Technique Talk #4: Pay Attention

[rslonaker]

Tips for Improving

For this month I want to focus on paying attention. So many of us drive in a reactionary state of mind. Preparing for all the things that may get thrown our way, the sudden slide in the downhill, or the locked brake in big bend. If you stop to think about it, just about everything that happens to you while on track (barring outside influences like other drivers) is a result of your input in the first place. That oversteer didn’t just happen, it was a direct response to something the driver did with the controls. Sure a car may be prone to a certain handling characteristic, but the driver still has the greatest influence on what happens once the car moves from it’s parking space.

So pay attention to what you are doing with the controls. Be aware of any sudden reactionary movement you happen to make and see what the result is. Better still, have a plan for each lap and each corner. If you start off slowly (warm up laps) and notice the amount of control inputs (steering, throttle and brake) that you use, you will develop a pattern for each corner - brake on at the 4 board, turn in at the 2 board, balanced throttle on the way to the apex, etc. It then becomes your job to repeat that pattern over and over for each corner and ultimately, for the entire lap. Going faster then becomes a process of pushing the gas and brake a little harder each lap. Don’t let the pattern change just because you are using more pedal. Strive for consistency and repeatability. You know what corner is next, (at least I would hope) so the plan of action should stay the same and the pattern should not change. This approach takes some real concentration but it does make the driving more focused and it becomes a proactive action rather than a reactive one.

The neat part is you can apply this kind of conscious driving to the street as well. Turn off the cell phone and radio and really pay attention to what you are doing. If you have a regular commute route try developing a pattern for it and see how repeatable you can become. Obviously traffic will affect your pattern but so will race traffic affect your lap. The good news is, if you practice this long enough, the pattern becomes a subconscious effort and this frees up mental space to focus on dealing with traffic and other things that may happen.

It is so easy to assign our driving time to accomplishing other tasks, but we really are doing something quite important when we are piloting our 3500lb steel and plastic box at 65 mph. Take the time to pay attention on your daily drive, and see if it doesn’t help your next time on the track.

Next - Technique Talk #5 - Consistency