Improving with practice or race school or?

Fellas I need some advice. I only started asphalt racing two years ago and have only done a few outings a year. I'm not improving much and I want to go faster. I used to race motocross/enduros and was sorta fast a while back.

I looked at the Keith Code site. Everyone has to start at level 1. Also in level 1 are inexperienced street riders and people who aren't interested in racing. Do they keep you stuck in slow traffic? Do the exercises turn into faster lap times?

Should I concentrate on track days to get more practice (along with racing) or is the cost of the school worth it compared to just riding more?

Thanks

 

Look into one on one coaching, lots of good dudes doing that, like Geoff May.

 

Just my personal experience, but YCRS was the best investment I ever made when it came to riding. Coming from a sports background, perfect practice makes perfect. Just spinning laps may not be the most efficient way to improve if you don't know what you are specifically trying to improve at so while you certainly will get some improvement just getting out there. Getting some focused education can leapfrog you ahead a lot faster IMHO.

Again, just my experience though. No right or wrong way to do this as long as you are having fun and hitting your goals.

 

Do you have a mini? Haven't been able to ride in a while but we used to be 5-10 strong elbow to elbow in parking lots we set up with cones. It is excellent practice when you can't make it to track for whatever reason and I promise you when you get good at sliding and pushing that all out of shape skill transfers to a big bike.

 

No harm in some race schoolin'. Could give ya some pointers on what you might be doing incorrectly and how to improve those bad habits. Then track time, whether it's racing or trackdays. Ride, ride, and ride some more. Keep in mind that it may come down to a mental block. You may have excellent form, brake/throttle control, and just doing everything "right", yet those that are going faster just have a little less fear of falling down. At least that's how a couple of old racers explained it to me when I asked what I was doing wrong that made me a couple seconds slower than them.

 

No. There is a passing rule, tho', minimum six feet of clearance all around, anywhere on the track.
Yes. That could be said of any school.

No and yes. You could spend your money at track days, only to reinforce bad habits. Bad habits can lead to crashes as your speed increases. The cost of schooling is definitely worth it. You'll gain knowledge you could otherwise spend years learning at your own DIY school of hard knocks.
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I can't vouch for personal instructors nor YCRS, but CSS's curriculum works if you work it. You could say they bring a student through a progression of stages that build a strong foundation. In the past, I've taken Kevin Schwantz School, Freddie Spencer's Pro School and all of the CSS levels. Of those, CSS gave the best all-around information and a shit-ton of it.

I've been considering YCRS for some time as their philosophy is closely related to Freddie Spencer's teachings. I remember three distinct things from Freddie's Pro School that the others did not mention and, as Freddie would say, they are key.

Taking different schools opens you to other ideas, skillsets and techniques from which you can pick and choose to suit your personal abilities/needs/style. It's like putting together a tool box; every good box includes a variety of makers. If you're gonna make your own tools, it's gonna be slow goin'.

 

YCRS all the way.

 

Here’s the question. Are your expendable finances limited? Do you have X amount to spend on your season? I ask because a weekend with YCRS could be a large portion of ones budget that is just getting into the sport. If money is no object, by all means try the schools. Do as many as you can. However, your title says “or” two times. If it comes down to an either or scenario you will have to be honest with yourself. How well do you absorb information. How hard headed are you. For some, the money will be best spent with schools. Me personally , when I started going to the track and getting into racing for me the seat time was most important. I couldn’t see spending most of my summer budget on a 2 day school and being unable to apply the knowledge much that year. I chose to read and watch videos and soak up all of the knowledge from instructors and many of the very proficient racers around the paddocks. There was no shortage of knowledge, experience and help. At that time in my life and racing career the money was best spent on seat time. I believe one can elevate his skills and advance rapidly if he is able to learn, apply and get the seat time. But as many have said, you don’t want to reinforce bad habits or have to many “incidents” during the Learning phase. So to each his own. For some the school is best. For some the seat time and the races. If you have the available time and money then do both.

 

this

 

Go racing..... you'll never be without a rabbit, or short some help. It's not that complicated.

 

All this input is super!

Fastfreddie, thank you for going right down my list of questions.

Keep it up, I'm sure there are others that will benefit from this thread.

 

Your welcome.
When stuff matters to someone else, or to myself, I try to stick with the program.
Since you have experience rubbin' elbows, and I'm sure a fair share of hittin' the ground, racing isn't out of the question. It will most certainly highlight any shortcomings, thereby giving you added info if/when it comes time to choose an educational path.

BTW, on sportbikes, unless you get high-sided, run over or sandwiched, you've had much harder get-offs in the dirt, at least as far as bruises and pain goes. I started in the dirt, I know.
On sportbikes, my pain has always come from a high-side or another bike. You'll be fine but, just so ya know, racing is when that shit happens.

 

These.

 

This right here.

Looking back at my time racing if I could change anything it would be to have done this first. I started riding minis towards the end of my big bike “career”. We had a fast lot ... john girl aka @johnbranch who post here from time to time, John Haner and others were regulars in the parking lot.

Having been through Colin’s boot camp I must say that some instruction is paramount as well.

Ride anything and everything, often!

 

All due respect... bullshit. When I first started riding on a closed course regularly... I got all kinds of "wrong" info. I started at Jennings around 2004. Granted a hayabusa and Zx12 werent ideal track bikes but its what I had at the time. I made the progression to a smaller bike I could leave in a dumpster. Even then... "I still circulated in a pretty emotional state"- Ed Bargy.

I went through alot of schools... wasted money and time, my riding did not improve... met alot of nice folks though.
Between DiSalvos & YCRS... I should have started there first. And stuck with minis second.

Both of those have erased my "fears" of crashing and gave me the insight to dissect new tracks at a rapid pace!

 

Where are you located?

 

What Shaka said. YCRS classroom teachings are more intense than riding on the track. And if youre not going to pay explicit attention to details, youre gonna get creamed by guys that do. Especially in expert.

 

Ken Hill podcasts are a great place to start. Free (accepts donations)
Very good information that will give you a place to start without spending half of your racing budget.

 

Southern Ohio.

 

What Shaka and Jared said.

I’m a big believer in getting instruction/education for anyone starting out (listening to Ken's podcast and taking track schools) then practicing those skills on the track. As much as seat time is important, it’s more importent to know what skills you need to work on in order to give you the tools to be successful.