Race license question. Is it to soon!?!
- Thread starter river rat
- Start date
Fastguy
Member
I'm no racer and I agree with you but for purposes of clarification, could you please expound?
What are A group level skills? Just to spell them out.
One of the reasons that I ask is that I often hear that if you wanna race . . . . race.
With that being said. I'm not sure how competitive a person would be.
ronhix
New Member
By "A group level skills", I mean the level of skills the we CR's evaluate in order to bump a rider into the "A group".
I'm interested in safety for myself and for the other racers I'm on track competing against. None of us make a living at this at this point.
In my opinion, this is the bare minimum requirement a rider should have before choosing to go racing. If your skills are not at this level and you are not accustomed to carrying "A group" pace, then you are going to be a danger to yourself and others in a racing environment because of the high rate of closing speeds and the unpredictable / agressive nature of the race environment.
Again, this is only my opinion. BUT, consider this - I've lined up on a lot of different race grids and this opinion is based on my personal experience from racing many, many club races and seeing the danger first hand caused by guys that are off the pace and/or riding over their head and/or running erratic lines, etc.
If you want to go racing, NESBA is your best friend. Many of the CR's and more than a few of the A guys race. The race success that so many NESBA members (especially the CR's) have experienced speaks volumes. NESBA CR's teach the skills needed to succeed and to do so safely. NESBA provides a safe, controlled environment to develop these skills alongside other riders of similar skill level. In addition, once you are in the A group, we often have sessions that are truly "much like a race practice" where you can get accustomed to race pace and the race passes that are common in club racing.
Kordyte
Member
That sounds about right. Once I become a comfortable A group rider for a season, I plan to try racing a little the following season.
Not that times tell the whole story, but it might be good to give yourself some perspective. Find out what sort of times you're running, and compare your ballpark times with those of amateur racers on that track.
You can go on CCS' website (not sure about WERA) and check what times people are running.
I saw that in September, Blackhawk CCS amateur winners were running in the 1:12-1:15 range, and I'm running about 1:22 in I group so I'll want to drop about 6+ seconds before I start racing. I don't want to be the one guy slowing everyone down, being dangerous (the experts are running at 1:08/1:09!), and DEFINITELY not having a snowball's chance in hell to get a podium finish.
Not that times tell the whole story, but it might be good to give yourself some perspective. Find out what sort of times you're running, and compare your ballpark times with those of amateur racers on that track.
You can go on CCS' website (not sure about WERA) and check what times people are running.
I saw that in September, Blackhawk CCS amateur winners were running in the 1:12-1:15 range, and I'm running about 1:22 in I group so I'll want to drop about 6+ seconds before I start racing. I don't want to be the one guy slowing everyone down, being dangerous (the experts are running at 1:08/1:09!), and DEFINITELY not having a snowball's chance in hell to get a podium finish.
Mikey75702
Member
I had the same plan till I started spending time on the wera forum. And they talked me into going at it even though I am in the b group. Their reasoning is that when you first go out, on provisional novice license you are supposed to wear a shirt that indicates you are new and for more experienced riders to stay away from you. Then no matter how slow you are, the experts know it as you will be at the back of the novice pack. Seems the consensus over there including the owners husband sean, is that if you wanna race, hit the license course and give it a try. If you don't believe me go ask.
jigs
New Member
Unless you're more naturally gifted than95 % of us which could be...I don't know...you could go get your license,and get pummeled....I mean that in the sense that you sure would like it to be a somewhat decent expierience....i.e.,I got the bump to White plate after one year yellow plate and gotr creamed that next year...I would compare lap times at your local track to the racers...and then see if you can get a local CR to give you feedback...like your guts,that's for sure!! Good luck if you do go...personally,I really think riding in "A" group for sometime really got me ready....when I was on of the "fast" "I" riders....looking back on it,and went racing...I would have NOT enjoyed it all.
jigs
New Member
That's a very good question...and the answer is riding all alone.If you have grip on,Push but finsh paradigm,like knowing when you're over your head and gonna crash,after about lap 4-5,I remember if the rider in front being 1.5 to 3 seconds per lap faster than me,and I couldn't catch a tow becuase I would have ended up in the weeds,now this figuring I was 5-6 seconds per lap behind the front runners,everyone gradually pulls away from you and by, again,lap 4-5.you come out of the last turn and can't see anyone going into the first turn,and it stays that way for the rest of the race...it's not as fun as running with a pack of your buddys all within 1 second of eachother in an "A" group session. I did stay with it though,still do alot of track days but at least my skills have improved to where I'm in some traffis now ,running much better.Had I not been able to improve,as hard as I tried,I would have pettitioned to go back to yellow plate,OR,if they wouldn't let me...go back to "A" group and re-group,work on my skill sets....hope that helps,but just my 2 cents worth.
noobinacan
Member
don't do it dude....just not yet.
what's the hurry ?
Mikey75702
Member
The hurry is i listened to all this bs for the last year and a half and had it in my head that I should wait and be an A guy before i even try. Then I started lurking on the wera forums, registered to buy something, and stuck around to get involved in some conversations. Since i have been over there, there has been no less then 5 threads starting off on this topic, all of which some people have posted with some of the same opinions here, then all of the racers speak up and say to come out and race. There is a 90% chance you wont even come in last. So between that, and the racing is so expensive, which they also stated is wrong, I decided to go for it. I appreciate Ron and a few others opinion, but this is a trackday forum, and the opinion you get will still mostlikely be biased that way. Now go listen to the racers on the racers forum and figure out your own opinion.
http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=268388
http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=267332
http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=253919
Theses are just a few links I have been involved in the conversation. There are more, or you can create your own thread, and people will pour in
Fastguy
Member
Mikey,
I too was somewhat inspired by the thread in the WERA forum but for some reason I don't think in my current state of mind
, . . . . . wait, this aint easy, I'm not fast enough to be competitive. If when, I ever decide to try it I wanna be able to hopefully maintain pace with the pack. So I'm currently on my quest to consistently ride that A pack pace. However, I must say that I am enjoying the learning curve I have experienced on my way to being one of the FASTGUYS
.
Mikey75702
Member
They may do it to decrease the light grids, but if more people raced when they wanted to, there would be more slow people.
Don't get me wrong, I dont have any illusions that I will be fast enough to win, but my "win" for my first few race weekends will be to finish mid pack and learn as much as i can. From other aspects of my life I can say with some certainty that nothing will prepare you for racing like racing. So like nike says, just do it.
Don't get me wrong, I dont have any illusions that I will be fast enough to win, but my "win" for my first few race weekends will be to finish mid pack and learn as much as i can. From other aspects of my life I can say with some certainty that nothing will prepare you for racing like racing. So like nike says, just do it.
Mikey75702
Member
Thanks, hopefully I can keep the rubber side down, and if i cant I hope i am lucky enough to walk away as I have been to this point.
jigs
New Member
I wasn't rying to be smart-ass so you know....sometimes the old vets have to center riders like yourselves on the fact that this aint' lawn bowling,I'm sure you know the risks....seen too many since I started comming around in 01',end their career too short,that's all.Racing is much different than even NESBA "A" group,which aint' no joke either....let me tell you.
Mikey75702
Member
Yeah, it was the same growing up around mx'ers.... sometimes I have mixed feeling about growing up without the money friends had. I had dirtbikes, but never had the money to race growing up. but spent almost every weekend with friends at the track. I remember a friend in a wheelchair in middleschool for over a year after being run over and damaging his back. luckily with my adventures on and off road, all of my wrecks have resulted in nothing worse then a concussion, but I know death is only a turn away at any given time. But just look at recent events, one in particular hit the nesba family hard, shows that when its your time its your time. No matter how young you are, how loved you are, how skilled you are it could be your last day at any time, and it is sad, but it is life.
JRA
New Member
If you really want to race then go and give it a try but be sure you are doing it for the right reasons. From my perspective a valid reason to race is a competitive desire that can't be fulfilled in a track day environment. A non valid reason would be to race just so you can consider yourself a racer. There are reasons for and against that would fall in between, but as a B group rider I think you should honestly assess why you want to do this and what your goals are.
As Jigs said it isn't lawn bowling and you should consider the risk vs. reward. Also, make sure that you have the proper insurance to cover yourself in the worst case scenario. Lots of insurance policies have exclusions for competitive racing.
Good luck with whatever you decide, It's no secret that a lot of NESBA members excel at racing.
As Jigs said it isn't lawn bowling and you should consider the risk vs. reward. Also, make sure that you have the proper insurance to cover yourself in the worst case scenario. Lots of insurance policies have exclusions for competitive racing.
Good luck with whatever you decide, It's no secret that a lot of NESBA members excel at racing.