Read some nice articles from APPM, www.appm.co.uk
and I reckon it is specially useful to me with the new chassis
and stuffs.. so I thought it's good to share it and perhaps
see if there's more we can do than what the article had already
suggested.
One of the most important aspects of winning is effective preparation and this applies to all sports not just motor racing. But in motor racing preparation is probably more important as we have to work with so many variables, the track, the kart and the driver's mental state are just one aspect, you then have to factor in the conditions in which you have to perform; dry, wet and intermediate - each of these needing a separate plan for both driving, mindset and set-up.
Preparation is an area in which many drivers fall down, turning up un-prepared for a test is really not good enough in a sport where the margins between winning and being an also ran are incredibly fine.
1. Review your notes - post-event record keeping is essential and your starting point for any test is to review your notes from when you either raced or tested at that particular circuit the last time
2. Goal - clearly define your goal for the test and communicate it to the team, this will give both of you the direction you need to be effective
3. Driving plan - As discussed in an earlier email "Creating a Driving Plan" you need to create a plan which details which areas you will you focus on in each corner, remember you need a separate plan for dry, wet and intermediate conditions
4. Set-up plan - prepare with your engineer / mechanic a structured plan of kart and driver development for dry, wet and intermediate conditions, so that whatever the day you will have an effective days testing
5. Mind management - run through issues that may distract you from focussing on your performance and detail how you will manage them. Examples of distractions could be:
- Negative thinking about your performance
- Worrying about the performance of your kart
- Worrying about the performance of other drivers
- Losing concentration and starting to over drive, etc., etc.
6. Visualise laps - once you are clear on your plan it is now time for you to visualise laps of you driving perfectly in dry, wet and intermediate conditions
As part of your commitment to constantly improve your personal performance and the performance of your kart it is essential that you carefully review both of these areas after each and every test.
The end of a day's testing should be the start of an in-depth process of analysing of how you and your kart have performed so that you can clearly identify areas where you have performed better and areas where there is still improvement to come.
As with all things in karting it is important that you are structured in how you go about this:
1. Start the next day - It is always best to wait until the day following a test to de-brief yourself as your mind will be fresher and your thought process clearer
2. Have all relevant information to hand - This should include your lapping log, the record of changes made, any notes you made on the day and your data
3. Review your personal driving performance - Go through each corner in turn and review what you did that worked and areas that you know you need to improve
4. How were you mentally? - Did you maintain your concentration throughout the day, were you able to focus 100% on your driving performance (in the Zone) or were you distracted by such things as times, handling issues or other drivers?
5. How did your car perform? - You need to review all of the changes that were made to the kart and be clear on what worked and what didn't and how the kart can be made even better the next time you drive it
6. Conclusions - There is no point undertaking any form of analysis unless it leads to clear and concise conclusions and an action plan that will be used to carry you and the kart forward into the next test or race
No comments:
Post a Comment