Next year I will be racing in the VW Racing Cup. I know! I’ll be driving a VW Golf GTiR Cup Car!! 250bhp under my right foot. That’s more than 10 times the power I’m used to in a kart.
Karting teaches you a lot about racing. Most people think it’s just the race craft but it is the emotional side too. This is where I feel most prepared for next year. The race craft comes with time as I gain experience by racing other drivers. The better the drivers, the more I am sure I will learn. A lot of this will be the hard way!
What I know the year will have is bumps, knocks and, at times, disappointing results. If you let this get to you on the track, you end up over-driving. This actually slows you down and just makes things worse.
One thing I’ve learned from karting, is that you have to focus on your own performance and your most skilful driving. When that happens, the results eventually come. If you are always thinking about results then you can get desperate and make moves that aren’t there or let sad feelings about the way the last race ended make you less motivated in the next one. If you are always hungry for your best performance and you are aiming to deliver that text-book overtake, without thinking about whether it is for a podium or not, it’s much more likely to work.
Focusing on your performance in the here and now, not the results you hope to get, and staying positive are my biggest lessons from karting.
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