Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/501675
become tired of being poised, but can't will yourself to let go. Fatigue itself is a snowballing mecha- nism: Tired muscles contract themselves involuntarily and thus use still more energy, generating more fatigue in the uncontrolled effort. Fatigue focuses concentration on your body. If your attention is on your body, then it is not on your driving. 10. Learn to Make Mistakes Mistakes are not just golden oppor- tunities for learning. They are, in an important sense, the primary opportu- nity for learning something truly new. When you're on track, pre-plan three different potential "mistakes" for the same corner. Run the exer- cise for five successive laps and then evaluate immediately thereafter. A mistake does not become a failure until you refuse to admit it and cor- rect it. The secret is knowing when and how to make mistakes so that nobody gets hurt and you can learn from the experience. 11. Don't Be Resistant to Change Our society tends to be expert-cen- tric, and experts do not make mistakes. Perpetuating that is the attitude that success is driven by self-image, requiring us to be experts rather than learners. There's nothing worse than failing around, trying to fx something you don't comprehend. You'll only make things worse. Admitting you need help and asking for it often requires more courage than trying to do it on your own. The most important lesson of all is to trust that mistakes are inevitable, but that you can constantly challenge yourself to improve. 12. Be in the Zone When you're in the zone, effort is opti- mized, not overstressed, and endurance is increased. You're performing "within" yourself. Concentration slows time to allow for confdence, the ultimate tool for getting control of the time sequence. More interesting is what control of the time sequence the movement does for skill. Different arcs or portions of arcs within a sequence of motion can be moved with brilliant results. It is not the gizmo, not the tool, but you, the tool user, that makes the real difference. FEATURE: DRIVING SELF-CRITIQUE , from front- drive econocar to mid-engined exotic, the basics of track driving remain the same.