Howdy!
We are from Northern Virginia near D.C. and this coming season will be our 17 year old son's first exposure to racing. We did a bunch of track days this season to get his feet wet. My dilema is that my wife is going to have to take him to Daytona for the season opener by herself because of my work schedule. She has done some preliminary research and frankly is a little frazzled about the whole trip. If there is any one from this area or south of here that is definately going and would be kind enough to caravan down and show her the ropes,we would be eternally grateful. She has a late model truck and trailer and she will be taking 2 fully prepped bikes down with her. If anyone is willing to help out with some guidance we sure will appreciate it. Post up or PM me. I would be happy to help out with gas if you have to go out of your way at all. :thumb:
There is a lot of racers that come from that area to race. I am sure someone will post up something to help you guys out. Good luck
Going to daytona for his first race is certainly jumping into the deep end of the pool. :)
I highly recommend doing the track day so he can get over the banking then and then he'll just have to get over the first race jitters. :)
Quote from: Sig on October 03, 2007, 11:32:15 PM
Going to daytona for his first race is certainly jumping into the deep end of the pool. :)
I highly recommend doing the track day so he can get over the banking then and then he'll just have to get over the first race jitters. :)
They( M0m & son) will be there for the week. I will look into the track day you mentioned. Thanks!
Quote from: Sig on October 03, 2007, 11:32:15 PM
Going to daytona for his first race is certainly jumping into the deep end of the pool. :)
DITTO!!! You should get him to ANY regional race anywhere you possibly can before going to Daytona !
Daytona can be intimidating for the first time. Just think of a full throttle heading towards a three story building that you will have to ride up the side of it. Then there are a lot of people/racers makes for even more confusion.
Practice? There is no real practice to speak of. A practice session will yield about three laps. First lap you figure out where you are going, second lap you may pick it up a little and the thrid lap you are telling yourself you are gonna go for it..then there is the checkered. Many times they show it before you hit the banking which means you pull directly into pits.
The Team Hammer school is there on Thursday. May be a good choice.
Mark
I went down last season, cost about as much as the next half season for the one weekend. Definitely do the Hammer practice day. It is a little early for definites but do you have any questions that people might be able to help you with?
When does your son turn 18?
Quote from: Burt Munro on October 04, 2007, 01:03:59 PM
When does your son turn 18?
In August. He just turned 17.
I see a lot of good advice rolling in already. I will look into the team hammer school as soon as the new schedule is available. My son wants to know how he qualifies for grid position. I know nothing.
18 to race Daytona?
uh, the fall edition of daytona is the Race Of Champions......you are gridded by points....so he will be starting at the back. (probably a good thing) If he takes this as a learning experience he can leave with a postive outlook. Daytona can eat you up if unprepared. Have patience with the staff,........they seem to hate motorcycles. ::) Or don't exactly make it easy. DEFINETLY do the Hammer school on friday and get on that ASAP as it may fill up. Good luck, don't get overwhelmed......most do..........just ask :thumb:
Quote from: tstruyk on October 04, 2007, 06:42:48 PM
18 to race Daytona?
Thought it was 16. 2F2O2S, I'd give them a call and verify first.
Quote from: tstruyk on October 04, 2007, 06:42:48 PM
18 to race Daytona?
Tim, I was wondering about the same thing. But I rechecked the rulebook and you have to be at least 16.
They are going in the spring. Grids are by order of entry, but Im not sure about first time racers. He might have to grid in the back, which, like someone said, is probably a good thing.
Quote from: d-wire on October 04, 2007, 07:40:08 PM
uh, the fall edition of daytona is the Race Of Champions:
Quote from: d-wire on October 04, 2007, 07:40:08 PM
uh, the fall edition of daytona is the Race Of Champions......you are gridded by points....so he will be starting at the back. (probably a good thing) If he takes this as a learning experience he can leave with a postive outlook. Daytona can eat you up if unprepared. Have patience with the staff,........they seem to hate motorcycles. ::) Or don't exactly make it easy. DEFINETLY do the Hammer school on friday and get on that ASAP as it may fill up. Good luck, don't get overwhelmed......most do..........just ask :thumb:
Quote from: d-wire on October 04, 2007, 07:40:08 PM
uh, the fall edition of daytona is the Race Of Champions.....
Quote from: d-wire on October 04, 2007, 07:40:08 PM
uh, the fall edition of daytona is the Race Of Champions......you are gridded by points....so he will be starting at the back. (probably a good thing) If he takes this as a learning experience he can leave with a postive outlook. Daytona can eat you up if unprepared. Have patience with the staff,........they seem to hate motorcycles. ::) Or don't exactly make it easy. DEFINETLY do the Hammer school on friday and get on that ASAP as it may fill up. Good luck, don't get overwhelmed......most do..........just ask :thumb:
His Mom will be tickled pink if he grids last and stays there out of harms way for the entire race. :lmao:
In the new racers package it said you must be 16 to race Daytona. Make sure he does the Team Hammer day for sure. There is no other track like Daytona.
I didn't think the climb up the hill was as bad as coming down. The wind gust pushing you toward the wall while running wide open. But it is Daytona you got to aleast once.
Wow! I see by my karma that I have already offended someone? Thanks for the warm welcome snakedick! Ow Ow Ow :jerkoff:
I live in NVa (Arlington). My strong advice is to go down for the practice day, probably sign up for the school, then watch and don't race in Daytona.
Come to Summit Point and VIR, do some track days first. Daytona is a bad place to start racing, regardless of March or Oct. In March, there are lots of pros there to warm up for the AMA race. In Oct, there are lots of club racers gunning for championships after a full season in the saddle.
Start racing at a track you know well. Also, don't kid yourself that your son has a chance of making it big, do this for fun. The only kid that's I've seen who's make it big is Josh Herrin. He was 14 when I raced against him, he was already a very experienced racer and it was clear he had unique talent. What on earth is the benefit of not waiting until the early Summit Point round in May to race?
Do the school at Daytona and other schools/track days so that the first race is someone you know your way around. Daytona is a hard track to learn where to go fast. I did my first expert race there (after 2 years of racing), in conjunction with my first trip to Daytona. Was a mistake, crashed trying to keep up and didn't know the course. I recommend to all my friends, including experienced ones, the first time you go to Daytona, go with as little pressure as possible, eg, the class and an F40 race.
That's my $.02.
Pearls of wisdom xseal! And very much appreciated. :cheers:
After all, he's our kid and we want him to be safe.
I met Josh Herrin at Laguna this year. Super nice kid and talented beyond description. Got to meet a bunch of the AMA racers this year. It was a great time.
We started this year by sending our son to Cornerspeed school at VIR. That was a blast watching him and some of the other youngins progress throughout the day. After that we then did a trackday at VIR North and he had his first crash. Turn 1. Hamfisted it and wadded up the trusty little R6. We beat the crap out of it with a hammer and broke out the industrial duct tape and zip ties and got her back through tech.
We did a couple track days at Summit after that and then he crashed on VIR South at the fishhook turn. Bang bang, tape tape, zip zip. Back through tech.
We have had several susequent track days without any more hamfisted lowside adventures. We started riding with TPM out of Pa. and the kid went from white group(beginner) to Blue group( advanced) in quick fashion. He has no problem keeping up with racers on 600cc machines even in aggressive sessions. I had a buddy (that is a seasoned veteran (expert)) coach our son the last trip to Summit Shenandoah course and he assured me he is ready to race. We have no delusions of granduer but I have to say,the kid has heart and puts down very fast and consistant lap times. I honestly think he can handle the pressure of competition and I have no doubt he can handle the banks at Daytona. I hope he does something with this opportunity because God knows,he ain't no scholar. If nothing else, He will be a smooth,safer street rider because of the experience. :thumb:
Quote from: Burt Munro on October 04, 2007, 09:18:51 PM
Tim, I was wondering about the same thing. But I rechecked the rulebook and you have to be at least 16.
I was hoping for 35... I'm running out of excuses...
Well, good luck. The banks of Daytona are intimidating and have generally greater consequences for mistakes than most other tracks. The infield used in March (AMA) is also awkward and prone to highsides.
Have fun and good luck to you and your son. If I were down there (rather than working ... damnnn), I'd be happy to pit with them and help. If he waits until March, I'd be glad to do it.
Last advice ... if he's running Dunlops, don't listen to the tire guy that says run 36psi cold. That was another one of my mistakes. Run normal pressures, unless he's running AMA times or riding a 1000.
Welcome to the madness. I'm about an hour north of you and there are a bunch of us that race nearby as well. We will be headin to Daytona and will be happy to help ya get settled and oriented. It might be really good for all of us to link up with you and your son ahead of time, couple of our guys are very experienced and could offer some great advice, (I'm slower n molasses goin uphill in winter...just persistent and heal fast.) There is also a local bike shop owner who races with us and he can really help get your son's bike set up.
CCS is a great organization to begin racing with, and, like the rest of us, I think your son will build friendships and find encouragment that will go with him well beyond the track. It can be tough nowadays to raise a young man, but I cant think of any better folks I want my son exposed to as he grows up.
Sounds like your son is more prepared than I was, my first track day ever was at Daytona, I worked there at the time so I checked, yeah I've been on this track before. :sleeping2: What an idiot I was, the first session out I was gridded in the advance group, I didn't know it at the time actually I didn't realize it till a couple days later. The whole experience had me spinning :ahhh: I thank God everytime I think about it, I was on the verg of crashing every lap. When your young you just don't see how stupid you are.
Quote from: 2old2fat2slow on October 05, 2007, 08:05:41 PM
We started this year by sending our son to Cornerspeed school at VIR...
Good folks there.
So, I'm getting the impression that he has some motorcycle experience? Can you elaborate? Does it matter for Daytona? Yeah, it can be relevant in how you're potentially approaching the year.
You can PM me if you want.
Chaplain220, We will definately hook up for the trip in march. I know my wife will be very pleased I already found someone local to tag along with.
SuperDave, our son has been riding dirt bikes since he was about 4. He got his first street bike when he was 16 and has put about 7000 miles on it this season so far. His street bike is a 2004 cbr 600rr. We ride a lot together as a family and Mom rides a cbr as well. So do I. We all ride fairly quick for the street but save the pure insanity for the track. The kids track bike is a well seasoned 2000R6. Still quite fast for an older bike. We will be dragging that along as a backup bike if he wads up the cbr. I still have not been to cornerspeed or any other school. I will do it this year. Mom will too.
Thanks for all the input people. I am grateful :thumb:
Quote from: chaplain220 on October 07, 2007, 04:19:26 PM
There is also a local bike shop owner who races with us and he can really help get your son's bike set up.
Quote
Who is this person you speak of Chaplain? I would be happy to pay an expert to help us set up the susp. and to pre tech the bike before we drag it all the way to Daytona in March. Lemmey Know
Our resident expert is CCS#751, aka Mr. Bob. He owns B&E Motorsports and has been doin very well in the MA points this season. He's helped a lot of us with everything from serious rebuilds to suspension and tires. Good racing advice as well. bemotorsports.net
Since its hard to get practice at Daytona, I suggest doing the Team Challenge race, you get a lot of seat time for the money. Some of the AMA guys use it for test and tune. Its a long race so it doesn't seem as crazy as a sprint race. There are some fast guys for sure but in my experience participants give a lot of room for passing.
I race with Chaplian and Bob too! They're all great guys; great enough that even though I'm moving to Arkansas, I'm leaving my bike here in MD so I can race with them. What does that tell ya?!?!?
*** If you do want to race in the AMA someday, don't let ANYBODY talk you out of it. I already saw somebody who doesn't even know you try to do that already...... ***
Hey Mike! I think that tells us we are gonna use your bike for spare parts and the team challenge while you are in Arkansas! 8) See ya in a couple weeks at Daytona!
We WERE going to use my bike for the team challenge, but after Mike went down for the 3rd race weekend in a row and Bob went down twice at VIR, I don't think I trust them on my bike anymore!!! And I've seen the moto on the bottom of your bodywork, Mr. EmpireGP!!!
Are you racing down at Daytona? Mike and I got an open air garage.
Enzo out.
Quote from: 2old2fat2slow on October 04, 2007, 10:35:29 PM
His Mom will be tickled pink if he grids last and stays there out of harms way for the entire race. :lmao:
If you want to PM me in private, I'll pass along my phone number. I plan on running daytona in the spring, but also live in the area (about 10 minutes from the track.) If they get into a jam or anything, my garage full of tools is close at hand. I've also lived in the area for about 20 years now and would be happy to offer any suggestions for Bike week survival
I think my post count is too low to use the pm feature right now but as soon as I can,I will pm my phone # to all of you good people that have offered your assistance to my wife and son in the spring races. Thanks for all the comments and advice to all of you and we will be in touch. You can't have too many friends in this life!