So I finally got the opportunity to go to YCRS. I will admit that I was skeptical on taking a riding school... would the cost of admission be worth the reward? I went with two goals in mind: Get faster, and learn more so I could pass the knowledge onto other riders at N2 trackdays.
Up until this point, everything I have learned has came from first hand experience (What worked, what made me crash and not repeating that mistake, etc), advice from CR's, and watching fast people, both local and on TV (AMA/ MotoGP). I will admit that everyone I've known that's attended YCRS early on in their track riding has progressed to Advanced group quicker than those that hadn't taken any riding schools. That got me very curious as to what exactly they teach (and how they do it) that seemed to make the difference. Obviously each individual is different with different learning curves, but overall, they progressed in skill/pace quicker than those that had not attended any riding schools (again, from my personal observations). I was also wondering why people would take the same school 2 or 3 times.
It turns out that they provide a wealth of information that simply cannot be comprehended in one go-around. I [thought] I had a relative decent grasp on the techniques of riding. I mean, it's not like you learn how to operate a bike, then acquire your expert club racing license the next week, right? I went into the school wanting to get picked apart on things I was doing wrong, and man did I ever get it! I felt like it wasn't a matter of couple of things I was doing wrong and correcting it, but rather what little bit I was actually doing right. So I went to work on the biggest issues that I needed to correct. I could go back 5 times and still learn new things each time I went.
I could type a novel (I already am), but the long story short is that I met both of the goals I was wanting. I broke my old PB at Summit Point by over a second, getting a taste of running 18's with a host of consistent 19's. The biggest epiphany I had was that I can get faster with technique - not just by pushing it a little bit harder in hopes of getting faster. Instead of trying to push my brake markers back, get on the throttle sooner and harder, I can master the technical skills, and improve lap times without riding over my head. My bike is still completely stock motor wise (valve cover has never been off yet), and I have no doubt that my bike is more than capable of running 17's. Sure, a built motor and race gas would make that goal much easier, but it is definitely most possible to hit that with my bike as-is.
I have learned a wealth of knowledge that I can't wait to utilize at the next N2 weekend I am able to make (Probably NCBike June 13-14). I have no doubt that going to YCRS has made me a better CR, and I can't wait to pass that onto the people I will work with in the future.
The WERA events went well. I got a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th. C Superstock was my first race and the only time my GoPro felt like working. I'm still horrible at launching (always been a weak point for me), but I'm starting to get consistent and I'm happy with that.
Up until this point, everything I have learned has came from first hand experience (What worked, what made me crash and not repeating that mistake, etc), advice from CR's, and watching fast people, both local and on TV (AMA/ MotoGP). I will admit that everyone I've known that's attended YCRS early on in their track riding has progressed to Advanced group quicker than those that hadn't taken any riding schools. That got me very curious as to what exactly they teach (and how they do it) that seemed to make the difference. Obviously each individual is different with different learning curves, but overall, they progressed in skill/pace quicker than those that had not attended any riding schools (again, from my personal observations). I was also wondering why people would take the same school 2 or 3 times.
It turns out that they provide a wealth of information that simply cannot be comprehended in one go-around. I [thought] I had a relative decent grasp on the techniques of riding. I mean, it's not like you learn how to operate a bike, then acquire your expert club racing license the next week, right? I went into the school wanting to get picked apart on things I was doing wrong, and man did I ever get it! I felt like it wasn't a matter of couple of things I was doing wrong and correcting it, but rather what little bit I was actually doing right. So I went to work on the biggest issues that I needed to correct. I could go back 5 times and still learn new things each time I went.
I could type a novel (I already am), but the long story short is that I met both of the goals I was wanting. I broke my old PB at Summit Point by over a second, getting a taste of running 18's with a host of consistent 19's. The biggest epiphany I had was that I can get faster with technique - not just by pushing it a little bit harder in hopes of getting faster. Instead of trying to push my brake markers back, get on the throttle sooner and harder, I can master the technical skills, and improve lap times without riding over my head. My bike is still completely stock motor wise (valve cover has never been off yet), and I have no doubt that my bike is more than capable of running 17's. Sure, a built motor and race gas would make that goal much easier, but it is definitely most possible to hit that with my bike as-is.
I have learned a wealth of knowledge that I can't wait to utilize at the next N2 weekend I am able to make (Probably NCBike June 13-14). I have no doubt that going to YCRS has made me a better CR, and I can't wait to pass that onto the people I will work with in the future.
The WERA events went well. I got a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th. C Superstock was my first race and the only time my GoPro felt like working. I'm still horrible at launching (always been a weak point for me), but I'm starting to get consistent and I'm happy with that.
