How do you judge your driving ability?

[CSG Mike]

Mirroring another thread I read today... where do you think you lie as a driver?

I've had this discussion with other people. Depending on the event / scenario, you might be an Intermediate driver or an Advanced driver. I have met people that think they're awesome drivers (FLATOUT) because their cars are fast, but to watch them drive is cringe-worthy.

I like motorsport because there is some objectivity to who is fast and who is not. But there is some fudge factoring (different cars, prep, tires, PAX, etc) that clouds the issue.

For me, I consider myself a "7 or 7.5" out of 10 driver with Vettel / Hamilton / Alonso being a 10. But I rate on skill rather than population numbers. I think that the average street driver is a 3-4 of 10 and to even get to a 5/10 is 2 standard deviations above the mean. So depending on who is rating by what standards, I could be "meh" or "good."

This Spring did some events with groups I normally don't run with and almost signed up for "Intermediate" but wound up crushing Advanced. But comparing my vids to "really good" local drivers (rated 8-8.5), I suck.

Then you sometimes hear of newer drivers solely depending on PAX rank in their local club to validate their driving ability, but lots of physics errors in the drive where they're giving up time.

So where do you fall and how do you see yourself as a driver?

In my mind, driving (and riding) ability works on a logarithmic scale. Even on a 1-10 scale, the top F1/MotoGP riders being a 10, the rest of the pool can fall into the 8-9 category as well. The Stig should be a 7 or 8 on my scale.

Given that, I have a lot of developing to do, but I also have a foundational skillset and a comfort level that will allow me to crush (almost) anyone who has never seen a track.

10 - Senna, Rossi in his prime, etc. The Michael Jordans of each respective discipline
9 - Top level, but not winning
8 - Bottom of the pack at top level motorsports.
7 - Winning "pro racing" drivers. Randy Pobst, etc.
6 - ALMS mid-pack (competitive, could win with a bit of luck) driver
5 - top level amateurs/grasroots motorsport regulars
4 - amateur/grassroots level motorsport regulars
3 - untalented motorsport regulars, talented canyon regulars who have never had a safe environment to hone their abilities
2 - untalented canyon regulars
1 - clueless "I drive to work and back" driver

I think I'm a 4.

[oofie]

Would say 3.5 and with some more experience (read: a season or two of DEs) would be an easy 4.

[Asphalt~86]

Fucking awesome.

But I will probably get banned for this







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[B L U E S L A T E]

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kthxnbai

[xenocharger]

Guess I would be a solid 4 having never tracked it. However I think most have pushed it to a level 4 skill set atleast with this miraculous car.

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[warman]

You've obviously put some thought into this, but do you really think that a "clueless 'i drive to work and back' driver" is only 1 level behind people who regularly push their cars a little bit? There is too much variation from driver to driver. I would say there could be a 1-100 or even 1-1000 scale for regular drivers that have never driven their car hard.

Then when you get into professional drivers, I think they're miles ahead of 99% of amateur drivers. There's a huge reason why some people get paid to drive and the rest of us do it as a hobby. Even the lowest level paid driver is a professional athlete with probably thousands of hours of additional seat time than someone who is just racing on the weekends (even if it is every weekend). They're not only better in their car control, or driving ability, or fearlessness but their reaction times, their ability to feel what the car is doing and relay that information to the mechanics, and their ability to deal with the physical strain on their body. Even the top level guys aren't all the same, at a level "10." There's too much variation in their ability just like the differences between the regular guys who drive to work every day.

I think all men are programmed to think they're awesome at driving, and that if they knew the right people, they could be professional race car drivers. I get that thought sometimes, when I do something awesome (like Richard Hammond claiming he was a driving god), but I also realize that I'm not even close to the fastest guy at a local AutoX club.

I know nothing about your skill level, and you could very well be an extremely talented driver, but I just don't see the point in attempting to quantify your skill level on a 1-10 scale. It's more realistic that the average guy racing his own car on the weekends is at a max level of 3,000 or something, and the minimum level of a professional race car driver is around 5,000. Not to mention that 99% of people who've been on a track have never driven anything as demanding as a real race car.

[SloS14]

If the average driver on the road is a 1, I'm off the charts.

[feldy]

That's the thing I have seen so many times people show up with fast cars thinking they can drive fast but nope they get there ass handed to them by grocery getters.

Since my focus is Autocross. Ill admit the first few events I thought I was a easy 7 out of ten. After learning the ropes for the first season I would have said I was a 2. Now in my 3rd season and now that I'm comfortable in the car I will say I'm a 4 if you consider say Andy Hollis or Sam Strano a 5 or 6. I will say its entirely possible for someone to go from a 1 to a 10. You needs lots and lots of seat time and dedication and drive to become great.

[TylerLieberman]

The chart listed is a bit weird and people will be biased of their own abilities more often than not.

But going on what you have listed, I'd say somewhere between 4 and 4.5. I stay with grassroots events since I've never had the car or budget to be competitive or compete at a higher level. Tried it and it broke my wallet quick and my car was nowhere near suited.

So now a days, I say I'm just an average mid pack grassroots driver. I'm not bad but I'm nothing spectacular, especially compared to some of the better grassroots and pro-am drivers

[orthojoe]

I'll quote a great line from Jay Leno:

"Driving fast is like sex..... Everyone thinks they're good at it"

This is so true when it comes to car enthusiasts. The only way to tell if someone is a good driver is a good solid lap time. Data doesn't lie.

[feldy]

Leno nailed it on the head!

[Dezoris]

After competiting with plenty of people in grassroots events and karting I am in the bottom of the top 1% of drivers. Meaning I have worked my way up to compete with the fastest people in my classes and wind up in the middle to bottom.

So based on this scale a 5. As the 6-10 is reserved for those with $$$ or born into the industry.

[CSG Mike]

It seems everyone just skipped over the part where my 1-10 scale is logarithmic...

To clarify (take the numbers with a gain of salt, obviously)

10 - Only 1 person consistently dominates, even at the top level (2 people)
9 - The mid-pack at the top level. Might win a race or two. (20 people)
8 - Made it to the top, but can never win be a champion. (100 people)
7 - Champions within a given discipline, but unable to reach the pinnacles (250 people)
6 - Paid professional, might win with luck (750 people)
5 - top level amateurs/grasroots motorsport regulars (2500 people)
4 - amateur/grassroots level motorsport regulars (25000 people)
3 - untalented motorsport regulars, talented canyon regulars who have never had a safe environment to hone their abilities (250,000 people)
2 - untalented canyon regulars/enthusiasts (2,500,000 people)
1 - clueless "I drive to work and back" driver (the rest of the world)

[solidONE]

1-10 I would be * or a @/10. That's "eleventy" out of 10 to all you noobs. (tis joke)

Honestly I would rate myself a 2 on the scale you presented, but my passion for wanting to be fast is closer to a 8 or 9. I think the more you get out there, the more you realize how slow you actually are. (not that I've been "out there" much, but more than the average civilian) The people that have the least experience seem to have the most distorted view of how fast they are. Then again, many of the really fast guys are probably just as cocky about their abilities and they back it up with wins. And if they are off the pace that they think they are at (slower), they will bust their asses hard until they reach the pace they believe they should be at. Did that make sense? lol

For me I know that I'm slow, but I probably have a distorted view of how fast I can get in a short amount of time. I believe I have more of a propensity of becoming quick with the right resources than the average joe. I also know that I lack resources and experience to be fast. I'm sure this is quite the popular excuse for those that realize how slow they are. Does that make sense?