Passing at the track

[Trip]

Originally Posted by the chi

It's interesting you say this, I was told I needed to be RIGHT THERE on the back tire and ready to pass the moment I got an opportunity. Food for thought.

Not always, sometimes that can make an ego driven rider ride harder making it even harder to complete a safe pass for a track day. Sometimes it's better to wait off the rider some and let him run wide or not accelerate as hard and take your opportunity when they aren't paying attention to you on their wheel.

This is where you got to take your mind off race mentality and get back to track day mentality. If you have to race wheel to wheel with a rider (if it isn't a buddy or CR) at a track day, it's probably better to pit and find another place on the track. It's hard for a lot of riders to do this because we all have our own egos as well.

[CrazyKell]

Originally Posted by the chi

Thats standard fare at a track day sweetie, might as well get used to it and dont let it bother you. Thats why you pit to get away from those folks.

Ya I'm getting better at it. I'm to the point now when they go blowing by me in the straights, I laugh and back right off to give them more room.

[smileyman]

This one time, at band camp, I mean a track day, there was this lady that was using all the track to get her R6 around. Outside/inside/outside and leaving no room. Balking me twice a session.

I outbraked her from the outside several times, nothing close mind you cause she was braking miles from the tighter corners.

But after dodging her all day I finally lined her up in a corner eaiting to a long straight. She left the usual 18-24 inches on the outside and I got a huge drive,blew by her with my tread on the last inch of asphalt. We couldnt have been an inch apart fairing to fairing, me traveling 15 to 20 mph faster, she left room outsidethe rest of the day..

[smileyman]

This one time, at band camp, I mean a track day, there was this lady that was using all the track to get her R6 around. Outside/inside/outside and leaving no room. Balking me twice a session.

I outbraked her from the outside several times, nothing close mind you cause she was braking miles from the tighter corners.

But after dodging her all day I finally lined her up in a corner leading to a long straight. She left the usual 18-24 inches on the outside and I got a huge drive,blew by her with my tread on the last inch of asphalt. We couldnt have been an inch apart fairing to fairing, me traveling 15 to 20 mph faster, she left room outsidethe rest of the day..

[Trip]

Originally Posted by smileyman

This one time, at band camp, I mean a track day, there was this lady that was using all the track to get her R6 around. Outside/inside/outside and leaving no room. Balking me twice a session.

I outbraked her from the outside several times, nothing close mind you cause she was braking miles from the tighter corners.

But after dodging her all day I finally lined her up in a corner leading to a long straight. She left the usual 18-24 inches on the outside and I got a huge drive,blew by her with my tread on the last inch of asphalt. We couldnt have been an inch apart fairing to fairing, me traveling 15 to 20 mph faster, she left room outsidethe rest of the day..

Originally Posted by smileyman

This one time, at band camp, I mean a track day, there was this lady that was using all the track to get her R6 around. Outside/inside/outside and leaving no room. Balking me twice a session.

I outbraked her from the outside several times, nothing close mind you cause she was braking miles from the tighter corners.

But after dodging her all day I finally lined her up in a corner leading to a long straight. She left the usual 18-24 inches on the outside and I got a huge drive,blew by her with my tread on the last inch of asphalt. We couldnt have been an inch apart fairing to fairing, me traveling 15 to 20 mph faster, she left room outsidethe rest of the day..

cocaine is a helluva drug.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally Posted by the chi

It's interesting you say this, I was told I needed to be RIGHT THERE on the back tire and ready to pass the moment I got an opportunity. Food for thought.

Nah, definitely not. It's much harder to get on the gas stronger/earlier than somone if you're tucked in right behind them at the apex. Give yourself a "running start" by backing off a bit as you enter the corner, then carry more steam through and out.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by OreoGaborio

Nah, definitely not. It's much harder to get on the gas stronger/earlier than somone if you're tucked in right behind them at the apex. Give yourself a "running start" by backing off a bit as you enter the corner, then carry more steam through and out.

Unless you know you can intimidate them out of the way. lol It's not exactly safe, but you can scare some people out of the line by riding on their tire.

[defector]

Originally Posted by Trip

Unless you know you can intimidate them out of the way. lol It's not exactly safe, but you can scare some people out of the line by riding on their tire.

This is what I hated about my first track day in Intermediate. Fuckers trying to bully me all over the track. Fuck that noise - I don't scare that easily.

[azoomm]

Originally Posted by OreoGaborio

Nah, definitely not. It's much harder to get on the gas stronger/earlier than somone if you're tucked in right behind them at the apex. Give yourself a "running start" by backing off a bit as you enter the corner, then carry more steam through and out.

Funny enough, I learned this passing cars while on a road-trip to my grandmothers house in Wisconsin. All the roads were two lane freeways - if you hugged the back of a car in front of you, you needed to gain speed in the danger of the opposing lane of traffic. If you stalked from farther back, it was minimal time in that opposing lane as you are at passing speed when at their bumper.

Same goes for the track, if you hug that back tire by the time you have decided to move over and speed up to pass - you have spent valuable distance. Slingshot is more efficient, and it doesn't give the person in front of you much notice to compete [if they otherwise might have].

Great points, Oreo.

[OreoGaborio]

Yup... sucks.

The other thing you need to watch out for, is if you pass someone on the brakes just prior to a tip-in point, DON'T merge back onto the line in front of them. You may be faster coming UP to the braking zone, but they may be faster going THROUGH the braking zone. This is especially true at the beginning as they likely won't have to brake as much or as long as you do, since you carried more speed into the braking zone than they did.

So if you pass just prior to getting on the brakes and move over back onto the line, you might cause them to have to jack up on the brakes to avoid hitting you. If you can make that pass, then you should be able to tip-in from the line that you passed them on.

Make sense?