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The
technique...
The evening before the race,
when everyone had gone home, I let my mind relax. Racetracks can be one
of the most peaceful places in the world when there's no racing going
on. This is especially true at sunset. There's all that real estate out
there, and the track just quietly waiting for the competitors to come
out and challenge it. That night, alone in the motorhome, I closed my
eyes and played out every scenario I could think of for the coming race.
I knew where Kenny was faster, and where I had the edge. I also knew where
he would try to make his move. But there was more to it than that. I also
knew I had to manage tire wear and traction. My style had always been
to rocket away from the field at the start, to open up a commanding lead
that would make my competitors have to work hard to catch me. Kenny knew
this, of course. He also knew that I was wearing my tires much faster
than he was, and he'd be able to catch me later in the race if he put
his head down.
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| That's
where the visualization strategy came into play. Over and over again, I
pictured the race as I thought it would unfold. I knew I'd get the holeshot,
and that Kenny and the rest of the field would be playing catch-up. I also
knew almost exactly where he'd catch me, and where he would pass me. That
was alright, though, because I knew where I could pass him back. The whole
strategy hinged on me keeping the pace up by not letting Kenny slow us down
in the chicanes. Once I did that, barring any unforeseen problems or a mechanical
failure, I knew I'd have the championship. |
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The
victory...
In the end, it happened almost
exactly as I had planned. Sure enough, Kenny passed me in a fast section
of the track. I stuck to him like glue, and made my move to pass him back
in the one place I knew I had a clear advantage on him -- the left kink
after the start-finish line. Then I could hold him off for a lap or so.
Then he'd get by and really slow the pace down in the chicanes (Imola
had five chicanes at that time). When I knew we were far enough ahead
of the third-place rider, I let Kenny go on to win, and I took second
place and the championship. My strategy had worked -- I had become the
youngest 500cc World Champion in history.
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| Visualization
works so well because, if you practice it, your mind already believes it
has done whatever you've visualized. That lets you relax, and everything
seems familiar and natural as events unfold. As I've just shown, this is
true even at the World Championship level. The next time you're planning
a street ride or road race, try visualizing the event ahead of time, over
and over again. If you do this, you'll see the difference in your performance
-- and in how much you enjoy yourself while riding |
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