Sims toughs it out in Germany

Great fighting spirit and self-belief saw Euro F3 Rookie, Alexander Sims, take fifth and fourth places respectively at the Oschersleben Circuit, Germany last weekend- July 31st-August 2nd.

Alexander’s excellant strength and cardio levels helped him to dig deep when the ‘going got tough’. I talked about this before and it is true whichever level of motorsport you compete in. If you lose because you are up against a faster car there is only so much you can do. But if you lose because you have poor conditioning then that is unforgiveable. This is something you can take control of.

Vince Lomardi,the great American Football coach said ‘the harder you work the harder it is to surrender’. It is a work ethic that all great sportsman need to suceed at the highest level. Alexander was sick with flu at the weekend, but his hard graft, pride, ability, mental and physical toughness pushed him through.

Racing drivers are underestimated amongst the ranks of Professional sportspeople, but they are some of the toughest mentally out there. For example, David Coulthard was driving at 300km/hr around Barcelona three days after suffering a broken rib in a plane crash that saw his pilot and co-pilot killed. Sir Jackie Stewart drove and won the Grand Prix of Argentina on the day his father died. I have had the privelage of working with these two men. Both gentlemen, but very mentally tough when the chips are down.

I love watching the flip-side in these guys at close hand, even my ‘young guns’. One minute they are chatting to media and sponsors with charm and eloquence, then they take to the track, the visor comes down and a single-minded laser focus and almost cut-throat determination to win takes over.