Not to get on anyone's bad side here on either hand (ya know, the complainers vs the sandbaggers). Anyway, but shouldn't you want the competition to make you better. We all know that a name or label means nothing..there are "Novices" that are faster than "Experts" and "Experts" that are faster than "Novices". If everyone was equal in racing, how would you determine a winner...everyone would cross the finish line at the same time. Just because a few guys that are faster move up to "Expert" class doesn't mean that some green shirt won't come along and smoke a 2nd or 3rd year "Novice". Get FASTER!! thats about all you can do if you're in it for the monaey instead of the fun. On the other hand if your lapping everyone on the track twice!! Get out and move up!! You guys that are like that need some competition to and how do you think you're gonna feel when you didn't move up and some green shirt kicks your butt when you thought you were the King of the "Novices"? When it comes down to it...Can't we all just RACE? Later guys...and rock on!
I fully agree with Rusnak_322. Like I said above in my first reply. If you wanna win get faster! Otherwise accept the fact that maybe you're not fast enough and then say so what and have fun doing what some of us struggling to do on tight budgets and others can't do at all but want to and don't have the cash. Its taken me 3 years to finally get saved up enough just to get a racebike and go to school and get a trailer and you know what? I still don't have the extra cash for tires and parts that might tear up and travel and etc. I've been waiting a long time for this and I'm telling you right now..if by some miracle I go out there and kick major but in my first and second years...I won't be moving up until they make me. If I get out there and don't do so well then I'll be out there to have fun. Its all about the fun guys and this kinda fun is expensive..so lets all just race!!!
I find it hard to take an opinion here because I can stand at each side of the firing range. I played the part of the crew member for a couple of seasons before I got into racing. I dragged friends to tracks and such just for the fun until I really wanted to race. All the while I watched my friend get better and better. He went expert after his first season in 96. Now on the other side, he has a big head about it because he feels that no one is good enough unless they go exapert after their first season. Now he races expert when he can afford to and finishes decent usually 3rd's anf fourth's on a street bike with lights taped over and horn and everything, there is talent their. So answer me this. He wants to sit out within the next two season's then come back and race as a novice. Sanbagging or Not???
I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this question. Like I said in a previous post, each racer has their own unique situation we may not fully understand. I don't care whether somebody is a novice or expert since I just love to be on the track and have people to play with. It makes no difference to me, and I don't worry about the status of other racers I just try to get better and faster each year. Here's a brain teaser. What if the fastest novice finished in the top 5 and got bumped up to expert, only to be replaced by a provisional novice who smokes the field in his first 3 races. Should he be moved up to expert? I'm not really looking for an answer, just posing a rhetorical question to get everyone to think about the number of situations that could arise. There is no one answer to fix them all. I think the current guidelines for novice/expert are sufficient and if there's any question about moving up or down it's between that racer and WERA. I'm sure Sean will be more than willing to stamp his boot of approval into your forehead if you don't agree.
Might as well drop my 2 cents in on this one. First I can say that I wish more racers or wanna be racers would research and ask around about how to get started racing. I talked to Lee Acree and Opie Caylor for sometime before ever getting started racing. The best advise they ever gave me was don't start racing in the 600 classes. If you were at Talladega this past weekend you can see why. I didn't have a lot of money then nor do I know, but what I did was get rid of my 600+ cc bike/s and went out and found an EX 500. Of course the hole time thinking hell I've already got this bike (600/750/etc.) why not race it?? I listened though to Lee and Opie, "learn how to ride a slow bike fast, then ride a fast bike even faster." I started racing in May of 99. I made a total of 6 races including the GNF last season. I race Clubman, Ltw Twin, HvyWt Tw and maybe D super and Form 2 also sometimes. I will agree that the 600 class is obvioulsy the most competitive because of the sheer number of bikes and every Joe that has a GSXR thinks he can be the next Kenny Roberts Jr. There is also a high turnover rate in the 600 Nv classes to because people think there fast and then get their ass kicked around the track, get frustrated and quit instead of practicing and working at it. I was moved to expert after winning the GNF for Clubman novice and finishing in the top 10 in Ltw Tw at the GNF. In just about every class I race in except Clubman my bike is out classed, handling wise, motor wise, etc... I ride a 2500 dollar race bike that is intended to be a beginner bike on the street. I would have liked to stay a Novice for one entire season instead of six weekends, but it didn't happen and I didn't appeal it. I knew and know that the only way you will get faster is to catch those in front of you. Some racers will never be that fast for whatever reason, be it god given ability, the size of your nads, slower bike etc.. Here is something else that really gets me. Not that I don't like to know every once in a while what my lap times are but I really could care less about them. I teach as an instructor for Ed Bargy and it is amazing how many new guys what to know about lap times etc.. If you want to know what kind of laps you need to be cutting do this. Don't look at the pit wall or your girlfriend or whoever is timing you in the pits. The pace you need to be running is faster than the guy in front of you. If someone is in front of you, you aren't going fast enough, period. Many people put a lot of merit in winning regional championships, and using that as a standard to go expert. Not that I'm not knocking winning these because I know people like Tracee have these under there belts, and Tracee is a fast rider and a good rider. But, if you look at how the points are structured it is geared towards be consistant not winning. I saw a couple of reginal championships in classes won by people that never placed on the podium. I think that if you want to find sandbaggers look at the one's running up front in the Solo's and the GNF. If your finishing in the top 10 out of 40 riders you should probably go expert in a class such as the 600's. For classes that have 20 or so riders if your finishing somewhere in the 5th to 8th range I think you should go expert. I can turn the same if not better laps than some 600 riders be it expert or novice on my EX. Why is that? Because I've learned how to carry corner speed and go faster on a slower bike. I will probably move to the 600's or 750's within another year. Hey maybe I'll do well, maybe I'll get the paint sucked off my bike who know's but I'm gonna have fun either way. If I'm getting beat by either experts or novice's I know I just need to figure out how to go faster. As for the money, contigency, trophies etc.. yes there nice, but hey none of us here yet are Duhamel. Hoefully some of us will get there, but if not lets just have fun and race. You know if you can become a expert and if you should be moved. Yes everyone likes to win, and no one likes to go from being at the front of the pack as a novice and middle of the pack as a expert. Ok that's enough.
You hit the nail right on the head WERA476. I also talked to a lot of people before I started racing and I tended to stay in the "hot shoe" pack at track days, fearing to move up and run with the licensed racers. After overcoming that fear (more like being told I was an idiot for not moving up) I found myself a much better rider within 2 months of getting lapped every session. I can now pass some of those guys and hang with the fast ones for a couple corners at least, so I'm looking for more improvement this year. It takes time and practice (God knows it's taken me a long time!) but the only way to do it is ride with guys that are faster. Just watch out when you get sucked into a corner going 10-20mph faster than you're used to. Resist that urge to stand the bike up and run straight, it could get ugly!
"It's better to be last than to be at home." ---fastiger The horse is dead!!!! 5 more weeks until the next race.
Hey Chris, how the hell did I get dragged into this? I was just stating what my experiences were. As far me being fast, I doubt it. I started the 99 season with the goal of winning 2 regional championships.I won 1 and I damn near accomplished that goal. Granted I wasn't on the box every weekend. But like you said consitency pays off. I finished second so many times it ain't funny, but I finished the race. Finishing the race is also a part of racing.
It seems to me that that the fast novices in the 600 class would want to move up to expert just to challenge themselves, become better racers and actually pick up :00s in their lap times just by watching and learning from the fast experts. When it comes time for me to move, I will (unless some other expert tells me that I am way slow and do not deserve to be on the track!)
