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I instructed at a BMW-only Tony's Track day two days ago. I encountered a scenario that seemed to illustrate the benefits of track days.
Tony and I were on a hot lap as we approached a rider into turn 3. I see the rider blow the turn-in, on the brakes and drifting outside. He panics and looks at the tires/ gravel trap, then locks the rear wheel, but stays upright as Tony and I carve up the inside.
Later, the rider is quietly standing in our pit area. Thinking about it now, I wonder if he was silently asking for help.
We start talking. He asks about how he could have avoided the incident. I throw the question back at him and he says something like, "downshift and straighten the bike up?".
I mention that the solution is to look and lean. Of course, the best solution is to not CHARGE INTO corners, rather slow enough to CHARGE OUT of corners. Slow in, fast out!
He questioned the ability of his tires to grip at those "extreme" lean angles. I mention that he wasn't leaning that much and that the tires would very likely would have stuck. Besides, if you have a choice between taking a chance that your tires won't stick or standing the bike up and almost guaranteeing you'll hit the tire wall, which one would you choose? Surprisingly, many choose the latter.
I acknowledged to him that we all get into panicky situations sometimes, but that it's imperative to "gather it up" and recover quickly. I pointed out the obvious, that he overshot his usual brake mark and entered turn 3 too fast. He looked at the threat (tire wall), stood the bike up and stomped on the rear brake. Many a street rider has lost their lives doing just that.
Had this rider made his mistake on the street, he would have crossed into the oncoming lane, yikes! Granted, he might not have pushed it as hard as he was, but blind corners on the street can present the same situation.
The fact is that the lessons learned at track days make you a better rider mentally, emotionally, and physically.