{"id":107283,"date":"2024-12-18T03:21:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T11:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/?p=107283"},"modified":"2024-12-05T14:39:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T22:39:53","slug":"q-my-lap-timer-is-taking-the-fun-out-of-driving-but-i-want-to-learn-to-use-it-to-help-me-be-a-better-driver-how-can-i-do-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/q-my-lap-timer-is-taking-the-fun-out-of-driving-but-i-want-to-learn-to-use-it-to-help-me-be-a-better-driver-how-can-i-do-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Q: My lap timer is taking the fun out of driving, but I want to learn to use it to help me be a better driver. How can I do that?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q<\/strong>: \u201c<\/em>The lap timer has become the post track session \u2018thief of joy.\u2019 I would have an absolute magical session with a perfect balance of speed and riding the limits of the car. I\u2019d get out of the car on the highest of highs, then I\u2019d open the phone lap timer. Upon inspection of my times, I\u2019d realize I was some percentage slower than my personal best for the day, and even slower than the daily average.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Sure, \u2018the car is hotter\u2019 or \u2018the track conditions have changed in some negligible amount\u2019 whatever the excuse may have been, it didn\u2019t matter. My highest of high went to the lowest of low. Being that I\u2019m not actively competing in time attacks or wheel-to-wheel racing, and HPDE driving (and now instruction) is my fun-time hobby, I turned off the timer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Since then, I\u2019ve focused on being smooth, listening and feeling the car, finding the limits in controlled ways, and spending time changing up my line, or trying really radical lines for fun. Currently my metrics for confirming that I\u2019m getting faster include things like observing shift points moving up, required changes in brake zones and pedal pressures, checking tire wear and pressures post session, basically everything other than time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

When I instruct, I have students who ask about what their lap times \u2018should\u2019 be, and my response is usually some line like \u2018being smooth is more important than timers. Show me you can listen to the car\u2019s needs before entertaining the needs of the timer.\u2019 I have the luxury of giving these kinds of responses, because I\u2019m teaching DE 1-3 students, not competitive drivers. This situation has been all fine and dandy for non-competitive driving, but at some point I\u2019d like to branch into time attack or wheel-to-wheel with my friends.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

My question: How would you suggest reincorporating the timer into the cockpit without it becoming the \u2018thief of joy\u201d again? Or at least minimizing how much joy that bandit takes!”<\/em><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: You\u2019re not the only driver who find lap times distracting or a \u201cfun thief.\u201d I\u2019ve coached many drivers of every level who slow down when they\u2019re chasing lap times, or get frustrated when their times are not as good. I\u2019ve also coached most of them into turning that mindset around, and to use the times simply as a form of feedback \u2014 not good, bad, or critical, but as just another way of seeing where they can improve.<\/p>\n

The first step is to really think about all of the variables that can impact lap times, such as ambient temperature and how that affects engine power, track temp and grip, tire condition and pressures, rubber on the track (some of it is good, but some can be bad for grip if it\u2019s a very different rubber compound), your mental state, what you\u2019ve eaten (or not), hydration, mental and body energy\u2026 and that\u2019s not going anywhere near how well you\u2019re performing the hundreds of techniques you use every lap. Are you looking as far ahead as before (which can be impacted by rest, nutrition, and state of mind); are the muscles in your ankles\/feet\/calves tiring, so that the subtle movements of your pedal use are affected; have your seatbelts\/harnesses loosened up; etc.?<\/p>\n

Once you consider all of these and realize that lap times are just one simple metric that is influenced by all of those other factors, it\u2019s easier to let go of their importance.<\/p>\n

Still, lap times are a good metric, too. It\u2019s what you do with them that matters. Ask questions. If you\u2019re faster, why? If you\u2019re slower, why? If you\u2019re not sure, keep asking and digging for the answers, but if you can\u2019t figure it out, let it go. Whether the lap time is better, worse, or no different, ask why\u2026 and then ask, \u201cDid I have fun driving, despite the lap times?\u201d If you had fun and the lap times were better, good; if the lap times were slower and you had fun, good. You don\u2019t need the lap times to tell you whether you enjoy the feeling you get from driving fast on a race track.<\/p>\n

The more a person focuses on the results of doing something, the more likely that their performance of the task will suffer. The more a person focuses on their performance \u2014 on the task, the act of driving, in your case – the more likely it is that they\u2019ll perform better\u2026 and the more likely it is that they\u2019ll get the result they wanted. Kinda ironic, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure if you slowly re-introduce checking your lap times, but only as a piece of feedback and a tool to trigger some questions that will lead to improvements, you\u2019ll be able to use them to help you in time trials and racing.<\/p>\n

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Q: \u201cThe lap timer has become the post track session \u2018thief of joy.\u2019 I would have an absolute magical session with a perfect balance of speed and riding the limits of the car. I\u2019d get out of the car on the highest of highs, then I\u2019d open the phone lap timer. Upon inspection of my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[57,17],"tags":[192,190,191],"class_list":["post-107283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask-ross","category-driving-tips","tag-focus","tag-lap-timer","tag-lap-times"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107838,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283\/revisions\/107838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}