no i was garaged right next to them with the green bike with shark mouth on the sides, tall guy with tattoos
I don't think there's any need to lock the thread - there's a bit of debate going on, and for the most part, I think it's positive. There's some comments here by some people I *very* much respect (Dave, Steve, Dustin, Perrone... thank you) as well as others. If one keeps an open mind, there's a lot to be learned here. A lot. Anyone that knows me and has ridden with me knows that I'm a decent rider - I can hold an A pace... but there's a lot of people faster than me. I've had my doors blown off by the best of them. How about coming into turn 12 at Barber, you're just bout to tip in and Jake Lewis comes in underneath you, at about 40mph speed differential.... you don't touch, but it's close enough to cause a slight stand up (and feel the breeze from him), consider running into the gravel, decide not to, then gather yourself up and continue. You're happy you didn't run off, and at the same time in absolute wonderment that this punk kid can carry so much more corner speed into an already fast turn. To add insult to injury, at the end of the day, Paul (corner worker for turn 12 at Barber) gives you crap "Yea Trevor, you THOUGHT you were looking good out there until Jake came by". (here's a pro tip - you want to be passed close by just about, well, everyone - try being the director of an event - let me know how it goes for you). Great. Welcome to advanced. Here's a little bit of honesty for anyone reading this thread: you go out in advanced group, you better be prepared. There's some seriously fast and skilled people out there. They expect you to hold your line, and they will draw no quarter when passing you. If you are uncomfortable with that, come see myself or Cyndi and we'll hand you an I sticker and you can go on your way. However, if you're ok with that, you're going to learn, a lot.... just like when you first started doing trackdays. Yes, people will pass you, and some of the time it might be close enough, fast enough to take your breath away. Suck up, young grasshopper, and from time to time you'll get a bit of a tow here and there and low and behold, those lap times will come, along with you being a smoother, more consistent rider. t
would love to but theres also a Grattan the same weekend 40 milles or 600 some reason 40 sounds better
Or in my case Trevor is behind you (T5 CMP) and closing and you decide to go in the grass to let him by politely..... yeah that's the way it went, yup... Learned that the grass has some grip when mixed with sand.
I got buzzed pretty close last weekend (different track, different org) by one of the real fast guys twice. A bit unnecessarily close, but was perfectly clean. I took it as a sign he had some trust in me running consistent lines and especially after the first, knowing he wasn't going to spook me. Yes it's "just a trackday" but being able to handle those situations is as much of a learned skill as pure lap times.
It is stated in all of the riders meetings, and has been common knowledge for a long time, there are no passing rules in Advanced. Riding in Advanced isn't just about lap times, it is about being able to smoothly and consistently pilot your motorcycle around the track, on the race line, while passing and being passed in close proximity of others. As long as there wasn't physical contact, and nobody was ran off the track, it was a clean pass. After watching the video, I likely would have made that same pass. There was a huge gap there (in that group, 3' is huge) and he definitely had his wheel ahead. I personally didn't see anything wrong with it. The difference between track days and racing is that if it was a race, and there was a gap that large, you could have expected at least 2 guys to come up inside you at that same point. I have personally been in situations where we have been 2 and even 3 wide in spaces that tight and tighter, some of those situations have been with people who have commented in this very thread...and none of us had an issue with it. Like they said, just take it for what it is...a learning experience. Concentrate on running tighter lines, being in the right gear/RPM range on exits (and being consistent with gear selections, same gear in the same corner, every lap), not leaving the doors open, etc. Being able to be passed without getting spooked is just as important as being able to pass others.
At the end of the day this type of situation is about humbling yourself. There have been days where I looked to my left and right and had a cast of disalvo, pascarella, zemke, fong, Myers & I thought to myself "holy shit, what am I in for" those ended up being some of the best sessions on the track I've ever had, esp when you get to go around the outside of disalvo (granted it was his 2nd lap on the track that he'd never seen before lol) but coming on here and expecting everyone to agree that a not so close pass was close is nuts. Listen to the constructive criticism by guys like Palella, Boyd, Broome etc.. I have over the years and it's done wonders.
Actually being one of the slower folks in Advanced I say that the people who are fastest (like Jake and other pros) are the least scary. While they may be closer I have only changed lines once and it was not at a track day (and that was because I thought the guy I was attempting to pass was going to skittle Hunt and Eslick and I did NOT want to be on the magazine cover. I have had Disalvo come by and have his mirror a few inches away from me then cross from inside to out 6 inches from my front tire to go around the guy in front of me, I never had to alter my line only remember to get on the gas rather than be amazed LOL That said hold your line and you will be amazed most of the time.
One of my first outings in A at Barber, David Grey went by the outside of me in 16? (top of hill) on the outside, and tightened his apex in front of me...scared the living crap out of me...
Yeah, those are the ones that scare me, too. When the 'pro' tightens the apex on you. LOL Uh, lean in harder or die! I'm so old, I've been rubbed by Kevin Schwantz! Geoff May told me it's like swimming in a pool with people just learning to swim. The only ones I'd complain about are when a guy is murdering you on the straights, but then when you get to the next corner you're burning brakes because you don't know what line he's going to use. Then when you get past, politely... he hits the straight and turns the blasters back on... and then you get to try to guess his line in the next corner... those are the ones that frustrate me, but I know they're part of the game. If somebody's showing me a wheel in the corner, and I've got more motor than him, I'm not here for a drag race... I'll lift a bit and watch HIS line to see how he's catching ME in the corner. It's more about learning and fun at my advanced age.
my first outing in A was at acc south memorial day 2014, brand new track to me and first A day, i left about 2 feet of track on the inside of a turn and outa nowhere all i remember seein was a green kawi and a leo vince exhaust in my face then it disappeared, never questioned the legitimacy of the pass i just thought it was awesome he fit on such a little portion of track and trusted me enuff to sneak by .. it turned out to be JfugginT .. talked to him after and told him how cool it was and how great his exhaust sounded from 7 inches away lol
I have an old helmet with a rash mark on the side of it from leaning my head against the side outlet exhaust on one of Mr. Brooks' Gixxers.
ha.. i remember that.. i believe i said "oh shit what did i do now?!?" Handled it like a champ though