Overtaking - Who are ya?

If you are struggling with making decisive moves, you are hesitating/thinking when instinct should take over. You need to understand who you want to be on track, and how!

Hi, welcome to the Terence Dove On Racing Drivers newsletter. Every week I'm aiming to give you a mix of driving technique and new perspectives to keep you fired up in the most worthy pursuit in the world; being a racing driver.

Learn the nuts and bolts of kart driving excellence in my book, then come here for the optional extras!

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Now let’s get into overtaking!

Choose from the overtakers in the pack you think fit you best, whichever sets you off the most!

Lack of clarity, misalignment of their purpose and the situation. That's what causes drivers to say to themselves ‘hold on a moment’ right at the decisive time.

And that's all it takes, a millisecond of indecision, and the chance to pass is gone.

This happens for two different reasons:

1. Physical unpreparedness. Lack of confidence in your skills because you lack confidence in what you can do, or you simply don't have the skills ready.

2. Psychological/sociological. You don't want to create problems with other drivers and doing so plays on your mind.

Skills (and confidence in those skills) is pretty easy to solve. It's all in my book and in the braking articles I've done. You learn the right stuff and practice it correctly. Sorted.

What isn't so straightforward is the second of those points. The mindset stuff…

How to get started with finding an overtaking mindset that you can vibe with.

Now, I don't believe there is a one size fits all approach to this. Like a warrior mindset we should all adopt, or a grind mindset or whatever.

But, I do think it's helpful to come up with a few archetypes of ‘overtakers’ that you can choose between, or mix and match, to help you decide exactly how you want to approach your racing.

If you can create a picture of how you want to do things, and why, then you can start making overtaking decisions that you believe in.

When you have that, hesitations disappear because there are no longer internal conflicts messing you up. You know what you are trying to be and what you are trying to do - they align with each other and things just happen, harmoniously.

So here is my selection pack of overtaking types who get the job done in different ways. These are all based on real drivers, I might take some heat if they suss out who they are!

Use these as inspiration to make your own model of the ideal overtaker, and set about making it real.

The Monster

Cards on the table, this is my favourite. The monster is the all in driver. And that means all in, every lap, every opportunity. No thought, no decisions, just go in.

You cannot defend from the monster, you cannot negotiate with the monster. If you do defend the inside, the monster is on the grass and will pass you.

The monster is like the original definition of the genius, possessed by a force of nature. There's no stopping it, and they can't help themselves, they are pure racing.

This means they make spectacular moves you can't believe, take risks you can't believe and crash a lot.

If the monster model appeals to you and is the one you feel you should be, then you have to come to terms with the fact you will drive people insane. You will upset drivers and everyone there with you. If that's who you are, then prepare for the consequences and do it fully. Make your decision and go be yourself, you lunatic!

The Strategist

The strategist picks their moves carefully, and generally knows exactly where they will strike before they even sit in the kart.

They understand the risk/benefit of every move on offer, and they weigh up every move accordingly. They are capable of spectacular moves, but only deploy desperate moves if the situation explicitly calls for it, which is rarely.

When you watch a strategist race, it's like watching a hyper competent professional at work. Everybody loves working with the strategist because they don't do anything stupid.

If you are the strategist type, then you have to understand that to execute your plans takes commitment. When you have a plan to win, you have to follow through. Being the strategist still requires courage and bravery.

The downside to the strategist model? It's easy to kid yourself that you were being strategic backing out of a move, when in fact, you were just using it as an excuse to stay comfortable. Don't let that happen if you choose this route.

The Negotiator

The negotiator is a smooth operator. This is the driver who will work with you, push you along the straight and even wait patiently behind you if your pace is good. The negotiator will help you, in return for your help…and you can both advance together through the pack.

At some point the negotiator has helped most of the quick drivers, and is owed favours by everyone. The very skilled negotiator is able to stab drivers in the back in the last lap though, and somehow get away with it!

If you are very socially skilled and able to manipulate other drivers into feeling you are with them (may or may not be true, doesn't matter) then the negotiator might be your way.

The pitfalls are similar to those of the strategist. It's easy to be the negotiator and neglect the part where you have to betray your ‘buddies’ on track, usually on the last lap.

You still have to do the business when the time comes and you need to carry that thought with you always.

The Stalker

These are the drivers who choose how to execute their prey according to their weaknesses. When you are being followed by the stalker you feel like they are watching every little nuance of your driving for a weakness, which they will exploit when they decide to. That's because that’s exactly what they are up to.

They tend to make very clean moves, in very odd places that don't make sense. They can mess with drivers, a few very gentle nudges or feints that apply pressure and force mistakes, then bang they pounce. Sometimes they look like they are playing with their prey, a bit like cats do!

If you are a very thoughtful driver, and also one who likes to mess with people's minds to your advantage this could be you.

Where the stalker can fall foul of their approach is waiting. They like to wait for their opponent to reveal that weakness, very often for far too long. So if you are a stalker you have to do your homework and know your opponents in advance. Don't wait for the race, study them ahead of time and know what you'll do to them.

The Trickster

These guys are meticulous planners, schemers and manipulators. The trickster is probably thinking about how they will mess with your mind right now! They want to distract you, confuse you and lay traps for you to fall into.

When it comes to overtaking, the trickster will do all kinds of stuff. They might say something to you on the grid that makes you say to yourself ‘eh? What was that all about?’…. But it plays on your mind, and you only twig what they meant when they go past you where they implied they would.

If you enjoy the wider aspects of racing and experimenting with humans like they are in your lab, then this might be the way for you to go. When you make your devious plans, then you will feel extra committed to making them happen on track.

The trickster, I don't think, is any more effective than they would be without the evil plans, but they thrive on it and enjoy the added motivation and satisfaction they get from seeing things fall into place.

Or you can just qualify in pole every race and disappear off into the distance!

But where’s the fun in that???

Thanks for reading…

Terence