Why Race-Day Nerves Can Be Your Greatest Asset

The Science Behind Nerves

When you feel nervous, your body is activating its sympathetic nervous system — the fight-or-flight response. That surge of adrenaline? It’s designed to make you alert, focused, and physically prepared. Elevated heart rate, quickened breath, heightened senses — these aren’t symptoms of weakness; they’re the system getting online.

Elite athletes don’t eliminate nerves — they work with them.

The Real Problem: Mismanagement

What creates a negative spiral isn’t the nerves themselves. It’s the narrative around them.

If you interpret your pre-race state as fear or doubt, you’ll spiral. But if you reframe it — “this is my system preparing me to go to war” — you tap into a completely different mental state: readiness.

How to Make Nerves Work for You

At BTX, part of our mental performance coaching is teaching drivers how to turn nervous energy into race-day sharpness. Here’s how:

• Name it. Acknowledge the nerves. Suppressing it only makes it grow.

• Reframe it. Nervous means you’re ready. It means the body is waking up to compete.

• Breathe through it. Use deep, controlled breathing (like box breathing) to regulate your heart rate and stay centred.

• Anchor your thoughts. Come back to process — warm-up routine, visualisation, race strategy. Let your mind follow structure, not chaos.

• Trust your preparation. This is where all the training kicks in. Your body knows what to do — your job now is to stay out of its way.

Final Thought

Some of the greatest drivers in the world still get nervous before a race. What makes them different is how they respond to it.

So the next time your heart starts racing before a session — don’t panic. Smile. You’re ready.