I am looking for some seat time this weekend at blackhawk so I am considering entering the following classes with my SV:
Sat:
GT Lights
Thunderbike
Sun:
Supertwins
LW GP
LW Superbike
LW Supersport
Do these seem reasonable to those who have been there before? Should l do more/less? I just entered the lightweight classes at RA so I dont know what the others are like.
I'll be doing the same except not Thunderbike on Saturday. Hoping to do all the same on Sunday weather allowing....
Enter as many classes as your wallet and body can afford. Blackhawk is more of a workout than RA.
Since the track is smaller with 2 wave starts you may get lapped.
5 races in a day may be a bridge too far. I've done 4, and was smoked. I did a sprint and 2 thirty minute GTs this past weekend and was pretty tired. Particulary if you haven't raced before. When you get tired, mistakes happen.
I use to run 6 races a weekend, 1 GT race on Saturday and 5 sprints on Sunday. I actually liked the track time and found that those races after the 3rd one seemed to be when I was in the groove the most. I had read before that it takes the average racer 3 races to get to the point of feeling really good on the track at a particular event. I don't know how true that is, but it seemed to hold true for me. As long as you have the stamina to run them I would go for it, just stay very aware of how your feeling and if you start to get brain fade or feel weak do the right thing and pull off the track. :)
What Mike just said.
Although I ran GT lights and F40 at BHF back to back a few times last year. On a real hot summer day it was a bit rough, esp. on my older knees. I seem to recall yelling for my Mommy inside my helmet toward the end of the 30 minute race. :)
Bang, bang, bang....
Well, if you can digest it all being new, then you can try it.
Or you can focus on a smaller amount of races.
It's a two way street.
Certainly, the mix of classes you have...they are good.
I used to run seven races on one day...during an eight race schedule...I really don't mind. But I try not to work to hard on the bike.
Thanks for the info everyone. I'll give it a try this weekend and see how I do. I figure that blackhawk will be a bit more taxing than Road America, especially being 80 something this weekend. I do however love the heat and am really looking forward to this weekend.
I am not out to go really fast this weekend. My lofty goals are to learn the track, develop a consistant rhythm in the corners, and just become more relaxed on the bike. I figured out at RA that I am not fast out of the box, so I will just have to work on a piece at a time to get better.
QuoteI am looking for some seat time this weekend
Do these seem reasonable to those who have been there before? Should l do more/less?
So...Your goal is to get some time on the track, right? Then sign up for all of those. Your SV will be competitive in all save Super Twins unless it is a super technical track. The liter class bikes will crush the sv.
6 races over two days seems like a lot of racing when you first start out. Then you will do a few more, followed by a couple back to back, and then laugh thinking about how easy 6 races really was. You will be just fine- go out and have fun.
Matthew Buck
P #645
Some food for thought... More entries = less time to repair any crash damage. Plus more chances for back-to-back races which can fatigue you quicker.
I do 3-4 races on a weekend. Sometimes 5. In 01, I ran the same 4 classes every weekend and did quite well. It did become much like work though and less 'fun'.
Now, I run whatever inspires me. For instance, I ran my 600 against the HW class at Road America. I knew I didn't stand a chance, but it was earlier in the day and that's what mattered to me..