endurance interest?'s

the idea of endurance racing has really interested me for a couple of years,moreso than doing sprints.i really enjoy solo's,as i like the longer seat time. what does an endurance team/owner look for in a rider most: superfast lap times,being smooth,steady and consistant,or really a combination of all of the above?

 

We just do it for fun and seat time. I have no advice.

 

yes its the fun part that has me the most,and the seat time,but more the fun,and more like something i would like to do in the future. i guess what i'm trying to figure out is how to get onto a team or what a team owner,would look for in riders. gotcha on the crashing too,haha!!

 

Depends on what kind of team it is. Most are pay as you go types splitting expenses equally. There I'm looking for someone that will pay their share and not crash, and run times that are similar between all riders. You get some fast guy in the mix and they think they should get a free ride.

The bigger sponsored teams are probably looking for the consistent fast guy (that won't crash).

 

i definitly never thought about a free ride,and figured if i ever got to do anything like this,i would be paying my own way for sure,if not paying in more to helpout with odds and ends for the team.at this stage,im just wanting to soak up whatever i can and work towards being able to get onto a team in a few years perhaps,after ive gotten better and have a decent resume....well thats the plan anyway.

 

It's usually split the entry fees 4 hour/ 4 people/ 100 an hour. And tires. 4 hour is usually one set of tires. So figure an hour ride time for $200.

That's Usually how it goes.

 

I've ridden on three teams. Two were just fill in spots. One has been pretty regular. Basically what Dustin said...we split fuel and tire costs. The owner of the bike took care of the maintenance etc.

I'm sure if you're interested in getting on or setting up a team, there are folks out here that would likely be interested. I know a guy that is looking to get on a team for fun/seat time right now.

 

That's it. 1/4 tires, 1/4 entry and 5 gallons of gas.

 

Just make sure everyone is clear about what is required if the bike is crashed. or the motor blows up. Seen some bad blood over this when it was not clear up front and then something happened.

 

Great point. :up:
That's the first thing we discussed when putting a team together.

 

We have won 10 straight three hr endurance races now...on a CBR 929. Bike is stock except for fairings, shock, steering damper, brake lines, and clipons.

We figured in would be good and reliable left stock, and good on fuel too. SOme of the bikes we race against will have 1 more fuel stop than us per race.

We are 3 riders, all friends, novices, who were just looking to have some fun. Our first race we used one guy's 04 R6, and got 2nd place in Open. We just did it for fun, but were surprised how well we did. The next one we used my 99 R6 sprint bike. Again we got 2nd, but the bike was pretty cramped for taller guys.

SO I got to work getting the 929 ready, as it wa just sitting in my shed. I had never ridden it even though I owned it for 2 yrs. A battery, fluids, tires, fairings, shock and steering damper, all in a 3 day period, and tada- we were gonna race it. Our fingers were crossed. We won our very first time riding it, and have won every one since.

All 3 of us seem to ride at the same pace....any one of us can turn the same lap times as the others- no weak link. We have even beaten teams that bring out a very fast expert, or have 75 more hp than us with rider aids TC, QS, etc....... All 3 of us are smooth and predictable. And I usually ride cleanup, and have gotten good at fuel judgement- sometimes I will shortshift and keep rpms low etc, to eek out as much as 90 mins straight on a tank of fuel if we are doing a tight track layout so we can manage one fuel stop and rider change in a race- but so far we have only manaed 75 mins on long track with lots of WOT. (spare tank in garage may get some mods over winter.

When we began, it was very hard for each of us to manage a one hour stint before rider change and fuel. We have become race-fit over the past 2 yrs, and we can all ride for 80-90 mins non stop, within a sec/lap of our sprint race pace. LAst month, we were short a rider (broken collarbone) so I rode long track for 75 mins, came in for fuel, and a bottle of water, and went right back out- 105 minutes straight. It was our biggest win margin this season at 6 laps.

 

I would say getting riders who all can turn consistent laps for the whole race, all in about the same range as each other. To me that makes the racing fun and promotes harmony within the team.

 

We threw together a team this past weekend. Our times ranged from :26's-:46's throughout the team. It was hilarious. We had an amazing time and finished dead last.

Our friend Paul had a good enough time that he paid half of our entry fee the following day to race against his team! Thats some damn good sportsmanship if you ask me. Maybe he just wanted to beat another team lol Thanks Paul!!

 

was that the #300 green kawi in the 250 ninja race ? great fun. We had a ball for about 30+ minutes at least. Lil' 250 ninjas. Who knew what fun they can be !

i will 2nd having a pair or trio of riders that are pretty even helps. Having 1 fast guy won't make up for a slower rider that puts you a couple laps down during his stint. But, if you are just about having a good time, endurance racing is hard to beat. Having quick fill/quick change stuff doesn't always help either, not if it won't work. In the 4 hour race, we had a quick fill tank and mid/low priced quick fill gas can. It spilled fuel out the overflow of the fill tank, and the bikes overflow/catch tank didn't work properly either.. took way more time cleaning up than had we just used a $25 vp plastic jug with a screw cap to dump the 5 gallons. And the quick change rear tire stuff was a mess, cause the sprocket on the bike was worn and we couldn't get the chain off, then the "captive" nut fell off the swingarm when the axle came through.. after 2 minutes of fighting the brake caliper that didn't have the pads beveled nor was the caliper captive.. would have been faster to just not bother with the quick change altogether, or not done a rear tire change.. moral of that paragraph, key to good pit stops: practice -practice -practice..

 

Yea, Paul was on the 300 bike. lol You guys looked like you had a hell of a time there at the end.