Sparked by an online argument that I had with a guy that ended up being pretty cool, I have spent much of the morning thinking about skill-level groups at trackdays. Its amazing how much different they are from organization to organization. I ride Advanced with one, but am mid-pack Intermediate with another. That is not what is so interesting about this topic, though. The interesting thing to me is the constraints that it puts on a person's riding.Most will outwardly say that they don't care what group they are in. I include myself in that group. When I am chatting it up in the pits, I find myself blubbering about the fact that I don't care that I am in the I-group, but deep down inside its not okay with me. I want to be an A-group rider, and secretly everything I do is focused on making the cut. This is dumb, it really is just plain stupid. Sure it is a mark of excellence (or mediocrity, depending on the comparison point), but really, it doesn't make you any faster or any more educated about the craft of motorcycle racing.
When I get too caught up in this whole game of group movement, I think about my buddy Jody. He CRs with at least one organization, coaches with CSS, and yet rides in I-group with another org. That doesn't mean that he isn't good enough, and in fact, he is quite the opposite. When I have the chance to ride with him, I take every moment I can to learn-- not because he is fast like Rossi, but because he understands the need for fundamentals. The other thing is that he doesn't seem to care. Maybe secretly he does just like the rest of us, but at the end of the day seat time is his primary concern. After all, its still the same pavement no matter which portion of the hour you are riding in.
I have spent so much energy focusing on the color of the sticker on my bike, that my focus is not where it needs to be. What I need to do is suck it up, learn lines, focus on braking points, get comfortable on my bike and the rest will come. Besides, when I get to A-group, what comes next? A little satisfaction, and even more wishing, hoping, and striving!
By the way, that's Jody giving me my first A-Group bump at Summit Shenandoah a couple weeks ago! An ironic picture for this post!
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I figured I’d comment seeing as our banter led the blog post. I agree with you on the track day riding and the obsession to get caught up hunt for the next level or class. What I learned after a few years of riding track days is it never really maters what group or organization you ride with, and that a handful of people are always going to be faster. I still tried my hardest to make the jump to the next group (now it’s a white plate bump) because it was a way to gauge my progress, well that and my lap times.
ReplyDeleteYou’ll never be the best of the best starting out at my age (started at 25) but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your best and shoot for progress. Much like track days are a huge step from riding on the street, racing is a huge deviation from track days. I always heard guys say, “fast track day riders are much faster at a race” and I never understood that. When I hit the track day scene I rode as fast as I could for as long as I could. That was the point right? Well, it was for me.
What I came to learn is that most racers will run a track day just to get seat time. They rarely ever run 100% or even 95% at a track day for fear of crashing and injuring themselves and the bike. After all, who wants to wad themselves or their bike up when you aren’t running for money, contingency or points? After half a season of racing I finally understand the concept. I’m more scared of wrecking at a casual track day than I am during a race. To gain a position on a person in a race setting I’d risk a sketchy line, later braking, or high siding myself to the moon with more gas on my exit, but those are risks I’d never take in a track day setting. That mentality does pay off though in terms of position, lap times and contingency money, but only in a race setting.
The trick at a track day is finding the small group of people you want to ride with and staying away from people who may not have the control or skill to make a safe pass, trail brake properly and hold their line. Those people may be in the A, B or the I group. It’s a crap shoot until you get out there. For me, as long as I leave in relatively good shape and my bike is still in one piece and ready for the next race weekend I’m a happy camper. Drop your ego’s at the door and let the rest work itself out on the race track.
Nice post Darrell. Maybe we can grid up one day soon.
Thanks for the comment, Ryan. I have been lucky this season to find a really great group of guys to ride with that have really made going to the track a lot more enjoyable(and fruitful). My improvement this year in only four days has been remarkable, and I am very excited to see what the rest of the season brings.
ReplyDeleteI have summit tomorrow, then I think either Beave or Summit in the beginning of June.
Very cool. The progression is crazy fast for a while with seat time. You'll get very fast in no time. Then it's working on seconds to get you to the top of the pack. Hope to ride with you very soon.
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