All motorsports are much more physically demanding than they appear. At the top tier, F1 drivers go through huge G-forces during a race, while MotoGP riders have to be physically strong enough to handle their heavy machines through demanding corners with no margin for error.
It is far from being a situation where it is the car or motorcycle that is doing all the work. The amount of physical endurance that athletes in motorsports go through, not only in races but in training and testing as well, is eye-opening.
The Appeal of Motor Racing
If roaring engines and screeching tyres are a thing for you, then you have probably dreamed about jumping into the cockpit of an F1 car or maybe doing some WRC rally driving. When it comes to motor racing, riders can’t gamble on luck coming to their aid – they need to dominate their craft. Luck and chance are reserved for online casino games, and gamblers can select reputable platforms from expert review sites like legalbet.uk to enjoy that. Drivers, in contrast, can’t leave anything to chance.
Working Up Skills
Racers spend years building up their driving and physical skills. Along the way, physical attributes are continuously tested and examined, because only the very elite athletes get to the top of their sport.
But what kind of exercise could you do to try and estimate whether you would be cut out for motorsport? Here are a few that serve as a good starting point, but obviously won’t come near the real-world experience of racing.
Reaction Time
A skill that anyone in motor racing needs to get ahead is strong reaction times. Drivers must have a rapid reflex response time to avoid sudden on-track situations like debris and this is something that can be easily tested for. There are plenty of online reaction tests that you can do on a computer, which involve little more than the click of a button when the on-screen stimulus appears.
Physical Strength
Overall physical fitness has to be at peak levels. But some of the biggest stresses for F1 drivers are on the neck. The G-forces they face are incredible and without neck strength, they are probably going to pass out.
General neck strengthening helps with posture, and resistance training is the key to developing a strong neck. Along with general exercises like rotations, shoulder extensions and neck hangs, isometric exercises help immensely.
Pushing against a resistance band to try and overcome the forces working against you, will also help greatly in building neck strength. Professional athletes have specialised training for this, but working gradually through tougher resistance bands will help you gauge progress.
Spatial Awareness
Drivers and riders in motorsports have to have a very high spatial awareness, which is the recognition of what is happening on the track. Anyone who’s watched F1 or MotoGP, will see athletes squeezing their machines through the tightest of gaps and running side-by-side barely millimetres apart.
The grasp of track positioning and space is crucial, especially when it comes to judging distance for braking and overtaking. Fortunately, this can be trained in a fun way because playing video racing games is a great way to exercise this type of skill.
Focus, Focus, Focus
Race drivers have to stay focused for an incredible amount of time, whether that’s Rally driving or F1. Racing is as tough mentally as physically as well, so keeping up levels of concentration and not letting it wander for even a split second is crucial.
Distractions will be your enemy on the track and to see if you may have what it takes for focus, a simple test is trying to read a book while listening to some music and attempting to block out the audio.
Any online cognitive testing can help to this end, like doing puzzles, practising active listening and doing memorisation games. Mindful breathing, meditation and reading a long book can also aid focus, gradually increasing the time of each session to gauge progress.
In Conclusion
Testing yourself in certain skills which the stars of motorsports rely so much on, is a fun way to see if you may be cut out for motorsports. Everything always looks easier when watching on the television, but the physical and mental demands on the top athletes are huge.