Reflective thoughts after my first race

A few reflections after the weekend race meeting adventure.

1. There is more to getting a good qualify time than just being fast. It is highly dependent upon traffic and ability to build up to your time.
2. There is more to going well in a race than just being fast. It's dependent upon your start and the first few corners. Not just due to the position but who you will be racing against. Time spent overtaking or defending (although both of these are amazingly good fun) when others in front are not, means you drop back.
3. Even when on your own, there is an art to adapting to changing conditions.
4. Knowing where you are time-wise and position-wise can make a big difference to how you run your race - how aggressive you are for example.
5. Slipping into a 'keep it safe and get to the end' mode can be dangerous unless you UP your concentration level at the same time.
6. Personally; pushing to catch is more focusing and leads to more consistent laps than defensive and 'get home' style driving.
7. There is 'lets aim for 100%' during qualifying and then there is 'lets go for 105%' during qualifying! That last bit over 100% in the RGB races can make a 3 or 4 place difference! Maybe there is a 106%, 107% and even a 108% but hey it was my first every qualify session.
8. In Ross Bentleys 'Speed Secrets' book he describes driving over the grip limit and therefore always sliding a car in the wet so you can feel grip changes and so that you don't get caught out by a slide creeping up on you. This does actually work in practice!
9. I love sliding a car in the wet!