [CROSSTALK] been a really good day. Oh, [CROSSTALK] drink now, [INAUDIBLE] so close! So close yet so far! [LAUGH]