Getting into track days and possibly WERA racing

So, I registered for Lwt ss and sbk for Saturday and lwt ss for Sunday (no sbk and formula 2 is only has a one race gap). I also am riding Friday, so I think that will be an adequate amount of riding for a weekend for me. Thanks for the input!

 

im a part time amateur novice racer who does like 2 events per year if that and I always do Friday practice, then 1 race sat and 1 race Sunday or I'll do Friday practice and 2 races Sunday. I also dont ever pick back to back races and try to have 3-4 races between them at a min. creates a more chill environment in the wild race weekend environment

 

Just reviving this thread a little...

I ended up not racing during the tally weekend in April because I crashed during the Friday practice. It was probably for the best because I was struggling on the bike a lot. I passed the race school, though, so I was good to go racing.

This past weekend at Barber became my first race weekend. It was a fantastic time! My parents came down from NY to support me along with my girlfriend. I raced LWT SS & SBK both days and that was the perfect amount of track time. I was able to get in some practice with STT the weekend before, so I came into the weekend feeling confident. I got to the track Saturday morning and got right over to registration. I pre-registered for my races but had to wait in line for my transponder (free for my first weekend, but would have cost money if I bought it with my preregistration), so I missed my first practice session. But I didn't worry about it; I was already having a wonderful time chatting with folks. I got out for my first practice session and already started dropping time by being able to follow people and not having to deal with larger bikes parking it in the corners. In the first race I had a decent start and felt great just trying to get my feet wet. The second race I stalled, kinda (FI error), but got the bike restarted and caught back up to some of the E class bikes, but I did have experience of getting passed by Chris Evans and Chris parish. Sunday I put on new Michelin Cup 2's because my Power GP rear was sliding some on Saturday. I went out for both practice sessions and could immediately feel the difference, putting in some good laps but not trying to overdo it. I should've done some practice starts during those sessions but couldn't figure where to do them. I say that because in the first race Sunday, I had the same starting issue, and once again came away unscathed but was a little annoyed that this issue was happening. In race two I just tried to inch the bike off of the line, so I could at least stay close to the pack. That race ended up being a hard fought battle between me and another fellow for the LWT novice win. We passed each a couple of times and I ended up conceding the win by a 1/4 second. It was so much fun to battle it out for the win.

Prior to the race weekend my best time on the SV was 1:51.73. The last race of the weekend, I push as hard as I could and ran a 1:44.414! A 7 second drop!

This weekend was absolutely amazing! I could feel myself improving throughout the weekend. I felt welcomed by friends I knew and friends I made. I had great support from my family. I am looking forward to the next time!

Will

 

1:44 is a fast lap on an SV650, I’ve only done two track days at barber but I’m doing the same time on a BMWS1000RR

 

Great job!! I love how people pick up time racing. I don't remember ever talking to someone that did not pick up time in the battle. However, 7 seconds is great and that sounds like a fast time. Congratulations.

My son loved Barber, we only got there one time, but it was incredible, and I loved poking around the museum with him too.

 

Hey Will, after reading through this thread I was wondering how the rest of the season went for you?

 

It was awesome! I only did 2 more race weekends after that, GNF (at Barber) and Roebling in November.

I figured out the issue with my starts - my tip over sensor was oriented incorrectly.

I tried out endurance racing at GNF with a relay team. That was a ton of fun but taught me I needed significantly better stamina on the bike. I dropped down to a 1:42.5 on the SV. My team and I are going to compete for the full season in the LW Endurance class this year! In the sprint race the day after, I collided with a fellow racer and learned an import lesson about the mindset and expectations during racing compared to track days.

At Roebling I was focused on race starts (specifically getting more comfortable with many bikes surrounding me) and not crashing (as I had crashed 4 times last year). I am glad to say I accomplished both goals and even won my first novice race! I had some good battles on track and received great advice on starts. My feel for the rear tire sliding improved greatly as I could feel my tire grip dropping with wear.

I bumped up to the expert class this year to have more competition (as the novice class always had <5 riders). I went to the first race weekend at Tally and continued my improvement. We had a wet day on Saturday where I continued to develop my understanding for grip. Sunday dried out and once again I ran the best lap times I ever have there, 1:08s. I had great battles with some new friends and am excited to continue those through the season!

Hope to see you out there!

Will