Cams Rising star Jack Le Brocq will benefit from ground-breaking brain analysis technology used by leading sports psychologist Dr Noel Blundell as part of an ongoing program with the CAMS Rising Stars Team.

The program is broken into two parts – a one-on-one evaluation of the progress that each driver has made since the start of the year, and the brainwave analysis testing.

“We’ve assessed them from a whole range of different perspectives, particularly from what we call their competitive IQ,” he said.

“That looks at their decision making speed, their reaction times, their concentration consistency and their capacity to process information under pressure.

“When we took them onboard, we compared them to the absolute elite in fast-reaction time sports, and also with the absolute elite racing drivers.

“What we’ve done from there has taught them how to make faster, more accurate decisions, how to tap into their reaction times faster, and how to read the trend of races better.

“The other thing we do uses ground breaking brain technology. What we can do is put a headband on them, and put three electrodes on their forehead, and get a printout of what their brain wave pattern is.

“That then tells us what the quality and focus of their concentration is like, what their level of alertness is, how much mental energy they’re burning up, and if they’re carrying any muscle tension. These are all vital components in elite sport performance and elite driving performance.

“This technology is very, very new. There are very few people in the world who have got access to it, and it’s only become available in the last three to five years.”

In addition to full-day programs, Blundell has worked with the drivers at events in order to test them under near racing conditions, as well as setting them individually tailored ‘homework’ tasks to complete, and has been highly pleased with their attitude and results.

“They’ve responded to the program exceptionally,” he said.

“They love it, it’s fun, they like to find out what they can do, and they’re becoming very committed to it. Being highly competitive, aspiring athletes, they’re chasing me for information in order to get that extra edge on the track.”

“From a results point of view, we know what the decision making speed of the very best in the world is like, in thousandths of a second, and the young men in this program are probably one of the best groups we’ve ever had.”

Blundell says that, from a psychological perspective, motorsport cannot be treated the same way as other sports such as cricket or golf.

“There are two parts to it,” he said of motorsport.

“It’s having the machine that allows you to be competitive for a start, and then it’s having the mental skills to get the absolute most out of the vehicles.

“In some sports it’s basically just you, but here there’s the interaction between the vehicle and the driver, and the driver having to have a great feel for the car, and to be able to give feedback to the engineers.

“It’s a highly complicated sport, but they have to really simplify it by being able to trust their instincts and trust their feel.”

The inherent danger of motorsport is an obvious differentiator from many sports.

“The potential danger and life threatening component can be a real issue,” said Blundell.

“Just the whole notion of risk taking. These drivers are risk takers from our perspective, but they don’t necessarily see it that way. They have to learn to trust their instincts, and they have to trust the machine they’re in.”

Jack would like to thank Dr. Noel Blundell for all the invaluable advice he has given him throughout the 2010 season. “Noel’s advice has helped make me a much more confident and competitive driver and I will continue to use this information now and in my future pursuits in motorsport.”

Jack is proudly supported by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport, the Australian Motorsport Federation, the Australian Sports Commission, Minda Motorsport, Penrite Oils, OAMPS Insurance Brokers, Boylan Traffic Solutions, Relux Slabs, Revolution Racegear, LCF Merchandise, Blugreen, Sensorsafe Contracting, Viking Windscreens, Trevor Barnes Signwriting, Blackwell Bodyworks, Earthcrete P/L, Leisure Pools-Melb South East, Darren Spargo Photography and Beaconsfield Chiropractic Clinic.