Over... and out

19 Feb

No karting for me this week or even the next since my engine is still
undergoing its repair. The long public holidays of Chinese New Year
do not help the cause. But, hey, I had found the positives from it all.
I could rest and really get my ribs to its pain free state, importantly
with the engine repaired it should last me for this year without any
major hitch (fingers and toes crossed!! )

On Sunday, 21 Feb, I may go to Kartright to take a look as I
understand a certain UK driver will be test out with Uncle Yee.
It should be interesting. Perhaps I will bug Uncle Yee for a drive too.

Previously there were some mailers from http://www.appm.co.uk/
talking about driving. Under-driving, Driving on the limit and
Over-driving.

Before I really start, I would like to say there are some do kart
for just the thrill of it. That is to hear the tyres screech and feel
oneself smacking into their seats. Yes, it is fun but painfully slow.

That is mostly due to over-driving, and what I would like to present
you with that first because it is what most of us do when we first
started and when we are in the heat of the race.
Simply put, it is when we 'lost control' of the kart and ourselves.
During the times of over-driving, we just refused to feel or listen
to the kart anymore. Instead of getting faster, the lap times will
just get slower.

Which is why I understood when I did, why others is preaching to
me the old saying 'slow is fast'. It is very tough to understand it
initally, but when you start to have the confidence and the feel of
it you just will get better.

Now, to the Overdriving article from appm.co.uk:

Of all the performance related issues that a driver will face during his career overdriving and to a lesser extent underdriving (which we will cover in our next email) is the one that will crop up time and time again.  It is not just the preserve of the novice, overdriving will visit the professional driver regularly throughout his or her career.

Overdriving, by its very name suggests that one is driving the kart too hard and over the limit.  Examples could be:

·        Braking too late and too hard

·        Entering a corner too quickly

·        Getting on the power too early, or all of these three

When you are overdriving everything feels like it is happening too fast and it's as if the car is getting ahead of you, rather than you being ahead of the car!

Overdriving can create significant losses of time; it can be persistent and cause you to get into a rut; it can be very tiring and it can also mask the handling/balance of the kart, which will lead to poor feedback and ultimately incorrect changes to the kart.  It is generally caused by a driver getting to a point where their times bottom out and they can't (or more correctly, don't know how to) go any faster, so they naturally try harder... and start to go slower.

Overdriving and the 'Zone'

In most things in life the harder we try the better we do but this does not apply to karting.  When we overdrive we get frustrated and start to try and make things happen, this implies that we are driving consciously rather than naturally/instinctively in the Zone. If you refer back to our 4th email in this series you will remember that the Zone is where your Peak Performance resides.

Overdriving and your 'Desire Level'

Over driving is directly related to a driver's 'Desire Level' (desire to be quick) not being matched by their knowledge of how to go faster at that point in time.  At the start of the day the driver may have had a clear plan of how to go quicker and implemented it;  but now other drivers are going quicker than them, they have run out of ideas and in desperation resort to just trying harder. 

 The Cure  

1.      Recognise it - overdriving is so easy to do that many people don't even know they are doing it, so before you can cure it you first need to recognise when you are doing it.  The early signs are usually connected with a feeling of frustration starting to build, shortly followed by the kart starting to get ahead of you (you push harder but don't go any quicker).

2.      Re-focus your Desire - Correctly directed desire is essential if we are going to be quick.  Overdriving is a misdirection of desire into just pushing harder; your desire needs to be focussed away from just trying harder into something that will actually make you quicker.  To do this you will need to:

a)     Analyse carefully where you can make improvements in each corner (see our email on Effective Testing)

b)     Focus all of your desire and effort solely on implementing your corner corrections to the very best of your ability.  This will give your mind something clear to concentrate on which will in turn stop it from wandering and bring you back into the Zone

3.      Keep your focus on your Personal Performance - Don't become distracted by the performance of other competitors; you can only do the best that you can do.  Chasing time will always open the door to overdriving.

4.      Set realistic goals - Goals are essential but if they are unrealistic you are setting yourself up to overdrive from the start.  It's important to make continual small improvements throughout the day rather than striving for rapid big improvements.  Remember your fastest lap should be in your last session of the day.  

Ultimately, controlling overdriving is directly related to self discipline and a structured technique.  Don't ever try and drive faster, only try and drive better.