PLEASE READ THIS - THE ART OF FORGETTING

[WHITTLER555]

I have just read this on FB, it is by a guy called Randy Pike (no joke!) a racer in America and he speaks more sense in one article than can ever be explained at a drivers briefing.

Please read it before you go to your next race, whatever and wherever that may be.

The Art of Forgetting

If you go into nearly any form of competitive racing and look at the top drivers in their field, you will find that 99.9% of them are all experts at the “Art of forgetting.” What do I mean by this? Well let me explain a bit. I was at the track at a race recently and someone walked up to me and asked “How does RACER X recover so quickly and get right back on pace after that huge mistake?” My response was somewhat of an inside joke… I said he’s already forgotten about that mistake, he has the memory of a goldfish (yes this is a joke). This may or may not be true but if you can manage your short term memory and prioritize a mistake for a “think about it later” moment you will go faster if you make a mistake.

I practice this myself. I literally mean practice because there are times where this technique simply doesn’t work. This is often the case when you’ve had “help” with your error or mistake. I’m pretty good about this if I make my own mistake, but trust me it’s taken time. Watch the top pro guys at your track, they seem to get right back to full race pace. They don’t overly push or try to make up for that mistake. If you make a 2 second mistake and you’re already rotating around the track at Tq pace laps, do you really think you can sneak 2 seconds out of a hero lap? No, you can’t. The top pro guys know this. They’re patient; they work the track over for 10 laps if they made a 2 second mistake pushing for an extra tenth or two per lap. It’s that patience and art of forgetting that allows them to compartmentalize that mistake for later review.

Mistakes are likely and at times just part of the race. Whether you make them yourselves, or you’re in a class that is dicey and filled with close and fast competition. If you make a mistake, forget about it as quick as you can, move on. Don’t dwell on it during a race; you don’t have time for that. If you’re thinking about the mistake on the last lap, you’re not focusing on the current lap, and you will likely make another mistake.

So learn the “Art of forgetting” and practice it. This goes for qualifying and racing, anytime you’re on the clock. Some of the biggest races are doing the fastest consecutive 3 laps to seed you in qualifying such as the Reedy Race of Champions which is happening nw. This “art” always applies.

My last bit of advice; be a good clean racer. We’re all racing for the win; we’re all racing for the enjoyment and fun of it. If you get into someone, do the right thing and give them the spot back, even if this costs you 4 spots in return. Sportsman ship is like Karma, it will come back to. We all have made a pass that we thought our car would fit into the space of, and it didn’t. So make it right, you’re fellow racers will appreciate it now, and remember it later when the rolls are reversed. Trust me.

[Moss Models]

Sage advice

[stuey]

Any tips for race jitters? I can always drive more fluidly in practice, sometimes in a race that goes and I get tentative.

[WHITTLER555]

Originally Posted by stuey

Any tips for race jitters? I can always drive more fluidly in practice, sometimes in a race that goes and I get tentative.

Try and get two practice laps in before the start of the race to dial yourself in to the car and track.

I guess the trick is to pretend it's still practice and tell yourself it's not the be all and end all if you don't win the heat.

I always set out to do the full five minutes without making a mistake, even though it's tricky I would rather run a clean race at a slightly slower pace than run at 110% and crash three or four times.

The less you rely on a Marshall the better!

[stuey]

Good advice thanks. I should know better at my age! Maybe I can get some of my mojo back, only racing for a bit of fun nowadays. Always nice to perform to your best though :-)

[danDanEFC]

Great article, loads of good stuff on his site.

The tip I like best was from Adam Drake, 'try and make your last 3 practise laps clean laps. They dont have to be your quickest just nice and clean. If you make a mistake start again, then when you have done 3 clean laps walk off the rostrum'