LP Sport Rider Day using OUR practice ???!!!

[Eric Kelcher]

Chris that was not my point but I do not disagree with what you are saying; practice for each bike type you enter; does make sense to me.

My point is with the LP day inculded in SW/PC schedule you still recieve as many practice sessions as without it . That's it nothing more, nothing less same amount of practice sessions. By looking at the way the schedule is done there must be some give and take to allow CCS to make a approatiate profit in that region. How to do that? Kevin has hinted that one day events would be other alternative. I would think for most people a little later day (that is what the schedule looks like to me) on Sunday compared to other regions is better and maintaining all the classes is best route.

And to dismiss the track time as being of less quality because of there being a bunch of people on the track goes against what the problem is there(SW/PC) there are NOT enough riders to justify the normal schedule you see at the events in MW/GL/GP so the resulting combining of classes/Sport Rider day in THAT region.  So comparing what happens at your event with split classes and large grids is not the same for other regions where grids are smaller and LT and even some of the mediumweight classes are combined. For SW/PC region the run a total of 21 races for MW/GP/GL you have 25 in your region 16 of which are on Sunday they have only two more on Sunday so ~30 minutes more track time. SO no Chris I don't take that as a personal attack it is just different set of circumstances than what you are dealing with/used to.

[dryheat]

Let's all think positively about this weekend and perhaps we'll see that everything's going to work out fine.  I have faith in it--believe me, I've gone over and over this schedule to learn what's changing, and I really think that once it starts it won't seem so bad.  You guys know that things on this board start as a grain of sand and end up in huge peeing matches.  I'm not saying that you don't have a right to how you feel, or that your points are invalid, or that everyone's right.  All I'm saying is that you give this new format a chance before you curse it into oblivion.

 ;D

Since I'm racing this weekend, I'm gonna weigh in (for whatever it mean:-)...

Tiffany, I appreciate all the hard work you and everyone at CCS do, considering the small staff you guys have. I'm not gonna get into money issues either as that's a never ending thread... but I have a major concern this weekend:


I'm an amatuer.. not the fastest, but by no means the slowest. I have never ridden Willow before, and if you look at the practice schedule (see below).... I have to run with EVERY amatuer AND the WHOLE Advanced LPUSA riders (with horsepower ranges from 40 to 160). How many riders will be out there 10? 20? 50? 100? I wish someone would explain to me how that is safe? I'm trying to learn a new track and I know I'm gonna be in the way of riders who've ridden there before and are faster than me. Not just that but, it's supposed to be 38ish degrees at our first practice. I have tire warmers, but what about the 'advanced' street riders? Most likely they'll be on ice (literally) cold tires.

Last year, the practices were broken up somewhat (see Sunday practice schedule) but they were still crowded... now it's just gonna be plain unsafe. I'm glad you 'have faith' and I hope (for CCS, your right). But hey that' my opinion.... I'll still be there ready to ride. (But if my bike gets wadded up by some squid on cold tires from the LPUSA who thinks he's a racer, I'm gonna be p*ssed)

8:00AM        Practice as follows:
∑ Group 1: All Expert Licensed Racers
Group 2: All Amateur Licensed Racers
and LP USA Advanced Riders
∑ Group 3: All LP USA Sport Riders
∑ Group 4: All LP USA Street Riders

∑ Group 1: All Expert Licensed Racers
∑ Group 2: All Amateur Licensed Racers
and LP USA Advanced Riders
∑ Group 3: All LP USA Sport Riders
∑ Group 4: All LP USA Street Riders

∑ Group 1: All Expert Licensed Racers
∑ Group 2: All Amateur Licensed Racers
and LP USA Advanced Riders
∑ Group 3: All LP USA Sport Riders
∑ Group 4: All LP USA Street Riders
∑ Group 5: Riders School Practice

11:15AM      Lunch Break      

Thanks for listening....

Eric- Thanks for the response, but I thought the practices (without LPUSA) were crowded last year... maybe I wasn't used to it (first year). It certinately wasn't like any track day i was used to.

I'll see what happens this weekend. I hope you and the rest of CCS are right.

But, I do like the discussion.... heck, I'd even be happy if it works out. My brother rides, but he's not a licensed racer and it would be an opportunity to ride a race/track day weekend together...

[duc995@aol.com]

I am going to be a vision of optimism from this moment on... ;D ;D ;D

But if things do get as congested and unsafe as the schedule appears to imply, I will stop racing with CCS and make other arrangements.  

I've got my fingers AND ties crossed on this one... :(

[duc995@aol.com]

That's "toes"...

[Litespeed]

I'm doing the track practice Friday and will likely just spectate all day Saturday.  I'm a pretty good photographer and bringing plenty of film so if someone needs pics taken let me know.  I am also anxious to see what happens with the new schedule and kind of relieved I am not a part of it for this first round.  I have NO doubt that CCS will have everything ironed out and functioning smoothly at the remainder of the events this year.

[tcchin]

My point is with the LP day inculded in SW/PC schedule you still recieve as many practice sessions as without it . That's it nothing more, nothing less same amount of practice sessions.

Actually, now that the Sport Rider days are not being held on Friday, there is a lot less available practice time. By a lot less, I mean about eight hours less. You can't learn a track in three cold sessions, nor can you do any relevant setup work. If you ride a two-stroke, you can't even ballpark your jetting!

You'd think that the elimination of the Team Challenges and the sidecar races would have opened things up sufficiently to spread the racing across two days, such that a person could do some meaningful racing on either day. That, or Saturday could be practice-only, like it is in Florida, where registered racers could get a whole day's worth of practice at no additional charge, not just three frantic, red-flag-shortened flails. As it is now, Saturday is a hurry-up-and-wait affair where one might get two or three fast laps in, unless one opts to cough up more cash to do two more brief sessions before packing up for the night. That's not a whole lot of track time, and not a very efficient use of the ten hours of daylight that winter race days afford.

I'll think as positively about this as I can, but as they say in Texas, you can't polish a turd.

[Dave_Alexander]

I raced lightweight last year, but began playing with a middleweight bike as well.  The first time I rode both in the same weekend, I naturally went out to practice in both the lightweight and middleweight sessions.  Two different bikes both need to be sorted, right?  WRONG!!  I was immediately informed by the race director that I had committed an infraction of the rules.  

Chris, I just want to give you a point of comparison.  Here in the SW region they DO let you ride one practice group for each class of bike you run.  If you have a LW and MW bike you get two sessions.  If you have two LW bikes I think you only get one session.  The race director specifically pointed this out to us during several riders meetings last year.  If you continue to have troubles with the race director in your region you need to speak with Kevin about it.

[OmniGLH]

I think we actually had a 1 bike race out there last year, WTF? What's next .... scooters?

HAHAHAH LOL!!!

I know that guy.  It was at Gingerman towards the end of last season.  He bragged and bragged to my friends and family about how he took a win before DanO and I did.

He caught some serious sh*t for it when we eventually looked up the results and saw that he was the only one in the race.  Hilarious.

Feels good when somebody you absolutely can't stand finally gets put in his place for the BS he pulls.  I hate people who are full of sh*t  ;D

[lightweightgp]

hey, i won a 1 bike race last year!   AM HW Sportsman at Streets of Willow.   Double points too!

whoo hoo!