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Racing Superstitions


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Wikipedia defines a Superstition as "Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event leads to the cause of another without any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition

 

I know Rossi talks to his bike before his race a practice I personally share and find useful riding an Italian made motorcycle. What other superstitions are out there in the world of yellow plates? With luck being such a huge factor in racing I can certainly see why people do this.

 

Am I the only person out there thanking my bike for not pitching me off when I do something bone headed? Do you have any unique and interesting ones to share?

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Very cool. I have heard of race car drivers that wear unmatched boots and gloves as well for good luck. Many of them also have the same ritual with their gloves and seatbelts. :)

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I dunno im like a black box; if the tire pressure is off by 2 psi , i can feel it , im freaking sensitive.?

If the bike feels "sick" or funny, i'd just go to the shop for tire/basic inspection... Im usually right 99% of the time that somethings not right or off by 10% of normal parameters.

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I believeMamola always raced with red socks and Spencer always with the same underwear, or something like that. That is superstition. Rossi does certain things to get into a specific mood and full concentration. That is a ritual. When you need to take the left hand glove on before the right and must redo if you get it wrong, that's compulsory disorder :P My only habit is to not have a habit.

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I believeMamola always raced with red socks and Spencer always with the same underwear, or something like that. That is superstition. Rossi does certain things to get into a specific mood and full concentration. That is a ritual. When you need to take the left hand glove on before the right and must redo if you get it wrong, that's compulsory disorder :P

 

Would you not say making a habit of riding as fast as you can regardless of the risk involved might be considered a compulsory disorder too? If the glove OCD works for them it works for me too. :)

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I wouldn't say that racing per see is compulsive disorder, but I may not properly understand the diagnose ;) For me, it's about having to do something in a particular way and if not done like that, the person get an irrational feeling of not being well. Not saying our member suffer from that in any way, hence the :P and many (most?) people have a thing or two that they need to do in a certain way to feel good without it being a problem in any way. It's only an issue when it begin to control a lot of aspects with your life, for instance always have to get the sum when you shop to end on 13 or having to go three circles around every lamp post etc.

 

Racing can be about different things as well, from adrenaline rush to the feeling of mastering to simply beating others. Some racers also suffer from disorders, like Kocinski who is obsessed with keeping things cleaner than clean and tidier than tidy. And many of them are superstitious, involving everything from the number on their bikes to crossing oneself before the start of a race. Rituals or specific routings OTOH, can be kind of like meditation, allowing your mind to focus what's important at the moment. There will always be grey areas between these things as well, of course. Rossi has many rituals he make, Stoner had none. Both were fast :)

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Anything that helps someone prepare mentally for a task they are about to perform is a good thing IMO, with virtually anything you want to do, mental confidence plays a huge part in doing it well its why hot streaks and momentum work in sports, and why "slumps" exist. If its putting on the same pair of socks, or reciting a prayer or a poem, a particular series or warm up exercises, or like for myself the way I put on my gloves before each ride. I dont think it makes me particularly superstitious or that I have a compulsive disorder. I dont believe that putting my gloves on just right will somehow ward off evil spirits or prevent me from being run over by a semi truck on the freeway. Its just a habit I've developed over the years and I stick with it. The order and way I fiddle with my gloves before each ride helps get me in the proper mindset to ride the bike, be it the 50 miles of crowded freeway to work in the morning, or the track session I'm about to head out for. As for restarting my "ritual" if I put the wrong glove on first, as its such a ingrained habit the fact that I've somehow screwed it up means I'm either rushing, distracted or both. in which case taking a moment to breath and focus on what I'm about to do is probably a good thing.

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Speaking of compulsions and OCD. My Track Day org refers to the obsession of riding on the track as the "Track Pipe" as a play on words of "Crack Pipe" because of the addictive nature of track riding. They even give you the first hit free with a free Track Day drawing for new riders. Nice of them eh? I'm sure racing is much the same obsession except much faster with more thrills and risk thrown in there for fun.

 

I think the superstitions are quite fascinating myself. In some ways it's an acknowledgment of the human element of riding and respect to things we don't really understand.

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T-McKeen - sounds like you have it down to a ritual, which is great as I think rituals can be a good thing to get oneself into a right state of mind.

 

rchase - I think you can be obsessed without having OCD? Anyway, you speak of addiction, and I believe you when you say someone can be addicted to speed or track riding or just about anything. It's in the human nature to become addicted to something, and it's usually something that initially make us feel good then escalate into something we feel bad about when we do not get it. At that stage, it really isn't so positive anymore. It's best when it can be kept within the range of being just enjoyable :)

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Would you not say making a habit of riding as fast as you can regardless of the risk involved might be considered a compulsory disorder too? :)

Totally cracked me up with this comment. :)

 

 

Glad someone got the humor. I was getting a bit worried there. :)

 

One of the qualities that I admire about racing is the absolute insanity of it. That outward appearance of insanity is actually major quantities of sanity mixed in with extreme levels of skill.

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I don't have any superstitions but I certainly have rituals as I'm about to go out for a race - checking to make sure the fuel switch is ON, putting a hand on the tire warmers to make sure they really were on and feel warm, peeking in the belly pan to make sure there is no oil or fluid sitting in there, making sure my grid position is written on a piece of tape on my tank, etc.

 

Then of course there is the suiting up part - earplugs, helmet, gloves and if I am really nervous or distracted I sometimes try to do those things out of order - like forgetting to take off my sunglasses before trying to put on my helmet. :)

 

Then I also have the experienced-based habit of MAKING SURE I REALLY AM IN FIRST GEAR as I approach my grid position for the start of the race. :D

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