Ah shit. I'm in trouble now.
Signed up for my first track day and I'm nervous as all hell! :( September 6th at Beaverun. Back protector is here, pants, jacket, boots, gloves, helmet. Track wheels are all set up with gumball tires. Plastics should be here this week. Have to add some sort of backup closure on the pants, since they like to unsnap when I have to grip the tank or use my abs at all. Even worse with the back armor under the waistband. Have to fit and paint the track skins when they do arrive. Talk about butterflies...
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You will be fine, get on youtube and pull up some metal and rock out with your cock out.
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I actually posted some advice on another forum to a first-time track dayer, it should all apply to you: Quote:
You'll be fine... and you'll be hooked. |
Congrats man. I can't wait till next summer when I have some money for one.
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Years of practice is the best way to ensure your performance on the track. But since you don't have that, take a look at Lee Parks' book called Total Control. It has a chapter on everything you need to perform well on the track and on the street.
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you might look at taking your pants to an alterations shop to see if they can increase the waist a half size or so...
be bad to go down on your first track day and then make it worse by sliding off the track with your pants around your ankles :lol: |
Your skills will improve more in one track day than they will in weeks or months of riding.
I'm assuming you will go novice group this track day. They will ease you into everything. Caution, track days are like crack. |
Yup, beginner in NESBA. Read a bunch of books- Total Control, part of TOTW, several others I can't think of offhand. The pants fit great other than they're taking forever to break in- may have to soak them down and go for a ride. Just that the A* Track pants I have only have a zupper, a small velcro patch and a pathetic snap to hold them closed. Popping open is a common complaint with them. The group of local guys I'm going with are all experienced/talented riders. One just got bumped to I from A- unfortunately, he also totaled his track bike. They also have a couple control riders that like to hang around. Shouldn't be a problem getting some good advice on the spot.
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Have fun man. It's a blast.
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Always remember...HOLD YOUR LINE. No matter how slow, just hold it. You don't want to frustrate the guy behind you because you can't hold a line. Fast or slow, early or late, hold that line.
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Ceo has it right on, as does DL.
You are going to be nervous. I am EVERY time, but once you get out there, you will feel your groove and get moving...if you dont feel it, get off the track. It's ok to take a break. Dont kill yourself the first day out. More accidents happen cuz the riders head isnt in the right place than anything else out there. You wont have time to worry about paying the bills or anything else...focus on your teachers and remember your technique. Techinique brings improvement and speed. Simply trying to haul ass without proper technique is like trying to take a test without reading the book. You wont get any better. As you improve, you speed up naturally. And remember this, your tires will NOT be ready after a lap or 2, get a good 3-4 laps on your tires to get them warmed up before you decide to test yourself and your tires. And most importantly - There will ALWAYS be someone faster and better than you. Learn from these people, dont get pissy or try to outdo your skill levels by trying to beat them. |
What Rae said is equally important. Make sure your tires are good and warm. I went slower than shit on the first couple laps to make sure I had sufficient heat in the tires. I'll be damned if I'm gonna crash b/c of cold tires. That is completely avoidable.
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However after I did that I was a huge pussy about getting my tires warm unnecessarily. Then afterwards as I got my speed up and became more relaxed I started to be able to really 'feel' when they were sticking, plus hard braking and accel gets them nice and hot. Now I'm knee down in turn 6 when pit in is by turn 2 (and turn 5 isn't really a turn). After a little less than one lap I'm full out now... That's with Corsa III's, btw. They heat up pretty fast. |
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by lap 3 on my PP's I am comfortable going full out and could manage lap 2, but for a total newb who cant feel the difference, those few laps could make or break him... Ive seen too many senseless crashes now for something silly like cold tires to even think about risking it and pushing too early...
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Are they already broken in? |
When I was running PP's I would turn it between 2 and 3. I always made sure to accelerate hard and brke hard during the first couple laps. Not lean as much but accelerate and brake fairly hard to heat 'em up. I run Pilot Races now and also tire warmers. I turn it on between lap 1 and 2 now.
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yeah the braking is good to warm, ive finally started using my front brakes myself and it made noticeable difference!
Phenix, im stoked I cant wait to hear how your day goes, and its a month away! |
PPs heat up like nobodys business, 2 or 3 turns and they are good to go.
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They're still a soft compound, and will warm up just fine, just be sure by the end of the day you give it a little while before you start getting cocky. |
It is summer and the track will be hot, so that'll help. I ran PR's without warmers one day and they were fine, I just took it a bit easier for the first few laps.
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Do they have the option of renting tire warmers? If not, buy some.
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He will be fine if he takes it easy on them, he just has to know he has to take it easy on those tires. Especially in the morning.
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If he tries breaking lap records AFTER the initial 3-4 laps, he'll be fine.
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dont try to break any track records, though... tires arent everything, i hear rider experience, track familiarity, and many other factors contribute to laps times. Just a rumor i've heard. |
Plus the only shiny trophy you get at a track day is hopefully your bike in one piece at the end of the day.
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we dont' get trophy's? fuck that I'm out
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naw... I hear drewpy's bogarting all those...
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Never thought of renting them...hmmm. Just mosey on over to my other forum and see if anyone knows about it...
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i missed the part where they were take off race tires, I thought they were brand new...if they are take offs, and ridden by a racer already, they are good and broken in, just need to be warmed up. Give it a couple laps and you should be straight hun, just dont go out there trying to be Rossi...
I dont run warmers yet, I'd wait a few track days before I invested in those, but if someone has them to loan, go for it... |
Kyle is the prime example why most of us don't need race tires or warmers. He ran regular PPs that were pretty shabby and stayed with the advanced guys. Hell he ran with the instructors at Ed Bargy Race School on the same tires not too long after. None of us need race tires yet unless you actually intend on racing. That's why I am sticking with Corsa IIIs unless I can get a good deal on DOTs.
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haha- Another guy that's going the 6th is running slicks and looking for someone with a generator to run warmers. Of course, I have no idea what bike he'll run, as he wadded up his ZX6R after he got bumped to A. |
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Phenix, I think what a lot of guys have said here is great... there's a lot of good info shared in this thread from people who have been in the same position you're about to be in and there's really not a whole lot I can add because of it....
But here's two little bits of advice... #1 - Remember... It's the same bike, the same rider, and the same pavement. The only thing that's changed is the environemnt... it's safer :) #2 - Remember... You're not alone. As someone who's asked the question "Who's never ridden on the track before?" countless times in front of classrooms of beginner track riders over the last few years, at least 1/2 of the classroom will raise their hand.... Even AFTER we've come off the track from the follow-the-leader session, 1/2 of those people will raise their hands when asked the question a second time... I love doin that to em :lmao: If you keep those two things in mind your nerves should stay settled enough for you to absorb all the info you need and ride safely. HAVE FUN!!! |
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I mostly do it to satisfy my mentals. I don't want to spend any energy worrying about my tires being too cold.
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I've got an I.R. temp gun... my warmers get em up to about 160+ degrees and that's hotter than when I come off the track after a race. |
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(Of course I say that as I'm packing for this weekends races :whistle:) |
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My first track day my buddy brought his pyrometer (he does car TDs at Loudon a lot) and I was checking my stock shitty OEM dunlops after a session and they were at 140. I'm sure I'm getting the corsa IIIs a decent amount hotter than that now... I want to check it and then ask Boston Moto what their ideal operating temp is. I know my hot pressures were good last time, so I imagine temps should be good as well but I'm just curious. Quote:
That's with essentially no street riding thus far though. And I'm fucking slow, too :lol: I guess it will depend if I get significantly faster over the next couple TDs or not. Either way I already have spare wheels that I'll be putting some supercorsas on when the corsa IIIs are shot and then the corsa IIIs will see street duty until the wear bars show up. |
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I'm at a point now where a new set of PR's will last only 2 track days. I could get more if I swap the back around though. LVMS is full of rights and just eats up that side. The guy that owns the Michelin tent said it's okay to flip direction on the back Pilot Race, not the front though. I believe him because his was swapped and he was running 1:20 flat out there. Fast as fuck! |
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