How slow can you go racing?

Going to put a new spin on an old question. How slow have you seen some novice riders go? I've seen some threads asking "when should I make the change over to racing from trackdays" and some racers suggest jumping into racing early on depending on what kind of rider you are. I dont know if thats the consensus or not but I'm wondering what happens when you get a front pack novice rider into a novice race? Is it worth it to race or should one really just keep doing trackdays until he faster?

 

lmao my buddy Bobs first time on the track was at a WERA race school. He was litterally battling a CB350 on his GSXR750 the first weekend...running 1:57's or something at Jennings. He had only had his GSXR for like 2 months prior. That was the beginning of "09. Now he is battling real racers in the Novice ranks. He was running consistand 1:31's at Jennings this past weekend.

 

So how did he do his first race? Not in terms of times but like was he getting lapped or anything? I lapped someone at Tally my first track day.

 

Yep...he got lapped a whole lot. lol The thing is that he keeps improving and he knows how to ride.... He was never a danger....just a back marker....sometime a really far back...back marker. lol

 

I was a moving chicane. When I got passed, (not if, when ), I just held my line and focused on my riding. The fast guys will get around you.

Trackdays are great for honing your skills, but racing is a whole different ball game. It's mentally different. No one is going to be 'nice' about passing. That doesn't mean they are deliberately trying to spook you, but it's racing, if you're in front of them you are just another bike they need to gt by. This can be a good thing if you have confidence in your riding, even if you are slower.

Eventually you learn and get faster. How fast is up to the rider.

 

Oh ok. So I guess I wouldn't be the first guy to be an embarassment huh? LOL!

So what makes it worth it to be a back marker vs just doing trackdays? Obviously it wouldn't be the difference in passing rules if you're getting lapped.

 

this is encouraging, great thread OP.

do you guys recommend staying with trackdays and getting up in the groups tho, so u get used to closer and inside passing that way youre not spooked if it happens in a race?

 

The ability to improve. You won't be a backmarker for long. You'll pick up time and suddenly the group that checked out from you, is now finishing just ahead of you. Next time, you've passed some of them and eventually - you're moving into the mid-pack group, and so on and so on.

In my own experience, there first track I ever raced on - I was about 40 seconds slower per lap than now. Granted, a different class bike, but 40 seconds is *a lot*.

I would never be disheartened by starting off slow. You'll learn things faster in a race weekend and early on - competing against the clock in a race environment is just one of the best ways to get faster IMO.

Good luck!

 

Thanks. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one here that is interested in racing but whats to make good informed decisions. :up:

Good question. I've been passed in the turns at a novice TD but I wouldn't call it "close". Reading the other thread about passing and swapping paint, elbowing, etc makes me second guess if I'll be able to handle what goes on out there.

 

Good post.

 

I remember a girl who was about as slow as one can get. I think I lapped her three times in a GT race (equivalent to a solo) at Loudon. She loved every minute of every race and refused to consider not racing, even after knocking herself out once or twice (you can crash hard at any speed if you try hard enough ).

 

WOW! Really? This is all so interesting to me. I hope that when I do decide to race there are some slow people to keep me company in the back.

 

I have been lapped and passed before and we were not even close. The guys battling for first who scream around you are giving you a wide enough birth as not to trade paint. If you've only done novice TD's where you only get passed in straights or on the wide outside of corners, the sound of bike coming up on you is the real trick. You hear the whine then maybe the beginning of the wheel and then they're gone. Once I got past the initial "shock" or hearing something behind me it was smooth sailing.

 

I did one single track day before I started racing. Putnam Park in Sept of 2008. I purchased a beat up F2 in the spring of 2009 and started racing. I talked to racers and got great information. I talked to track day guys and got all kinds of information lol Some bad.

Now racing is where its at for me. Having a faster guy with you actually shooting for a prize makes you faster. There is competition per say, at a track day but no prize.

 

Pretty much.

Also, it's important to remember that you'll make good strides at the beginning when you're slow. A 5 second jump in one weekend, and then 6 seconds the next. But then, as you come up to speed you start looking for 1 second a lap and then tenths. Then it's a matter of tuning your skills as well as tuning the suspension and feel of the machine.

 

Well, this has been a querry point for me as well, as I see myself as a backmarker as well.

Everyone seems to be saying just do it

Which is fine and dandy in the 'off season" behind the keyboard, BUT...

How many of you have come in second or slower in the race and was "pissed" at the backmarker, at the time of the race, because he just happened to be at the wrong place for YOU at the wrong time?

 

Its my understanding that if you can't pass a slow rider its not the riders fault but yours as the responsibility to pass lies with you and if you dont have the skills to do so then maybe the finish you got is what you are deserving of.

 

Getting pissed at a backmarker because they were "in your way" is a fairly self-centered attitude in club racing IMO.... Getting pissed at a back marker because they did something unpredictable and almost took you both off the planet is different, well that's another story.
Either way, you learn to get over that kind of thing or you quit racing.

I try to give backmarkers extra room if I can.

 

To further convince some of you....my 18 year old son grew up riding dirtbikes but had never even ridden a streetbike until a trackday at Putnam this August (on a 94 900RR at that).

He took the school at Nashville in September and came in 5th out of 6 in his Sunday race.

This was his second time on a streetbike.