This week I am going to tackle one of the most argued forms of mental training, Sim Racing.
First, let's explain what Sim Racing is. Sim Racing is not your Need For Speed or NASCAR Thunder games, it is professional simulators such as rFactor, NASCAR 2003 by Papyrus, and of course iRacing. It is also extremely important to have a good solid racing wheel for your setup, a gamepad of keyboard will not help you.
Sim Racing is a great tool for a few reasons, the obvious being hand eye coordination. There is no easier way to train your eyes and hands than firing up the simulator and running for a few hours. You will instinctively begin to develop better reflexes as well too.
More importantly though, Sim Racing is a great way to develop your racing sub-concious. What I mean by that is, in endurance racing especially, a lot of the key to running fast and concistent laps is to get into your zone and stop thinking about what you are doing. That is when your sub-concious kicks in and the car becomes one with yourself. Much in the same way that Ayrton Senna explained his legendary qualifying lap in Monaco in 1988, though that is an extreme example.
What I like to do is get on one of my favorite simulators and run a long distance race, I'll then practice getting into my sub-concious as quickly as possible. At that point you begin to make less mistakes, stop questioning your moves before you make them, and be more impulsive. When you over think moves before you make them, you can sometimes miss your chance or go for the move too late. It is very important to make those decisions in a split second, which can't be done with the concious mind. When you are developing your ability to get into your sub-concious, you are also developing your instincts. While specific moves, lines and handling characteristics may not be 100% realistic in Sim Racing, your racing instincts carry over completely.
The key is getting to a point where the race on your computer is real to your mind, there is a moment where your environment dissapears and you become one with the steering wheel and monitor, much in the same way that you become one with your racecar. To your sub-concious mind, there is no difference.
Craig
