Usually, we feel at times negative emotions at home, work, school, etc perhaps someone said something we don't like and that feeling remains on our minds for a while even as we work but we can manage it and not let it make the quality of our work lesser; we are still able to get the job done.
However, on the track many riders are unable to use their regular strategy of letting go of negative emotions it feels as if everything on the track has been enhanced and made faster, which only gives more strength to the destructive emotions.
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At school work or home, we may be angry or tired and even if we do not feel like doing the task we do it. Still, on the track our mentality can determine where we end up in the race the reason being the very high-paced nature of racing, the high stress and mentally taxing nature of racing.
A lot of racing is mental, and new riders often don't know about this aspect. While in the race, it is often harder to control emotional thoughts due to the total immersion of our conscious mind in controlling the bike.
The very first time I encountered this strange mental aspect of racing was during a track session at the Madras International Track. I wasn't making as much progress as I wanted to and sitting in the paddock all I had was a single thought which was to go faster and get a higher position for the next session.
I was quite frustrated and a bit angry that I was not meeting my expectations. Then on the next track session, I started to push hard and be more aggressive trying with all my effort to gain wherever time I could in every straight and corner of the track, it felt so hard to navigate corners, and my downshifts were rough, my lines were not smooth but mentally I felt as if I had given it my all and after all that effort I put in the session I would see a significant improvement in my time.
That was not the case. When I came back to the paddock not only was I the most mentally exhausted with stiff arms after a session, but I realized I had in fact lost 3 positions from my previous session and my lap times were much slower!
This was very strange since I felt I gave my all and throughout the session, I rode much more aggressively and pushed harder. So I asked my coach telling him about my strange problem. I was expecting him to teach me some new line for a particular corner or a new reference marker but he correctly saw the frustration in my face as I told him what had happened and instead told me to relax and be calm.
I went and sat down thinking back to what he said and I gave out a deep breath, and just started to remember happy moments in my racing journey such as my first track session, the first time I overtook another rider, and more which made me relax and calm. I also did some long exhales which definitely calmed me down so there I was relaxed and literally smiling waiting for the next session.
I had not changed the goals for the session. I still wanted to get a faster lap time and get a higher position: the goal was still the exact same as it was the last session. This session I got on the bike happily, smiling, and rode into the track.
Throughout the session I felt positive, my mind was calm and physically fully immersed in the track and strangely my lines were much smoother, I was able to downshift cleanly, and I had no issues with any corners. This was a session that I truly had fun and enjoyed, reminding me how much I love the track.
Coming back to the paddock the only feeling I had on that session was fun and happiness and I did not necessarily feel like I performed better or faster unlike my previous session, but i was pleasantly surprised seeing that I had climbed 4 positions up and I had much faster lap times even though I didn't feel as if I overextended myself like before!
Apologies for the long anecdote, but the reason I am telling you guys this is because I want to deeply emphasize the importance of mentality and attitude in racing.
This is the type of advice that you won't find in any track day guide, or some "top 5 ways to increase lap times" post, and this advice certainly won't seem as alluring as how to do a knee down or get that perfect lean angle for an epic Instagram story, this advice is dull and bland in comparison to that, but if you have read so far you understand that becoming better isn't always as glamourous as Instagram makes it seem to be, but this is the way, and like you saw my story above how such a seemingly insignificant small change in my attitude can make or break you.
So new riders always keep in mind to have a positive outlook and not to be stressed or anxious where it is often amplified in high demand situations such as the track, and to never overlook the outlook you have on the track, doing this will take you far in your racing journey.
Let me know if you have anything about racing, track days, or more, and I'll respond immediately if you would like us to cover any topic on your mind, let us know in the comment below, and I'll see you guys next Thursday!
Faster. Better. Safer
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