I saw that too and thought it was a remarkable indication of 'talent'. Be it a car or a boat, the person on the helm needs to have an inate ability to feel and interpret the actions of the vessel whether it's the straining of the tires and the suspension or the healing of a boat and the slippage of the keel. After that, it's a matter of identifying where the speed limits of those strains are and keeping them right on the edge. I think this 'seat of the pants' ability is a common trait shared by most top notch vehicular racers. For someone that doesn't share a 'natural' ability to this talent, it is a difficult trait to learn because it is a difficult, nearly impossible, one to describe step-by-step and is developed largely through experience.

The next key ability is to learn - and while a certain aspect of learning is influenced by 'talent' (speedy conceptual comprehension and situational awareness) it is also heavily influenced by motivation and can be greatly enhanced through training. Learning results in skill and while some aspects of 'talent' allow you to increase your skill faster or more slowly than someone else, a lacking degree of 'talent' in learning can be overcome through training and coaching.

Someone that is lacking in this seat-of-the-pants 'talent' can certainly still win through skill (training) but they will find it difficult to be consistant because they are reacting more on their training and experience than their situational and sensational awareness.