[Quickurt]

The number one acumen needed for going fast, consistently, is learning to be relaxed. If you are not relaxed, your reaction times increase dramatically, as your muscles are already tensed and not able to respond instantly. I taught at SCCA drivers schools quite a bit and constantly harped on my students to "concentrate on relaxing." The ones who understood it, went fast soon. The ones who just kept looking at me like I was crazy, seldom went fast. The other thing I harped on was consistency(sp?). I didn't want to see fast times at drivers school, I wanted to see lap after lap reeled off within a few tenths of a second from each other. Until you can do that, fast laps will be flukes in between slow laps and you are a danger to yourself and every other driver on the track. Until you can do almost identical times, lap after lap, you will never become consistently fast.