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Track day Tranformation

from another thread. this is some good insight and i feel this is basically waht i am saying put into much better words.

Gary J said:
Seeing good improvements in the time to get around the track is quite rewarding, and generally reflects a measurement of increased proficiency in your riding, and your ability to do the right things for a particular track. Congrats on that.

Just as a word of consideration however .... flagged partially by the unfortunate crash that you mentioned recently having at the peak of this recent rapid progression (in the Carousel at Infineon), I wanted to share a few thoughts.

There's what I call a "cushion" that exists for riding at the track. This "cushion" can be defined basically as the delta difference between the following:

  • A) "The fastest possible lap time a rider could achieve, if putting it all out there"

    B) "The times that the rider consciously sets as a fastest limit for laps they choose to run at the track"

For me personally, keeping that delta between the fastest laps "I could do", versus the fastest laps "I'm willing to do" as at least a 2+ second/lap (track dependent) "cushion", has proven to provide some extremely low crashes/miles ridden (and raced) statistics at the track, over the years.

The philosophy goes something like this:

- If a rider wants to go 2 seconds/lap faster, they do so my improving their skill level to the required degree to be able to bump up both "A" and "B" (listed above) by that same 2+ second interval. They NEVER get those extra seconds by narrowing that previously mentioned "cushion".

Unfortunately I've seen so many track riders over the years that have not recognized that their improved lap times were greatly being driven by narrowing their "cushion" to a very small window ..... or completely eliminating it. This looks great on the lap timers for a short period of time, and provides for some great bench racing bragging, but almost invariably leads to "I don't know why I crashed?" events at some point. Sometimes it takes a while to "bite", but it does and will, if this approach is taken in "going faster" at the track.

Bottom line is to shoot for "consistency" in your riding at the track, and in your lap times .... and to ensure that the quantitative times don't improve too quickly. The old saying of "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is", fits well in the realm of trackday riding. If a rider sees BIG drops in lap times, it can be a red flag that some easing off a bit might be in order, to ensure that the concept of maintaining the minimum "cushion" for safety (and longevity in the sport) is not being forgotten.

Just some food-for-thought, that you may take or leave as you wish.

Best of luck on continued improvement in your riding skills! :thumbup

Gary J
Click to expand...
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^ I've ridden with gary a couple of times. he knows what he is talkin about. And he absolutely screams on his little 250. Living proof that you don't need a 600cc or liter bike to go fast.
 
:thumbup The main thing is that you had some fun out htere your first time. No matter what you use in tires brands stick with them, this way you will gain more and more confidence as your lap times,speed etc... gets to where you want them to be. Never mind what others say or do learn from the experienced and you will do fine. To have the money to buy race plastics for your bike is probably the best thing you could have done cause you know OEM plastics are $$$$$ when replacing them. AS you learn corner speed will get faster and faster,
thus more and more confidence.... The idea is to enjoy yourself and have fun cause I do when I am at the track and have done allott of track days now I am trying to step it up a notch and try to go club racing this year. I want to do my first on a f2 as I promised my friend who gave me the bike I would do:ride
 
Thanks man. I stood out on lots of street corners for many nights to get those track fairings.:teeth
 
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