Making the Jump from Trackdays to Racing

[f3racer]

the new track day rider who thinks they will be the next Nicky Hayden 

he is wrong... I AM THE NEXT NICKY HAYDEN!!!

[roadracer162]

It is funny to see so many different perceptions of the article and how it reads. I can see each and every point tated in response but it is not what I necessarily got out of it.

I can see it presented towards that track day rider that thinks he will go in there to that first race weekend and burn-up the track with blistering lap times on their first race weekend. Those are the guys and gals that put their "balls before brains" mentality and get into trouble and many times include others in their emergency.

The article is a good read and although maybe not received well by others I can indentify with a lot that was stated. I for one enjoy racing and will continue to work towards one of those individuals that are the "core racers" to the racing organization. There are so many that start for the "glory", for me starting at age 40 had no aspirations of ever winning a race. I expected to be the last guy and be at best middle of the pack. I still am not the lead pack but I do have my own moments of glory.

Thanks for the read. Now let me hear someone else' take of track day to racing article.

Mark

[MELK-MAN]

it is easy to see how the articles message can be taken many ways..

[f3racer]

Well, i havent even had my 1st race. ive been to a few track days and race schools. everything that everyone has said strikes me in one way or another and i have to put it in a different aspect.

Military life.  Its all i know. ive been doing it for 13 yrs.
I take training as i do combat.  "train as you fight" so i had to adapt a little different to the track. at the team hammer school at daytona i was waved in behind Higbee on his buell. we went at a good pace  for sometime and then he just walked off and left me. I wanted so desperately to push myself as i am used to the "train as you fight" attitude but i had to think things through a little better and realize i havent honed my skills yet to go that fast. I know my bike would do it. i was even commented by rick shaw as having a damn fast 600.  Just like in the army i know my equipment will do it but if i jump into a group of Al Qaeda i might not get out.

i dont make a whole lot of money but my wife is very supportive and allows me to spend when we can afford it.
my family didnt have the money to buy me a motorcycle when i was real young. i had a honda elite 50 scooter that i would wreck on a regular basis after watching freddie spencer do it on his racer. my 1st bike i had to work my as off to rebuild. i am starting very late and wont have my 1st race until 32 yrs old. i am building the bike that i spent 15 months in iraq to pay for into a race bike.

i am a fast street rider, but i am by no means a very fast racer. i dont plan to be the next rossi. i just want to do what i have dreamed of for years upon years. i told my father when i was 4 that i wanted to race when i grew up. and even if i only get to race one race next year then i will have accomplished my dream. i have talked to people at the track that tell stories about how fast they were and how many people they beat. they take for granted what they have and dont realize how hard it is for some people to reach what they wish, or they fact that some people never even get that far. the friends to make at the track are the same you might make at a track day.

i read this article and think of what it has taken me to get as far as i have, what i might be able to accomplish, and think of all the people on this forum that i admire for having made it to where i want to be in life.
Finally i think of my wife. i have never had a significant other support me the way she does. i love her for it.

may not make alot of sense to most people but it make the world of sense to me.

[roadracer162]

F3- I can identify with your approach. I have heard "practice makes perfect". I think it is more than that, "perfect practice makes perfect". In effect practicing riding in the right way and it will become second nature. I say don't worry about being fast. Instead learn how to read what your bike is doing, notice the feedback, aniticipate when the front is sliding. do you know when the front tire is sliding? Would you know what to do to correct it.

For me I am not the best by far, nor am I the fastest. But I have learned some skills one of them is actually scrubbing speed by sliding the front and correcting it before totally crashing. More lucky than anything else.

Mark

[f3racer]

F3- I can identify with your approach. I have heard "practice makes perfect". I think it is more than that, "perfect practice makes perfect". In effect practicing riding in the right way and it will become second nature. I say don't worry about being fast. Instead learn how to read what your bike is doing, notice the feedback, aniticipate when the front is sliding. do you know when the front tire is sliding? Would you know what to do to correct it.

For me I am not the best by far, nor am I the fastest. But I have learned some skills one of them is actually scrubbing speed by sliding the front and correcting it before totally crashing. More lucky than anything else.

Mark

thanks mark.  i definately read what everyone posts on here and put it all in my tool bag. i read every book i can get my hands on learn what i can. hell ive even taken out old magazines and re-read the articles on honing skills.
i have to say that i am proud to be associated with this forum and the majority of the people here represent this sport very well.

[roadracer162]

Now, find your mentor and listen to what he/she has to say. Use what sticks to you and you will be a world ahead for it.

[f3racer]

Roger, wilco

[HAWK]

I read the article as a cautionary intro to racing. If you really take a good look around the padock during a race weekend you will have no trouble finding most of the stories in that article, you can also turn a blind eye and never see any of it. That's kind of what the story is all about, opening the trackday riders eyes to what CAN happen if they make the jump to racing without giving it due respect. If you race and feel that the article doesn't fit you, congratulations, You'll go far in your pursuit of having fun with your friends and probably enjoy a long racing career. Unfortunately there are some people that take it too far and it can cost them dearly in many ways.

[Rick Johnson 29]

To me it makes racing sound like a bad thing.I'd rather have someone a (newbie) that comes out for their first race to have some track experience.For someone to just come to the track having never ridden the track except for a one day race school seems to be a danger to theirself and all the other racers on the track.Me personally I did about 17 trackdays and half of those with the advanced riders.So my first races I felt comfortable passing and be passed closely. Just my 2 cents

[roadracer162]

I guess I am spoiled. In Florida the race weekend includes a Saturday practice day much like a track day-just better. Then on Sunday we do the races. I think Marco Martinez raced 9 races in one day. For me though I enter typically two and up to four races. Many times we will get 7 sessions on Saturday practice allowing time to learn a track, or get the set-up working before actually racing. Daytona for me has been a diffucult learning experience without the chance for practice.

I also feel that track-days are the most dangerous for me where I am not sure of the capabilities of the other rider. I prefer race weekends with the Saturday/Sunday schedule allowing me the comfort of knowing the other guy is a little more proficient. Just my perception and experience of the two.

Mark

[funsizeracing]

Ever noticed how an addict gets defensive and angry when someone tells them they have a problem?  See any of that here?