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Rob's Racing Experience

4K views 40 replies 12 participants last post by  MRT 
#1 ·
OK, this is how it went.

To start with, on the Thurs leading into the Race weekend, I booked in for a Training Day with the Club Riding Instructors. I figured to get as many tips as I could, not only about Rider Technique and Track Position, but also about tyre care/wear and suspension observation/feedback and adjustment. A big bonus was that Gary McCoy was one of my Instructors. It was a great experience talking bike and sharing the track with Gary. Make no mistake, on rider level, there was Gary (get your hand and raise it all the way above your head), then there was the rest of us (get your hand and wave it down real low, no shit). The other way cool thing we did, which is banned at every other track I've been to, is practice on track Race starts. I haven't done starts like this since I was at the Drags last. This exercise took some nerves away for when I was gridded up for my first ever Race start.

Friday was Track Day.
Now we get Lap Timers to put on the bike, supplied by the Club. I nominated myself in the Medium Group, but was bumped into Fast Group on Lap Times. This was my initiation to the smaller bikes (MOTO 3, Honda NSF and other 125 2 strokes & 250 singles) ridden by teenagers. Man, they rode around me in the corners. In fact they were up to 4 sec's a lap quicker than my quickest lap. From behind, it looked like they rode without brakes :jsm: I spent the day just going through brake, turn and throttle exercises. I was averaging around 1:31 a lap in my comfort zone.

Saturday.
3 Qualifying and 2 Races. This Race is not a graded Race, but one based on Lap Times for the whole field. So we went out in our nominated groups, only to be regrouped at the discretion of the Race Stuart. This is important, because those kids on the little bikes do laps in a different way to open class bikes. We pass them on the straights, they pass us in the corners, sooner or later, there would be a bingle. No one wants that. So even though they were faster, we would not ride in the same Race. They were given/got their own class. I managed to qualify in Group 1, which I was a bit nervous about. This Group has proper experienced graded riders in it. 16 riders fill the grid. I qualified 10th, and as part of the ruling, this is the grid position I would hold over all Races. I was now around 1:29 a lap, the front runners were running around 1:20 - 1:21.

Qualifying over, lets Race.

1st Race. 8 laps. Finished 12th. Fastest lap 1:28.097 on 2nd lap. Realed off the other 6 laps @ 1:28's. Consistent. Winner 1:19.963 Yamaha R6. Top 6 places all R6's.

2nd Race. 8 laps. Finished 15th.Fastest lap 1:28.029 on lap 3. Next lap I overshot turn one. Went out in the paddock (grass, no sand) for 16 sec's. Nearly crashed when the bike tank slapped when I applied the rear brake trying to stop before the tyre wall. Winner 1:19.662 Yamaha R6. Top 5 R6's.

Sunday
3rd Race. 7 Laps. Finished 11th. Fastest lap 1:27.727 on last lap. This was my best Race. Noticeable front tyre wear developing :wtf: Winner 1:19.775 R6. Top 5 places 600's.

4th Race. 9 laps. Finished 11th. Fastest lap 1:27.498 on the 4th lap. 5 laps @ 1:27. My fastest is now becoming consistant. Lap 6 had me nearly crash though. Turn 6 had me in knots, nearly throwing me over the handlebars. I had the rear out entering the corner, next minute it feels like I'm riding a Bull. It felt like I was bouncing on the front, then the rear. I don't know what happened, but it was a spectacular save, and must have been great viewing by Marshals, riders and spectators alike LOL. Tyre wear on the right side of the front tyre a worry now.

5th Race. 7 laps. Finished 15th. Fastest lap 1:27.467 on 2nd lap. It was all downhill after that. I felt the front folding in right hand corners :wtf: I tried to ignore it, but after burying the front on all the right handers, and the last sending me into a 2 wheel drift at full lean with pace, that was enough for me. Last lap leg out, I was coming in. Back to the pits, I had destroyed the right hand side of a brand new Pirelli Supercorsa SC2. 39 laps, rooted :wtf: The rear SC1 showed superb wear.

I will post the tyre pics in another section for discussion. But it ended my day, as I had to now sit out Race 6.

So how did I go? Great for a novice. I didn't crash (bloody nearly twice though), I didn't hit anybody, and I didn't get lapped. Qualifying and Racing in Group 1 exceeded my expectations.

It has given me confidence to partisipate in any of my Club Races. Interestingly, my times would have me back pack fodder for Group1 BEARS Racing. I'll never be a front runner, but seriously, I don't care, as that was never my goal.

So maybe I'll enter this year's BEARS round when they arrive from down south? I have another round of the Warwick Challenge Cup in October. Next year I may enter the Rookies Cup on an F3 :naughty: Who knows?

But I have to sort out my tyre wear issue first. Boy, am I learning............

Pic's are in the post from the track photographer. I'll post when I can :)

Oh yeah, it was cool after the race to have Marshals and spectators clapping you on your warm down lap back to the pits. You don't get that at Track Days :smoking:

PS. I also loved the static grid start and mad dash to the first corner, that was a BLAST!!!!
 
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#2 ·
Wow

There you go Rob, your own thread on your great experiance.

I have too many questions, so will start with just a few for now, and let the other more experianced guy chip in and give us some tips.

Firstly, that is a lot of laps done one one set of tyres, is this because of the rules or out of your own choice?

Did you take some suspension readings before the weekend, like static and rider sag?

When's the last time you replaced the fork oil ?

How do you get on with the carbon rims and no engine case protection? Over here they would kill me if I tried that. Or is that just of the class you raced in ?

Okay. sorry, enough question, good job mate, that's a lot of racing for one weekend, very well done.:yo:

PS. How much taller than Gary McCoy are you :naughty:.
 
#6 ·
There you go Rob, your own thread on your great experiance.

I have too many questions, so will start with just a few for now, and let the other more experianced guy chip in and give us some tips.

Firstly, that is a lot of laps done one one set of tyres, is this because of the rules or out of your own choice?

Did you take some suspension readings before the weekend, like static and rider sag?

When's the last time you replaced the fork oil ?

How do you get on with the carbon rims and no engine case protection? Over here they would kill me if I tried that. Or is that just of the class you raced in ?

Okay. sorry, enough question, good job mate, that's a lot of racing for one weekend, very well done.

PS. How much taller than Gary McCoy are you .
Thanks Donsy :)

No tyre rules for this Cup. I think tyre wear was exagerated by the new surface on about 1/4 of the track. This new surface covers 2 of the fastest corners, turn 8 left & turn 9 right into another super demanding right, turn 10. The surface is so new (this month) no cars or bikes have been on it, so no rubber layed down. The feeling back through my knee slider was so smooth, that I thought I was dragging the leather on my knee. I commented about this to other riders, and they confirmed the same feeling.

My tyre use was -
Thursday Training Day - Brand new Supercorsa's SC1 Rear & SC2 Front.
Friday Track Day - This ended my Front Tyre. Rear OK.
Saturday - New Front Tyre. Rear good.
Sunday - At the end of the second last race, front Tyre gave it up. Rear had maybe another 2 Races??

I was a bit miffed about not riding in the last race. I walked around the pits and checked out other front tyres. Sure the new surface was taking a toll on all tyres, but mine seemed way more pronounced. Why :confused:

Like a true amateur, I did NOT measure any suspension readings :banghead: This I noticed is a big difference from Track Ride Days. Everybody was fiddling with settings and tyre pressures. I used to just set the suspension to Factory "PISTA' Settings, and ride around any deficiency. I found this satisfactory riding in my comfort zone, but once you start riding at 10/10th's in a race, right on the thin wedge of your ability, it does count. So I must learn about bike set up. Not pretend, but feel/know how the components on my bike work in synergy.

I changed the oil in my forks about a year ago. This was done per manual, by my local bike mechanic. Correct oil weight, but I don't know the level, standard I presume.

My BST's passed scrutineering without a blink of an eye, so I can only assume that Carbon Wheels are allowed. But your right, they are frowned upon in certain series, why? I don't know. The scrutineer was satisfied that the SATO engine slider on the clutch side would prevent the engine casing dragging on the ground, so that was cool. The only comment I got was to get numbers in the right font. Apparently my numbers to too large. But that’s only something minor, an easy fix before next race.

LOL!! Gary semed so......so......normal. Yeah, he's a little short, but what good bike jockeys aren't :yo:


Good on you Rob.I have watched you at Track days and you are smooth and consistant.It's all a learning curve (I am sure Donsy will agree),you will get quicker with experiance and tips on suspension set-up.Well done and on a MV too.
Thanks Mitch :) Smooth if fast, and consistency is good. To get the final seconds and tenths down is hard work. Luck will play some role, but knowledge is power. I need both ATM!!! I'm all ears, and open to any advice that the experienced guys like Donsy can offer. I was the only MV there. Ohhhhh I'm so lonely :stickpoke: :laughing:

Good stuff Rob! Sounds like you had a blast, wish I'd been there with you!
Thanks Matty :) You, Mitch, and others, the one to come and watch out at Warwick is the Masters Of Morgan Park 4th&5th May. It has Historic Racing which is absolutely both fantastic and entertaining. As well as the BEARS racing series. A great weekend, on and off the track. Make time for it, you won't regret it :drummer:

Great report Rob, I`m with you about marshalls and crowd clapping it makes you feel special even when you`re a Neville Nobody like me. Awsome that you had such a good day ,Congratulations. Trouble is now you will always be impatient for the next "fix". As Steve McQueen said " racing is life, everything else is just waiting around".
Thanks mate :) Another Club Racer I believe, you know what I'm talking about :yo: As for what Steve McQueen said, man, If I was 20 years younger, yeah, I could fall for this heavily. But words like RISK and MONEY have a sharper meaning to me now than when I was young dumb and full of come LOL!!!

I'm thinking I need a ride height tool. I will follow Donsy's and Ade's advice on setting Static Sag & Ride Height for starters......

Next: My wonderful computor/internet system won't allow me to post up pics yet. I wanted to show my tyres. Will do when I can.
 
#5 ·
Great report Rob, I`m with you about marshalls and crowd clapping it makes you feel special even when you`re a Neville Nobody like me. Awsome that you had such a good day ,Congratulations. Trouble is now you will always be impatient for the next "fix". As Steve McQueen said " racing is life, everything else is just waiting around".
 
#7 ·
Now the fun starts Rob

Okay. I imagine the BST wheels are allowed as it's not a state Championship, so rather a "Private" Class, much like our Clubman 1000 and 600 calasses. Just about anything goes :).

Sounds like you have some serious front end issues', I can go throught 2 back tyres per front tyre (almost) and so does most other guys.

This could be caused by many things Rob.
Too soft front end, too hard front (unlikely in my opinion), bad tyre pressure, and lastly, riding style.

What tyre pressure's where you running Rob - HOT of the tyre warmer and track ?
We found about 25psi rear and 33psi front works good on the new Pirelli's.

Get yourself a suspension book and read up a bit.
I found this one to be very good - http://www.pitstop.net.au/view/bikes-bikes-general/page/query/plu/15938 - the guy who wrote it is paralyzed now so all funds go to a good cause.

You need to start measuring you static sag, and then your rider sag. I think Chris at X-Bikes still sell's the ride height tools.

If you want to email me your pics, I can add them to your story if you'd like that.

Give me a ring sometime if you want mate, no problems.
 
#11 ·
Okay. I imagine the BST wheels are allowed as it's not a state Championship, so rather a "Private" Class, much like our Clubman 1000 and 600 calasses. Just about anything goes :).

Sounds like you have some serious front end issues', I can go throught 2 back tyres per front tyre (almost) and so does most other guys.

This could be caused by many things Rob.
Too soft front end, too hard front (unlikely in my opinion), bad tyre pressure, and lastly, riding style.

What tyre pressure's where you running Rob - HOT of the tyre warmer and track ?
We found about 25psi rear and 33psi front works good on the new Pirelli's.

Get yourself a suspension book and read up a bit.
I found this one to be very good - http://www.pitstop.net.au/view/bikes-bikes-general/page/query/plu/15938 - the guy who wrote it is paralyzed now so all funds go to a good cause.

You need to start measuring you static sag, and then your rider sag. I think Chris at X-Bikes still sell's the ride height tools.

If you want to email me your pics, I can add them to your story if you'd like that.

Give me a ring sometime if you want mate, no problems.
Hey Donsy :)

The Pirelli Tyre guy told me the temp ranges of the tyre, but I'm pretty sure he said to run 26-28 psi Rear, hot straight off the tyre warmer before yo go out, and 34 Front hot.



Smooth bit on the side is from my 2 wheel slide I believe.



Thanks for the tips on what to read. I need a new bed time story :naughty:

I'll get on to Mitch for the Ride Height Tool :)

very nice story. i am impressed how you can do several
races in one day. i am usually completely exhausted after
one race. in addition, the adrenaline is flowing high and
it is easy to overestimate once capabilities. the more
i am impressed you did 5 races on your first experience :)
Thanks Hanspeter :) Yes, the physicality of it all is straining. The challenge is the recovery and soreness period. To say I was a little stiff each morning would be an understatement :jsm: And yes, your right, as fatigue sets in, so do the mistakes on the track. I overestimated my capability after setting my fastest lap in one race, only to overshoot the first turn after the straight the very next lap :jsm:

Rob,I have a ride height tool.If you ever want to borrow it let me know.
Thanks Mitch :) Your a champ. I'll PM soon.

Awesome rob. Your wallet will never be the same again.
LOL!!! Want to sponsor me :baddeal::stickpoke:

I know what you mean. Why did we pick this sport :confused:

Should stay at home learn to play my guitar better :guitarist

Maybe not :yo:

Anyway, these are my solo pic's favourites











 
#8 ·
very nice story. i am impressed how you can do several
races in one day. i am usually completely exhausted after
one race. in addition, the adrenaline is flowing high and
it is easy to overestimate once capabilities. the more
i am impressed you did 5 races on your first experience :)
 
#14 ·
Showing some nice style there mate! 4th one looks ace.

Print it and hang it where it will annoy the missus most (thats what i've done with my favourites)
Thanks Greg :)

Like a golf swing, there's always room for improvement :nerd:

After a long period of missus ownership :thewife: I have now decided to only have short demonstrations, and return, of certain models, when the occasion arises :stickpoke :naughty:

I now hang what I like, where I like :smoking:

Great pics Rob,and good to see your race number is close to Donsy's.:yo:
Thanks Mitch :)

#33 was taken. Now you mention it, the Club is offering cheap MA Club Race Licences this weekend. This way, I get to keep a race number all year, and save on race registration fees.
 
#16 ·
Thanks Randy :)

Just trying to keep it real ;)

I realise that this Track stuff is not every bodies cup of tea, but If by sharing my exploits here encourages just one person to test their skills on a track, my job is done.

Hopefully it goes to show, that if someone as average as me, can enjoy their motorcycle in a safe and club friendly manner, than anyone can. Just do it. You might like it.

To any of the locals, come and join the fun :f4::brutale:
 
#19 ·
Randy, I'll scare the mortal rider clean out of your skin :jsm:

You and me, alone in a room for 5 minutes, I'll change your mind forever :stickpoke :naughty: :crazyeyes

BTW you do know Sideshow Bob is a blood relative of mine :silly:

:later:
 
#30 ·
Awesome pictures Rob. :yo:
Thanks mate. If you ever want to come over, just let me know. I might be able to help you out ;) With bikes would be unlikely because you live so bloody far away, but we can share a couple of beers :)

You are looking really good on the bike Rob.

Weather permitting we will be at QR on the 23rd, will we see you there?
I won't be able to ride as I'm saving for my bike safari. At PI I'm doing CSS level2 Friday 29th. Track days Mon 1st and Tues 2nd. Then Eastern Creek Fri 5th.

But I will definitely try to make it out to say hi :)

Rob,awesome mate,from the pics your tyres are really copping a hammering:jsm:
Got to sort a few things out Mitch. Be in contact soon about the ride height tool. This new surface will be be a challenge for me if it chews tyres.

5 races ,well done Rob,I would of been totally buggered,youth over age,Keep up the good work,

cheers eddy
Thanks Eddy, hope all is well :) One day' I will get back out and ride with you guys :f4: Just watch out for them tin lids and revenue raisers :smoking:
 
#34 ·
Qstarz GPS Lap Timer



Nice. I have something similar Donsy.

I also keep a diary of maintenance (including observations of the wear on things while they are apart), impressions from the day's riding, and any thoughts I have on improving.

At the very least I never forget when I last changed oil, pads, brake fluid, etc.
You need to get one of these lap timers guys. I've been using the older model for some time, the new one's are now Bluetooth enabled which makes it even better.
Model # BT-Q1000eX
You can look at your laps afterwards, add as many splits as you need etc. Cost me about $240.00 about 2 years ago, but the new one's are about $180.00 on eBay.

Get one !!!
 

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#33 ·
Nice. I have something similar Donsy.

I also keep a diary of maintenance (including observations of the wear on things while they are apart), impressions from the day's riding, and any thoughts I have on improving.

At the very least I never forget when I last changed oil, pads, brake fluid, etc.
 
#36 ·
I won't be able to ride as I'm saving for my bike safari. At PI I'm doing CSS level2 Friday 29th. Track days Mon 1st and Tues 2nd. Then Eastern Creek Fri 5th.




Rob,
I will be doing CSS @ PI on Thurs 28 (level 3) & Fri 29th (level 4). I will be on a black Triumph Daytona 675.

I will try to see you there.

Murf
 
#39 ·
Rob,
I will be doing CSS @ PI on Thurs 28 (level 3) & Fri 29th (level 4). I will be on a black Triumph Daytona 675.

I will try to see you there.

Murf
Hey Murf :) I was going to try to do the Thurs 28, but unfortunately, time just doesn't allow me. I will be arriving hopefully at Cowes on Thurs though. I'll try to make it out to the track if I got time Thurs to Hi. We'll have to get together Thurs and Fri night for a bite to eat and beer :drummer:

I'll keep an eye out for ya. PM me if you want my number ;)

I'm confused, are you doing the track day on the 1st? Which group? (I'm in Fast).

I've booked for the track day on the 1st of April at the Island. I balked at doing levels 3 and 4...too exxy for now on top of everything else.

@donsy I run one of these:
http://www.xtracing.com/en/gpxpro/index.php

Mine is an older version though. Still works just fine - but I need to calibrate it properly.
Excellent Greg :yo:You're coming to torment me by showing me my next track bike, I can't quite afford yet, aren't ya :stickpoke :)

Yeah mate, booked fast group. I'm a first time fast group rider. Unfortunately, it was the only group left to book in when booking.

I think I can hold my own at the back of the pack. I mean, I'm comfortable in medium fast. We'll see......Tues I'm in medium fast. EC on Fri medium fast.

We'll have fun together for sure :yo:Just take it easy on me man :smoking:

We'll have to eat, drink and be Mary (you can be Mary :naughty: :stickpoke :laughing:) on Mon night for sure.

PM if you like, and I'll give you my number.

Ya lucky bugger! The Island sounds awesome, but a bit daunting at the same time.

Come out and say hi anyway, if you get the chance.
Matty, you know the joy of riding a track day with friends, old and new. Wish you could have joined us. Don't forget Masters Of Morgan Park - May 4th & 5th. If I can afford it, I'll enter and we can do Fridays track day together before the racing :)

Mate, to be brutally honest, I'm going to be busy prepping to leave on Tues afternoon for this trip. So I will most likely not catch up at QR :(

But please, if you can, try to make it out Warwick in May. It's just bikes, bikes, bikes, you'll love it :smoking:

PS. You're right about PI. It is a little daunting, but it's that mixture of nervousness and excitement that somehow lures me to these kinds of things. Let's just say, you know your alive :jsm:


PSS. Wouldn't it be something else if Donsy could make it over one of these days? I could not think of anywhere better that PI :yo:So long as its not raining :jsm: Bloody Melbourne weather LOL!!!
 
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