I am not saying everybody should move up to Expert after 5 weekends like I did, but at the same time there shouldnt be any returning Novices with multiple podiums under their belt. And I know all about the light grids/small classes thing. So what? If somebody has completed 10+ weekends, regardless of how many people are in the classes, they know their way around a race track, know how to launch, know how to hold a line, know how to pass and be passed, etc. Stop making excuses and move up. .02 I agree, But the problem is these guys have seen the "wait till its my year" Novices that win 40 races and get all the tire $$, and want to do it too. "they want their turn" so what if it took, 5 full nov seasons LOL. The guys that are doing 1 and two rounds a year and are having fun at their local track is cool IMO. Hell I did it, but as soon as I was able to start doing full seasons "5 or more event weekends" I went expert. And got faster... Something needs to change, only having 3-6 Experts on the grid sucks. I don't know how to fix it, so I AM NOT HARPING ON WERA AT ALL, just talking it out on the bbs.
Dude. I suck so bad at launching. There were several occasions at RA where i started on the front row, and was like 10th going into T1. At the end of the day, i would rather be back with a bunch of people because the battling is the fun part. So i wasnt really pissed about it. But i do wish i was better at it. I do a lot of races so i am getting better, but i still suck. I need to go to the drag strip.
Practice those starts, it helps and nothing feels better than hitting T1 in first place. Took me a few weekends to get used to launching a 1000 verses a 600 but after I mastered the difference I find the 1000 easier. Didn't look like that back at Nola in April though.
I looked at your SS finish and I don't know how many laps you have at Road A but the folks that finished ahead of you have a few events there (& who knows how many track days) and looked like you did well when comparing total race times. Also looks like you went even faster on Sunday.
That never happens in my races if anything the fast A experts end up running up clean through the novice pack.
I've been novice since 2010 doing at most 2 weekends a year across multiple orgs so I've never put together even half of a season together. It's a mental thing for me not to "ask" to be bumped but to earn it. I think I came close last year in CCS based on overall or class points or whatever nonsense they use but I didn't get a notice. I might just suck it up and request expert plates.
Very true. It dosn't matter who you are, If I get my hooks in, I can Hang! Defiantly used that at my last Race. I got behind Mesa and just did what he did. Was fun to hang with someone that fast for 5ish laps. The point is that if a no talent bum like me can hang with that guy, You "the quick novice" can do it too.
not many, i only rode there one other time, but only was able to do one session. so technically, it was my first time there. i was definitely faster sunday with a 3rd and 4th. i made quite a few mistakes otherwise i could have been up there challenging for the win. hope to rebound at barber though. :up:
The biggest problem is that once people are getting their asses kicked in Ex they quit. That's the bottom line. Quit and go back to trackdays where they are a star. I got my expert lic after racing EX250's for a year. Yeah. But I was fine with that. I'm not fast but I hold my lines and trust my fellow expert riders. I've never been taken out (knocks on wood) by an expert. I have by a novice though. Hell I can't even see offering contingency to Novs to be honest. And this is coming from a Expert that gets beat by some Novs.
We didn't get any contingency in novice back when I raced. Zero. Nada. Nothing. The most I got et all my novice season was some small wood plaques.
lol... you're the only novice that made me do a double take when corner working at Roebling. Who is this guy challenging the expert front with yella plates. :up:
I wish that wasnt the case, but i have to agree. Like i said before, there is nowhere to go from Expert. So in theory, there should literally be hundreds of people on every Expert grid. But there isnt. I know some people get injured, lose jobs, move away, etc. But there are lots of guys who went Expert, didnt finish the same way they did relative to their Novice finishes, then quit racing. Jason talked about that earlier in the thread. I agree with what he said also. The average career span is probably 3-4 years. 1-2 years as a Novice, then take the Expert bump. Do 1-2 years as an Expert and get disappointed/disheartened, then quit.
Dammit Dustin you just described me back in 2004 as a 600 expert I quit because I got tired of the Suzuki money head hunters coming in cleaning house and bumping us regular Wera peeps out of the top ten and even top 15 at times. Grids were healthy back then but damn it was a tough pill to swallow at times. Contencency was healthy back then to especially the tires. I said screw it mid season 2004 after a miserable showing at Road Atlanta and just quit. Sold everything, took about 6 months and I was back on track with trackdays and kinda rode around for the next 8 years not really doing anything with my riding. I did get faster along the way which now I'm reaping the benifits from in a way. I wasted some good years though not gonna lie about that. The window is closing now and I know it. But yea guilty as charged when I decided to come back though I promised myself I wouldn't quit this time around no matter how bad the going got.
Exactly. I mean I get why they do it so Novs can get all wrapped up in the "racer" thing, but even as a Nov I was like WTF?! Not bagging against them as we have all been one. But the people I have seen at the tracks for years are the same experts racing. A bunch of the faces come and go. Most go back to trackdays. Which is fine. But it just sucks for grids and WERA.
I like a da Roebling Road a verydee much... That is my Home track so I got to be Lights out there! I not super good at any other places, mostly due to lack of seat time. I'm pretty decent at Jennings GP and Cmp. And those were slow Experts that day
You got show some true grit, to push threw the beat downs in Expert. Just don't quit. For me its getting out to some of the tracks I don't go to much, Road A, Barber, And never even been to tally. Every time I go to Road A "3 times now" I prepare myself mentally for the beat down lol.
The biggest problem with moving to expert is the fact you cannot just race every once and a while and be competitive. Showing up once or twice a year and win would be hard. + you need to eat alot more tires, as worn out tires won't get you very far in expert where as in novice you can run some shitty stuff and still win.
