Number Plate ?

[r1owner]

You guys all hate NESBA. ;)

[PolishPete]

Why are you guys ripping on track day riders?  Thats pretty pathetic.   

Track day orgs require numbers so they can associate a down bike with a person.  That's a safety thing...not a living in a dream world thing.  As someone who uses track days to better my skill to get to racing (probably be doin' my first race weekends this year), I think your comments are straight-up stupid.  Everyone has to learn/start somewhere...you're no better than me (as in a person), maybe just faster... but thanks for pointing out your an expert...very cool...me along with anyone who rides during track days wish to be just like you someday <-- that's sarcasm friend.

Oh, while were on the subject...my streetbike is a Repsol rep.  Would you like to bash me a little about pretending I'm a moto gp racer or could it just be the fact that I enjoy racing enough to want to own a replica bike? 

[r1owner]

Trackday riders shouldn't even get track time in my opinion...

They're called race tracks for a reason.

[aaronz]

Trackday riders shouldn't even get track time in my opinion...

They're called race tracks for a reason.

From dictionary.com

1.   a contest of speed, as in running, riding, driving, or sailing.
2.   races, a series of races, usually of horses or dogs, run at a set time over a regular course: They spent a day at the races.
3.   any contest or competition, esp. to achieve superiority: the arms race; the presidential race.
4.   urgent need, responsibility, effort, etc., as when time is short or a solution is imperative: the race to find an effective vaccine.
5.   onward movement; an onward or regular course.
6.   the course of time.


Last time I checked most track day riders clock their lap time. There for it is racing, racing against the clock. You may race to try and beat the guy next to you, I would say track riders race to improve their times and better their skills. You are no better than them and because of your comments I would even say your posses the traits of a squid. Those my friend should  never be allowed on the track...last time I checked.

[r1owner]

From dictionary.com

1.   a contest of speed, as in running, riding, driving, or sailing.
2.   races, a series of races, usually of horses or dogs, run at a set time over a regular course: They spent a day at the races.
3.   any contest or competition, esp. to achieve superiority: the arms race; the presidential race.
4.   urgent need, responsibility, effort, etc., as when time is short or a solution is imperative: the race to find an effective vaccine.
5.   onward movement; an onward or regular course.
6.   the course of time.


Last time I checked most track day riders clock their lap time. There for it is racing, racing against the clock. You may race to try and beat the guy next to you, I would say track riders race to improve their times and better their skills. You are no better than them and because of your comments I would even say your posses the traits of a squid. Those my friend should  never be allowed on the track...last time I checked.

But.... but... I'm a racer man...

I live for these threads about racer vs. trackday rider.

[gonecrazy]

Hey pete I seen your paint scheme over on 600rr.net..Looks good. If you are going to plan on getting into racing I would just go ahead and put them on in yellow, That would be one less thing you have to worry about at the track or before hand. If you are going to race or trackday ride looks should be the last thing on the list, Its going to get beat up,scratch, and chipped. You cant think of it like your street ride. A nice shinny flaw free track/race bike has a magnitism to the ground for some odd reason

Good luck this year

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Why are you guys ripping on track day riders?  Thats pretty pathetic.  

Track day orgs require numbers so they can associate a down bike with a person.  That's a safety thing...not a living in a dream world thing.  As someone who uses track days to better my skill to get to racing (probably be doin' my first race weekends this year), I think your comments are straight-up stupid.  Everyone has to learn/start somewhere...you're no better than me (as in a person), maybe just faster... but thanks for pointing out your an expert...very cool...me along with anyone who rides during track days wish to be just like you someday <-- that's sarcasm friend.

LOL, you've apparently missed the endless threads about this very subject, but it's still kinda fun to re-ignite it every once in a while because it leads to some hilarious threads. The whole number plates for rider identification in a crash thing is a bunch of BS, what happens in a multiple rider incident where you don't know who is with what bike? That's why we have a number stuck on our helmets.

And just so your aware, prior to the end of the 90's Track Day org's as they are known today didn't exist, when you wanted to start racing you just took your 1 day safety / licensing school and went racing the next day as an Amateur - that's when the Amateur class was actually used to learn how to race. As it's been done for a long time if you're new to racing (or just want people to give you some extra room for that matter) you wear a shirt over your leathers to identify you as a new, slower, or less experienced racer. Now many people are led to believe that Track Days are the only way you get into racing, when in fact it's just one of the options. Personally I would encourage someone looking to get into racing (that doesn't just want to go directly into racing like so many of us have) to invest their money into actual improvement based instructional schools instead of Track Days - your learning curve will probably be much faster and most of the time you'll be taught by reputable upper level racers as instructors as opposed to the randomness in instructors so common at Track Days (where some may be Pro racers, others may have never raced a day in their life).

I've known more people in the last decade who decided to go the Track Day to Racing route who got stuck in the 'rut' of Track Days where they never felt 'fast enough to go racing' and never ended up going racing at all - they ended up getting 'passified' by doing Track Days instead (something most Track Days bank on and a prime reason there are almost no Track Days that are certified as new racer licensing schools). Can Track Days fill a need for speed for those who don't want to race? Yes. Would I recommend Track Days as a route to go Racing? No. And the reason is because I believe the same money is much better spent elsewhere if somone is looking for instruction prior to going Racing (again, largely because of the randomness in instruction so common at Track Days). Most Track Days require you to keep a certain amount of distance between you and the other people on the track and may even restrict when, where, and how you can pass in all but the most advanced group. Why is this? Because their insurance company requires it. What this does is teaches you thru repetition that there is always this safety cushion around you, something that doesn't exist in actual racing. Most of the time it's not till you get to the fastest group that it's no holds barred passing at Track Days, yet of the Track Day riders who do decide to go Racing how many wait till their experienced with close quarters passing in the fastest group before they actually go Racing? A common situation I see in racing today is fast people in the Amateur ranks who have done tons of Track Days, yet don't have the experience with close passing (both passing and being passed). Another situation is actual race lines, the faster you get the more race lines have a smooth flow to them and look very similar, watch helicopter footage from World Superbike or MotoGP and you can see what an actual race line looks like. I've seen so many Track Day riders on other Forums say "hold your line on the track", when I've asked them what exactly they mean by that most basically say what they were taught was to think as though the track had traffic lanes painted on it and when you go thru a turn stay in your lane to allow other faster people to pass safely. Now that may be great for 'safety' at Track Days, but that's not a true race line and doesn't teach people how to pass in a racing situation, take that mentality to actual racing and there's going to be problems.

Take my opinion as you will, I'm just telling you what I've seen since I went directly into racing in 1996 (no Track Days). Good luck and I hope you actual end up racing! 

[mattg]

shit on track days all you want.

i feel they're a good place to learn, and their biggest benefit to some is to go improve their skill in a closed circuit environment with (albeit some) instruction in a non-competitive environment. 

there's plenty of "faster trackday guys" who have no intention of racing.  where would you suggest they ride?  if you say trackdays then you should stop shitting on them.

[cbr-racer]

shit on track days all you want.

i feel they're a good place to learn, and their biggest benefit to some is to go improve their skill in a closed circuit environment with (albeit some) instruction in a non-competitive environment. 

there's plenty of "faster trackday guys" who have no intention of racing.  where would you suggest they ride?  if you say trackdays then you should stop shitting on them.

I think what everyone is saying is if you want to race you don't need to do TD'S just take a racer school and get out their. ( thats what I did )
If you don't want to race then do your trackdays and don't try to look like someone that has put the time & money to get a race license and real sponsors. Just put some skins on your bike make it look good, put your ID # on and don't be a poser. Thats all I think it is.
  GOOD LUCK TO ALL THIS SEASON 

[Jimmy]

I've been doing track days for a few years now.  I had no intentions of racing.  This season I'll be doing my first races with CCS.  Without track days I'd never have gotten the itch to race.

I never ran number plates on my track bike.  I'll have a yellow one on there this season. 

[PolishPete]

I think what everyone is saying is if you want to race you don't need to do TD'S just take a racer school and get out their. ( thats what I did )
If you don't want to race then do your trackdays and don't try to look like someone that has put the time & money to get a race license and real sponsors. Just put some skins on your bike make it look good, put your ID # on and don't be a poser. Thats all I think it is.
  GOOD LUCK TO ALL THIS SEASON 

First off, don't call me a poser.  You don't know me.  I really hope your car isn't red.  The majority of Ferraris come in red and I hope you wouldn't be posing pretending you're in a Ferrari.  (Sounds kinda foolish huh?  Now re-read what you wrote above.  Sounds kind of foolish too huh?  Wow.  The things we learn after the fact).

Of course you CAN learn how to ride a bike and just jump into racing.  But you must agree that racing a motorcycle is pretty intimidating.  You don't learn how to play street hockey, then jump into the NHL.  You play years and years to get good enough to get to the show.  Now of course you're still playing in a competitive league, but if you started playing hockey at 18.  You're never making it.  Thus, the theory behind it would be that if you started riding on a closed course at 18, what makes you think you could race.  I mean racing is like the big times.  Some people have bike riding training from their youth (50cc's etc.).  Most don't. 

Props to you guys that just jumped in and started racing.  That's not me.  I didn't learn how to snowboard by throwing on a board and tumbling down the big boy hills.  I'da wrecked myself.  I started on the bunny hills.  Thats what trackdays are to me.  They're bunny hills and hopefully this year I'll be out on the big boy track after 2 seasons of track days.  You can't rip on someone for taking their time and learning a dangerous sport before jumping right in.  And...you can't rip on someone for running Pirellis and putting those stickers on their bike.  Last I heard Pirelli "sponsorship" wasn't that hard to get...fill out a form online or in tech maybe?  Sure some of you guys actually go out and "sell" yourself to get people to sponsor you, and again props for that because it's business and not everyone can do it...but again, you're no better than the next guy because you put a Pirelli sticker on your bike and so did he...because you MIGHT get $ from them.

I didn't miss all the trackday/racer threads...I browse this forum daily, however...I just held my tongue because I didn't want to get into any of it (though I have my opinions)...but this time someone's calling me a poser, so I felt like stating how I feel.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

there's plenty of "faster trackday guys" who have no intention of racing.  where would you suggest they ride?  if you say trackdays then you should stop shitting on them.

You must have missed this part in my last response?

Can Track Days fill a need for speed for those who don't want to race? Yes. Would I recommend Track Days as a route to go Racing? No.

My point is there's a difference between someone not looking to race at all and using a Track Day as a play day, and someone looking to go racing from the beginning and using Track Days as the route to racing.