YellowDuck

Round 3 was a comedy of errors, unfortunately: http://prairiedogracing282.blogspot.ca/2014/07/round-3-racing-is-hard.html

Thanks everybody. Short blog post with my thoughts going into Round 3 linked to the other thread. Big thing for me is that my daughter is planning on coming (she is 9). That will be so much fun. I'll tweet to the blog over the weekend as things develop, then put up a full post with the video etc. later in the week. I am going to ditch the "butt cam" perspective and mount the GoPro where you can see the other bikes better and get a feel for the racing. If I was really confident I would put it on the tail, facing backwards...

My thoughts going into Round 3. http://prairiedogracing282.blogspot.ca/2014/07/round-3-is-this-weekend.html

Ha ha ha! On a 250 the straight lasts for 30 s. You could pull out your phone and send a text. Love the video. That is a serious race track that is.

Not sure if you already have these on your bike or if they are kosher with your tech guidelines but I figured I would share just in case. These save massive time with safety wire. Instead of cutting and rewiring you just unclip and reclip. http://www.kurveygirl.com/shop/index.php?cPath=276 I don't race so this might be a "stupid idea" but have you considered going with a good pair of tires like a Q3? Tires like that would eliminate the need to do a change at all. While there is some grip loss both in the dry and in the wet you eliminate some of the drawbacks of having to swap between tires and the "gotchas" of what if it rains and then stops raining and dries out and you start burning up your rain tires. You might not be able to win with tires like that on but if your strategy is a points battle that might be an option to at least think about. Yes, one of these days I will figure out how to get set up with clips instead of having to cut and replace safety wire. It's a bit tricky on my bike because, for example, the caliper bolts are recessed. So, I would have to replace many of the fasteners with alternates with longer heads. For this first season I was just trying to get all of the zillion race prep items looked after in the simplest ways possible. The idea of using Q3s is not stupid in the least. One of the guys running near the front in the Rookie 600 class is doing exactly that (Brodie, actually ) and I have considered doing that myself. I had a thread on here a while ago asking about the importance of slicks for racing, when I wasn't even pushing Q2s to their limit at track days. I am still not 100% clear on whether I am faster or not on the slicks in the dry than I would be on Q3s. However, I have spun the rear up on the endurance bike a few times this year (Q3s) and have not done that nearly as much on the Duc with the V01Rs. My gut feeling is that at my current level I could probably race adequately on good street tires, but that the slicks are giving me a tiny bit of an edge when I am pushing things.

Ha ha ha ha! We only let him ride the endurance bike. No one but no one but no one but me rides the Ducati. I don't want to end up hating anybody.

Round three of my race series is this weekend. I missed the first round due to a mechanical issue but did well in the second. Forecast for this weekend is for RAIN. I have rain tires mounted on a separate set of rims (Bridgestones). They are lightly used but should serve the purpose. I am getting a bit stressed about the prospect of having to make the call as to which tires to use, given that it will take me at least 45 minutes to do the wheel swap if necessary (10 different fasteners to safety wire!). Hopefully I have help. Anyway, there is a realistic chance that I will find myself sitting on the grid ready to start the race, on tires I have never used, in conditions I have never experienced. Other than using the siting lap to get a feel for the traction available, any advice? Starting to feel like I might have been better off having only slicks. Then the decision is easy...rain, no race. On the other hand, many of my competitors will flake out if it rains, so it is a chance to accumulate some additional points.

Ha! I'm jealous. I am in that area regularly because my wife's family lives just up the coast in Rimini. Was there for World Ducat Weekend a few years back but have never ridden the track. Have fun and don't forget to go to the beach too.

I tried to learn smooth throttle blipping / downshifting on several previous bikes but never really mastered it. I think I am a bit of a spaz or something. I don't even really understand how *clutchless* down shifting is even possible with a throttle blip. The only time the engine could rev without the bike jerking forward would be between the time one set of dogs moved out of engagement and the next set moved in. Anyway, I never figured it out and didn't like what I imagined I was doing to the gearbox in the process of learning, so I eventually gave up. Not enough advantage in it for me to invest any more effort or risk any mechanical damage. If I didn't have a slipper I would just release the clutch slowly like I used to do under hard braking.

Exactly. Slipper clutch, dry. Apparently not all slippers are created equal, but with mine I find I can select my gear early in the braking zone and pretty much just dump the clutch with no ill effects. This has worked well in racing situations this season as well. So, I can't see any advantage in throttle blipping - just makes it that much harder to modulate the brakes effectively. I get most of my passing done on the brakes so it seems to work fine, at least at my current level of expertise (novice club racer).

My team mates decided to do an extra endurance round without me. Didn't go so hot. http://prairiedogracing282.blogspot.ca/2014/07/my-team-mates-spend-pile-of-my-money.html

Ah, I see that now. Makes sense. I don't remember the American Le Mans cars wiggling through all those turns like that. Watching races on TV, for me the signature corner on that track is the right onto the front straight after the long downhill under the bridge. Awesome. On-board video never really does justice to the elevation changes - that is a steep hill.

Hmmm...he sure likes him some wheelies But yes, very precise lines and decisive cornering and passing - extremely clean and competent riding. One of my big regrets is that I never got over to Road Atlanta to ride it for the 5 years that I lived less than an hour east of there. Looks like a nice track, although I am a bit surprised at the number of S turns in rapid succession.

Nice find Eirik.

Girl? Well, that wasn't on my list of future mods...but come to think of it, I could be pretty competitive in the Formula Femme class.

I posted a link to my racing blog on the "racing and race tracks" topic, which includes video of my first two sprint races this past weekend. I had the most success passing on the brakes, which was straightforward going into a very wide carousel turn at the end of the long back straight, but a little more complicated entering Turn 1 after the front straight. In that case, being able to use alternate lines was key. I found my real advantage was in late braking and trail braking into corners, because once you get alongside on the inside of the corner there is not much the other guy can do by way of defense. Still haven't had a lot of success passing on corner exits, or in cases where there is no heavy braking involved. You guys should be proud of me. Not very long ago I came to this forum asking for advice in learning how to trust my tires enough to even get my knee down. Last weekend I had my first sprint race and took second place. I give a lot of the credit to the advice I received from this site. Thank you.

New blog post: http://prairiedogracing282.blogspot.ca/ Finally got to run my first sprint races. I have posted video of both.

Plans for Round 2

Thanks for taking the time to write that - it is all really helpful. Interesting that several folks are offering the same advice - in particular that I mustn't let my lines be overly influenced by the actions of the rider in front. Obviously this is a major point that I will need to concentrate on. And yes I believe you are correct that I am not yet taking full advantage of my engine's capabilities on corner exits. Just looking at my tires shows that I am picking the bike up quite a bit before I get on the throttle in earnest. I think I can only remember one time (excluding wet tracks and cold tires) when I broke the rear loose even a little exiting a corner, so surely there is some time to be gained there. Thanks again. I'll report back after my races in 10 days.

Pretty classic front end tuck it looks like. But your hand is not on the brake lever in the first picture, so I doubt you did it with the brakes. Nice SS! I am guessing a 750 Sport, since only one front disc?

I am not a coach obviously, but my take on it is that no, it can not be overdone - at least by me. Theoretically, the physical limit comes when you break the *rear* tire loose. 1) COMPLETELY off the brakes. Quick turning while trail braking is a good way to crash, I bet. Choose one or the other, depending on the situation. My natural style is to normally trail brake, and I like how it keeps the chassis stable. But in situations where no brakes are required entering the corner then I like to turn it *really* hard. 2) It's the same thing. If you apply more force it happens more quickly, so more force = more speed. 3) I'm set up in terms of body position (at least my lower body) well before the steering input 4) Dunno. Would like to hear the coaches' reply to that one. Moving the body across the bike takes a lot more time than the quick steering action alone. (Edit: sorry just clicked the link. I thought we were talking about track riding, not accident avoidance.)

Okay, thanks Hotfoot. I have two weeks until Round 2 and I know the track layout well, so I am trying to imagine some passing scenarios in my head. I'll try to visualize what you describe in the two corners where I think I have the best chance of making it work.

So, on a tight-ish track when you are faster than the rider in front in the corners, but can't take them down the straight, what are some good strategies for making the pass? I try to build momentum during the corner to exit with more speed than they have, but often I find I have to go less than 100% through the corner because I can't be sure of what line they are going to end up on. For instance, I don't want to turn in late and try to stuff it up the inside if I can't be sure in advance that they are not going to try to be in the same spot at the same time. So instead I end up lingering behind until I am sure of their line choice, but by that time I have squandered my corner speed advantage. I have wondered about the idea of purposely leaving more of a gap to the rider in front at corner entry, so that I can build speed more naturally through the corner and at the exit, but I suspect that giving up that ground is not going to be a real solution either. Passing on the brakes is much more straightforward (or rather, passing when they are on the brakes but I am not yet), but if that is my only strategy I am going to get smoked. Scenario here is a large-displacement air-cooled V-twin (me) racing against mostly modern 600 supersports. If I am in front I can gap them on corner exits (because of my torque advantage) and usually that is enough to keep me in front by the end of the straight. The problem is getting in front in the first place. Advice?

Awww, mannnnn!

Off to a very inauspicious start unfortunately... http://prairiedogracing282.blogspot.ca/2014/05/round-1-was-washout.html