David Russell enjoyed a sensational weekend at the recent Porsche Carrera Cup Australia round at Taupo Motorsport Park in New Zealand.
It was the first time the local series had headed over to New Zealand and the first time for many drivers competing at the circuit but the experienced racer (and driver coach) with 13 Bathurst 1000 starts and two Bathurst 1000 podiums to his credit, was a step above the competition.
Unlike many of his competitors, David didn't fly to New Zealand to test out the Taupo layout. Instead, he used the simulators here at Focus Driver Performance to learn the new circuit.
We sat down with David to find out how his time here at Focus helped him enjoy such a successful round in Carrera Cup Australia's inaugural visit to Taupo Motorsport Park.
David, unlike some of your rivals who flew over to New Zealand to familiarise themselves with Taupo, you took a different approach using the simulators here at Focus Driver Performance. What led you to that decision?
For myself and Tekworkx, we simply didn’t have the appropriate dates or budget to start flying over New Zealand to drive a non-Porsche, as there were restrictions around this. Using a simulator is not a regular thing for me, so it was purely based around learning which way the track went rather than chasing a setup or anything on the sim.
You hit the ground running during Carrera Cup’s inaugural visit to Taupo, qualifying on pole before taking two race wins on your way to the round victory. How did the sim at Focus Driver Performance give you a competitive advantage?
It was great to have the first session knowing where the track went and some of the characteristics. The main focus then was learning the grip level and surfaces. Also, to tune the car rather than getting to know the circuit. Additionally, I found some of the key areas for braking zones very similar to the sim so it allowed me to get straight on it out the gate.
How close was the sim to what you experienced when you took to the track for the first time?
It was very similar, even down to little bumps or kerbs, so this allowed me to focus on some key areas of learning the grip level as there were many surface changes, particularly in the wet.
Did the sim help you prepare for the rain and mixed conditions during the race weekend at Taupo?
We didn’t get time to have a wet run on the sim, but it's definitely something to prepare for, especially for new tracks. One thing that did help was understanding on the sim was the off-camber or banked corners and how you could take several different lines through them.
What other learnings did you take from your time in the simulators that helped you get up to speed at Taupo so quickly?
For me, it was also down to being prepared, having some sessions, doing some qualy runs and some longer race runs, and getting some sessions under my belt before a new track experience.
As an experienced racer and driver trainer, what would you recommend to young drivers preparing to race on a new circuit for the first time?
This was a great experience for me, to not only learn a new track, but also get prepared physically and mentally for the race meeting. I felt sharp and ready after to go after the sessions and I can certainly recommend putting the time and effort into this type of preparation.
