Almost took a guy out at Laguna

[vaibhavdesai137]

Thank you all for the feedback. This is so so helpful.

I completely agree with everything you guys said. The more I think about this incident the more I am believing I target fixated on him. If you see the video with the audio on, I wasn't even going my regular pace through the corner. I upshifted early. Its because I did see him right after T2. I "think" I had made up my mind to let him go ahead and not pass him. I wasn't trying to set any lap records. Clearly at the apex of T3, I realized he is not gas'ing hard enough and I was going to merge with him. Thats when I believe the target fixation became worse. I could have decided to pass him on the inside (though I do not think I had any speed going out of the corner). So my head was already thinking of ways of not running into him. If only I had decided to pass him it would have been ok.

Lessons learned:

1. Need to have a very clean strategy when seeing a rider ahead of you. No room for any confusion. And more importantly, commit to that strategy.
2. With a few trackdays under my belt, I know how to enter/exit the track but this one opened my eyes and my appreciation for correct track entry/exit has reached a new level. Also, very very crucial to stay on the outside and look back before merging in.

With me being on 250, I usually see riders pass right inside of me and then "park" in the corner forcing me to change my line. I need to learn how not to be affected by this and continue with my line.

This one was completely on me. I don't even care/blame what the rider ahead of me did. With me being behind the rider, I should have evaluated the situation better.

@Eric, yes. The little two fiddy will have my own AFM sticker by the end of this season. Inshallah.

 

[vaibhavdesai137]

+1. U had tons of space and lean angle left to hold a little tighter on exit and pass safely on the inside. Hell, the normal fast line seemed completely open. You were running wide / heading for the curb for a very slow exit

EXACTLY. Just lacked the presence of mind to actually do it. I explained in the previous post about the slow corner speed

 

[stangmx13]

It's great that you are recognizing all this. It's the first step to improvement really. You'll get there

 

[vaibhavdesai137]

Holy moly bud, crazy close call. Glad that's all it was.

Thanks for posting this for analysis. I remember another thread or two about track incidents like this and it's good to have another video example for reference.

Do you remember much about your reaction? Like what inputs did you give the bike, brake, handlebars, etc?

How do you think your training/experience helped you in this situation?

Hey Mike. Wassup. At that point, all I kept telling myself was not do something stupid. Slowly roll off and easy on the brakes. And I did see tons of space in the dirt so I was sure I had enough room to bring the bike back safely on the track. Training definitely helped. I have had a few occasions in the past where I ran wide into dirt but the strategy was the same. Slow roll off and easy on brakes

I have spent lots of time watching crash videos on youtube trying to learn from others mistakes. I am no pro but I am happy this ended the way it did.

Check out this channel. Lots of people comment on the crashes to help with analysis: https://www.youtube.com/user/rnickeymouse

 

[ReUnited]

Reminded me of this random youtube A group T-hill weird crash

Fast forward to 9:25

[youtube]PzjuOHrZVCs[/youtube]

 

[Hammerstime]

In both turns you turned in and apexed a little early, witch pushed you toward the outside edge of the track. A little later apex, slower entry speed would have helped with your exit angle and given you more options for a way out. When ever I see someone entering the track, I try to give them lots of room, slow down and try to be ready for anything. Glad you both made it.