Unlike the majority of the drivers who will be competing in the Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, RSports' Las Vegas resident Alex Tagliani has given himself a unique advantage in preparation for the Champ Car season-opener by taking his training to the streets.
Most people do not think of race car drivers as athletes, believing that, by driving a fancy race car around for two hours on a Sunday, it is more of a joy ride then an actual test to the physical and mental endurance one might have.
That, of course, is not true, with drivers taking on unbelievable challenges every time they get behind the wheel. In each corner of a race track, Tagliani’s body is exposed to three times the force of gravity. A driver’s steering effort is the big thing. Not only do they have to control the 1800 pound race car, but they also have to
turn it. Imagine when a driver is turning left that off to the right of the steering wheel is a one-foot bar that has 35 pounds hanging off the end. That is the kind of force they are working against when turning the wheel. To get a feeling of what kind of speed these guys are running, on an average Champ Car street course, consider that they are negotiating corners at 70mph that average people would take at 20-30mph.
In terms of a work-out, the average driver will sustain a heartbeat of 150 beats per minute, equalling the most vigorous part of a 'normal' work-out, but maintain that average consistently for two hours. The beating they take during a race is strong enough to break ribs if a driver is not properly secured in the cockpit. A driver can loose
8-10 pounds during a race, combined through loss of water and energy - fat - that they burn.
Montreal native Tagliani knows the importance of physical and mental health, and that having a solid combination of the two can lead to success in the Champ Car World Series.
![Alex Tagliani gets an early look at the new Las Vegas street circuit during training [pic credit: RSports]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/306510.jpg)
