To Race or Not To Race...

[PPS26]

I never did trackdays and my rookie race I did a 1:54. My first REAL race I did a 1:39. And now I'm an expert. So fuck you all.


But man I wish I knew about track days before I got into racing. So not to say it CANT be done, but I wish I would've gone about it differently.

i agree, i never auctally rode a bike for real untill penguin school in 2007, it pretty much went heres a bike, heres how to take the school, dont scratch my bike.

[Degsy]

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I'm sorry but I'm going to sound like an asshole here. Your statements make you sound like you have zero understanding of racing or what I'm talking about.

[eboos]

Lets not forget, Novice (or a third rank for the beginner) is pretty rare in American road racing organizations. CCS and WERA have only 2 classes, with beginners starting in the class just below Experts. I do think that you should have plenty of track time under your belt before starting to race. We are lucky to have a class for true beginners. You need to realize that, while you try to be as predictible as possible, the others you are racing with could be a total shit sandwich. With this in mind, I try to give as much room as possible when passing.

Looks like CMG241 made my point for me while I was typing.

[FireboltEric_MA]

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I'm sorry but I'm going to sound like an asshole here. Your statements make you sound like you have zero understanding of racing or what I'm talking about.

My statement? You asshole!!..

[6 Fingered Man]

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I'm sorry but I'm going to sound like an asshole here. Your statements make you sound like you have zero understanding of racing or what I'm talking about.

I may have zero understanding of what you are talking about. But I have been around racing of all types my whole life, and motorcycle racing for quite a while.

Are you not saying there should be e minimum speed for racers to be able to obtain a race license and hoping that implementing a rule like this will force people to do track days first?

I am trying to point out that a rule like this will not be easy to write and have it be effective. And it could have the opposite effect by stressing people to be fast before safe. And that a rider being slow does not in itself make that rider dangerous.

[PPS26]

all im getting at is people with zero track experiance can come to the track and start to ride and learn to ride through the novice ranks at their own pace without the need for trackdays first, im sure there great to do ...this whole tread seems to be about laptimes and being on the track or not doing a certin time...novice class is designed for that reason

[Doc]

I have my eye on the GTL novice championship. Smutty and DanK can kiss my ass. Everyone else, bump up you pussies! Let us slow guys have a moment of glory.

There is no Novice Championship.

[eboos]

The only real problem that I can see with the Novice class is not a matter of laptimes, but a matter of the broad difference in skill and experience. This is where having more track time can help before starting to race. When I started to race, I was still trying to find my way around the track. I had only done one trackday (crashed by noon time) and the 2 day Penguin school (rained both days) before I started to race. I was way unprepaired at the time.

[eboos]

There is no Novice Championship.

Yeah there is sucka. With a cash payout too.

[RyanNicholson]

Personally I think the system currently in place works pretty damn well given the circumstances. It really isn't all that bad, I mean c'mon... its racing... people are going to crash and do stupid shit on the track. It actually works pretty smooth with relatively few incidents compared to what it COULD be.

I'm also in the "my first track experience was penguin" boat. Hell I instructed the first trackday I ever attended haha.

[6 Fingered Man]

Personally I think the system currently in place works pretty damn well given the circumstances. It really isn't all that bad, I mean c'mon... its racing... people are going to crash and do stupid shit on the track. It actually works pretty smooth with relatively few incidents compared to what it COULD be.

I'm also in the "my first track experience was penguin" boat. Hell I instructed the first trackday I ever attended haha.

Matty Tomato said it best about you "then there is guys like ryan.. Its like someone walked up to him and said "I dub the the ability to go fast""

[Doc]

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The hawk crowd love to crow about how much power they are down but truth be told it makes no difference in novice for 90% of riders. Only guys doing sub 17s will see much advantage with sheer horsepower. Its easier to ride a 50hp bike at loudon than a 150hp bike.

HEY!!! Hawks don't "crow" we Screech!

But I agree. You can ride just about anything legal for your class and win in Novice (except maybe a GS500)

[FireboltEric_MA]

When I started to race, I was still trying to find my way around the track. .

What are you doing now then?

[PPS26]

$200 to the novice GTL points leader

[FireboltEric_MA]

$$$200.00$$$$ Sweeeeet!!!!!

I am so dropping down to Novice!!!!













Wait, wut?

[6 Fingered Man]

$200 to the novice GTL points leader

Not worth staying in novice for....

[eboos]

What are you doing now then?

Trying to catch up to you in your wave to show you that just whacking it open in the straights does not equal improvement.

[eboos]

Not worth staying in novice for....

Christ man, it's a joke. Don't think for a moment that I will keep these red numbers any longer then I have to.

[PPS26]

Not worth staying in novice for....

agreed!!!!

[butcher bergs]

Just imagine this conversations anywhere but Loudon club racing - correct me if wrong but your very first race you are an Amateur- no such thing as Novice.

There's also a slight difference between Loudon and many of the other tracks.....that being the fact that there isn't any escape route at just about half the turns.

Once the season is done, if LRRS was able to supply me the NV lap times from this year, I'd happily compile them in order to find the slowest average. Split the field in half. Use the top half as the fast average and the bottom half as the slow average. BAM! You now have a model of who is running slow enough to be a concern to others.

Firebolt Eric - You're just fine, no question.


Tell you quick guys what, spend a day buzzing people at a trackday who's 10, 15 and 20 seconds slower than you and report back. If you don't see a safety issue after that then I'm not sure what it will take.

[FireboltEric_MA]

This explains why I almost caught up to you this last race weekend... Another couple of laps and I would have passed ya.

Stu had me working this last weekend...

Improvements come by finishing a race, by that I don't mean the hot lap.

[scottieducati]

I think a huge problem right now is that there are so few in the Novice classes, that they're "getting away" with huge speed differentials. With 25 bikes on a grid / in your race it's a whole other ball of wax.

[eboos]

This explains why I almost caught up to you this last race weekend... Another couple of laps and I would have passed ya.

Stu had me working this last weekend...

Improvements come by finishing a race, by that I don't mean the hot lap.

Shut up Novice.

[Kurlon]

You can ride just about anything legal for your class and win in Novice (except maybe a GS500)

I saw that. My 2nd place NV LWSB plaque would like to have a word with you. : ) (Cherry-picking for the podium!)

[eboos]

I think a huge problem right now is that there are so few in the Novice classes, that they're "getting away" with huge speed differentials. With 25 bikes on a grid / in your race it's a whole other ball of wax.

I agree.