Being safer at your next track day

[adotjdot]

Anyone see Mark Marquez break the pass and jump back in line rule and just about kill Zarco going into turn one at the Australian GP?

That video should be required viewing...scary.

Great spot! I was thinking the same thing when I was watching this happen. A couple of interesting conversations come up here. First is the safety factor. None of these guys racing at their level ever WANT to come together with each other. It never ends well. They cannot win races and championships if they are crashing or knocking each other off the track. That being said, they are constantly balancing risk vs reward. They don't want to crash or take each other out, but they need to do everything they can to get or stay in front of the other riders around them. This sometimes means VERY close passing and/or risky passing. It's part of the sport. Unfortunately sometimes two riders are trying to use the same piece of track at the same time.

Second, how does this relate to the best practices of passing that the above post is designed to address? So we as riders and racers are not challenging for multimillion dollar contracts. So that means we need to lean more towards the safety side of the balance equation. Passing a rider when you are at any level and in any situation is a judgement call. A risk assessment. Ask yourself, "are my actions going to put the riders around me (and/or me) at risk?" This means making an assumption that the rider in front of you could change their line dramatically at any instant. And that their could be a rider 2 inches from your back tire at any moment. Your actions can have a dramatic affect on the outcome of that situation.

Lastly, we always talk about copying what the best riders in the world are doing, which from a technique perspective is 100% spot on. But we have to address the race craft portion of that conversation as well. Like I mentioned above, their balance of risk vs reward is much different from ours. From this video you will also notice how many riders were bunched up coming down the front straight challenging for position. The more riders you put into this situation, the more erratic the situation becomes. Just watch any of the Moto3 events. They are typically 8-10 riders deep into corners, swapping places multiple times down a straight with a good draft, WAY off the typical race line. NOT the safest way to pass. Again, risking more for the reward.

Great conversation guys! The more we talk about this and the more aware we are of this, the safer we can be out there.

 

[Motofun352]

The Intermediate guys (and Advanced, too) need to be aware of this crash as they contemplate a outside pass. The rider in front may try to widen his line at the last second, totally unaware that you are gaining on him. (I'm not endorsing this, just that it happens). Zarco was way too close. I'm not blaming him, multiple bike draft probably sucked him in, but 3 ft of separation would have changed the whole outcome.

 

[tad158]

See....I feel like having watched the Moto2&3 races before this happened.....and watching how they would enter that corner 4 and 5 wide....I feel like Marc made an unexpected move over that cost Zarco. I guess my point here is that it looked exactly the move that we talk about in the riders meeting....like the 1K that passes the 300 and the 1K moves over and the 300 has no were to go.....

 

[bmart]

I agree with you. None of us is so close to the limit that they need every inch of the track. As I've said in other posts, I rarely enter a turn without leaving room for one bike to come around me with plenty of room. At a track day, it just makes sense.

 

[Motofun352]

This just points to the significant difference between what the MGP guys do and what we do. IMHO Zarco should have expected the huge draft he got, they look for this advantage and seek it out. At least after the first lap, when things steady out in MGP, these guys move around quite a bit looking for every advantage. I'm not surprised that Marc moved over. Now, for us, this (ie moving over) is frankly an unwise move. We have much more in the way of skills variations, machine variations, and new riders who we may not be familiar with, etc.
There's a lot to learn by watching the pros but you still must temper it with some practical expectations. (like getting passed when you least expect it).

 

[bmart]

I practice getting passed unexpectedly with alarming regularity!

 

[adotjdot]

See....I feel like having watched the Moto2&3 races before this happened.....and watching how they would enter that corner 4 and 5 wide....I feel like Marc made an unexpected move over that cost Zarco. I guess my point here is that it looked exactly the move that we talk about in the riders meeting....like the 1K that passes the 300 and the 1K moves over and the 300 has no were to go.....

Yep, that's a great point. Even at their level, watch their behavior when they get into those situations where they are 10 riders in a draft challenging for position or 4-5 riders wide into a turn. Things become erratic, unpredictable, reactive. Watch when they are passing a single rider. They may get close, but usually very controlled, very smooth, very well planned out. Sure they will push each other wide for a block pass but it is a much different scenario to deal with 1 rider next to you than 5 or 6. Way easier to judge.

And yes, you are correct, it is the exact move we talk about in the riders meeting. And you can see how it can escalate out of control even at the MotoGP level. So anything we can do to be more aware of it, and any steps we can take to avoid it will be better for all of us from a safety perspective.

 

[Motofun352]

I practice getting passed unexpectedly with alarming regularity!

Ha HA...my issue as well! I don't ride for lap times, don't even mount a timer for that matter. I do keep track of how I'm doing as compared to every one else out there. The ever increasing skill level of the advance riders has dealt my ego a blow....