Taurus

April 20 – May 20

As the athlete of the lot, you can find a Taurus at the sharp end at any sport. Motorsport is no exception. In fact, motorsport is one of the few things in life that caters to all of the Taurus’ strengths. The subtle smoothness in motions required while in the car comes just as naturally to the Taurean driver as the outspoken, social demeanor that so readily attracts that necessary evil we call sponsorship. Engineers love them for their ability to subtly direct their car development. Team managers adore their willingness to turn around and take direction when necessary. It should really come to no surprise that there’s always a spot for a Taurus on any given grid.

Car control is the primary strength of the Taurus when he’s behind the wheel. Which makes sense – car control is essentially a complex application of the human sense of touch, and Taurus is the most tactile sign of the twelve. A Taurean driver will make firm and decisive inputs, whilst simultaneously exhibiting almost extrasensory sensitivity to feedback from the tyres. Though not a multitasking specialist by any means, a Taurus will readily accept information from every corner of the car at any time, in any situation. With proper education and experience, this is a trait that be exploited to an almost unfair advantage in the world of wheel to wheel.

There’s the caveat there. A rather annoying characteristic of motorsport is that the definition of what’s “proper” is constantly being redefined. It isn’t uncommon to see 50 years of engineering research turned on its head by a tiny privateer race team. While a driver won’t have to understand all of the intricate details, he will have to adapt to these new discoveries. As the standout stalwart amongst the generally conservative Earth signs, a Taurus is the most likely to struggle when this happens. The bull may spend weeks stubbornly resisting change. And by the time the realization sinks in he may find himself far behind the pack.

For the competitive Taurean driver, the solution could be as hard as keeping an open mind or as easy as finding a good coach to do so for him. To those sharing the track with said drivers, I suggest keeping a close eye and your guard up – for the raging bull has few real weaknesses.

Notable Tauruses in Motorsport:
- Phil Hill                         1961 F1 World Champion, 3-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner
- Felipe Massa                 Ferrari Joint #1, Schumacher Protégé
- Seiji Ara                       2004 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

Aries

March 21 – April 19

World-class drivers are incredibly boring people. Yet who can blame them? Their very presence on the grid is at the mercy of sponsors and a team that expect nothing but the utmost professional attitude. Every so often though, a driver arrives on the scene and flips the grid on its head. He’ll ignore custom, commit every faux-pas in the face of his team, and color the world’s press with his blunt expressions of frustration. Whether he finishes at the top of the pack or crashes wildly in the process, the public will notice him. Fans will love him and hate him, but they will always remember him. That is the nature of the Ariesian driver.

The Aries is just as interesting a driver as he is a character. Like most of the fire-based signs, the Aries displays a more aggressive approach when communicating with the car. From the outside, the car will seem frisky, or snappy on corner entry, and show hundreds of tiny direction changes as it finds its way to the exit. Aries drivers are, however, not “car breakers”… unless that’s what they feel like that day.

The defining characteristic of an Aries is their unwavering determination to do… well, what they feel like doing. As social creatures, those decisions are often influenced by their surrounding environment, but often one wonders if they would not have come to the same conclusion if they had been confined in isolation. This often results in unconventional on-track behavior that defies convention. If an Aries thinks that short straight in the Esses is long enough to pass, he’ll do it without hesitation. If he feels he needs more room turning into the first corner, he will brake with two wheels on the FIA curbing. This sort of headstrong behavior translates into their car setup as well. Their cars will have bizarre quirks like a long-travel brake pedal or massive amounts of bump-in dialed into their front suspension – things that will provide no benefit to a normal driver, but are ergonomic must-haves for the Aries.

The danger, of course, is that the direction of travel may opposite that of the destination. That risky pass could have been the cause of that massive crash on lap 1. That bump-in setup could have been why the car was so slow in traffic. As an Aries driver’s biggest challenge will be to allow himself to waver from his position. If he can do that, the headstrong Aries will barrel through to the top with ease.

Notable Aries in Motorsport:
- Ayrton Senna                3-time F1 World Champion
- Carlos Sainz                  2-time WRC World Champion
- Jacques Villeneuve         1997 F1 World Champion, Singer (no, really)

I like machines. They’re predictable. They’re logical. There’s always a reason as to why something happens. If something doesn’t work the way you want it to, you just have to spend enough time moving your hands and your mind until you find out why. Then you go back and change it. It’s the practical approach to making everything well again.

That’s why I like astrology. It’s mysterious. It’s fascinating. It’s completely illogical. There’s no reason as to why any of it should make any sense. There is no reason why you should make sense of it. There is no puzzle. No solution. Yet, I find it strangely practical in my daily doings.

Like in motorsport, for example. No two people drive the same way. But many people share strengths, and weaknesses alike. How do I organize their masses so I can approach them practically? Astrology? Er… No. But more often than is sensible I see correlations between a driver’s sign and his driving style. And I can’t help but wonder if I see a real link or two somewhere in that mess.

In the interest of making this worthwhile, I’m going to give each sign its own post. Here we go...

This is the closest I'll ever get to a New Year's Resolution.