Blackhawk 7/3-7/4 - Great Weekend!
- Thread starter Kordyte
- Start date
First Time at BHF
First off…BIG thanks to NESBA and the program they put on – 1st class all the way.
I only rode on Sunday and it was hot, but bearable. I’m just glad the weather geeks got it wrong. It started to look a bit sketchy after lunch, but I never saw a drop. Other than the wind destroying my E-Z Up (and a few others in the paddock) it was all good.
First time at Blackhawk and I really enjoyed it.
Some of my initial impressions …
- Driving across the track to get into the paddock just seemed odd but I guess it’s the only way to go ;-)
- Turns 3d – 5…mostly T4 seemed sketchy too me, but every track has some areas of concern. After about 4-5 laps I stopped noticing how close things were to the track.
- One red flag (T7) and only two yellows (T1 & T2) all day I believe?
- Ran mid-to-hi 1:20s all morning with a best of 1:23.6 in the a.m.
- Dropped my average times slightly in the afternoon and ran a personal best of 1:22.5 on my last lap of the day.
- I see what people say about diving up the inside going into the carousel….riders generally take the wider arch and turn in late. I saw the opportunity several times, but never pounced. So many lines through there though, what a cool turn. I saved several of my passes coming out of 5 and then going into 6.
- T1 I screwed up so many times I lost count. I was either in the wrong gear, too hot, too slow, off line…I can’t recall a smooth, efficient T1 entry/exit all day. Oh well, something to work on next time.
I saw several GoPro's in the "I" group Sunday, post'em up if you get the chance.
First off…BIG thanks to NESBA and the program they put on – 1st class all the way.
I only rode on Sunday and it was hot, but bearable. I’m just glad the weather geeks got it wrong. It started to look a bit sketchy after lunch, but I never saw a drop. Other than the wind destroying my E-Z Up (and a few others in the paddock) it was all good.
First time at Blackhawk and I really enjoyed it.
Some of my initial impressions …
- Driving across the track to get into the paddock just seemed odd but I guess it’s the only way to go ;-)
- Turns 3d – 5…mostly T4 seemed sketchy too me, but every track has some areas of concern. After about 4-5 laps I stopped noticing how close things were to the track.
- One red flag (T7) and only two yellows (T1 & T2) all day I believe?
- Ran mid-to-hi 1:20s all morning with a best of 1:23.6 in the a.m.
- Dropped my average times slightly in the afternoon and ran a personal best of 1:22.5 on my last lap of the day.
- I see what people say about diving up the inside going into the carousel….riders generally take the wider arch and turn in late. I saw the opportunity several times, but never pounced. So many lines through there though, what a cool turn. I saved several of my passes coming out of 5 and then going into 6.
- T1 I screwed up so many times I lost count. I was either in the wrong gear, too hot, too slow, off line…I can’t recall a smooth, efficient T1 entry/exit all day. Oh well, something to work on next time.
I saw several GoPro's in the "I" group Sunday, post'em up if you get the chance.
has more variation I think, generally in the 30's. The absolute track record on a motorcycle is somewhere around a 1:08 
GK#103
New Member
Was a blast riding Adam for sure! hope to see ya out there soon. remember relax & have some FUN first. then we can break the track record/lol!ajohn505;138231 wrote: I have to give a big shout out to George, a CR in the I group on Saturday - he gave me some good tips for turn 1, and the 3-5 section which has been giving me trouble. I'm running 1:24s and I feel like I know exactly what I need to eventually run 1:20s
Overall I had a great day... probably the best I've had since '08, and I feel like I've got the edge back which is a great feeling. As anyone who's been rattled by a crash knows, it's no fun white-knuckling it around the track :wow: . I give credit to NESBA on this, the CRs have given great instruction, the fellow riders have given great support, TurnOne sold me some confidence-inspiring NTEC slicks, etc...
eE jeremy
New Member
Don't worry about your lap times dude, just go out, have fun, and work on getting better. Chasing lap times early in your riding career will land you on your head. I've worked my way up through the nesba ranks and have never timed a single lap. I'm not saying the times aren't useful, but when you're just starting out there are a lot more important things to focus on, priority 1 should be to keep it rubber side down
stkr
New Member
Well saideE jeremy;138618 wrote: Don't worry about your lap times dude, just go out, have fun, and work on getting better. Chasing lap times early in your riding career will land you on your head. I've worked my way up through the nesba ranks and have never timed a single lap. I'm not saying the times aren't useful, but when you're just starting out there are a lot more important things to focus on, priority 1 should be to keep it rubber side down
CoolyO:
I've only run a lap timer (borrowed) for 1/2 day. I found that after seeing the times, I went out and worked "harder" on getting my times down, but I actually ended up going slower. I was too tense, rushing the corners, braking too hard/erratic, and losing time trying to recover from the entries. Chasing times will hurt you.
My personal best at BHF is a 1:19:00, and I actually did that last year during the last session of the day when I was just going out to get the last ride in. I relaxed, and "took it easy". Reviewing the video, I almost fell out of the chair.
Speed/Times will come. Get the fundamentals of body position, entry points, apexes, and exits down FIRST. As the pace goes up, minor mistakes become more costly.
j_fuggin_t
Member
:agree:Cooly0;138533 wrote: I'm running 1:36 on 2 laps, from the 1 video I have for the day? is that good? I am able to tell which turns I'm able to improve on. First day at Blackhawk.like i told my buddy who was there sunday, who cares what your lap times are, concentrate on getting your lines right & body position to make you smoother, with smoothness there will come lower times, don't fret you'll be good
i was front of the pack I all weekend long and i ran a consistent average of 23's w/ a low of 20.2, but i have alot to improve on STILLKordyte;138584 wrote: It's alright, depending on your level of experience. A lot ofguys such as PETERS and myself run mid 1:20's, and the
guys are down in the teens. B has more variation I think, generally in the 30's. The absolute track record on a motorcycle is somewhere around a 1:08
eE jeremy;138618 wrote: Don't worry about your lap times dude, just go out, have fun, and work on getting better. Chasing lap times early in your riding career will land you on your head. I've worked my way up through the nesba ranks and have never timed a single lap. I'm not saying the times aren't useful, but when you're just starting out there are a lot more important things to focus on, priority 1 should be to keep it rubber side down
j_fuggin_t
Member
lol i like told jordan & dave at Arby's after blackhawk, i just sandbag at these track days, you'll all see LOLAndrei;138636 wrote: yea, I agree, each of us can break BHF track record on this board ...
ok not really, i got work to do :rtfm:
Trent1098S
New Member
Better advicehas yet to be spoken. At a fast pace, there IS no such thing as a low speed get-off. Even the slowest of corners can and will hurt. And ... you don't have "time" to make big corrections if you're line isn't taking you where you need to be. Minor mistakes become more costly, yes, but every second you drop from your lap times narrows the margin of allowable error significantly. Inches on the track surface and very minute changes in controls become important.eE jeremy;138618 wrote: Chasing lap times early in your riding career will land you on your head.
Not true dude!!! Sometimes it lands your BIKE on your head. I have photographic evidence of this.
stkr;138633 wrote: Chasing times will hurt you. Speed/Times will come. Get the fundamentals of body position, entry points, apexes, and exits down FIRST. As the pace goes up, minor mistakes become more costly.
I gotta break my riding down from square one again and hit each thing one at a time.. I got a problem somewhere. Certainly, many problems.
Not a bad thing to do. There's always room for improvement! Whenever I hit a wall (so to speak) in Karate, I start again slow, and work up through everything. Sometimes I find my problems in something that at first appears totally unrelated, but after making a minor adjustment, find that it is indeed linked to the effect.... There's no such thing as something TOO basic, or TOO insignificant.
The difference is, instructors in Karate can "stop" you whenever, and see what you are doing. Not as easy for CR's to do while everyone is rolling around at speed. So... you're pretty much on your own after a certain point to "figure the rest out", because it's really not possible to watch precisely how someone is manipulating their controls, distributing their weight, what muscles are in use, where the eyes are looking, etc.
Just gotta get the basics down with help, and figure out the rest by self analysis and comparing notes with other riders. And... a fair amount of listening to the old guys with some honest self-analysis of how what they are describing conflicts / agrees with your ideas and movements.
Interesting sport, this thing.
design-engine
Member
I saw that scott was doing that. he said it was to let the 'I' guys know that they don't have to hold on so tightly onto the bars. LOL. Later in the year when the Daisies bloom we will see scott ripping around with a hand full of brake in one hand and flowers in the other.
JonGu
New Member
Got some great video of the night's events... Will upload more, but here's a good one to start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3NtN_MRkI
Gets really interesting around the 1:40 mark...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3NtN_MRkI
Gets really interesting around the 1:40 mark...