[Tireman]

Wow, great topic George, thanks for starting it.

At the risk of sounding either repetitive, or boring, or both, my "routine" consists of much of what's been already written. In my own words though....

I'm usually suited up way early in the day. I hate rushing to get ready, I feel it takes away from proper focus and concentration on the upcoming task at hand. So, the night before, I get my tearoffs mounted, or clean them off if still usable, and if it's going to rain, put on my "rain shield" which is nothing more than an older shield that's seen better sunny days. All my gear for the next day is checked over and laid out in the order I'll need it.

The next morning I'll suit up early, sometimes in the hotel if it's close by, saving a little bit of time . If my car isn't being used by someone else in a group prior to mine, I usually go and get as much set up in the car as possible.

I first check over the car (control arms, tires, front and rear wings, gas cap, steering wheel clip, look for leaks, bounce on the corners). When satisfied all is well (if not, I of course notify a mechanic), I check that my seat is in the proper notch, put in my insert, then climb in to see if the pedals are a good fit for me. If not, and if the mechanics aren't occupied with the race going on, I'll get the pedal adjustment out of the way.

Next, I'll put my lap timer on the windscreen, and tape the edges down. When it is actually time to climb aboard, my earbuds go on, head sock, helmet and hans, all before getting into the car. My gloves are laid out palms down, un-Velcroed, on their respective sides of the car. After climbing in, I get the belts all cinched down as tight as possible. Being "of proper stature" as Phil Lombardi would say, I don't have a lot of meat on my bones to keep those belts tight sometimes. Every movement at a place like Lime Rock seems to loosen things up a bit, especially the right shoulder belt over the Hans. So, I cross the left and right when buckling in. (It helps somewhat but I really need a newer Hans with the higher sides that help stop the belts from sliding off). Tighter, tighter, tighter. Then, one more check on the pedals, just in case.

All along, leading up to, and then when in the car waiting, I'm focusing, like Gerado, on what I want to do. (What I really want to do is drive as good as Gerado, but that's not going to happen anytime soon). However, I do concentrate on where I think my strong and weak points are, corner by corner and run through some scenarios in my mind. Again, like Gerado, I don't think about the end result, per se. I too think about having fun, and as my buddy Bill Shields and I always say to each other every race weekend, how fortunate are we that we can do this, not from a monetary point of view mind you, but we are mindful of the fact that (especially at our "Grand Masters" age) we are experiencing what only a few folks get to enjoy.

And that's my routine and I'm sticking to it.

Viz