seeing the future.
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Freddie
Spencer's Racecraft
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The
Art of Visualization... seeing the future. |
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| "To
have a successful outcome, you have to
know what you're up against, and you have to be able to predict the future." — Freddie Spencer |
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| When we teach our riding schools, I like to talk about visualization. This technique is used by people who excel in every type of activity, from professional sports to taking examinations. It also applies to racing and street riding. To have a successful outcome, you have to know what you're up against, and you have to be able to predict the future. You also have to know how you're going to fit into that future. For street riders, this might mean anticipating road conditions on the way to breakfast. The first part of knowing what might happen is asking yourself the right questions. What's the weather like? Is it a holiday with more traffic than usual? Is gravel likely to be in certain turns? Are deer or other animals going to be on the move? These are just a few of the variables that smart riders will think about and anticipate before ever taking the bike out of the garage. | |
| The
race... The same principle applies to racing. In 1983, I fought one of the toughest battles in modern Grand Prix history with Kenny Roberts. Kenny and I had twelve races to find out who was going to be World Champion. It was a season where the decision came right down to the wire. His 4-cylinder Yamaha was a lot faster than my 3-cylinder Honda, but my bike turned better. I had found out how to use the strengths of my machine to win where another rider might have finished further back in the pack. Because of this, Kenny and I split the wins and pole positions right down the middle. |
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After eleven of twelve events, I had won six races to Kenny's five. In order to become World Champion, I knew I had to finish no worse than second place at Imola, the circuit where the last race of the year would be held. I also knew it would be a difficult race. If Kenny could get past me and slow me down enough that another bike could get between us (pushing me back to a third place finish) the championship would go to Roberts. But I wanted to win that title as badly as anything in my life. I had worked hard at it all season, and knew I could do it. That's where visualization came into the picture. |
| The technique >> |