Hate to say it, Soulz, but it's just going to take practice. I liked Shane's and United's descriptions of "Riding the Tunnel", but I imagine it's something we can do because we've been doing it for a long time. Boy, I remember back when I was first starting out in AW, I spent a WHOLE lot of time unconcious.
One thing is to work on knowing what your speed is. Just before you merge, make it a habit to check your speed. 250 or more and you can pretty much guarantee a blackout from a hard turn, so you can be prepared to be a tad more tender on the stick, "Riding the Tunnel". Pull gently until the tunnel vision starts, then practice gently holding just a narrow tunnel. After that you can practice holding the enme fighter in that tunnel.
If you have more E than your target, use a lag turn and you can still come out of it with the speed to close on him. You don't always have to turn inside. Or a high yo-yo if you want to bleed speed, stay conscious and still stay with your target.
Being a pony driver, I rather enjoy high speed turn fights. It's amazing how many spit, La and 109 drivers assume they can automatically out turn a pony. At speed, however, and gently riding the tunnel, I can often out turn them.
Practice, practice, practice.