Shut Up. I'm Talking.
I'm David Perel, co-Founder of Obox Design. I make things. Don’t expect anything of what I say to make sense. You can stalk me on twitter or be inspired on dribbble.
Tomorrow I get back onto a plane (yet again) and travel to Durban for the final race of my ‘come back’.
This is the race the counts. The big one. The only one.
Last Wednesday I took a trip to our local kart track at Killarney to do as many laps as possible to get fit for this weekends race. The day went excellently, I got to work with my old mentor and 2002 World Champion, Claudio Piazza-Musso. We worked on setup and fine tuning some elements of my driving which seemed to have gone missing since I got back into a kart.
Since then I keep running the last few laps of the final race through my head. The pressure that I am feeling is immense. Not only because I want to do well but because I realize how much this actually means to me. If I come back and win it will be a fairy-tale, if I come back and do well it will be good going but my desire to win is outweighing any commonsense and rationale.
Reading through the entry list is quite a daunting experience. To name a few competitors off the top of my head:
Suffice to say that no-one here is fucking around. Luckily I have experience competing and beating the current crop of guys but the thought of leading a train of 5 or more die-hard competitors is quite intimidating.
That doesn’t deter me though as I believe that pressure in this case can actually be helpful because it increases your adrenaline which focusses the mind.
The African Championship is on Monday, the benefit of this is that the SA Championship is on Saturday and Sunday. Those two days mean nothing to me but everything to my competition. This gives me the ideal opportunity to fine tune my setup in race conditions. It’s a big advantage and one I don’t want to waste. Even if I don’t finish one heat in the SA Champs it will have no bearing on the African Champs. Boom.
I have recorded some onboard footage of the track while in Durban last week and have been watching it before bed every night. The subconscious is a magical thing, so the best time to watch those vids is just before sleep so your mind can process it.
This race will be about a perfect setup and perfect driving but also a lot of luck. I only need to lead one lap, the final one, but to leave things that late is quite intense. I don’t want to predict what will happen because the opposite is usually true but if I am on pace then I will be gunning for that win like a man possessed.
Deep breath. Here we go.
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11 Comments
JBagley
I’m so bleak I can’t join you up in Durban to support you dude, but I’ll be gunning it down the slopes in remembrance!
Cmon Ayrton!
01 Aug 2011 02:08 pm (@@JBagley)
David Perel
Thanks dude, enjoy the snow!
01 Aug 2011 07:08 pm (@obox)
Shaun La Reservee
Good luck china! Am loving this blog. I might pop in on Monday and show my face in the karting scene again. It’s been ages since I was last at iDube.
02 Aug 2011 07:08 am (@La_Rez74)
admin
Glad you digging the blog dude!
02 Aug 2011 07:08 am
Talya
Best of luck!
02 Aug 2011 07:08 am (@TalyaGoldberg)
Jessel
let them have it – best of luck – later days
02 Aug 2011 08:08 am (@jsookha)
Minnaar
Good luck man – love the idea of the subconscious training.
Keep us posted…
02 Aug 2011 09:08 am (@mpieters)
David Perel
Will def try to :)
02 Aug 2011 01:08 pm
Bobby
Good Luck David! We will be thinking of you.
02 Aug 2011 12:08 pm (@Twitter)
Zubeir
Good luck chief! Crush them!
02 Aug 2011 03:08 pm (@@zubei)
David Perel
BOOM!
02 Aug 2011 07:08 pm
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