15 year old interested in Superbike Racing.

fixed.

-jim

 

Ok Mr. Kurlon, tell me what I could offer a company that is willing to sponsor me?

 

Viante, you coming down to Circleville this Saturday? We're racing & you can meet everyone and check out the bikes & ask whatever questions you might have.

 

lets turn this around. you tell us (as a bit of a learning exercise for yourself) what you would tell potential sponsors that you can do for them. what would you give them? why would this benefit them? why would it benefit them more than advertising some other way? what could you do that is better than all of the other people asking for sponsorship?

do you have a bike yet?

 

I'll be coaching at a track day at Putnam Park this Saturday. Lots of racers there. Its near Indianapolis. I along with most of the guys that will be there are from Cincinnati. Come on out and peep the scene yo.

 

Hi VianteSBK,

I am in California and have a 2003 Ninja 250 that is ready to track or race that you can use to get started. The bike has a new Works Connection suspension that was put on by the previous owner, but it still chatters and slides like a lot of its' generation does. With some different tires and a little tweaking, it might be fine, but for you, it will be fine right now with just different tires.

You would have to get your parents to contact me to give their approval and then pay to have it shipped to you. You can do this fairly cheaply through U-Ship or the like.

When you are done with it, if it is still rideable, I'll pay to have it shipped back to me. You can keep it for as long as you are using it.

PM me so we can set it up.

Good luck.

John Hayes

 

Damn! Sounds about as close to a full factory ride as a new guy can get!

Good on ya for being so generous.

 

...and we have a winner. http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=275707&highlight=lurker

 

Go for it kid, you're 16 now! Made it to Supersport yet?

 

Damn Nigel that was awesome! You come up with that by yourself? Kidding. Go for it young one. Come hang and watch a round or two. Take the school. Then grid up if you can. But to be honest, its a late start, not saying it isn't doable, this is simply harder then it looks, way harder. Race for a year, if you find yourself making plans for the next year with three rounds to go then you like it. If your not having an absolute blast and can lick the wounds you get, and you will, then shrug it off your not going to like it for long. If you truly love the sport and find you just don't have the top talent then finish your education and contribute to the sport with your engineering degree. There is definitely a better chance to make a living on the paddock and you can always club race for life and have blast with that highly educated income. No shame there. I don't know if you have ever done a track day or not. It isn't the same, not even close. Get to a kart track, grid up with 20 maniacs on XR100`s and try to protect your line into turn one if you get a decent start, then do it again, repeat.

We are going to try, but even my 12 year old who has been riding since he was 4 knows the odds. He wont admit it but he knows.. He says he IS going to make it. Got to admire youthful passion. I think that's 50 percent of it and you cant lose that ever, not even a little bit. He told me on the hill overlooking the paddock at Barber last year that he will always be here, if not racing then promoting, marketing, reporting, team member, team owner, etc. Welcome to rest of your life son. It has to be a way of life, you have to be hard wired for this. You must be obsessed with it.

Your not the first kid to come in here with grand plans, you wont be the last. People here are cool, they want you to race with them if you are talented enough to race safe and clean. We need all the racers we can get these days but not if you just don't belong out there. There are some damn fast people in here who are able to qualify for AMA, etc. some who have done it. This is dangerous. You are going to get some flack, some kidding, some tough love, and some hate. It doesn't end here, just wait till you get out there on the track if you do. You need tough skin. Don't get on the defensive here. Try some respect and humility first and always. Listen to what those who know tell you. I didn't always, I do more often now. Nobody likes a red flag or a helo lift demonstration. Im up too late again..

 

I didn't see him on the grid this weekend. Did he ever make it?

 

KTM RC cup would be a good starting point this year. I wonder if he's made any inroads ?

 

He asked the same thing on Apex Speed about SCCA and Kart racing.

 

racing

wanting to and doing are two different worlds. I've had clients in ordering new suits and talking about their goals for an hour about what championships they are winning this year and counting their contingency money ( when there was some) and trying to talk me out of a free suit because they thought they were fast at their only trackday and then when they got to their first race crash out on the first lap and sell all their stuff and want to do a return on their crashed custom suit. he probably street crashed the new bike and or got skinned up and the costs and reality did the rest. happens all the time. bill and darthea

 

I posted in this thread 2 or 3 years ago, saying how after years of track riding and racing, I was finally as quick as I thought I'd be on day one.

Luckily I learned along the way that you don't have to be the best at something to enjoy it. I still get frustrated when I don't make improvements to my riding, but whether it's age, wisdom, experience, or some level of 'surrender,' I've gained the ability to step back from the competitive parts of racing and just go out and enjoy riding.

That's not an attitude that wins races, but sometimes you have to be happy with enjoying yourself...

 

And there you have it. That's the attitude you need to stay in the game longer than a couple years.

 

That, and a bike that is bullet-proof and doesn't destroy tires at an alarming rate :P