Race 4 of NASRS season 14 was at Zandvoort and it was this season’s night race. Honestly, I was kind of dreading this one in the days leading up to the race. I was off pace a bit in practice so that, combined with the fact that this track is a particularly tricky one (especially at night), was making me a little apprehensive. Also, many of the fastest drivers in the Tuesday split are driving the Porsche GT3, which is really quick at Zandvoort. I was pretty sure I was going to qualify lower down the field and would struggle to make up any places because it’s so hard to pass at Zandvoort.

I’ve been doing this thing where I try to write down some goals for the race beforehand and I think it’s been helping me focus on a few things as I’m racing. Here’s what I wrote down before last night’s race:

1. Get in the 1:35s during qualifying
2. Have a clean first lap (mainly T1 and T2)
3. Run consistent laps with no errors – mistakes will determine who’s successful here

I did a 1:35.705 in qualifying, which based on where I was in practice, was about the best I could expect. That had me starting in 10th, which is about where I belong in the field pace-wise. So all good there (goal number one met).

As you’ll see in the clips below, there was some mayhem in T1 on the first lap, but I was cautious (and lucky) so was able to avoid that and make up one spot. I then picked up a place on lap two when the driver in front of me mis-judged a pass in T1 and ran wide. It was a fun drag race down to T1 and for a moment I thought about holding my spot and forcing him to lift. But it just seemed too dicey and since it was early in the race, I lifted and played it safe, which ended up working out. So goal number two met.

I got lucky again a few laps later and picked up two places when the car in front of me hit a car in front of him and decided to wait. (You get a smaller penalty if you wait when that kind of thing happens.) So after that I was way behind the lead group and just had to pump out solid, mistake-free laps in order to have a good finish. This is harder than it sounds because, as I mentioned above, Zandvoort is hard! There are so many tricky, technical corners that require the perfect brake pressure and timing as well as the proper racing line. If you any of those wrong, your lap time suffers dramatically (or you end up on the grass, which leads to ending up in the wall.) There’s really no place to take a mental breather and it is really hard maintaining that focus for 65 minutes so mistakes are common.

But, I got in a groove and was able to nail good lap after good lap without any real drama. I mean, I wasn’t lighting the world on fire with my lap times, but I was clean and consistent so that pretty much met my third goal.

I did run into a little drama right at the end of the race when I had a hard time getting by a lapped car. I tried to get by him on the main straight, but even though he was in last and I was in P5, he wouldn’t yield. I sat behind him an entire lap and then tried to pass again on the main straight, but he wasn’t having it. So, I sent it into T1 and muscled my way through. Other than that, it was a really clean race for me where I was mostly alone, just putting in the laps.

So, same result as last week (P5), but I’m much, much happier with how I drove in this race. We’re at Paul Ricard next week for the wet race of the season so it’s gonna be another tough one!

Week 4 final results (Zandvoort)

• Qualifying: P10/34
• Race: P5/34

Here are a few highlights from the race.

I was a bit hesitant to go through last night’s NASRS season 14 race replay from Zolder and pull out the highlights. I usually look forward to doing this the morning after the race, but I was worried last night’s race was pretty cringe-worthy. To put things in context, I qualified P3 and finished the race P5, which are both really good results for me so all good there. But, as I was racing, it didn’t seem like I was driving very well. However, after watching a lot of the replay, I think I did OK, save for a couple big-ish mistakes.

To sum things up, I never really felt comfortable in the car during the race. I think the main issue was that I got lucky and smashed my very last quali lap with, I think, the quickest lap I’ve ever done at Zolder. The main problem, though, was I was starting ahead of much faster drivers who I knew would quickly put me under a lot of pressure. Moreover, P1 and P2 both went wide in T2 so I found myself in P2 after a couple turns. It’s normally a good thing to be in P2 right at the start of a race, but I knew the guys behind me were really fast so it was just a matter of time before I was under a lot of pressure. And that’s pretty much what happened.

I should note, there are a couple chicanes at Zolder that make or break your lap. You need to really risk it and send it in the first one and, depending on your car, it can be a bit of a coin toss as to whether you nail it or end up flying off the track and spinning out. I was really struggling each time through that first chicane, holding my breath, hoping my car wouldn’t spin out. I think I was over-driving due to the pressure and was not slowing enough to get the car settled and turned in. As you’ll see in the highlights, I made it through without any issues 42 times. Unfortunately, there were 43 laps….

So, yeah, I hit the wall and messed up my car a bit with around 15 minutes left in the race. I lost a position right away and ten minutes later, succumbed to a good battle and lost another one. I don’t think I would have been able to hang onto both spots without the mistake, but I had a big enough gap that I think P4 was possible.

Anyway, the point of all of this “sim racing” stuff isn’t so much about the results, but the process. Having something you’re horrible at and then having to work at it to get better, is generally, a lot of fun. At the same time it’s also stressful racing with other humans, especially when you like them and don’t want to foul up their races if you make a silly mistake. So when you’re able to overcome your anxieties and fears and things work out, it feels pretty awesome. That’s why we race, I guess.

Next week we’re at Zandvoort, which is a really fun track to hotlap, but not the best for racing. It’s gonna be hairy, but should be fun.

Week 3 final results (Zolder)

• Qualifying: P3/41
• Race: P5/41

Here are a few highlights from the race.

Tuesday night was the second race of the NASRS season 14. The race (65 minutes, one mandatory pit stop) was at Brands Hatch and I qualified P10 out of 37, which was a little better than I thought I’d end up. Brands is a very tricky track and it takes almost 100% concentration for the entire lap. Any small mistake or loss of focus will cause, at best, a second lost or, at worst, a spin out. I had a decent start and was able to get into 8th for most of the first stint. I had some good battles so it was intense, but a lot of fun. I got hit going into the pits and almost lost it, but was able to recover with only minor damage.

The second stint was even more intense than the first as I was battling with a driver for over 20 laps. It was such good fun. I got into a big tangle on the last lap and the other driver had a major spin out. I think it was his fault, but haven’t seen the final stewards report so I might have an incoming penalty (hopefully not). Anyway, another fun race with a decent result – P6 out of 37. Looking forward to next week’s race at Zolder.

Week 2 final results (Brands Hatch)

• Qualifying: P10/37
• Race: P6/37

Here are a few highlights (and lowlights) from the race.

Tuesday night was the first race of the NASRS season 14. Things are a bit different this season as there are only 3 splits – Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and rookies on Thursday night. In the past there were bronze, silver, and gold splits, but all of those have been consolidated into just two splits. The weather is a bit more dynamic on Wednesday, but otherwise there’s no real skill difference between Tuesday and Wednesday – it really just depends on what night works best for folks.

The race was at Imola and I qualified P8 out of 50, which was a bit better than my actual skill level suggests. This is probably due to the fact that I’m driving the Aston Martin, which is pretty strong at Imola. I got lucky and finished the race in P4, which is a lot better than I was expecting. The start of the race was a little sketchy. I didn’t get a great start and banged doors a bit with the guy behind me, but nothing bad came of that for either of us. I did, however, get caught up a bit in a collision a few turns into lap 1, which set me back into P10. I was able to work my way back up to P5 and gained one more spot after the leader got a late 10 second penalty. I t-boned someone who spun out very late in the race, but thankfully I was still able to finish without any issues.

I’m really happy with how I drove and how the race played out. It was a pretty intense 65 minutes – looking forward to next week’s race at Brands Hatch.

Week 1 final results (Imola)

• Qualifying: P8/50
• Race: P4/47

Here are a few highlights from the race.

This week’s Brain Food newsletter had this little gem and it got me thinking about how this tactic has been successful for me over the past 20 years.

Here is something counterintuitive: it’s easier to do something daily rather than a few times a week.

For example, last March, I started going to the gym. I told myself I would go three days a week. And that worked for a few weeks, but then I found myself slacking off. Since I was only going three days a week, it was easy to tell myself I didn’t have to go today - I could go tomorrow instead.

As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy going to the gym, going tomorrow always sounded better than going today. Within a month, I stopped going to the gym altogether.

I needed a new approach. One that didn’t involve willpower. I made a rule to go to the gym every single day. And that subtle change made all the difference.

Doing something every day turns desired behavior into default behavior.

When willpower is lacking, routine takes over.

– Brain Food newsletter 2023/01/15

To some degree I’m sure everyone has a different take on how to best change their behavior/habits – different stuff works for different people. But for me what Parrish mentions above is what I’ve found usually works pretty well. For example, twenty-plus years ago I wanted to reduce how much soda I drank. The only way I could really do it was to completely quit rather than just “cut back.” Same for not eating meat and all the other little experiments I’ve done over the years (just ask my wife, who sometimes gets annoyed at all the weird life hacks I’m willing to try out).

A huge motivator for me is to get a streak going. For example, if I haven’t had a soda for 80 days there’s really no way I’m going to mess that up by having one on day 81. If I did, then I would surely have one on day 82 since, “Why not, I had one yesterday.” Again, for me, momentum is a key factor (if not the factor) in motivation and habit formation.