The mental side of racing

[justinco]

What is everyone's thoughts on mental preparation for racing, and how outside influences can change that preparation or state of mind? Do you normally do anything to prepare your mind or get pumped up for a race? I sort of had a mental "low" at Solo Nats this year (at least for day 1) due to a loss in the family just before the event. I've always considered the mental side of racing to be very important and sometimes even the smallest things can set you off track (not literally, well maybe ). Usually I try to stay cool and calm while remaining focused on execution, especially when it comes to autocross. I tried to talk about it a little bit in my 2017 Solo Nats video recap.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsA8GWsMeh8[/ame]

[Icecreamtruk]

I try to stay cool and composed, to clear my mind, go in a zero state. This works well for driver developpement, feeling out the car, discovering things and how each input interacts with the car.

When im in that state, and im in a competition (be it a time attack event, or just friendly competition during a lapping day) and im losing I go into a "fuck it" and just drive harder, less clean, less precise, just throw the car into a corner way faster than I think it can take it, brake way harder, step harder on the gas, powersliding out of corners is normal here.

If you though Im faster on my calm mind state, you are in for a surprise, (just as I have been). The more aggressive I drive, the better my times seem to be, but the sloppier my driving seems. Lately I've been trying to mix some aggression in with a focused approach. Trying to reach a kind of "be calm, while driving enraged" mode, have only got it to work once. I dropped a whole second on my personnal best on that track. That is almost a second faster than the track record for the chassis (that is held by a pro team with a supercharged car, im on a NA car on street tires).

Im sure each one of us have a different and personal style, but I believe you need some level of aggression to drive fast.

[cjd]

Oh.

I thought you meant 6 minutes of racing for two days or more standing out on hot concrete, peeling used rubber off your shoes, your car, your tires... because that's definitely 'mental'.

More seriously - health, and how well rested I am, are the biggest challenges I commonly face. Also, I still can't quite figure out what it is I'm actually thinking and paying attention to while driving... starting to fix that. The mental game is a lot. Knowing where to spend that aggression is my biggest problem right now. Usually it goes into the lose pedal.

[renfield90]

My mental preparation consists of trying to be hungover on race day.

[Takumi788]

Read the Ultimate speed secrets by Ross Bentley. He has a chapter called mental imagery where he teaches you how to get "in the zone". Its all brilliant. I read the book every off-season and learn something new each time. Look up cross crawls and centering. I think that is what you are looking for.

[Jonsey]

My mental preparation starts before I ever get to the track. Assuming it is a track I have been to, a day or two before the event I go back through the data I have for the track and figure out what I was doing to be fast where and where I think I am leaving time on the table. I then try to mentally sketch out a perfect lap. On track day, I always get to the grid 7-8 minutes early and mentally drive through the perfect lap twice. I try to focus on the areas I think need improvement (e.g. slower inputs, longer and lighter trailbrake, etc.) and make myself as calm as possible. When things aren't going right, I try to go back to the data as I can usually figure out what I am doing wrong and that helps me be less frustrated.

[justinco]

Originally Posted by Takumi788

Read the Ultimate speed secrets by Ross Bentley. He has a chapter called mental imagery where he teaches you how to get "in the zone". Its all brilliant. I read the book every off-season and learn something new each time. Look up cross crawls and centering. I think that is what you are looking for.

Yea, that is a good one. In it right now myself.

Originally Posted by Icecreamtruk

I try to stay cool and composed, to clear my mind, go in a zero state. This works well for driver developpement, feeling out the car, discovering things and how each input interacts with the car.
...
If you though Im faster on my calm mind state, you are in for a surprise, (just as I have been). The more aggressive I drive, the better my times seem to be, but the sloppier my driving seems.
....

Im sure each one of us have a different and personal style, but I believe you need some level of aggression to drive fast.

I agree, balancing the aggression seems to be the hard part for me, often times it is not enough. Too much and I overdrive.

Originally Posted by cjd

Oh.

I thought you meant 6 minutes of racing for two days or more standing out on hot concrete, peeling used rubber off your shoes, your car, your tires... because that's definitely 'mental'.

That too

Originally Posted by cjd

More seriously - health, and how well rested I am, are the biggest challenges I commonly face. Also, I still can't quite figure out what it is I'm actually thinking and paying attention to while driving... starting to fix that. The mental game is a lot. Knowing where to spend that aggression is my biggest problem right now. Usually it goes into the lose pedal.

Well rested is big too, I know in Lincoln I consciously work on staying cooled off (in A/C or shade) and well hydrated. Few years back I ran last heat and was heat exhausted and drained, didn't bode too for focus on course

[Racecomp Engineering]

A good nights sleep. And not to be crass...but IMO banging the night before helps quite a bit. Hungover generally doesn't work for me.

Get there early and just hang out + relax. Just sitting or walking around the area for a while without worrying really works to calm the nerves and get in the zone. It's good to remember that nervous and unsettled != aggression. Being able to push yourself with purpose is where you want to be. It's difficult to adjust in the moment if my head isn't clear.

Right now I'm leaning towards a lot of caffeine being a good thing, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

- Andrew

[Jyn]

For circuits, using the straights to take deep breaths. Our cars are slow enough, so there should be plenty of time.

This simple act has helped me mentally refocus mid-session much more than trying to frantically decode the previous turns and apply changes to the upcoming lap.

[chaoskaze]

watch drift bible before you go track... oh wait.

[FirstWinter]

James Hunt used to drink, do drugs, and bang before he raced. Jackie Stewart used to abstain from sex before a race.

You have to find what works for you. A good night's sleep is key for me to have a good day but sometimes I find myself waking up repeatedly at night because I'm too excited lol. Usually the day before and at night if it's a whole weekend I go over footage & data. Between sessions I'll look at footage of mistakes I made (or things I did well) and talk to other drivers. Hopping in someone else's car sometimes helps as well. Prior to the start of a session I'll sit in the car while it warms up and listen to some music while I go through the track in my mind and make note of what needs to be improved.

As others have noted. Remember ABC - Always Be Comfortable. It's usually damn hot at the track so stay in the shade, hydrated, etc.

[justinco]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

A good nights sleep. And not to be crass...but IMO banging the night before helps quite a bit. Hungover generally doesn't work for me.

Get there early and just hang out + relax. Just sitting or walking around the area for a while without worrying really works to calm the nerves and get in the zone. It's good to remember that nervous and unsettled != aggression. Being able to push yourself with purpose is where you want to be. It's difficult to adjust in the moment if my head isn't clear.

Right now I'm leaning towards a lot of caffeine being a good thing, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

- Andrew

I have tried to the caffeine thing as well (a Red Bull before the race). Not sure either, although it does wake me up a bit. But, mostly just makes me have to pee a lot

Originally Posted by Jyn

For circuits, using the straights to take deep breaths. Our cars are slow enough, so there should be plenty of time.
...

lol so true. Seems like it takes forever to just hit 105mph...I could make a sandwich, phone call, etc...

[justinco]

Originally Posted by FirstWinter

...
As others have noted. Remember ABC - Always Be Comfortable. It's usually damn hot at the track so stay in the shade, hydrated, etc.

Had not heard the ABC acronym before, good way to remember! It is so easy to get heat exhaustion, or headaches as I've experienced I remember a hot track day last year (in my e36) and I had to skip the last session because of a bad headache from the heat/sun. No way I had the focus or awareness to take it safely to the track.

[strat61caster]

For me I need to work on physical fitness, my health sucks right now and I think it's holding me back. Yes you can be out of shape and in poor health and drive wicked fast, I'd say many amateurs are not in great shape. But it's so much easier when you can hop out of a car bright eyed and bushy tailed and stay on top of things.

Meditation can pay dividends I think.
I'll be a believer in a good night's rest when I finally get one before an event (which will probably happen when the health starts improving) :P


I really like this explanation on meditation compared to the dozens of others I've seen. It finally makes sense to me what you're supposed to do and how you don't actually suck at meditating, it's hard and when you start to get it, even just a little, it feels good and it should help in all areas of life. Having a clear head is imperative to improving.