How do all of you maintain your focus during a race? I find that nearly anything can get me out of my rhythm. Being nervous in a race makes me lose entire seconds in my lap times, being wrecked makes me completely lose it, so I start spinning out everywhere, and so on..

I'm looking for ways to remain focused regardless of what happens, and also a solution for being nervous.

I tend to be really focused until something is out of place. To make sure i keep focused everything has to be perfect before i race. Earlier today i spectated midrace from 2nd because i realised my computer was not centered with my wheel.

First of all : you need enough sleep. Proper nutrition is good too, drink water and eat normally. Don't eat or drink a lot of sugar (I've had bad experiences with that). Also, confidence is very important. Sadly, I'm not an alien, and I can lose my concentration easily too.

Well I can only concentrate when its an interesting race, I hate leading because its boring, and I make mistakes. So usually I start from the back on public races, that way I have to push to get a good result, and its more fun. I say, learn to drive well when not concentrating, my best laps are ones I often don't remember.

I'd say you have to be relaxed, not drive with bloodshot eyes and bare teeth showing. :scared:

You can give it all you got hotlapping, but when racing your goal is to finish over multiple laps, that means braking for example a meter/couple feet earlier then you think is latest, be slightly more gentle on the throttle, keep slightly more margin from running off, etc. so you always have a small margin for correction and not spin out. Racing you shouldn't drive on 100% of your abilities all the time, more like racing on 90%.
But once you do that, you'll probably be surprised how your laptimes will still get really low (you'll probably start to drive precise lines that way, and end up being just as fast as in hyper agressive mode) and how consistent you'll be.

Just enjoy and don't get too worked up or worried about the result, less pressure probably means better driving.

Try to focus on the basic things aka braking points, hitting the apex etc one corner at a time. People tend to push their car over the limit under pressure so try to brake on your normal marker instead of trying to push it further. Of course you'll have to be familiar and comfortable with the car and setup so you can concentrate on the more important stuff.
Breathe normally

Practice makes perfect

Quote from Rappa Z :

I tend to be really focused until something is out of place. To make sure i keep focused everything has to be perfect before i race. Earlier today i spectated midrace from 2nd because i realised my computer was not centered with my wheel.

thats me right there i noticed that teh speaker wasnt lined up properly so i stopped and placed it where it should be
I watched on tv about this guys which everything has to perfect in its right place its some kind of dissease so i am trying to overtake it and just ignore where things are ok back to topic

That's some brilliant advice, everyone, it's just what I needed, cheers.

Quote from Wasknijper :

bloodshot eyes and bare teeth showing. :scared:

Lol

I never loose concentration, i'm often on the phone while i'm driving, or even texting while on BL1 Straight, or even on some corners with one hand driving and i still manage to get in the 1:27s, which are my pbs, nothing really puts me off, unless my sister or my dog comes and bites me

Quote from Aiden McGeady :

How do all of you maintain your focus during a race? I find that nearly anything can get me out of my rhythm. Being nervous in a race makes me lose entire seconds in my lap times, being wrecked makes me completely lose it, so I start spinning out everywhere, and so on..

I'm looking for ways to remain focused regardless of what happens, and also a solution for being nervous.

I will pass on some things from the very good Racing book "Speed Secrets" of former Champ Car driver Ross Bentley.

An important thing is to never think about the things that happened up until now, if you make any mistake at any place, forget it immediately, do not continue to think about it, it will make you drive the next corners worse if you think about it, your probably going to make another mistake just by thinking about the last one, just think and concentrate on the present and the next corner.

Do not let the car behind you bother you, and do not let your eyes be reveted on the car infront of you.

Drive and feel like your alone on the Track, completely focus on the Track, see Opponents as just extended parts of the Track.

To reduce nerves in a league race, I would suggest practicing the first lap from the grid with race fuel and setup. If you know your grid position, even better. If you have all your braking points and lines around the corners committed to memory, the first lap should be easier. If possible, try practicing on a public server too, to get used to driving in traffic on the track. The first lap will usually be 'exciting', but thereafter just settle into a rhythm. A consistent driver is often just as effective as a fast driver who loses time when having an off.

I usually meditate a bit before a race. Dont laugh - its an old habit I picked up from my Quake TF days. It helps. Sit somewhere confortable (For me, the bare floor in a lotus position - legs crossed, wrists on knees). Then breathe in slowloy and out slowly. Image all the tension exiting your body when you exhale. After 1-2 mins, you are very relaxed and youll notice that youll stay focused a lot longer. Its great to prevent nervousness from ruining your race.

And yes, the fastest/best laps your ever gonna do are the ones you wont even remember about - like "new PB: XX:XX:XXX" and you go like "whaaa? what did I do different?"

Youll go a lot faster the more relaxed you are. Look at f1 drivers. They spend 3 HOURS driving within the same SECOND. and they arent exactly going slow. They COULD go faster - usually much faster, but they brake just a tad earlier, accelarate just a tad after and more softly, for 2 reasons: Tyre wear AND consistency. Better to loose .1 secs every lap than going off every 10 laps and loosing a couple seconds.

SparkyDave recommended this to me once, I tried it and it really worked:

Press Shift+F. That really helps with concentration - it means you can't get distracted by timing information or messing around with F9-F12 or whatever.

Seriously, try it. It can even make you faster because you won't just "switch off" for certain corners any more - you'll be paying attention the whole lap.

Quote from harjun :

.....unless my sister or my dog comes and bites me

Your sister bites you?

Stay relaxed.

Ease your grip on the wheel. Breathe deeply and evenly. Sit upright and adjust your chair to the correct height relative to your wheel/pedal placement. Try to make all your inputs as smoothly as possible. Remember, gentle-firm.

Don't overdrive. Don't watch your splits. Drive efficiently.

Keep your mind clear. Eliminate distractions. Streamline your thinking.

Ponder the fluidity of your motions.

Smooth. Flowing. Precise.

Floating on a cloud. A whispering breeze.

Time is nothing.



Get there and pole position / fastest lap / race victory is there for the taking.

Don't do hour long weekday evening league races after working 10-12 hours. I hadn't league raced for over a year and ran in the LOTA GTR league recently. Since we are spread out through 3 time zones, it was a late race for me. I could manage half way through, but then was too tired that the concentration fell apart.

As someone said already, race the track, not the opponents. Staring at the guy in front of you is what is called "target fixation." Don't stare at the guy in front, or concentrate on the guy in your mirror. Keep focused up ahead of the track and just keep aware of the other drivers. Get into a rhythm to where you are hitting your marks every time and the laps will flow smoothly.

I agree with the comment, forget about the last mistake. Recover and forget it and focus on what's ahead.

It's just the level of tiredness that gets me. Found out it's impossible for me to run in a league race during the week. It's just too late and I'm too tired. Half way through, I start loosing focus and start thinking about the end and bedtime instead of the race.

Quote from harjun :

Lol

I never loose concentration, i'm often on the phone while i'm driving, or even texting while on BL1 Straight, or even on some corners with one hand driving and i still manage to get in the 1:27s, which are my pbs, nothing really puts me off, unless my sister or my dog comes and bites me

So your saying your sister bites? :P

you would know wouldn't you nsane?

when i know the WR of certain track, when doing some very good laps im always nervouse when trying to get a new pb, i always f*ck them all when in last corner, but when i dont know the wr i really dont care... dont know why...

what jackie stewart told james may when he sucked driving the tvr tuscan on top gear: "You are thinking of your lap time instead of what's coming next. Don't do that"

Actually I prefer not thinking while racing

Yeah not to think about the split times is better... Sometimes I press shift+f so I dont see anything on the screen.

I'd suggest to take a rest of few hours (let's say 3) and then sit behind your wheel 1-2 hours before race, not more then 2 hours, not less then 1 hour and start practicing. And when quali/race comes you have best pace on.

And yeh that quote is great:

"An important thing is to never think about the things that happened up until now, if you make any mistake at any place, forget it immediately, do not continue to think about it, it will make you drive the next corners worse if you think about it, your probably going to make another mistake just by thinking about the last one, just think and concentrate on the present and the next corner.

Do not let the car behind you bother you, and do not let your eyes be reveted on the car infront of you.

Drive and feel like your alone on the Track, completely focus on the Track, see Opponents as just extended parts of the Track."

But don't take it literally, i mean to forget your oppenets, don't hit them or something, just don't let your eyes go on mirrors and back of other car "too much", intend pay attention on your markers.


And also do practice of any possible thing in race:

-hot lap (to learn track)
-long run (with full race length and full fuel, to learn car behavior in any part of stint)
-public racing (to see how to defend of other drivers and where is best place for overtaking)

because "Practice makes perfect"

It takes time to get really ready for league race but it's great feeling when you do great result (do your absolute best)

good post NIKI I've got a league race on tonite; I'll try some of those things.

I tried shift-f'ing earlier, not for me I don't think. I like to see my tyres and what shade of red they are, and how much grass is on each one. I just need to be strong and not look at split times in the middle of high-speed sweepers and chicanes :doh:

I used to have a couple mouthfulls of redbull 10-15 minutes before a race, not so much that you start buzzing but just enough to kinda wake you up a little bit.

Quote from Goop :

good post NIKI I've got a league race on tonite; I'll try some of those things.

I tried shift-f'ing earlier, not for me I don't think. I like to see my tyres and what shade of red they are, and how much grass is on each one. I just need to be strong and not look at split times in the middle of high-speed sweepers and chicanes :doh:

You can switch off split time display under Options/Display/Checkpoint Text