From our first issue: Bob Bondurant on how to drive faster

Words by Bob Bondurant

Editor's Note:

Autocrossing is a sport that demands driving excellence to win. In fact, most experts agree autocrossing is 70% driving abili­ty and only 30% car preparation. Because of this staggering statistic, we felt that a driving tips column in this magazine was a must.

To write this column we contacted world-famous driver, writer, and driving …

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Pretty cool that Tim got Bob Bondurant to write something for the first issue. 

Fascinating read . . . many of us have so much more prior knowledge leading up to performance driving these days, and I wonder how this article would be written in light of it in 2025. 

I actually rode with him while at Michigan State around a parking lot back in 94.... effortless driving in a Taurus sho...

In reply to Ranger50 :

That's rad.

Colin Wood said:

In reply to Ranger50 :

That's rad.

Be creative, live a fun life and don't be a shiny happy person.

Ford was trying to recruit people, especially engineers, so they visited some college campuses and would set up autocross courses. As Ranger50 said, Bob was giving people rides in a Taurus SHO. He was super smooth and of course really fast.

They let the college students drive the course too, in either a Probe GT or Tracer LTS (both slushboxes). I skipped classes that day and got to drive it a couple times.  I can't remember who rode shotgun with the students, but I think they were instructors from Bondurant's school.

At his schools, Bob had an Econoline van loaded with his recommended suspension from Ford plus a wrap around couch for about a dozen students. He'd drive sedately around the track while explaining techniques and the driving line. Imperceptibly he would gradually increase his speed until everyone was laughing while hanging on for dear life as Bob would execute 4 wheel skids with the tires howling! His punch line was "Most cars have greater capabilities than the driver. We try to even that out." Great fun and worth the E-ticket school prices. Pick is of me (in the cool t-shirt) in the Pro Search event.

David S. Wallens said:

Pretty cool that Tim got Bob Bondurant to write something for the first issue. 

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a Bondurant story. Bondurant certainly made an impact with his school.

I actually have his book, and have read it several times.  A very good basic primer for understanding the basics.

In reply to elbert :

Ford would also send their engineers to Bondurant. I weasel an extra day out of a course via work. Which really helped my autocrossing at the time.