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Kevin Kane

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About Kevin Kane

  • Birthday July 29

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  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    Yes

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Syracuse, NY
  • Interests
    Cooking-Wine

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  1. As some of you did, I watched the Moto America races from New Jersey Motor Sports Park and marveled at how different the track looks on TV than in person. I have been on that track dozens of times and so I was very curious how it would look on TV and my first reaction was wow! Maybe it's the lack of landscape or elevation changes but having been on other "TV" tracks like Laguna Seca, Sears Point (Sonoma), VIR or Mid Ohio, watching those races I can connect immediately with where bikes are on track and what it feels like at almost every point. NJMP, not so much. It's probably camera angles or positions but I was constantly needing a long view to get perspective. I know others here have ridden the circuits where the MotoGP or SBK races are scheduled, tracks that are televised internationally so it would be interesting to hear your perceptions about how you view it from a bike (or car) and how it looks on TV. Kevin
  2. ...not to mention 4 different constructors in the same span. It is also amazing that Suzuki was able to develop such a competitive bike so quickly once they decided to return to MotoGP racing. I hope that Aprilia can do the same. Kevin
  3. Hottie; I came to the same conclusion (the closest Ducati dealership was more than 2 hours away). Once you get comfortable repairing your own bike, it takes a BIG issue (blown motor) to pay someone else to fix it. Kevin
  4. Jaybird; If you have access to BeinSports on your cable, you should really take another look. Considering the time most Moto3/2/GP races occur, it is usually easier to just record the full broadcast (4 hours with commercials only between races) and watch them when you can. I finished watching the 3 and 2 races yesterday and they were simply amazing; no less intense or competitive that the GP series. I'm still struggling to understand the constructors side of these classes (I thought that Mahindra was a tractor manufacturer and Kalex' is totally lost on me) although I did learn that Moto2' all use the same Honda 600cc engine. I had a limited interest in these "lesser" classes but once I started watching these races with both eyes, I was hooked. You might take a closer look. It would be good to see what you think. And to Kai, didn't you love MM'S effort to get on the podium? Kevin
  5. I think it's safe to say what I believe has already been woven into this thread - the comparison between the IOM and Moto GP is apples to oranges. The definition of "racing" is also getting twisted here as "...pure race" is in the eyes of the beholder.
  6. Wishy; Thanks for the correction. If the Isle of Mann racers don't know where they stand they really can't let up anywhere at any point it would seem. I appreciate the difference now so rchase ignore what I wrote. Certainly not the same racing strategy one would use if they read their pit board approaching the white flag to see they had a 13 second gap back to P2. Kevin
  7. Will; No surprises here. I have attended dozens of CSS Events over a decade and a half including 2 Day Camps before transitioning to Corner Working for the School. From the Corner Working perspective and almost without exception, the improvement in everyone who attends a school is patently visible as the day progresses. The improvement in rider skill/confidence at a 2 Day camp however is simply amazing. If you set up a video recorder in one corner and taped every session, watching the video you would not believe the riders in the last session of day 2 are evenly genetically related to that same student in Session 1 of day 1. Your enthusiasm for what you experienced is consistent with my own as a student and borne out by my anecdotal observations watching the from the corners. It is why the School has thrived for over thirty years as the preeminent cornering school in the world. Kevin
  8. Thanks Kai; Sport Rider has just posted a similar interview, this one with Marc Marquez at the summer break. It's an interesting read as he talks about his adjusting his riding style away from Win it or Bin it and how this change has placed him in an enviable position atop the standings. The last section however is on his perspective on the change from Bridgestones to Michelins. I'll give Dorna credit, they know how to keep fan interest at a high level in this sport and changing tire manufacturers requires a massive reset every time they do it. Kevin
  9. rchase; I think you may have glossed over a couple of points in your detailed analysis; although I am wrong at least as much as I am not wrong when I post here. Anyway here is another way to look at this comparison (Isle of Mann TT racers v. Moto GP). You correctly say that "it's all about ending up at the finish line first" but lap times are very important in Moto GP as well. It can be argued that lap times are paramount regardless of venue. Lap times in qualifying set the grid in all major venues (Moto GP, SBK, BSB, Moto America, etc.). Most premiere venues call it Superpole and now televise it because where riders are gridded is a BIG deal. The race winner also always has the shortest cumulative race time meaning their average lap times are the lowest (although the single fastest lap can be posted by another rider). As for TT Racers going slower to set up at another section where they can go fast, that too is pretty universal in racing (or track riding). Linked corners require riders/racers to calculate their entry speed to minimize the time spent getting through that section of the track and then to maximize their drive out. If you've been to Laguna Seca you know that if you go into turn 8A too hot, you will overshoot 8B and shred your time on that lap. Maybe a racer has enough laps to make it for that mistake (think Rossi v. Stoner) or maybe they don't, but lap times count in Moto GP as well.
  10. I think this is a great discussion. IIRC, there was a time that the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) Race Championship series included TT races, Flat Track ovals and Road Courses so this concept is not without precedent. That said, the skill sets of today's racing is so highly tuned to a single discipline that it would be harder (IMHO) for riders to jump between venues and succeed as Tyler's stats bear out. Regardless, this is fun to read.
  11. Csmith; I'd love to get back to Mid-Ohio; my all time favorite track. I have retired from the track however over a medical issue but did ride for the first time in two years last Thursday. It was so great to get out after such a long layoff that maybe I'll ignore my malady and throw caution to the wind. If I do head out there I will definitely let you know. Kevin
  12. RChase; You're right about the numbering confusion. I found it is a challenge even at CSS Events because numbers are so abstract when you're attacking a corner and want to fully digest it with your coach. If you say Turns 8A and 8B, you are correct but it doesn't create the instant recognition that saying "The Corkscrew" does. Even TV announcers sound more knowledgable when they identify corners by name (the names at Phillips Island come to mind) I initiated this thread because NJMP in particular has two events on the Moto America calendar and is open to bikes and cars probably 9 months of the year; but still no corner names as far as I know. I can't tell you how many times I would talk to Cobie about a linked series of corners there and would start the conversation with "you know, where that sweeping right turns into a diminishing radius right turn only to turn left and into a tight carousel" Anyway for a track that is pushing it's 10th birthday the lack of nick names is puzzling. Kevin
  13. It seems like any Track more than a few years of age has some of its corners named, especially road courses in Europe. In the US Laguna Seca has the Corkscrew, Rainey Curve, Andretti Hairpin (although I never hear that reference anymore); Mid-Ohio has the Keyhole, The Carousel, Thunder Valley, The Esses; Road America has Canada Corner, Barber has some corners named but when I think of New Jersey Motor Sports Park, I can't think of a single name. Am I missing something here? Did some (any?) of NJMP corner's ever pick up any nicknames?
  14. Mea culpa; mea culpa. I know the Central New York Chapter of the Prairie Dogs Racing Team Fan Club - go Dogs! spokesman hasn't commented on the Round 2 Round Up but mainly because all of the other branches, especially the International Branches of the Prairie Dogs Racing Team Fan Club - go Dogs! have been so eerily silent. I don't know about you Hugh but I think it's time to start stripping some of these groups charters. I mean if you're not with the Dogs then you're against them am I right? I dunno, maybe if you swapped the bikes for a couple of BMW S1000RR's we'd see more commentary from the Forum regulars. Good luck with Round 3 and I will make sure the CNY Group gets reengaged in direct support efforts once again.
  15. Hugh; I remember watching a Youtube video of that oil soaked race and it was horrific to watch. How no one was killed was a miracle. As for the Moto3 races, they are the most competitive and Assen was no exception but Binder still has a huge point lead despite that amazing late race save. I don't know how he kept that bike on two wheels during his off track excursion especially with the weather that day. As a recovering Ducatisti however, there was another Assen race that I'll never forget. Troy Bayliss was battling Colin Edwards for the 2002 (I think) SBK title with Bayliss winning the first six races of the season and after the first race at Laguna had won 14 races and all but had the title cinched. Then Edwards won the second race there and the order started to reverse. Edwards seemed to win the second half with Bayliss in second or so it seemed. At the penultimate race at Assen, Bayliss pushed too hard to win it and threw his 998 and his hold on the No.1 plate down the track. I have always had a bad feeling about that track ever since. Kevin
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