Performance & Race Driving Tip

Speed Secret: If it seems you’re not improving, you are about to. 

If there’s one thing that is common to all drivers, it’s this: They improve with time.

Okay, I know you might be thinking that at some point, at some age, this isn’t true anymore. I’m not going to argue that point here, because when, where, how, and why that might happen is beyond the scope of this page.

As humans, we do not follow what most people refer to as the learning curve (the red dotted line). Instead, we learn in steps (the green line). We usually start off reasonably strong, learning on a pretty steep angle. Then, we taper off, and sometimes seem to be on a plateau for a while. This could be a short period of time, or what feels like forever. But while we’re on this plateau, our brains are making all that we know part of a mental program. It’s solidifying what we’ve learned.

I have never seen a person stay on a plateau forever, though. After each plateau, there is another burst of learning. It might be a long, steep burst, or a shallow and short one. But it’s heading in the right direction! That is, if you don’t get frustrated (as illustrated by the blue dashed line). If you stay relaxed, expect that you will have another burst of learning, and stick to the basics of what you’re working on improving, you will learn.

After every plateau of learning, there’s a new burst of learning. Relax and it will happen. And make learning your objective. The more you learn, the more you improve. The more you improve, the better you perform.

Check back here often for more tips and advice for performance drivers, race drivers, high performance driving instructors, and anyone else interested in learning to get around race tracks quickly.

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