Your Mental Strategies

[speedy king]

I've heard about and read about various drivers different mental strategies in both car and kart racing and wonderdd what 'specialist' ones you use?

I personally when sitting on the grid will close my eyes and visualise lapping the circuit, normally i can get it to within about half a second of the actual time. And depending on where abouts i am on the grid will take a look around at whos where, and whether i have anyone directly behind who could be a risk in to turn one and make an objective of what i must gain in the race. Whether it's to pass a certain amount of people if im near the back or my strategy leading up to the line if on the front row. My favourite being very slow up to the line, pinching the fuel pipe so everyone over oils but i get away clean in to turn one.

One thing i used in the last race though that worked really well was to have earphones in my helmet connected to a mini disk player in my jeans pocket inside my overalls, playing fast up beat music, got the adrenaline pumping and seemed to help me focus better. Does anyone else do that? i know of only one other driver currently that does the same.

It'd be intersting to know if anyone else uses the music theory

[BillyT]

the music bit might tend to be a distraction for me.

I don't really do anything conciously.

[Kidzer]

Speedy, did you have the music on when you were driving?

[speedy king]

Yes, put the ear phones on while on the grid and had the volume set so i could still har it over the engine noise but if the race had to be stopped, or on the grid i could still hear people

[Alex Hodgkinson]

Legend, Speedy!! What happens if it changes to a song you don't like though.. do you go slower?

I listen to music like Prodigy between races sometimes to just keep me pumped up, and I've done so many many laps of the circuits that I race at, visualising them on the grid usually does very little for me.

I like to tell people on the grid directly behind me that I'm "new to this, so my starts will probably be awful" and not to "smack into the back of me." - That's quite good at making them cautious around me into the 1st corner

On the dummy-grid I either stand around later than everyone else in an attempt to make them think "jesus, he's relaxed." Or I get in the kart really early and just relax and channel my focus.

[speedy king]

Originally Posted by Alex Hodgkinson

I like to tell people on the grid directly behind me that I'm "new to this, so my starts will probably be awful" and not to "smack into the back of me." - That's quite good at making them cautious around me into the 1st corner

lol, never thought of that one, probably as in Rotax you get bullied if you say your new to it!

I have prodigy on the mini disk, thats the great thing, 1 its small so dosent get in the way and 2, u pick what you want, so there's no risk of losing 5 places in to one corner and then McFly coming on to rub salt in the wound

[luke]

What I do is, if there's a Grand Prix on I watch part of it, when I'm not racing, so I if I'm every nervous, I can relax, but I don't think I'm nervous anymore, I just think to myself, whilst I'm on the grid what I've got to do and how I'm going to do it and It usually helps.

I've tried before races to visualize the track, which helps being consistent, but like Alex, I like to go to the grid one of the last so, one I can concentrate, and two I don't get all tense, wanting to race, because I'm an impatient one.

[BillyT]

I like to get out as soon as possible because if I'm late for a race and you speed up to get into order its all a bit of a shambles.

[Karting_jenny]

I don't really do anything to prepare for a race. Just sit there looking around and listening to dad.

[Alex Hodgkinson]

Originally Posted by btracer

I like to get out as soon as possible because if I'm late for a race and you speed up to get into order its all a bit of a shambles.

However, it also presents a great oppertunity to "accidentally" take too many places back on the warmup lap...

[#15 tkm 4/]

i dont think your actually allowed to listern to music, or anytype of hearing device's for sprint racing (endurance is ok)

but what i do is i normally just sit in my kart, joke around which loses me the nerves and then i just drive away to a great start :P

[speedy king]

Originally Posted by #15 tkm 4/

i dont think your actually allowed to listern to music, or anytype of hearing device's for sprint racing (endurance is ok)

Ooooook, i never listen to music really.....

This thread will distruct in 8 seconds...

[Mr Jinxx]

One rather maverick karter, in a Super One final, put a bicycle bell on his kart on the grid. It outpsyched a few of his more earnest competitors

[speedy king]

lmao! Who was that? Was it very recent?

[hgmonaro]

I've seen a bike horn on a kart (one you squeeze the bulb) but that wasn't a race meet.. was pretty funny though. As for the music, I always liked to hear the karts around you, saved having to look for them and if someone stuffed it underneath you you had half a chance of avoiding contact just by hearing them rather than actually seeing them which was always too late (by that stage they've already 'podded you), and it's usually the guy on the outside that comes off worse! I raced before they made ear-plugs mandatory for us so I don't know how that would have affected my drive by sound technique, n ot that I ever got passed anyway

[MikeyG]

I listen to stuff like Muse, Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd, Prodigy, loads of stuff. A lot of Really Heavy Metal just before a race, to get me psyced up. It works, the races I've done against Speedy King up there that I won have been after listening to Limp Bizkit and stuff like that! It really works. Try it.

[BillyT]

So what do you race Mikey and Where?

[MikeyG]

Nowhere yet. Race 125 ICC, but only 15 so testing at Kimbolten this year. Gearbox are awesome, evryone should try it.

[ghinzani]

I like to sit on the grid eating something unhealthy, which psyches out all the rest of the Rotax 177 fat boys!!
plus a nice trail of burger grease means the quick boys in normal (unhealthy!) weight Rotax slide off before they lap you ....

[Alex Hodgkinson]

MikeyG, when are you 16?

If go to woodthorpe (about 40 miles North of Kimbolton) I'm sure they'll let you run in the 125 class there as it's a non-msa club and I can put a word in

It'll be good for you cus you'll get some track time with other drivers in.

Yup it is great. Got back in a 100 a few weeks ago n it felt wierd. NO acceleration or top speed, n mad corner speed

[BillyT]

I was and still am quite shocked by the acceleration of a 100 so gearbox must be maaaad.

[Rockmunky]

Whilst im still looking around for categories to race in, quite late starting being 15 years old but wanted to start for ages etc but I know what my main thing will be; listening to bands such as Slayer, cannaile corpse, metallica, megadeth etc I've always assumed that fast music may make me faster as a result...

[crgmichael]

funny enough i was never nervice even for my first race and i took the regulars off the track but i have been driving since i was eight with a homemade kart and a yamha 80 engine on then yamaha 100 which was animal quick a bike(honda 50) and a suzuki ltf160 quad i was that long trying to get in to karts and the struggles for the past five years i was just glad to be racing (o yea also had some kind of kart that was a little bigger than a cadet but smaller than a homologated 100 chassis with a jica bolted on and retal tyres(great fun for drifting)

[Flatspot]

I just sit calmly on the grid, check out the pit babes and repeat to myself "second place is just the first loser, second place is just the first loser".

Works for me.

[#15 tkm 4/]

pit babes!? thats amazing all we get here a greasy old men eating burgers.

When im on the grid, i calmly just sit there, doing nothing at all, keeping myself to myself and then when we pull away i know that everything is right.

Before i go out i normally eat apple pies and listern to bands like billy talent etc.



MMmm pie....