Nelson Ledges...

The stress level is lower but the satisfaction level is less too.

 

And there's gotta be guys like me that have the opposite feeling at track days. I was always more worried about being bumped into or my line being taken away when I did track days. Those guys scared me because I didn't know their ability, but at the racetrack I knew my fellow competitors knew what to do. I clearly remember a Gingerman track day about (yikes) 17 years ago with my TZ and a big Ducati parking it the corners every lap. The guy couldn't figure out that I was faster than him but yet his drag racing me down the straights made him happy? And yeah l know most TDs have a no passing rule but how are you going go fast (have fun) with that?

For me the racing stress was more fun to manage because it was easier to understand! And that came from the quality of the WERA track management and they knew what to do to make things safer.

 

The excitement of that occasional bump that happens during a hard pass is what's exhilarating. Working your ass off on the brakes, the bravery it takes to get on the gas earlier. That's what always did it for me. I was pretty often in the top 10pct. But I can't imagine getting out there and restraining myself now, lol.

The couple of times I was at nelson made me a fan. There is just something right about the layout of those older not cad generated tracks that just works so nicely.

 

I always enjoyed trackdays.......








.......when I was preparing for a race!

 

You guys are such bad asses. I always enjoyed track days because I liked riding motorcycles. I even rode them on the street for a number of years since I couldn't get to the track every week. I know, crazy!

 

It certainly is a different track that all the other ones I've been too around here. Someone told us to stop hard braking and start scrubbing speed instead and it changed everything.

 

I don't ride motocross.... So I never learned to scrub. Lol

 

Neither did I but it's the fast way around that place.

 

O wait was that reference to the track condition lol

 

This is a motocross "scrub"

 

The Bubba Scrub

 

Not to drag this back up, but any thoughts to talking with the track day and seeing if they'd share the event similar to what we are doing with N2? I just hate that we have a (5) round series and we have two dates that are single day events and two events that are at the same track. To get Nelson back on would be cool.

6 rounds with double points at most is great. To have that include 5 tracks would be stellar... Just ideas...

 

Interesting... so if everyone just went straight to racing vs. trying out track days first, they automatically know what to do on a racetrack because they’re “racers”? You can’t tell me you knew every dude’s ability that was in a RACE just because it was a RACE and not a track day. (Orange shirts aside)

Track days - beginner groups, yeah there’s a LOT of unpredictability there. Intermediate groups, some but considerably less. Advanced groups, it’s minimal. But even racing, I would never assume any rider’s ability on a racetrack at the club level unless I had ridden with/against him on multiple occasions prior.

 

What WERA did in the days before transponders, go pros, and video feeds from the track cameras was to send the top expert guys out in the novice practices to follow the orange shirt guys. The idea was to gauge and report back to the race director how the guys were doing. So in essence a double check system to prevent squid moments from happening as they gained time on the track. And if your were squid like then you got taken aside and spoken to. Then of course if you were a orange shirt with other orange shirts and you rode the same tracks as you progressed thru the year you KNEW these people and how they rode.

And IMHO racers are focused on riding and learning their craft MORE than a average track day guy so I feel confident riding at speed with them.

 

Road Atlanta?

 

You are conveniently forgetting CSS novice. Dem foos be all over the place and think they will be the next MM in no time

As for the rest of the thread. What are we arguing about? Are track days good/bad. Do they feed people into racing or not?
YMMV but I started at an end of season track day on my taped up VFR. Went and got me a used gixxer over the winter and spent the next year going to monthly STT trackdays (about 8 or 9 that year) Each month changing something to be race worthy on the bike. The following year I went WERA racing (at the forcing of my track day buddies). Haven't looked back other than Friday track days before race weekends early in the season to knock the rust off. After many years of dealing with CSS fools, I went and upgraded to an SV this year and after one race weekend I think this decision will keep me racing for many more years.

 

Bollocks!! When I reached that age I was relieved to be riding with fast, measured racers who know if they fall it will hurt and for a long time. The young punks don't even know what they don't know.