What to expect for first race

[raedmonson]

Well here it is the weekend before I make my big dabut in the "gentlemans class" the F-40. I am a little nervous but excited at the same time. The one thing that I want to accomplish is to have fun and I am not really concerned about where I finish as long as I am some what competitive and finsh the race. Any suggestions?

Randy

[Jeff]

relax.  make sure you have enough fuel and everything done ahead of time.  when they make 3rd call, wait 1 minute before moving from your pit or have someone watch for when the last bike comes around the back side of the track.

[r1owner]

Make sure you start when the flag drops! 

[Jeff]

Make sure you start when the flag drops! 

Which should not be confused with the 1 board being turned sideways.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

And make sure your pit guy takes your walker off the track.

[spyderchick]

Take a pee at 1st call. No, seriously, do this. Good luck!

[H-man]

Best of luck to you man.  I remember my first race really well.  In fact, a think, unfortunately,  a couple of people may recall my first race at G-man.

Just remember this.  (1) When the "1" board goes sideways, raise your rpms (nearly pinning your throttle).   (2) when the green flag moves, DO NOT dump the clutch (i.e., letting it go completely, all at once).

Failure to follow this advice will result in... uh.... more starting grid drama than you expected and call more attention to yourself than you want. ::)

[superspud]

Best of luck to you man.  I remember my first race really well.  In fact, a think, unfortunately,  a couple of people may recall my first race at G-man.

Just remember this.  (1) When the "1" board goes sideways, raise your rpms (nearly pinning your throttle).   (2) when the green flag moves, DO NOT dump the clutch (i.e., letting it go completely, all at once).

Failure to follow this advice will result in... uh.... more starting grid drama than you expected and call more attention to yourself than you want. ::)

ok, I have a newbie question.  Why pin the throttle right before launch?  What is the best way to go about starting?

[r1owner]

Which should not be confused with the 1 board being turned sideways.

Uh... yeah, I've done that before too! ;)

[r1owner]

ok, I have a newbie question.  Why pin the throttle right before launch?  What is the best way to go about starting?

I never pin the throttle when launching until after I've started moving.

Starting is so complex, you're going to just have to learn how to do it by trial and error.

[H-man]

From what I understand, the object of pinning the throttle (holding it open, not blipping it) is to raise the revs so when the engine engages, you're off to a flying start.

However, the higher the revs, the more crucial it is to have really good clutch management.  easing out that clutch lever fast enough to get going quickly, but not so fast that your bike goes vertical.

I'm with R1.  I raise the rpms but I don't pin 'er while sitting waiting for the flag.

[superspud]

ok, I'm with you there then.  I raise to maybe 6k, before letting out the clutch slowly.  Letting the clutch out at 14000 rpm's seemed crazy to me, but it sounds like some people are bouncing off the rev limiter on the grid.