the perfect driver

[Brian Minkin]

Steve,

Very well said and solid advice. 

Michael,

I do think there is a certain amount of mental preparation that goes into advancing in high speed driving.  To be fast and smooth and consistent you need to be calm and focused before you proceed out of pit lane onto the track. If you are nervous or have fear then the mind moves high speed from thought to thought and you are going to make mistakes on the track. To do this requires mental review of that track, where you want to be on the track, visual markers and driving techniques to put the mind into focus. Its putting your self in the zone so that the mental process of what you are doing comes from the unconscious rather then conscious part of your mind. When this happens the mind flows smoothly and you perform smoothly.  The conscious part of the mind is only called on to react to situations and this decreases reaction time. Perhaps for some people this comes naturally but I know for me it took a lot of mental preparation to overcome the nerves and begin to drive well at speed. I still remember how my mind was racing when the instructor entered my car and we began to proceed out onto the track. I can often tell my students mental speed from their breathing.  Heavy or rapid breathing is a sign of nervousness and mental overload.  For a novice driver I suggest spending the 5 minutes prior to driving to pit out preparing yourself mentally.  Sit in the car, breath slow and deep while doing mental review.  You will know when you are in the zone as your inputs become smooth and you find that you are looking ahead instead of driving point to point. Then it all flows and the speed comes with more and more seat time.

Now that I have written my ZEN thing back to mentally preparing myself for VIR in 2 weeks.