Skill Level Instruction Program™ reference chart

Instructors choose the description that best describes the student's performance of each skill. SLIP is for use with Driving Evals only.
SLIP Level L1: Novice L2: Lower intermediate L3: Upper intermediate L4: Experienced L5: Advanced L6: Expert L7: Über
Looks ahead / widescreen vision Focuses immediately ahead of the car.Look farther down the track. Find reference points for braking, turn-in, apex, and track-out. Learn to look at least one and a half reference points ahead. Use cones, if available. For example, as you are approaching the braking zone, turn your attention to the apex. When following another car, look around, past, or through it rather than directly at it. With the car in your field of view, your brain will keep you safe. Intently watches the next upcoming reference without regard to the rest of the turn.It’s natural to look at the upcoming braking, turn-in, apex, or track-out reference point. Learn to look at the reference point beyond that in order to help your brain know when and how much input to apply. For example, as you are approaching the apex, look at (or visualize) the track-out point. This will help your hands and feet automatically apply the right amount of input to guide the car where you are looking. Focuses on the upcoming reference point. Doesn’t scan with widescreen vision.While the upcoming reference point is important, focus on the reference point beyond that. Learn to scan the turn with widescreen vision, taking in the upcoming reference point, the one beyond that, and the entirety of the turn. Rather than stare, scan with quick glances. Beginning to look past the upcoming reference point. Beginning to see with widescreen (simultaneous central & peripheral) vision.Your vision is past the upcoming reference point and you are beginning to see the entirety of the turn with widescreen (simultaneous central & peripheral) vision. Push your vision (or your visualization for blind turns) as far into the future as possible. This will help guide your hand and foot inputs to lead the car to the track-out with the highest exit speed. Looks through corners and well ahead. Anticipates problems ahead. Sees combination turns as one. Scans track sections with widescreen vision. Attention solidly ½ step ahead of approaching reference point. Simultaneously watches deeply ahead, with widescreen (simultaneous central & peripheral) vision, even in heavy traffic, while keenly aware of car’s position and cars in immediate proximity.
Situational awareness Doesn’t know the flag stations. Focuses on the car ahead. Surprised by obstacles.Flaggers keep us safe and provide important information. Study a track map or video to learn the flag stations. Memorize the flag meanings so you know them without thinking. Glance at each flag station when it first comes into view to give you the most amount of time to react to trouble on the track ahead. Continually scan for debris and fluids on the track surface. When pitting-out, follow the track’s procedures and stay inside any blend line. When pitting-in, give your pit signal early and drive the track’s approved pit-in line. Be aware of the car ahead, but also of cars beyond that to anticipate problems. Sees flags and understands them. Solid pit-in and pit-out.Visually take in all the cars and track that you can see ahead. Anticipate what might happen, like a clump of cars suddenly slowing like an accordion. Watch for debris on the track. Anticipate what other cars might do. Sees flags and problems ahead. May not anticipate foreseeable problems.Anticipate issues ahead. For example, a puff of smoke might mean the car ahead locked up a tire and may go off track. Or maybe that’s oil which makes the track slippery. Take note of the cars around you, including behind you. If you notice a car and now it’s not visible in your mirrors, you must leave track space for it. Anticipates problems ahead, even in distance.Continually inventory what you can see. Track all the cars around you and leave room for cars which have disappeared in your mirrors. Anticipate accordion slow-downs. Use all your senses, including smell, to detect upcoming problems. Anticipates problems ahead. Mentally keeps track of other cars in close proximity. Keenly aware of potential or hypothetical dangers. Never surprised by cars in the mirror or at the side. A racer’s vision and instinct to anticipate problems before they occur.
Knows & drives the line Still learning the track layout and where to position the car for corner entry.Use a track map along with online in-car video to memorize the track layout and the car’s position on the track. Be able to close your eyes and see an entire lap from the driver’s perspective, taking about as long as a lap takes in real life Drives a basic safe line. Needs continuous instruction to be consistent and precise.Study the track for unique markings to help identify reference points for braking, turn-in, apex, and track-out. Permanent reference points like cracks, light poles, or changes in berm won’t move from day-to-day as cones might. Use your vision skills to see the upcoming reference points to help you position the car to “hit your marks” consistently. Solid, basic line. Understands early/late apex. Uses all the track width. Flustered when off-line.Now that you can drive the line consistently, experiment with slightly earlier and later apex locations to see how it affects your exit. Enter turns off-line intentionally to develop a feel for necessary changes in speed and line. An early apex requires you to “wrap the line” around the corner to the true apex before accelerating. Drive your own line, rather than follow the car in front. Drives the school line and experiments with alternatives. Always drives own line. Has driven off-line intentionally, but conservatively.When driving on-line, experiment with small changes to your line. Consider some form of data display, if allowed by event rules. When driving off-line, slowly increase your pace so that you eventually use as much of the available grip as you do when driving on-line. Comfortable on traditional lines. Drives off-line well below the car’s limit. Drives school and alternative lines. Comfortable and fast off-line. Enters turns faster and earlier than a typical instructor.
Brakes at proper time & intensity Abrupt, too soft, very early. Unintentionally trail-brakes. Brakes when frightened.Braking on the track is much faster and harder than on the street. Work with your instructor to establish safe, consistent braking points. Apply the brakes firmly and quickly, but not abruptly. Work up to applying full brake pressure; there is likely much more braking power in your car than you have ever experienced. Come off the brake more slowly than you applied them. Consistent but conservative.Learn to apply the brake quickly, maintain full braking pressure in the braking zone, and then smoothly trail off the brakes as you turn-in. When you find yourself too slow at the turn-in point, gradually push your braking zone back in small increments to arrive at the turn-in point with the desired speed. Ask your instructor or classroom instructor to explain trail braking and why it’s useful. Relatively smooth.Now that you have a quick, hard brake application and a smooth brake release, identify turns which will benefit from trail-braking. Work to carry some brake well into the turn toward the apex. Feel the balance of the car as you release the brakes, ending the rotation trail-braking provided. Hard, steady, timely. Developing trail-braking.Continue developing your trail-braking, using it to rotate the car in most turns. Experiment with the location, timing, and rate of brake release. Carrying some brake all the way to the ideal end-of-braking point, often close to the apex. Increase your turn-in speed in tiny increments, maintaining a margin in turns where a spin might be costly. Proficient trail-braking. Uses release to control rotation. Optional left-foot braking. May slightly over-slow the car. Can brake right to the apex if needed. Expert trail-braking. Skillfully times brake release to rotate the car without over-slowing. Later and less than a typical instructor, expertly initiating rotation.
Apexes tightly & consistently Wide and inconsistent. Doesn’t understand early/late yet.Identify a good reference point for the apex. Before you turn in, rotate your head to look for your reference point. Suppress the tendency to turn the steering wheel when you turn your head. Turn in to bring the car all the way tight to the apex. Generally late, but when early may not realize it. Inconsistent.Work on touching the apex of each turn consistently. Use your vision skills to see (or visualize) the apex before turn-in. Note when you apex too late because the car does not drift naturally to the track-out. Or too early because you could not apply full throttle as early as ideal. Fairly consistent, but conservative.Identify which apex curbs are benign and work up so that your inside wheel consistently touches or goes onto the curb, as appropriate for the corner. When you are going to miss an apex, adjust your line to make the track-out, rather than trying to force the car to the apex and risk a spin. Consistent and tight to benign curbs.Work up to being consistently tight to every curb, every lap. If some curbs are intimidating (high, pothole, unsettling), work on still kissing the apex. Experiment with curbs to see what line is fastest for your car’s suspension. Consistent and tight even to intimidating curbs. Pushes for that last inch, kissing all benign curbs. Uses as much curb as the car’s suspension will allow.
Uses track width Crabs in. Doesn’t track out fully.As you approach the turn-in point, stay tight to the outside edge of the track. At the turn-in point, make one, smooth steering input, aiming right for the apex. Suppress the desire to turn in a little bit before the true turn-in point. After the apex drive all the way to the outside edge of the track, using all the available track width. Looking farther down the track can make the turn feel slower and more controlled, and help align the car with the edge of the track. Crabs in when tense. Tracks out, but leaves excess room.Approaching the turn, stay tight to the outside edge of the track, then turn in with (usually) one smooth steering input, touch the apex, and then drive all the way out to the track-out pavement edge. If the track-out is intimidating, work up slowly to use all the track width. Looking farther down the track toward the track out point, can make things feel slower and more controlled, and help align the car with the edge of the track. Doesn’t crab in. Tracks out, but leaves excess room to a wall or curb.Feel for the edge of the pavement with your tires. Be sure to keep all the outside tire on the pavement during braking, lest you risk a spin. Where there is adequate run-off, work up to feeling the outside edge of the pavement at the track-out. Initiates turn from the very edge of the track. Tracks out comfortably, even to walls and curbs.Become comfortable with the car turning in from the very edge of the track, apexing tightly, and naturally drifting out under full throttle right to the track-out edge. Practice this until it’s second nature and you know well ahead of time whether you will make the track out without a throttle adjustment. The apex location, attitude (angle the car is pointed), and speed combine to determine the track out arc. Positions car precisely at turn-in. Tracks out comfortably. Unconsciously unwinds to prevent scrub. Aware of track surface, elevation, and geometry. Consistently throttle steers to the very edge of track. Skillfully places the car anywhere on the track without over-slowing.
Corner balance & throttle steering N/A. Insufficient speed to require balance.When you apply too much throttle in a turn, the car turns less than you want. Learn to delay the throttle to avoid this understeer. Apply the throttle gradually and smoothly, feeling the effect on the turning radius. Delays throttle application to avoid understeer.Notice the effect of too much throttle as you are exiting a turn. Learn to modulate the throttle to avoid understeer. Be smooth in applying throttle; in some rear-wheel drive cars, abruptly applying the throttle will cause oversteer and invite a spin. Develop a feel for the effect of the throttle. Crude balance with the throttle.Begin to use the throttle to balance and steer the car. When understeering an abrupt lift can rotate the car so that you can then catch it by reapplying throttle. For oversteer, when the cause is excess throttle, modulate the throttle without lifting as you countersteer. In a sweeping turn if oversteer is caused by no or insufficient throttle, squeeze on a bit more throttle to shift the weight rearward and increase rear grip. Experimenting with using brake release to control rotation. Aggressive but not greedy with the throttle.Accurately and precisely timing the release of your brakes will help you rotate the car, reach the apex at an optimal car attitude, and maximize apex speed. Similarly, patient, tidy throttle application will maximize exit speed without inducing mid-corner understeer. Balances the car proficiently with their feet. Feels for grip with hands at peak of slip angle curve. Expert at balancing the car with feet and hands throughout the turn. Applies full throttle earlier than a typical instructor.
Makes smooth up and down shifts (Use N/A for auto/SMG) No heel-and-toe. May be rushed or awkward.Make smooth, unrushed shifts. Abrupt shifts don’t save much time, and a mis-shift can be costly. While you are learning the track, stay mostly in one or two gears to avoid the distraction of shifting. As you learn, begin executing smooth up- and down-shifts. For downshifts, you smoothly slip the clutch as you are braking. Soon you will learn heel-and-toe downshifting. Smooth upshifts. No heel-and-toe but smoothly slips the clutch.Begin practicing heel-and-toe downshifts. When you drive on the street, find turns where you can brake fairly hard so you can experience the height difference between the brake and throttle pedals. There are several different heel-and-toe techniques. Try them all and use the one that works best for your car and foot. Try placing the ball of the foot on the brake pedal and rotating your ankle to blip the throttle with your pinky toe. Smooth, unhurried shifts. Attempts heel-and-toe with at least marginal success.Your shifts are smooth and unhurried. Continue developing your heel-and-toe downshifts so that they happen naturally and smoothly. Work up to quick downshift with a precise throttle blip of just the right size. Quick but not rushed. Solid heel-and-toe.As you heel-and-toe downshift, your foot will naturally release some of the brake pressure. Work on maintaining threshold brake pressure during your downshifts. Quick. Heel-and-toe with little brake pressure release. Extremely fast & smooth. Seamless heel-and-toe. No brake pressure release. Second nature and automatic.
Throttle Abrupt and/or tentative.Imagine you have an egg between your foot and the throttle pedal. Squeeze on the throttle smoothly and progressively. As you approach the braking zone, you can lift off the throttle quickly; the egg won’t crack. Squeezes the throttle, but with little feel or knowledge of the effect on car balance.Notice that as you squeeze on throttle, your car may tend to understeer, turning less than desired. Learn to squeeze on throttle as quickly as the car will accept it, but no quicker. Lifting off the throttle in a turn will transfer weight forward, off the rear wheels, inviting a spin. Develop a sense of the throttle’s effect on the car’s balance. Understands the effect of throttle on balance. Starting to develop sensitivity.Refine your sense of the effect of the throttle on the car’s balance. Apply the throttle in an aggressive, controlled manner without being too impatient or greedy. Sensitive and controlled but occasionally too greedy.Learn to balance the car mid-turn with the throttle. Use an abrupt, brief lift to rotate the car when necessary. Make small throttle timing and input adjustments to accurately use all the pavement at the track-out. Consistently uses throttle to steer. Can use an abrupt lift for mid-turn rotation when needed. Analyzes the turn for optimal throttle application. Always searching for the last few RPM of exit speed. Aggressively uses the throttle in corners.
Steering Nervous, jerky, inconsistent. Hands not at 9 & 3.Keep your hands at the 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions on the steering wheel, even during the turns. Rotate the wheel smoothly. Your vision skills will help smooth out jerky steering inputs. Look deep into the turn. Take a big breath on the straights to relieve stress. Smooth but inconsistent turn-in. Saws a bit at the wheel. May require reminders for hand position.Continue keeping your hands at 9 and 3 o’clock. Use your vision skills to see the apex early so that your hands will naturally turn-in at the right time. You may be “sawing” at the wheel, wiggling it back and forth a bit. Move your vision farther ahead so that you don’t put in too much steering and then immediately have to remove it. Steering should be smooth when the car is pointed in the right direction. During oversteer, the car is pointed in the wrong direction and needs the fastest possible countersteering correction. Relatively smooth and consistent, but may correct course later than optimal due to a lack of foresight. Solid 9 & 3. No shuffling unless appropriate.Your steering is smooth and consistent and you keep your hands at 9 and 3 o’clock (if appropriate). Look deep into the turn to anticipate how much steering will be needed to reach the apex with the car at the correct angle (trajectory). Most turns will accept one smooth steering input, maintaining it for a bit, and then one smooth unwinding motion. If you have corrections, understand why and plan to improve the next lap. No shuffling unless appropriate. Few unneeded corrections. Quick countersteer when needed.Your steering is now smooth and controlled. You can make a quick countersteer correction when you sense oversteer. Continue to develop precision and consistency, holding the wheel with a relaxed, sensitive grip. Precise and refined. Relaxed and sensitive grip. Analyzes turn geometry and surface for slight optimizations. Master at car control.
Consistent lap-to-lap Learning the track. No two laps alike.To become consistent, look ahead to the upcoming reference point (braking point, turn-in, apex, track-out) — and the next one — as soon as you can. This will help inform your brain to naturally place the car where you are looking. Between sessions, use a track map to reinforce the sequence of corners and straights. Visualize the references you have learned and mark them on the track map to reinforce their positions and visual flow. Relatively inconsistent. May make the same mistake lap after lap.Work on becoming consistent in your line, hands and feet before trying to go faster. Look at least one and a half reference points ahead. As you are approaching the turn-in point, look toward the apex, without turning yet. This will help you place the car consistently on the line. A bit inconsistent. Mistakes vary in each lap.Identify which turns are your least consistent. Establish reference points to help you drive a consistent line. Look deep into the corner, trying to see (or visualize) the track-out as early as possible. Emphasize consistency over speed. Fairly consistent. Focuses attention on specific corners for improvement.When you miss a mark, such as being wide of an apex or having to breathe off the throttle in order to make the track-out, analyze why. Too impatient or greedy with the throttle? Eyes not high enough? Head not turned? Distracted by a downshift? Then develop and implement a plan to fix the root cause. Highly consistent when trying. May experiment and push in certain corners. Capable of stringing together a series of fast consistent laps. Capable of pushing hard without sacrificing consistency.
Pace Slow and tentative.Driving on the track is very intimidating. Gradually work on gently squeezing on throttle as you exit the turns, going to full throttle on the straight. Your car has incredible stopping power. Your instructor will help you establish safe braking points in order to slow for the next corner. Full throttle on the straights. May lift early when approaching challenging turns.At the end of the straights, work on holding full throttle until you reach the braking point. Then you can fully apply the brakes to slow the car for the upcoming corner. Look deep into the turn so your mind knows where the track is going. This will help you hold full throttle approaching the braking zone. Full throttle to the braking zone. Corner speed just starting to exhibit slip angles.As you squeeze on throttle exiting turns, you will start to feel the car slip sideways slightly. This is a natural consequence of the slip angles your tires experience in turns. Develop sensitivity to this slipping. Gradually increase your throttle application or start applying throttle earlier as you become comfortable. Able to flow with advanced and instructor traffic, perhaps as a slower car.Analyze the most important turns. Experiment with apex location, car attitude, and balance. Maximize your tires’ slip angles so that you use all the available grip. Solid instructor pace. Uses good slip angles. High instructor pace. Exceeds instructor pace.
Poise Anxious, as expected.Everyone is anxious when they start driving on the track. It’s natural and expected. You have an instructor to help keep you safe and learn effectively. Take a big breath on the straights, relax your shoulders, and wiggle your fingers on the steering wheel. With practice, you will feel more comfortable. Anxious in turns and traffic, otherwise reasonably calm.You will drive much closer to other cars on the racetrack than you are accustomed to. Develop trust in the other cars. They are also here to learn and drive predictably. In tense situations, keep your vision up and look deep into the turns, seeing all the cars in front of you. Anxious in heavy traffic.In heavy traffic, use all three mirrors to keep track of where the other cars are. If you are side-by-side entering or in a turn, be sure to leave a lane for every car, even if you can’t see them in the mirrors. Keep your vision up even as you are aware of the traffic around you. Fairly poised and comfortable in heavy traffic at speed. Gives and takes late point-bys.When the event rules allow, practice being next to other cars entering and existing turns. Leave a car width, but try not to leave so much room that your car may disappear from their mirrors. Judge the other car’s speed, leaving them extra room if you think they may be a bit too hot and not able to hold their line. Very poised and comfortable in heavy traffic. May be anxious side-by-side in corners or braking zones. Very poised and comfortable, even in side-by-side situations. Highly alert, poised and comfortable. Keenly focused when required.
Understanding / self-diagnosis None yet.Listen to your instructor and absorb their commands. At home, read books and articles about track driving so that you will have a logical basis for understanding the fundamentals of track driving and why the techniques work. “Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving” by the Skip Barber Racing School is excellent. Limited. May not know when a corner is entered too fast or when turn-in is too early.Use your mistakes to learn how to improve the next lap. Become sensitive to under- and oversteer and know how to correct them. Each little mistake is an opportunity to learn and fix it the next lap. Some self-diagnosis (e.g. knows when they are early or too hot).Use your knowledge of driving and vehicle dynamics to understand what you did, why it was good or bad, and what you can do next lap to improve it. Learn to quickly judge what’s wrong — and what is about to go wrong — so that you can correct it as early as possible. The sooner you fix a problem, the lower its consequences. For example, your apex or minimum speed point in a corner is the best place to make adjustments for corner exit. It’s better to correct the car’s trajectory before you build speed and realize you will run out of track. Moderate self-analysis. Understands not just what happened, but why (root cause) and knows this before the corner is completed.Observe what works and what doesn’t. Consider the immediate cause. Analyze the events that happened prior to determine the root cause and develop a deep understanding. Advanced self-analysis. Understands the event and considers all possible root causes. Highly developed self-analysis. Can develop and test strategies for improvement. Highly knowledgeable and perceptive. Routinely challenges assumptions and tests alternatives.
Student's overall performance Novice Lower intermediate Upper intermediate Experienced Advanced Expert Über