Drivers in all motorsports are constantly seeking a competitive edge – improved visual skills may be the solution.
Whether your passion is MotoGP or NASCAR, visual skills play an essential role in your ability to lower your lap time with both increased speeds and enhanced safety.
This article will explain why your motorsports skills are actually dependent on your visual skills, and help you to understand the specific visual skills necessary for success on the raceway.
There are many different visual skills— some that help you focus and concentrate during the race, some that help you to track other bikes and cars as they speed past you, and some that help you to react quickly to avoid an accident and remain safe during the competitive race.
Well developed visual skills are essential for maintaining your safety and confidence on the raceway.
To improve your lap times, contact an eye doctor near you, who can discuss how your visual skills can be improved.
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Which visual skills are necessary for excellent motor sports performance?
- Focus flexibility
- Depth perception
- Dynamic visual acuity
- Eye-hand coordination
- Peripheral vision
Focus flexibility
Focus flexibility, also known as accommodation, is the ability to smoothly and accurately shift focus between two distances.
This is an essential skill for racing as you need to instantly change your focus to keep clear vision on your immediate surroundings, and then focus on the dials on your instrument panel, all while flying at high speed toward the finish line.
Depth perception
Depth perception is essential as it allows you to accurately judge the distance, speed, and dynamics of objects close by.
This skill is essential for identifying other bikes and motor vehicles around you, allowing you to react with greater confidence and speed, while protecting your safety.
Dynamic visual acuity
This skill allows you to see, interpret, and react quickly to rapidly moving objects, while you are also in motion.
Dynamic visual acuity is essential for making sudden, split-time decisions, avoiding collisions and accidents and ensuring your safety during the race.
Eye-hand coordination
Well developed eye-hand coordination allows you to react to incoming visual information with accurate timing and control over body movements.
This skill is especially important for preventing driving errors and collisions.
Peripheral vision
Your peripheral vision, or your “side” vision allows you to see things from the corner of your eye.
This is essential for identifying all vehicles around you, barriers placed along the side of the track and any objects that could impact your speed.
What can I do to improve my motorsports skills?
If motorsports give you a thrill, but you would like to enhance your performance on the raceway, improving your visual skills can help you to drive with increased confidence, while also reducing your risk of accident.
With vision therapy, you can retrain the connections between your eyes and brain to strengthen your visual skills and enhance your performance during recreational motorsports as well as high speed races.
LEARN MORE: Guide to Sports Vision
Schedule an appointment with an eye doctor for a thorough evaluation of your functional vision.
Your doctor will determine which visual skills require strengthening, and can prescribe a program of vision therapy to help you gain the confidence you seek and the motorsports skills you desire.
