Winning the race or riding well?

[SV88]

Hey Jason:

The war comments disturbs me a little particularly if you ment it literally.  If so, it may imply that you will race till death or at least severe injury....  While I really enjoy motorcycle racing, I have a lot more to live for.  Catching that wiley steelhead, doubling an mx jump, seeing my daughters marry hapily, getting major air off a cornice (on skis) at Whistler etc..  If I'm racing against guys who will risk it all to win one club race well...I may be the chicken instead of the pig (engaged instead of commited (eggs vs bacon).

[Super Dave]

Well, there's the thing with racing.

It's been washed over a bit by organizations that it is perfectly safe and all.

Honestly, it is pretty safe compared to lots of things.  But to fail to recognize that it isn't something that can hurt you, cost you money, or destroy stuff is shooting pretty low.


Here's a story...

I was racing a very expensive and pretty much priceless motorcycle for a guy in California.  Visually, it was stunning.  Preparation was stunning.  Often, no one was allowed to touch it. 

I am a racer.  So, when I was asked to race it, that's what I was there to do:  ride the bike, develop it so that I could execute properly on a race track against other competitors.

When you make the commitment to race, you have to recognize what might happen.  Someone that I trust had to take the owner to task about his preparedness for my commitment to race the bike.  Basically, it was a big blow out between the two at a race that I wasn't at.  In the end, the owner recognized that he needed to step up on some things to reach my level of commitment to work on his project.

I had my risk.  His risk was lower, though, with an unbelieveable motorcycle. 

Eventually, we reached to goal winning a couple very important races, but I crushed some very priceless pipes in the process when I fell off in something slick.

War is about preparedness and commitment.  Winning is about not dying.  Ask Patton.

[zx10ragentorange]

Well, there's the thing with racing.

It's been washed over a bit by organizations that it is perfectly safe and all.

Honestly, it is pretty safe compared to lots of things.  But to fail to recognize that it isn't something that can hurt you, cost you money, or destroy stuff is shooting pretty low.


Here's a story...

I was racing a very expensive and pretty much priceless motorcycle for a guy in California.  Visually, it was stunning.  Preparation was stunning.  Often, no one was allowed to touch it. 

I am a racer.  So, when I was asked to race it, that's what I was there to do:  ride the bike, develop it so that I could execute properly on a race track against other competitors.

When you make the commitment to race, you have to recognize what might happen.  Someone that I trust had to take the owner to task about his preparedness for my commitment to race the bike.  Basically, it was a big blow out between the two at a race that I wasn't at.  In the end, the owner recognized that he needed to step up on some things to reach my level of commitment to work on his project.

I had my risk.  His risk was lower, though, with an unbelieveable motorcycle. 

Eventually, we reached to goal winning a couple very important races, but I crushed some very priceless pipes in the process when I fell off in something slick.

War is about preparedness and commitment.  Winning is about not dying.  Ask Patton.

Nice

[zx10ragentorange]

Not really...  The one win I had was on some very bad lap times...  They just happened to be marginally better than everyone else.

lol, yeah its possible but not at my level right now. Although I guess I would be more satisfied with riding well and knowing I did my best rather than winning and knowing I got lucky and rode like crap.

[J Farrell / Speed Tech Motorsp]

Right on Dave. Thanks!!

[PJ]

The war comments disturbs me a little particularly if you ment it literally.  If so, it may imply that you will race till death or at least severe injury....  While I really enjoy motorcycle racing, I have a lot more to live for.

Reality Check #1: You can get seriously injured or killed racing motorcycles. I have friends who have shattered their legs. Ground off their fingers. Broken their backs. Had internal organs removed. Or holes drilled in their skulls to relieve the pressure of bleeding on the brain. I've personally witnessed two fellow racers killed in racing accidents. I'm certain that both of those racers also had a lot more to live for--as we all do. To blissfully ignore the fact that racers are hurt and killed each season, and that it could happen to any of us in a heartbeat, is just being ignorant of the inherent risks of roadracing.

Reality Check #2: To compare roadracing and the preparation needed to go roadracing (or to play a game of football, etc.) to actual war is, at best, trite. At worst, it's disrespectful to the men and women who are truly putting it all on the line today and every day serving our country in the military. War is war. There really is no comparison.

[spyderchick]

Paul may have put it a bit harshly, but unfortunately it's true. The reason I stopped racing wasn't because I stopped having fun. (Even as a slow AM, I still had a ball out there!) The reason I stopped was because in my last crash, I tweaked both wrists, had a minor break in a finger, and realized I could lose my career in another bad fall. (I only had 2 race crashes in 3 years of occasional racing and track riding) I worked the entire week after that crash, but then started some very hard decision making.

Coupled with the riders I've seen injured and killed, this is not a sport to take lightly. That said, I will still encourage others to take to the track whether as a track day rider, or as a fully vested competitor, because this is the most fun you can have legally,  AND you need to LIVE before you depart this blue marble.

[tzracer]

Winning is a double edged sword. It is a great feeling, but unfortuantely finishing 2nd will never feel the same. Once I had won, it was all I wanted to do, I was not happy with any other place.

That is until I woke up staring at a hospital ceiling, learning that I had crashed, was given mouth to mouth and almost air lifted to the hospital (the helicopter was called twice).

Since then my outlook on racing has changed. Yes the crash has taken the edge off, I am not the racer I used to be. However I enjoy racing much more than I ever have. Don't get me wrong, I still like to win, but it is not the end of the world if I don't. If I have done my best I have been beaten, there is no reason to not be happy with my performance.

In the scheme of things how important is a win at any level? How many people's lives have changed significantly since Nicky Haden won the championship? Out of 6 billion people how many know who he is? Or care? How really important was his victory? The fact that I have won races (about 30) has not had any significant affect on my life.

I personally think too many people take racing at the club level far too seriously. Very few racers I have seen in the last few years stand any chance of making a good living racing (good living = making enough money to not have to work when your career is over). If you think you have what it takes and club racers are too slow and get in your way, move up to some of the natiional series, CCS and WERA each have one, then move up to AMA.

[backMARKr]

In the scheme of things how important is a win at any level? How many people's lives have changed significantly since Nicky Haden won the championship? Out of 6 billion people how many know who he is? Or care? How really important was his victory? The fact that I have won races (about 30) has not had any significant affect on my life.

I personally think too many people take racing at the club level far too seriously. Very few racers I have seen in the last few years stand any chance of making a good living racing (good living = making enough money to not have to work when your career is over). If you think you have what it takes and club racers are too slow and get in your way, move up to some of the natiional series, CCS and WERA each have one, then move up to AMA.

Well put!!!

[tstruyk]

I'm harder on myself based on perfomance than position.  If I have a great ride and end up at the bottom half of the field, I can still feel good about what I have done.  Improvements I have made, its all a process.  I'd be naive to think I would be one of the few blessed with "IT" and go out winning races right outta the gate.  First year as an expert I had to keep reminding myself that for the majority, the folks I'm racing against have been doing this ALOT longer than I have.  Once I focused back to my task, bettering myself, the times came down, the finishes improved and the confidence rose.  I would say the most satisfying rides for me are the ones where I go faster than I have, and I beat the guy in front of me.  Wether its for 1st or 15th...

maybe when I win do WIN a race my perspective will change...

[kvanengen]

Hey Paul,
I hope all is well.
My thoughts on would you rather win or have a good race.  Winning is great but the best races I have ever had was battling with Paul James for 2nd place, yet still losing every time. Dame that P. James =). As you would say PV "that's as much fun as you can have with clothes on".
Have a great Holiday.

[tshort]

I never considered winning a race as an option when I first started.  So imagine my surprise when I entered 11 races my first weekend (RA-twinsprint) and wound up coming home with 11 chunks of wood (not sure if any of them was a first or not - maybe one was).  Heck, my first race was GTL, and I didn't even know I'd placed until the day was over.  All that confusion.  Nevermind points - Points? What points??

For me it was always about the ride - I just liked seeing how hard I could go, just for the fun of going.  Like SD used to tell me, "If you're not having fun, what are you doing out there?"  Later in the season I remembered those words a few different times - when I would get too down on myself for not doing well.

As an amateur it took me a while to realize that after I'd passed all the yellow plates, there really wasn't much point in going after the whites.  I crashed pretty good at least once doing this - Paul James picked me up in the infield and gave me a ride back to the pits on the tail of his Buell after the race finished.  It never occurred to me to back off once I was out in front - I was having too much fun just going as hard as I possibly could.  Winning was just bonus.  Of course, once I figured out that what I was doing for fun also resulted in winning races, I became a bit more focused on doing more to refine my skill.  And then there were those points - finally figured out what that was all about, too.

But still, for me it was always about going as hard as I could.  Having other bikes out there just made it more interesting - but winning was never the primary objective.  I don't think I ever really did get the hang of backing off once I'd blown off the field.  It was just too much fun to keep charging ahead, making that bike do everything I possibly could and not crash.  As SD pointed out, "If you're not having fun, what are you out there for?" (as in, "do you really think a WSB team is going to pick you up??")