The Need for Speed

Why is everything about speed for me?

There’s no real sensation as fun for me as moving incredibly quickly.

I’m pretty sure I got a problem.

I’m a guy that really values efficiency. It means things should be lean, functional and practical. Everything should have a purpose.

Everything of value, should be used to an inch of that value.

Nothing should be wasted and if that waste can be recycled, do so.

Its why the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1 appeals to me so much.

Everything is efficient.

Nothing goes to waste.

Tenths of seconds are considered luxuries.

Plus I don’t think I ever felt as connected to my mind and body when I am behind the wheel of a car, and I can almost relax in knowing just how focused and attuned I am to the mistakes I make or the areas I get exactly right.

Split second analysis of my grip, my angle, the pressure of my foot, the millisecond in which I judge my braking point …. this happens in an instant, and I just know when I got it absolutely bang on my limit.

If I fuck up, I lose time. Then I lose the race.

Its simple.

Cause and effect, in a split second of judgement. Action and consequence.

The more I race, the more focused and alert I become. 4 hours of sleep suddenly feel like a full 8 hours of sleep. My body tenses up, ready for the G-forces, and my hands relax on the wheel, ready for the ridiculously painful vibrations that will shake my arms to pieces.

I can feel myself become a different person, the moment my helmet slips over my head and my old Oakley goggles covers my eyes.

It sounds ridiculous and stupid, but I think I was born to do a lot of things.

Soldier, Loner and Racer.

God I love to race. Even crashes don’t phase me. I live by the maxim that crashes are a matter of when, not if, for a racer.

Because if you don’t crash, you don’t make mistakes, it means you aren’t seeking the absolute limit of grip, speed and control.

My last go-kart session, I crashed 3 times.

But I explored the absolute limit of the kart and the track and left nothing behind on the table and subsequently posted the fastest time of the session.

I am probably addicted to the sensation of speed.

The wind whipping my body, the jerkiness of the kart and the smell of petrol is such a familiar, exhilarating tonic to my system.

Its also sparked my interest in cars and probably increased my desire to be faster and better at everything.

In reading, I’ve maximised my pace for picking up information.

In exercising, I’ve taken a page out of Lucas Botkin of T.Rex Arms in fully making sure that all my sessions are about pushing myself to the absolute limit and making sure my 90% is getting faster and better.

There is no point in slowing down anything. The quicker you engage things, the better your mind works and the more you learn.

I feel like when you only got 1 shot at life, why waste anything?

Probably explains my irrational hatred for revolving doors.

They slow you down, get stuck frequently and waste a minimum of 2 seconds in your life.

Plus in cases of emergencies, they limit the number of people exiting a building.

And as seen in The Godfather, someone can jam the door and you’ll be sleeping with the fishes, looking like an idiot stuck in some glass box.

Can you believe that? Then there’s this weird statistic … if you go through a revolving door 30 times … you lost an entire minute of your life …. in a fucking door.

What an incredibly stupid design for a door.

But I digress.

I was discussing speed.

I feel like if I slow down, things get dull and uninteresting. Its why I am considering buying a bike next year, and trialling that out.

Nothing accelerates harder than a bike and tbh, driving around in them, in Grand Theft Auto V is such a thrill, I can’t help but wonder if it’ll be the same in reality.

They’re risky, they’re dangerous, they’re liable to kill you … but as a racer, if I’m not pushing the limit …. why stick around on Earth?

I love going fast. I love driving and I am pretty sure I got a gears in my head, instead of a proper brain.

One day, I would love to compete on an international stage or even an Australian-wide stage and prove that I can go toe-to-toe with the best.

Rallycross in particular. There’s nothing like seeing those small, nimble hatchbacks engage in such tight, wheel-to-wheel action, drifting, accelerating and desperately trying to get ahead.

I admit, I started my own event company, to make money, just so I can pursue my obsession with racing.

Hell, even the name, Tofu Events is a reference to my favourite racing anime, Initial D.

One day.

I’ll cross that finish line first somewhere.

Coming second in a race, is just being the first to lose.

~ Damocles