ZSA Motorsport

I was thinking about what perhaps makes a driver acclimate and gain success more or less quickly on the track, and one of the things I came back to , atleast fo rme, was my involvement in other sports.
For me, I think the two sports I have played my whole life I think have helped me out a bunch.
1. road cycling - I used to race a ton, for a decade and a half, some state championships, top results at nationals, etc. mostly in time trials though I was ok in road races and on the mtbike as well. ,a nd
2. snowboarding.

I think the cycling taught me steady pace, steady lines, hitting apexs, when to attack, when to sit back, etc. Granted, you aren't going as fast, you don't have the same grip levels, but so much is the same between a road race in a race car to a road race/circuit course/criterium on a road bike.

sometimes in crits and road races, you team up a bit with your adversaries for a good portion to work together, and then only at the end do you go head to head. and I see that a lot more in my spec Miata racing than with the cup cars or world challenge where there is a big push to get up front and lead. but there is a lot there, keeping your eyes up, staying relaxed, reading situations. if a road car, if you touch wheels and get pushed off, maybe you spin, maybe you hit a guardrail, maybe your race is done. on a road bike, in a sprint or when attacking, if you clip someone or take a bad line, you go to the hospital or the morgue.

the other sport I think is masterful is snowboarding, mount boarding, racing the boards.... all the requirements are similar. eyes up, see a line, visualize the line as far out as you can . but the #1 thing is the feel of the board, really feeling whts going on below your feet, without staring at your board, and knowing how to adjust and tweak in advance, know the capabilities of the board, figuring out how to apply the board to the snow to get it to do what you want, when you want. you can feel the board moving around beneath you and for newbies, that's unsettling and they flop around. once you chill out, once your anxiety calms and you just understand that movement is part of the game, you can use it to your advantage, you can counter it, and not have it wreck your run. then you start to anticipate it, and work it into your speed.
its the same with the race car. as anxiety comes down, as skill and experience comes up, you start to be able to digest, to perceive whats happening on all four corners. you can feel the shocks moving where you couldn't a few years ago when you were new to it all. the movement, the car sliding a bit, losing grip etc. becomes expected, no big deal, and you just adjust , counter, throttle, etc. to offset it, and use it.

Both are also physically hard, mentally challenging.
with much love for motorsports, as well as other sports ive played in highschool or college like soccer, hockey, then on to cycling/snowboarding, etc. I must say cycling is the very hardest and is the most similar to racing cars.

id love to hear what other sports guys enjoy that they feel are directly tied into their success in the car.

gums

As a cyclist myself, I'd agree with that, and don't forget the parallel need to develop and maximize the equipment. Few other sports are as equipment intensive. That's why a tennis racquet or baseball bat just doesn't do it for me.

JustinL

I know it's not a "sport" per se, but sim racing (iracing) is really good. It keeps your eyes trained and your hands and feet doing very similar things to what goes on in a car. You also get the feel for competition and race craft. It is surprisingly emotional and forces you to learn to control that too. Even pro racers say they can feel their heart pounding on the grid of a virtual race. For me it's the best training I can give my brain.

For the body, I run and resistance train two week nights per week. Skiing, mountain biking, etc. are things I do for fun on the weekend and I don't really think they do as much for either my brain or my fitness, but probably help my balance and kinesthesia.

gums

Justin,
if you think SimRacing does more for fitness than Mountain biking, then you're not riding very hard.
At all.

Chaos

Tri-biathelons,tough mudders,racquetball,bootcamp classes,mowing the grass with a non power push mower for 45 min on a 95 degree day.

JustinL

I don't think I said that, or at least wasn't trying to say that. I don't mountain bike as hard as I work out. I ride for the enjoyment of it, and enjoy the technicality of it. I have raced mountain bikes in Canada cup races, so I know what riding hard is all about; I just keep mountain biking as a "fun" activity now.

dacbap

I found hitting on a speed bag for 30 minutes every day increases your hand/eye coordination and timing that became very beneficial to high speed driving. Plus the workout keeps a tight core to handle the g's..

perfectlap

Lucas Ordonez of Spain, 2nd place in class at LeMans, first place 24 Hourse N-ring --- No racing background before being picked up to drive professionaly... just sim racing.

Jann Mardenborough of the UK is driving for Carlin in Euro F3 in 2013 after essentially going from sims to cars in barely one season: Page. 20. Could be the next Lewis Hamilton.
the British GT series is now trying to restrict sim racers coming from Jann's program from being classified as newbies... lap times are too close to the experienced they claim. Wave of the future.

gums

I'll likely go in the opposite direction eventually; real racing to sims.
But that's a budgetarily driven choice.

GuyIncognito

tennis, racquetball, squash. great cardio, uses your whole body (legs, core, arms), and a fast moving ball is great for reflexes and eye/hand coordination.

Jimbo951

I watch it on television.

ESPN. The coverage is excellent, some of the best sports coverage in the country as a matter of fact. You'd be suprised how much you can pick up...

multi21

This is going to sound crazy, but soccer. Not only for the obvious reason of the cardio, but I see how racing and soccer have helped each other with my teenage daughter who has been racing karts since 5 and playing soccer since 8.

Soccer is about situational awareness, knowing who is around you at all times, whether marking you or about to attack. When you receive the ball, you need to have great vision to determine if you can dribble it yourself or find a teammate to pass it to.

My daughter also uses a sim at home and my other daughter who doesn't race, but plays soccer has taken to the sim to see if she can improve her vision and transfer that to the field.

facelvega

As attributed to Hemingway, the answer is clear....

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
Ernest Hemingway

gums

^^I was waiting for that one to come up^^

Cory M

Mountain biking for sure. I think you are using the same parts of the brain on technical downhills: extreme focus, processing the levels of grip, picking a line, scanning what's ahead, split second decisions about obstacles, etc. The climbs and flat miles get you in good physical shape. There is an added bonus of having to do all this while tired, and in hot temperatures. I think you even get a better understanding of the effects of the weight distribution and balancing the grip between the two tires. Seems like a lot of top level racers are also mountain bikers (Mark Webber, Andy Lally, etc). The only downside is that you can get hurt when you crash.

Snowboarding or skiing has a lot of the same aspects, especially if you are going through the trees, but I don't think it's as good of a physical workout since you don't do all of the climbing and there are so many stops, plus you don't have the heat to contend with. Trail running has some of the same focus/concentration requirements and is a great way to get in shape.

I went downhill mountainbiking in Whistler and I think it was actually more fun than racing cars. Too bad there is nothing that good in Southern California. Here's a little video of some riding in the Whistler bike park (not me):
http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/featu...5520/sspomer,2