White plates on TD bikes?

no, they practice on Friday with Fastrack which is not a racer practice.

my last time out on one of those days, it felt like at least 50% were not racers. but thats kinda meaningless because I don't ride with or pass everyone in a group.

 

I will never get to make racing my job, and I will never have Hayes talent, and so far the way they are vetting TD`s means I`m fucked for much race practice.

 

SpeedyE, it sounds like your buddy spooked the guy that pushed you off the track. My take on it? Only one person there was in the wrong place - fraidy cat. He shoulda been in a different group.
But yeah, it happens in racing, too.
What can ya do? At the least, hope that you don't become him for the guy that might be coming up behind you. Otherwise, it's don't ass-pack him, don't get ass-packed yourself trying to avoid him and don't ass-pack yourself when you pull a miraculous save of the initial offender's sorry ass.
Sorry you couldn't save yourself.

 

Thank you brother <3 very much

 

I've never done a track day with anyone but Sportbike Track Time so I don't know how anyone else operates, but Trevor Sadler emphasizes that their events are not races or race practices.

 

I think that's true of most organizations. When you have a Friday trackday right before a WERA weekend and the A sessions are jam packed, what do you think it's going to be like? The smart racers either go out at the very front or hang back for a minute to let the herd go. Some guys just want practice at passing and that's OK too, just as long as they keep it respectable.

 

Wholly crap - between all my jokes, somebody actually listened!!!! Sweet!!!!

Yea... racing is a racing and a trackday is a trackday - two different things that just happen to involve a vehicle and a closed course.

Wanna race? Go race.... I recommend WERA.

Don't wanna race? Come to a trackday. We have space for you no matter how fast you are, or are not.

t

 

We had a couple Fridays before race weekends this year. We 86'd the novice group and instead ran Intermediate/Advanced/Race Practice groups..... that seemed to work nice.

t

 

My first time at Barber was the weekend before a WERA event. I actually had a great time and was laughing my ass off in my helmet how hard some of the fast guys were passing me. In Broomes defense, I did leave about 6" on the inside and he barely brushed me...

But I also think that if you get spooked by close passing you probably should find some other group than Advanced...

 

I also don't like how TD's are only separated into typically 3 groups regardless of bike size. Closing speeds can certainly be a dangerous issue. Once I get my bike adapted for riding I intend to first practice at a track day but one before a WERA race weekend so I'll be out there with like size machines. I'll head out last and just get comfortable again and leave plenty of room on the inside for a fast guy to easily pass.

 

I would suggest a dedicated school environment as a safer place to make your initial return. They'd likely be quite accommodating, too...a feather in both your caps as you work together towards a common goal.

 

That's usually true in intermediate. You've got the guys that have done a few days and don't need the beginner group anymore alongside the guys who just need to be a little smoother and consistent to work up to advanced. IMO advanced isn't as big a deal because it's either racers or seasoned track day guys with plenty of miles logged. They're comfortable with passing and being passed.

I'm going out this weekend and I've got some specific stuff I'm trying to work on so I won't be running race pace. I know there's a few guys out there that will and I'll just hold my lines.

 

To the OP. Thank you for your service sir. As a Marine myself I find it difficult to believe that this white plate thing is even an issue for you.

 

Oh no, not me sir. Stolen Valor, I not Marine. When my Marine dad died, I emotionally changed my aavatar to honor/remember him

 

Not stolen valor, you honor him. Ty

 

I want to know when. Hell, I'll go with you. It'll be fun.

 

Back in the day, we had Team Pepsi Suzuki up at Loudon. The team owner was #177. He was a JR rider with no hope of getting expert plates. One of my jobs on pit lane was to keep track of those who pulled into the pits before their race was finished. I used to watch #177 pull onto pit lane for a breather after a few laps. He would rejoin the race for a few more laps, then retire for good. He was obviously suffering from fatigue. The following week his website would cite mechanical problems.
They went all the way down to Jennings of host a track day. #177 switched over to white plates from his yellow. He took a whole mess of pictures with the white plates for future use. When he was called out on it, he replied that LRRS considered him to be a "Junior Expert". He never got the white plates for real and I never saw him finish a race once I took notice.

 

If it makes you feel better, I was laughing in my helmet too.

 

I hope to get to this point someday, but for now, I still hate trackdays. Fortunately for me, there are so many club races that I can sign up for one of those and not deal with track day issues.

 

Dude, I love that shit. I think it was from riding MX when I was younger. None of you guys really worried me as you were all giving the appearance of being in control. Close passes and bumping never really bug me unless it is someone who is out there flailing around and obviously out of their depth. I still laugh about that and the lady who waited at pit in to cuss me out because I scared her by going inside of her stupid swoopy line and squaring off T4. I think I still have the GoPro footage of her waving her arms at me...