IT’S a phrase out of any coaching handbook and one that has stuck with Jack Perkins since then-teammate Todd Kelly highlighted it to him.

Focus on the process, not the outcome.

It’s relevant now in the case of Will Brown’s qualifying woes, feels the Triple Eight star’s former enduro co-driver.

Since winning the 2024 championship, Brown has been openly critical of his own form, and starting back in the pack has been a common hurdle.

Brown did enjoy a breakthrough pole position last time out at Albert Park – prior to that he had been outqualified 27 times in a row by teammate Broc Feeney.

“I remember working with Todd Kelly back in 2008 and one thing he said to me which has rang true now for the last however many years since then; he said processes and outcomes,” Perkins observed on The Undercut.

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“If you’re driving around thinking of the outcome, you’ll forget the process.

“So if you’re Will Brown and you’re going ‘I’ve just got to qualify, I’m getting smashed’ you forget about the process: hit the first brake marker at Turn 1, maximise the grip through Turn 1, get on the throttle.

“You’ve got however many corners in the lap and you have got to execute the process to deliver you that outcome.

“Piling the pressure on yourself and saying you’ve got to qualify well may not actually do anything to (help) your qualifying performance.

“So, break it down, think of the process, execute that process.

Jack Perkins and Will Brown started the 2023 Sandown 500 from pole position. Pic: Supplied/Mark Horsburgh

“In terms of Will Brown’s position, you have got Broc Feeney, probably one of the best qualifiers in the game at the moment – what’s he doing differently? Is there a consistent trend? How can we copy his process to deliver his outcome?

“There’s a lot to it and that’s sometimes where the raw speed drivers, who I would say is Will Brown, when they have got to find that next percent it’s hard because they’re kind of covering them over on natural ability, and someone who’s working a bit harder is getting a bit more out of it.

“That’s possibly where Will’s at. I can’t speak on behalf of Will, but that’s just my experience and my observation.”

There will be another three qualifying sessions at this weekend’s ITM Taupō Super440.