Originally Posted by
The Black Knight
Lots of people say this, but once you get onto a racetrack. Believe me, it's well worth the time and money spent. Get out on track and learn from the racers. It's the quickest way to get better and faster in a hurry. Follow around some of the racers, use the lines they are using. Use the body position they are using and pretty soon you start keeping up with them in more than just a corner or two. Then, it's for half a lap, then it's the whole lap you start keeping them in sight. I never rode so fast at La Junta, until I followed David Lambert around for a couple laps. He eventually left my friend and I, but we kept him in front of us for a few laps but just couldn't sustain the pace he was setting. Same for PMI. My friend and I started following around some of the MRA guys and just tagging along with them in their "racer sessions" and we shaved massive amounts of time off our lap times.
My very first track day at PMI, I was lapping at 2:05, which is gawd awful slow!! Then the next time I tried to ride as hard and as fast as I could. Thought I did a good job, until I got back and my friend clocked me at 1:56's. It wasn't until we started learning from racers and doing more and more track days that we learned the proper lines, how to brake and use the right amount of throttle. I had a bad accident at PMI in Turn 5 back in 2006, that sidelined me(the bike, not me)for a few months. Once I had her back together, I managed two more track days after the crash. I know on our last track day at PMI, using all the knowledge, teaching and practice we'd received my friend and I were lapping in the 1:43's consistently and managed to drop as low as high 1:41-42's. We weren't using a transponder but a stopwatch. We'd take turns clocking each other. Stopwatch isn't as precise as a transponder but gets you close enough.
I felt very good knowing that I had started out as a canyon junkie who thought he was fast, only to find out I wasn't very fast. Then to go to the track, log hundreds of laps and to walk away with shaving off over 20 seconds from my initial laps to when I stopped going to the track. LOL, I still don't feel I'm as fast as I could be and my lap times are nothing compared to what the MRA guys can do. Here's where the fun part comes in though. I'm planning on going back to the track next year. Not sure if I can run my old lap times. I think I will be very close, as I did all my laps on stock suspension bikes(albeit set-up to some degree), with bolt-on go fast goodies and Supercorsa tires.
I recommended Supercorsa's as I've come to love the tire and honestly won't use anything else. It's a tire that gives me confidence in myself and the bike. I use them on the street because of the extra grip they give me...
P.S.
also once you hit the track and get a few track days under your belt. The mountain canyons will never feel the same. When I ride the mountains now, everything feels like it's at half speed. I don't ride in the mountains as fast as possible. I go up there to hit corners fat and get my knee down. But seeing what I can do on the track and compare it to the mountains is night and day. A person(me personally) couldn't ride the mountains like you do at the track. You'll end up going down or having an accident. But also when you do go back to the mountains, you'll have tons of self confidence in knowing you can handle whatever the mountain can throw at you. I used to get surprised at times while riding in the mountains because I was riding past my limit at times. Now, nothing surprises me in the mountains because I'm ready for everything. Track days put your mind in a different gear altogether. You elevate your level of riding so much at the track, that everything else becomes rung down on the ladder....