Getting License - Racing Questions

Started by PolishPete, January 10, 2008, 12:59:16 PM

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foughtstrong

Your already investing money on track days.  Take that money and sign up for some races.  Start out with one or two races and see how you feel.  I took the Cornerspeed school at CMP and raced the next day, think I finished close to last but it was a blast.

truckstop

#25
Anyone competent *can* race, and it's not really that much more technically involved. You can get your license, do a race or two, do some Friday practices, and if you don't feel ready, at least you have your license. You'll probably benefit from the refresher on all the procedural stuff. I did Learning Curves and then raced the next day, and still had to look stuff up and ask questions ('cos my memory is a sieve).

Trackdays aren't racing, but like others have said, if you're comfortable at trackdays, you'll be fine. One big difference is that trackdays can make some people ultimately slower. If you're following the rules and being considerate with your passing and get ingrained with those habits, you'll have a hard time breaking out of them when you start racing. You should still make clean passes, but passing is definitely more aggressive in racing. There's no six foot rules or only passing on the outside (or whatever the rules are for the level you ride in).

The start of a race is probably one of the things you wont be prepared for, and it's not something you can easily practice. Talk to someone who's good at it about the mechanics of what you should be doing and looking for. My first starts were embarrassing and awful, although it was great to realize that my turd of a bike can actually wheelie.

Cost difference for fees depends on how many races you enter. One STT trackday for a femmoto member is $125 no matter what track I go to. Turns out for racing, I pay $125 if I pre-enter for two races. The CCS fee structure is here. There's a pretty big difference in amount of track time between the two, but the intensity of that time is quite a bit different.
For reference, also the BHF "practice" Fridays are only $95 for a lot of track time.

Super Dave

Quote from: PolishPete on January 12, 2008, 12:34:47 PM
You guys make it seem like "anyone competent" can do it, and maybe that's the case...I just thought it was WAY more technically involved.

LOL!  You haven't met enough racers.  Some aren't competent at all.

Enjoy!  Have fun!
Super Dave