Driver performance science

[megz]

I've heard lots of references by other drviers to not feeling anything when they are in the zone during a race

I don't think you need a sustained adrenaline rush to not feel an ailment.. just the focus on the track can distract you from discomfort

the word zone is the key i think.

I got that alot when i played Gran Turismo in my younger days and had to do 70-80 laps around Nordschleife.
After some laps you just get detached and fall into the zone and sort of let the brain handle it for you.
You see what happens on screen but it´s almost like you let the sub-conscious take care of it.
Then after a while you snap out of it thinking you have driven terribly and realize actually you were lapping the fastest during that period.

I believe this is what Senna was talking about especially around Monaco.
Hard to quantify scientifically i think but just massive amounts of concentration blocks out nearly everything around you.

What you describe above is very similar to a "trance-like state" as talked about in hypnosis and is incredibly common in anyone who is involved doing a well learned task. The repetitive nature and well learned and oft repeated task gets to a point where you can complete a large chunk without much concious effort. Often you'll continue doing what you were doing until something out of the ordinary startles you or your concious brain becomes "aware" that it is no longer in control.

[SectorOne]

Yea that´s a good explanation, it´s quite a fascinating experience.

[Tommy Cookers]

there is a post on the previous page that refers to the supposed difficulties of 5g braking
there is only really about 3g of anything for a time significant to the body's mechanisms

3g cornering in a car is a doddle, the blood wants to pile at about 70deg to one or other side of the body (to the front in braking)
there is no problem keeping blood in the brain and thereby functioning
(though sustained braking well above this level could cause supposedly temporary damage (bleeding) apparent in eyes)
F1 etc is no more disruptive than current 2g cornering in Moto Gp etc

aeroplane cornering is similar to bike cornering, the blood tends to run towards the feet and away from the brain
being short and skinny I have managed to fly 7.5-8g, this giving near-monochromatic tunnel vision
this is about equivalent to the 10-10.5g shown in the RB 'air races' (because they have 'g-suit's)
you need to hyperventilate for a few seconds, then brace your diaphragm (stop breathing) while you fly the 'g'
major distension of the carotid artery is a sign of the right technique (if you practice it)
there is also a local blood circulation pattern in the brain, affected in aeroplane cornering
this adapts in seconds, but is disrupted if you move your head ('Monaco effect' ? only much worse)

sustained negative 'g' causes eye damage at quite a low level, but planes tend not to allow this anyway
this is somewhat parallel to high g braking eg as in F1, but much worse

[Juzh]

Fascinating. How did you manage to achieve 7.5g? What plane?

[Hobbs04]

My father and I are almost equal talent in ping pong (table tennis) and I get in the zone like you said it's almost a trance. We have played full speed for over 5 min straight you only get faster.

[Tommy Cookers]

Fascinating. How did you manage to achieve 7.5g? What plane?

Extra 230 I think (it was about 15 years ago)
literally how was in a pull-up from a dive at about 250+ mph (chosen for this purpose)
this is essentially the same as a turn, but safer/easier than actually flying a level turn to that g without practice
(this sort of plane has a very non-standard relationship between control force inputs and the results)
the remaining problem is reading the g meter as your visual field gets smaller and darker
the plane is said to be ok for +12g and -6g
IIRC I got around 7g in actual continuous turning, by using top rudder, and only about 6.5g in a balanced turn

another thing I did was fly level at a continuous approx 60deg pitch angle ie a notional 60deg AoA
this requires constant ruddering or everything falls away like someone failing at tossing the caber
most unusually, some of the wing is actually still working at this AoA
but the oil cooler probably loses the slipstream and the apparent oil temp rockets

[turbof1]

I've heard lots of references by other drviers to not feeling anything when they are in the zone during a race

I don't think you need a sustained adrenaline rush to not feel an ailment.. just the focus on the track can distract you from discomfort

the word zone is the key i think.

I got that alot when i played Gran Turismo in my younger days and had to do 70-80 laps around Nordschleife.
After some laps you just get detached and fall into the zone and sort of let the brain handle it for you.
You see what happens on screen but it´s almost like you let the sub-conscious take care of it.
Then after a while you snap out of it thinking you have driven terribly and realize actually you were lapping the fastest during that period.

I believe this is what Senna was talking about especially around Monaco.
Hard to quantify scientifically i think but just massive amounts of concentration blocks out nearly everything around you.

(was going back through this topic; simply fantastic stuff here. I do wish to reply on some things even though they are months old).

Ah yes, the trans state. I've had that at multiple occasions. Very difficult to get into; it'll require loads of meditation exercises to control it.

I had this at a few points during high intensity aerobic training. At the beginning of the exercise everything felt heavy and difficult, but then mind and body gradually improved and improved until you just drop into it. It's like you said: a detached, elevated feeling, a higher conscious if you will while, everything that happens around you is at sub-conscious level. Time feels like standing still.

Haven't had that state in a long while; I constantly work around or slightly above the V02max treshold, so the body doesn't improve enough anymore to fall into that state.

I wonder if drivers can have a control over that. In endurance racing it might come very handy.

[timbo]

I wonder if drivers can have a control over that. In endurance racing it might come very handy.

I don't think they are, I think one can have only a few experience like this in a lifetime.
One thing to notice about this is that Senna himself said about his Monaco'88 experience is that when he realized he passed the threshold he backed off. One also have to remember that he crashed during the race. I had experience of the same sort playing in a PC game and it was very interesting but I crashed into the slow car that suddenly appeared in front. The crash was totally avoidable, and I remember seeing a car in front and thinking, I have to turn away, but being sort of observer it took me too much time.

[turbof1]

I wonder if drivers can have a control over that. In endurance racing it might come very handy.

I don't think they are, I think one can have only a few experience like this in a lifetime.
One thing to notice about this is that Senna himself said about his Monaco'88 experience is that when he realized he passed the threshold he backed off. One also have to remember that he crashed during the race. I had experience of the same sort playing in a PC game and it was very interesting but I crashed into the slow car that suddenly appeared in front. The crash was totally avoidable, and I remember seeing a car in front and thinking, I have to turn away, but being sort of observer it took me too much time.

I also think it's very difficult due the driver constantly having to manage the car. Using switches, buttons, communication over the radio... there are too many distractions.

Still, the feeling is happy place . Perhaps they still get it in the simulator.

[johnsonwax]

I wonder if drivers can have a control over that. In endurance racing it might come very handy.

I can get into that state in a number of different activities - some videogames, some other non-physical activities. I've had it happen during exams a couple of times, which is very cool because those are the tests that I ace. Happens while programming now and then. I can't just turn it on and off, but I can control the conditions that make it much more likely. For instance, I'm very attuned to music. So if I practice something while listening to a given song or album over and over, and then go to do that thing later, playing the same song or album makes me vastly more likely to get into the state. I think that's completely different for each person, but I know its the basis for a lot of superstitions and habits that athletes have.

Think about how you deeply learn things. When you were a kid, you had to think consciously about how to ride a bike - pedaling, steering, balance, etc. When you got older with practice, you do it without thinking. You're doing most of the work involuntarily, not unlike breathing. Well, you can go past that point to doing more complex things at that level, eliminating the need to calculate, eliminating the hesitation that might come from a perceived risk. Everything just flows without thought. And you can work it backward as well. I can control a few involuntary actions from concentrated thinking. For example, I don't get hiccups. I can stop them at will. Little parlor tricks but some come in handy like being able to lower your heart rate very quickly. I know some other people that can do things like this as well.

So I would expect top drivers to be able to get into that state, where they know the track intimately, they know the car intimately, and they just drive involuntarily. I suspect this is when guys like Kimi and Lewis are telling the team to shut up on the radio. Personally if my concentration is broken, then it doesn't work, so I need to be very isolated to do it. I imagine it would apply to adjusting things like brake bias during each lap and various other settings on the car. Everything just flows. And that's the best way I could describe it - there's no resistance to each action. You see what you're doing, but you're not focused on any specific thing, so in a car you wouldn't be looking for the apex of a turn but you would still see it, along with a lot of other stuff that you would normally miss while focused on the apex. You don't think about how much to turn the wheel or what gear you should be in or whether you've braked enough - they all just sort of happen exactly as they should with no 2nd guessing or worry. I would think they could even remain in that state while passing backmarkers, which are routine, but not passes for position which do require planning and calculation.

The term for it is 'automaticity'. It's easier for some people than others. I'd expect it to be (relatively speaking) very easy for top athletes.

[raymondu999]

As a licensed hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner - trance is not as exotic a state as some people think it is

[turbof1]

As a licensed hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner - trance is not as exotic a state as some people think it is

I think it depends on your training. For instance for a plumber applied physics might be exotic, so for somebody who doesn't have proper knowledge and experience with hypnosis and trance it's difficult to induce it. With the help from somebody like you it obviously is a more passable border.

[idfx]

These articles can help in your search.
Hyperfocus and Flow (psychology)
Nakamura, Csikszentmihalyi, M. (20 December 2001). "Flow Theory and Research
Nakamura, Jeanne; Csikszentmihalyi (2005)."The concept of flow". Handbook of positive psychology : 89–105.
Hyperfocus

Hyperfocus is the experience of deep and intense concentration. So, while mundane tasks may be difficult to focus on, others may be completely absorbing.
The individual may not be able to complete homework assignments or work projects, may instead be able to focus for hours on videogames, sports, or reading, may immerse themselves so completely in a stimulating activity that they become oblivious to everything around them.

Flow (psychology)
(sorry, abstract: wikipedia)

Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi identify the following six factors as encompassing an experience of flow.
intense and focused concentration on the present moment
merging of action and awareness
a loss of reflective self-consciousness
a sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity
a distortion of temporal experience, one's subjective experience of time is altered
experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding, also referred to as autotelic experience
Those aspects can appear independently of each other, but only in combination do they constitute a so-called flow experience

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complementary
The Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi); The Book of Void
Tao of Jeet Kune – October 1, 1975 by Bruce Lee
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Martial Art
"Mushin"

Japanese Swordsmanship, known as Iaido, is one of many traditional Japanese martial arts with eastern philosophical connections. The practice of Iaido is highly ritualistic and repetitive.There are Japanese terms which when translated directly into English refer to 'states of being' we may describe as meditative or spiritual.
The key term is ‘Mushin’, translated as ‘No mind’. Attaining this state of being is considered ideal in Iaido.

...if one is able to thoroughly practice this mind of no-mind, one will not stop on a single thing, and will not lose a single thing. Constantly like being filled with water, it exists in this body and responds in functioning when needed. Takuan (Wilson, 1986)

Game design
Immersion

Immersion is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world.
The perception is created by surrounding the user in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.
The name is a metaphoric use of the experience of submersion applied to representation, fiction or simulation.

[turbof1]

These articles. ....

That's some very good info. +1.

[raymondu999]

As a licensed hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner - trance is not as exotic a state as some people think it is

I think it depends on your training. For instance for a plumber applied physics might be exotic, so for somebody who doesn't have proper knowledge and experience with hypnosis and trance it's difficult to induce it. With the help from somebody like you it obviously is a more passable border.

I do apologise. What I meant was that some people romanticise hypnotic trance to be something that is so profound and mystical... whereas it really takes very little specialised knowledge to be able to induce trance.