[megaspaz]

Almost hitting A pace at infineon. Hit 2:04s consistently which is 1 second off A pace times. Got tips from an instructor in a pm from another forum… can’t wait to hit this track again. A nice change of pace from all the Thunderhill I’ve been doing.

[eternal05]

Dude, you’re flying! Watching your vids is always a lot of fun, and a good way for me to learn a thing or two.

I want to get inside your head for a bit though. I have a question for you, something that I’ve been struggling with for a while. I’ve never gotten a satisfying answer from racers at the track. They seem so far removed from their initial learning process that they can’t put themselves in the place of a beginner.

I’ve never really cared much about lap times. I’ve been more interested in getting corner entry speed right, line right, and exit right. As such, I waste a TON of time on the straights either on neutral throttle or coasting down on engine braking. Now that I’m trying to pick up the pace a bit, I’m trying to set fixed braking points, turn in points, etc. and really tightening up my ride. The problem is, the change in speed created by one reference point screws up everything else. For instance, if get on the throttle earlier coming out of a turn –assuming it was the right choice– means you exit the corner faster, which means you get to the end of the straight at a higher speed, which means you need to start braking earlier or brake harder to get down to your entry speed. That means you need to move your braking marker forward.

My problem is that I’m both trying to “initialize” so-to-speak AND trying to optimize all these points at the same time: braking later when I can, getting on the gas earlier, turning in harder, leaning more. As a result, my reference points are in a constant state of flux, and they don’t seem to want to converge.

Any advice? How did you settle on your various reference points?

[megaspaz]

Dammit… i don’t think i’ll have a satisfying answer for you. I really don’t have any external reference points. I only concentrate on the rolling off and braking zone, the turn in point, the apex, and the exit. How i’ve settled on my points is just through riding the track. Over time, you solidify where you want to turn in, apex, and exit. Some good starting points for turn in are actually the brake markers. A lot of tracks here have turn in points on brake marker #1 or in between #1 and #2. For exits, the outside curbing after the turn is a good exit point to aim the bike. All i can say is only more seat time can help you out here.

[eternal05]

With motorcycling, that tends to be the answer (“more practice time,” that is). Thanks to, like I said, being mostly interested in the corners up to this point, the things that are really giving me trouble are pre-braking entry speed, braking start, post-braking entry speed, and turn-in. Everything else is going really well. I guess, like you said, more time in the saddle will probably save the day.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[megaspaz]

Yeh, all i really did was try to follow the faster riders no matter if they’d dust me on the next turn or not. pretty soon you start hanging with them for more turns and then you start getting fast. Also, going to schools really helped out. the one one ones help out and you get shown things you never thought you could do with the bike on the track. Video’ing your trackdays really helps. I watch the full session vids a lot. You start seeing where you’re losing time, which corners you’re weak on, and you can then go in on the next tday and have a game plan on how to go about working on those corners. When you’re out there, don’t try to do a bunch of corners at once. Practice trying to get a couple of down first. When i practice, i pick corners that are opposite of each other. For instance on a session I might try to work on t2 and t7, etc. Also, when you’re at the track, if your tdp has instructors there for traffic control, don’t be afraid to ask them for a tow for a few laps and help. Same with faster riders. Most people i know at the track are more than happy to oblige and talk with you on improving your riding. That’s what really makes going to the track awesome.

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