Avoid Displaying 3 Signs of Racing Weaknesses

And I'll give you the exceptions that are used to justify them, then end with how weakness can deliver your great potential as a racing driver.

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Here are three signs of weakness that drivers display, usually feeling that they are in fact triumphs. Following each I’ll include the exceptions that prove the rule to save you the trouble of giving me a load of grief in response!

Looking behind

This one is commonly understood, and lots of reasons are given as to why you shouldn’t do it. But the most important one is that it’s like raising a great big white flag and screaming at the top of your lungs ‘please pass me I’m tired of this’.

Now you might feel like you are saying ‘I’m watching you, be warned’ but really you are acting like a panicking little prey animal scanning around for the next big threat.

The best advice I can give if you are doing this looking behind is to admit it, and seek the source of your panic. Then with that understanding endeavour to upskill in the relevant domain. Here’s a few examples:

Are you scared of being beaten? Are you scared of being hit? Are you scared of other drivers and want them to understand you aren’t a threat?

If you aren’t scared and its really just a habit, you are inviting a lunge from a driver behind who is tired of you failing to concentrate.

Find out what it is and fix it. I’ll give you some example solutions to the above example reasons.

Scared of being beaten. What’s the point of fearing the inevitable? In racing you will be passed, especially in karting when the slipstream is so powerful. Learn how to handle it correctly.

Scared of being hit. Occasionally you are going to be hit, avoiding it is best done by not racing at all. Consider what racing actually is, come to terms with the risks involved.

The exception - Healthy looking behind.

If you are leading and you have a gap and you are wondering how much you can adjust your pace according to your strategy, you may take advantage from understanding where the others are. Notice that I’m talking about leading and strategy; terms without any fearful connotations.

Going to the outside to overtake and at starts.

I’ll blame aero in F1 for some of this because it seems nobody needs to overtake properly anymore in that particular class of racing, and drivers will see a lot of outside moves and try to copy them.

But if you are going for moves on the outside in karting you are really asking for trouble and displaying a great deal of weakness. This is weakness because you are avoiding taking the high ground; you are avoiding domination of your opponent and taking the strong position. Mostly you are avoiding conflict with your opponent over territory - the inside line.

When a driver is defending the inside line there is a lovely big safe space on the outside which, to a driver feeling vulnerable, is irresistible. However, of course, that safe space becomes very unsafe after the apex so you end up backing out or taking to the grass to avoid being forced off the track.

If you are taking the outside option from weakness then admit it and focus on building your confidence and relishing the good fight for the inside line.

The exception - Going all in cognisant of the risks.

You will see drivers who go all-in with outside moves but for different reasons to the above. The reasoning is usually that they are ready to roll the dice and are truly going to send it. The difference here is on display with the wildness of the move they make. A fearful driver going outside at the start just wants to be out of the way, a driver who is the exception will launch the kart ridiculously deep into the braking zone trying to steal ten places, knowing they will be in trouble pretty soon but hoping to keep eight of those places after the ensuing carnage. They are willing to be part of that carnage, and that’s the risk they accept happily.

Cutback overtaking moves

This is similar to going to the outside. When you are not willing to fight over territory and prefer to step back from conflict, you may find yourself planning a cutback move. That’s fine except when you use this decision to justify not taking the inside move that’s clearly available.

Cutback moves are comfortable because you feel like you have lots of nice space to play with and that you are using intelligence to outsmart the other guys. However, when cutbacks are chosen from a position of weakness it often means the door is left wide open to the following drivers who simply dive to your inside. Then you find yourself going backwards.

The exception - In the heat of battle where you are trying everything

Cutback moves happen all the time between drivers who are fighting tooth and nail, trying every move possible to win. That’s when cutbacks are totally fine, when they are just a small part of a driver’s arsenal.

What to do if this is you - Good News…

These displays of weakness are not fatal if you notice them with honesty and seek to sublimate them into powerful strengths of yours. If you get into the habit of identifying your weaknesses and turn them into strengths you’ll become unbeatable in time.

Ironically drivers who don’t have such weakness have a fatal flaw. They fail to develop a habit of overcoming which makes them vulnerable down the line.

So take heart, you are in fact in the right position to become a GREAT driver.

All the best

Terence