The 6 Hour info - Relax... it’s the straight!

There are so many small things you can do whilst racing a motorcycle that can allow you to push that little bit harder when necessary.

All of the physical work is done entering, riding through, and exiting corners. The rest of the time you can just sit on that bike! I know that sounds easier said than done but it’s true. You may sit back and keep everything tucked in to get as little wind drag as possible however this is the time when your mind (which is in charge don’t forget!) can tell your muscles to relax. Relaxing on a motorbike doing more than 250km/h sounds crazy but it is essential, especially when you have to race for 6 hours or more.

Oran Park does not have many areas where you can rest... or does it? Unfortunately the answer is no, it doesn’t have many opportunities to rest but it does have the main straight.

If you look at your body as though it is an army, and your mind is the General in command, you will understand how to do this effectively. Everyone’s brain sends signals to all parts of the body to perform various tasks. In sport, when your muscles are over-worked and tired, they don’t want to continue and even more so they do not want to work harder, for example the end of a race. Therefore the muscles send signals back to the brain saying enough is enough. This is the moment your mind can make decisions. Obviously physical strength and fitness would change the time and seriousness of these signals being sent back to the brain. Having said that, even the toughest athletes in the world get to the point where the body complains to the brain.

Resting on a motorcycle can help more than you realise. If you know you are 2 corners away from the straight where you can rest, your mind is sending signals to the muscles saying ‘nearly there’. It’s a bit like the finishing line for your muscles, they get excited. Resting on the straight is a physical thing, not mental. Your mind is always alert and thinking but the straight is when your mind allows your muscles to rest and absorb some oxygen.

Once you practice this a few times, it becomes natural.

Now think about this... No matter what level you are racing at, what happens if you haven’t taken the opportunity to rest on the straight and the guy you and your team have been fighting with for the last 3 hours of the race has been resting and saving a little energy each lap when he comes onto the straight? What happens if it’s the last lap and he has just a fraction more energy and strength to out-brake you... in the final corner!

Because you have been tense the entire lap (lap after lap) the signals being sent from your muscles to your brain are going to be ferocious little orders! The more ferocious they are, the more tiring it is on your brain to deal with the complaints. This is why we always hear about mental toughness in sports people. But is it really that hard to gain mental toughness? Let your brain make the decisions, not your body. Rest and all of a sudden you are becoming mentally tough!

Warwick Nowland

< back to news

Latest News