How to go faster...without throwing it into the trees

[Glenn]

Guys,

This is probably my favourite subject to have a good discussion about, so I thought I might kick one off here. I'd like to keep it fairly light-hearted, but also try to gather some of the wisdom that we have collectively that may benefit everyone.

There's so many aspects to going faster (experience, psychology, teamwork, preparation, modifications....) so I don't want to constrain us regarding the topics, just let rip! If you don't agree with something, let us know, but give a reason....and always play the ball, not the man :)

I'm really keen on making the Excel series the best option for people to develop as rally drivers/navs and team members in general. The forum is a huge part of it. The Rally Drive sponsorship in Vic is awesome, the test days we're trying to get going in NSW will also be good too......and this discussion might help.

So, anyone care to share their "secrets"?

Cheers

Glenn

[Glenn]

OK, I'll start with a really simple one.....Red Bull, V, etc!

I'm being completely serious here too. Concentration is such an important thing in rallying.

I reckon that when I'm feeling a bit tired (which happens in every rally) that an energy drink is worth a lot in terms of speed.

Don't have too many though! 3 cans max I reckon......and it really should be limited to 2.

[ae86trueno]

Yep ill agree with Glenn here, V is good !! only up until recently i used to struggle driving late at night, but since i started taking a V before the night stages and then during, i have improved heaps.

Spend as much as you can on tyres and suspension, if your car is handling like a pig your not going to have fun,

Start doing club events as young as you can, so that way you know how to handle a car,

Nav for an experienced driver first, I think thats one of the reasons why Mathew is so quick straight off the bat, It took me ages to learn to drive quick, It wasnt until i got in a car with someone else i realised ahh thats how you do it.

ben.

[Andrei]

Not sure if my advice on what sort of vodka can you drink the night before rally will be of any use :rofl:
Very important aspect for me though... Some of them don't give you light head and clear mind in the morning...
Just kidding - we are not supposed to drink before competition, are we? :slap:

[dazzler]

One of the quick canberra drivers of the eighties taught me and he He summed it up in four things;

1. Plan every corner (see 2) and talk it through in your mind.
- Brake near that rut, back to 2nd, Left wheel will go near that tree, drift over to that bank and then accelerate up to third etc etc for every single part of the course.

2. Look as far down the road as you can see and leave whats directly in front of you to your peripheral vision (this needs to be developed on the open road every time you drive).

3. Smoothness is next to godliness. Smooth and rythmic. (that could work at home as well). When you have a rythm the brain seems to know what is going on a little easier.

4. Brakes, brakes and brakes. Learn to brake big time. Find a large dirt area and set up some witches hats and learn to stop as fast as you can and what the car does when you do it. Also instal a hydraulic handbrake that is very close to the gearstick so you can use it get the car around very quick (not only hairpins but if you are coming in hot)

The only thing that I learned is its really hard to catch up lost time and its better to look at the whole picture (series) rather than just that rally. So if you stick it off and lose 3min, dont panic but relax and get back to 3:)

And tell your nav that he is in control and to tell you to calm it if he thinks your being stupid. Navs are like wives, happy when things are going well but will soon enough smack u up the head when the mist decends.:slap:

cheers

dazzler

[KBrallying]

Preparation, communication, planning and fitness.

As some of you know I used to ride nav at the sheepstations end of the field overseas, and the level of planning and preparation we would do before every event was incredible. Everything would be put on paper, there would be detailed movement schedules that detailed exactly how each team member and each peice of equipment would get to the rally (and back again), we would visit the area that each rally was being held in several months prior and check out the hotels, service areas, traffic conditions etc - we would meet with the organisors to let them know of our needs for things like space at service parks etc - it was all part of the job, and part of our preparation - a typical rally would see me typing up between 80 - 150 pages of information - not everyone got the whole lot, but most crew members would receive at least two different books from me that would be comb bound - one for pre and post event and one for one the event.

Communication - make sure that everyone knows exactly what is going on, what is planned, etc etc - hold a pre rally team meeting/briefing the night before to make sure that everyone is on the same page - give everyone a written copy of the service plan, a summary of all of the key points of the rally - start time, distances, car number etc - then tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you have just told them - and then ask if there is any questions.

Be fit - there is no such thing as too fit - and fitness covers both physical and mental fitness. Hire a personal trainer.

Keep records - how many of you have made notes from Bega this year on the weather, road conditions, tyre wear, tread pattern suitability, what worked, what didn't, whether the accomodation was suitable etc etc.

And get the best possible nav that you can - a nav may or may not win the event for you, but they sure can lose it for you!

[Glenn]

Great stuff...keep it coming.

Focus.

This is related to Dazzlers comments about planning the corner and looking as far down the road as possible.....but in order to do this on every single corner you need to be focussed. You need to banish all other thoughts and just think about how to get around the next corner in the fastest and safest possible way. Kent's comments about organisation also help here as you won't be worried about what is going on in the team....you can just concentrate on driving.

Lately I've been trying some meditiation style techniques to get me "in the zone" (as Haggers would say) before each stage. It seems to be working for me at least.

You usually have a couple of minutes to yourself whilst the Nav is up at the table and you're waiting at the yellow boards. I try to concentrate on my breathing and focus on something on the car in front or on the graound and completely clear my thoughts. Then you need to make sure you snap out of it before the start....the Dalai Lama is a great bloke, but I reckon he'd be a crap rally driver :)

I then have a few thoughts about the stage ahead and get into an aggressive frame of mind....but still focussed on driving and listening.

An important skill is realising when you've lost focus and getting back on it as quickly as possible. There will be times that you realise that you just flowed through the last few set of corners without really assessing them (like Dazzler has recommended). This is the danger time. You need to have a few stern words to yourself and then get back to it. If you find yourself doing this a lot, let the Nav know so they can throw in some regular reminders to concentrate.

[Glenn]

I fully agree with Dazzler's comment about braking. It's is even more important in an Excel than other cars where you need to be at maximum speed for as long as possible.

[Crazy Dave]

OK, I'll start with a really simple one.....Red Bull, V, etc!

I'm being completely serious here too. Concentration is such an important thing in rallying.

I reckon that when I'm feeling a bit tired (which happens in every rally) that an energy drink is worth a lot in terms of speed.

Don't have too many though! 3 cans max I reckon......and it really should be limited to 2.

I totally agree with this and an aspect to help it out is staying off any form of cafeine at least for a week prior to the event. Get lots of sleep etc and if you had the job flexibility start work later so you can go to bed later and get up later the week or 2 prior. This will assist in adjusting your circadian rhythm. Lack of sleep prior to Bega, finishing assignments at 3am on Saturday Morning was not a good start :spank: and you notice it. Try to get to events the night before so you can sleep in in the morning.

As Ben said car handling is important, not only for car speed but for your confidence as when you feel more in tune with the car, even if it is not the quickest set up, you drive with better concentration, so work on setting up the car to suit yourself first, and then tune for speed.

From Andrei, no alcohol, including vodka, prior to the event as this can upset the circadian rhythm as well.

Another add to dazzler on braking is that start driving around normally using your left foot on the brake to improve your left foot braking feel.

Preparation for car and self is definitely important. Car needs to be ready early so that you are not waisting energy and sleep the night before event. Fitness would be great to enhance your concentration through the event. The hardest thing of all this though, is mixing it with your normal life and fitting it all in, working out the priorities, because preparation conflicts with rest etc.


And never copy anything I do as I have been doing it all wrong this year:rofl:. And make sure you look forward to it, if you don't stop and think about it and remove yourself from the event as that can get dangerous if you don't want to be there.

[KBrallying]

Kent's comments about organisation also help here as you won't be worried about what is going on in the team....you can just concentrate on driving.
This is probably the thing that I've had the most trouble with since switching to the drivers seat with the Laser - having been "there" I know what I expect my nav to be doing pre-event, and I also know what I expect from my nav on the day, but unfortunately depsite communicating these expectations pretty clearly I've still found myself arriving at the start line mentally exhausted, and so one thing I would probably suggest is that if your nav isn't meeting your expectations, isn't putting in and taking care of things like the entry form, booking accomodation etc; or is even just plain giving you the shits then don't be afraid to say "Sorry Jim/Jane/whoever - but this just isn't working out for me and so I've decided that I need to look for a new nav.". Some drivers (and some navs) don't think that the nav is accountable - but the nav is very accountable - to the driver, and if you should also end up with a big team then the nav also becomes very accountable to team management. I'm not 100% sure whether I want to go back to navving at that sort of level again, but I guess a lot will depend on how I feel when the time comes, how it all feels with the team and I've got a girlfriend to consider as well so her thoughts will also play a part.

An important skill is realising when you've lost focus and getting back on it as quickly as possible. There will be times that you realise that you just flowed through the last few set of corners without really assessing them (like Dazzler has recommended). This is the danger time. You need to have a few stern words to yourself and then get back to it. If you find yourself doing this a lot, let the Nav know so they can throw in some regular reminders to concentrate.
A sharp "FOCUS!" from the nav seat if the driver gets untidy usually works wonders - I had to do it semi-regularly (in Arabic) with Mo, and he usually snapped straight back into full focus and was back on it.

[matt mead]

Great stuff...keep it coming.

Lately I've been trying some meditiation style techniques to get me "in the zone" (as Haggers would say) before each stage. It seems to be working for me at least.

You usually have a couple of minutes to yourself whilst the Nav is up at the table and you're waiting at the yellow boards. I try to concentrate on my breathing and focus on something on the car in front or on the graound and completely clear my thoughts. Then you need to make sure you snap out of it before the start....the Dalai Lama is a great bloke, but I reckon he'd be a crap rally driver :)



Note to self, when walking to control at Coffs to check in, distract the fazz from his meditation and someone might be able to beat him :P

Im new to the game, but i think confidence in ur car and its gear is a huge thing, a car u feel safe in, is a car u will drive fast in...

[Crazy Dave]

This is related to Dazzlers comments about planning the corner and looking as far down the road as possible.....but in order to do this on every single corner you need to be focussed. You need to banish all other thoughts and just think about how to get around the next corner in the fastest and safest possible way. Kent's comments about organisation also help here as you won't be worried about what is going on in the team....you can just concentrate on driving.


I totally agree here. Last year, I was begining to notice this on certain stages and the results would show. I have been talking to people of late considering the importance of professional training such as what the AIS does for its clients and why Australia is so succesful in so many sports. It is to do with teaching people the mental side of things and not just being the best at the physical. I know I need to learn more about getting myself into the zone as sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't, but I haven't worked out how to put myself there. Some times you come out of a stage and you don't remember anything but focusing totally on the road and every corner from start to finish, nothing else, and get a good time. Sometimes I remember all the scenery, they are not good stages. Might need to explore some of those meditating things hey Glenn, and as Mat said, get him to disturb yours.:naughty:

[AnnaR]

I wanted to add a little something to this discussion...

Learn how to listen; and
Learn how to trust.

On the first transport, Glenn and I have a little chat about what we want to achieve that day and how we plan to go about doing it. We have a chat about whose times we would like to keep an eye on. How we're going relative to that bunch of people determines strategy throughout the day.

The minute or so before you (we) start a stage is vitally important for your focus in the car.
I know before stages when he needs 'quiet time' and I respect that, but I will interrupt with '1 minute' and usually give him the first couple of calls so he knows what's coming up and the total stage distance.
If there are 'stage notes', such as 'Long flowing gravel stage with slippery bridges' I make sure he this info when we're on the start line so he knows what to expect.

During a stage I don't hesitate (having learned from experience) to tell Fazz to 'concentrate' or 'focus' in my authoratative voice.
When I feel the need to start telling him to concentrate I also might let him know how many kms there are to go for that stage.

The big thing that I've learned from navving for Fazz is that there is infinite value in teamwork. :D

[matt mead]

^^^^Anna top words right there...especially for a newbie Nav like me.. i think i may adopt some of those ideas ;)

[Trevor]

During a stage I don't hesitate (having learned from experience) to tell Fazz to 'concentrate' or 'focus' in my authoratative voice.
When I feel the need to start telling him to concentrate I also might let him know how many kms there are to go for that stage.

You forgot to mention the "settle down" comment you warned me about last year before I navved for Glenn.

I also had to use it as well.

[AnnaR]

You forgot to mention the "settle down" comment you warned me about last year before I navved for Glenn.

I also had to use it as well.

Trevor, yep I needed that one last year.... but haven't uttered one 'Easy Fazza' this year at all. Haven't needed to :D

[fro]

A good co-driver is definitely worth time.

As much as I like to give them shit about being meat-flavoured ballast (well, some of them are!!!), a good left-seater is much more than a navigator. They are motiviational coach, psycho-analyst, interpreter, data-recorder, negotiator, spotter, timekeeper, scorer, nutritionist and much, much more.

When rallying isn't great, it's driver and co-driver.
When rallying is fantastic, it's a crew.