Re: Penguin Racing

["Mark Hanke" <mahanke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the review, very interesting. Do they have a web site or do you
know there schedule? After the fact, would you use your bike next time?
Mark


- -----Original Message-----
From: Eric Sheley <Eric@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, December 10, 2000 10:21 AM
Subject: Penguin Racing


>
>>At 09:12 AM 12/9/00 -0500, Mark Hanke wrote:
>>Eric, Tell me more! Did you use your bike? Did you learn alot? Was it
worth
>>the cost and what was the cost?
>>Mark
>
>The course cost was $200 for the one day "Basic Roadracing School"
>
>I went back and forth on using my bike. On the plus side, I would get the
>experience on the track with a bike that I was familiar with. On the
>downside, any error could lead to serious problems. The rental of their
>bike was $225 for the day with an additional $200 crash deposit. So, if I
>crashed my total tab on the bike side would be $425 - no way I could crash
>on the ST cheaper than that. The other thing that played into the decision
>to rent was the distance involved. The track is about 240 miles from my
>door, and I knew that there would be no way I would be riding back after
>class (fatigue). I don't own a trailer, so that was not an option. The
>bikes supplied were Kawasaki Ninja EX500s - it was fine for what I was
>doing, but a little frustrating when running against TLs, R1s, 916s and the
>like. I could keep up with everyone for the most part in the corners, but
>on the straights it was no match for the acceleration of the other bikes.
>But overall, renting their bike allowed me to focus on the track and riding
>instead of worrying about wrecking my ride.
>
>The class is a basic roadracing class - it is not a street rider class, so
>the focus is not on street riding (but skills learned will carry over to
>the street). When you finish the class successfully you can pick up a CSS
>racing license. The first few hours of the day is spent on track safety
>(flags, how to crash etc) and then on cornering (which is why I took the
>class). A large amount of the classroom time was spent on target fixation -
>both on how to use it and how to avoid it. Use it to set your four
>cornering points - Brake Point, Entry, Apex and Exit. Avoid it for
>everything else (especially for crashing bikes in front of you) - they have
>two pics in the manual of a rider following a crashing rider off the course
>that turned out to be very prophetic ...
>
>Things I picked up during the class (again these are for the beginning road
>racers)
>
>"Go slow to go fast" - repetition and practice is the key to going faster.
>Start slow, learn the layout. Then go faster - at that point you will
>encounter some problem (bad line etc). Fixing that problem will then allow
>you to go faster. But by going slow to begin with, you have the confidence
>to know that you are capable of completing the circuit.
>
>Don't concentrate on late braking - you do better to get a good line that
>will allow you to get back on the throttle earlier.
>
>If you get a false neutral, always shift up. Makes sense, but never really
>thought about it. The worse thing that will happen is that you are up one
>gear and have reduced power by being out of the powerband - this is much
>better than locking up and crashing.
>
>We all know to stay off the rear brake except for certain conditions.
>Several racers at the track actually bleed a few bubbles of air into the
>rear brake line to increase the lever distance before the brake will
>engage. It is easier to get off the brake in case of trouble (lockup) by
>changing the angle of your foot than trying to lift your foot off the
>lever. Our instructor stated that once you locked the rear, your right foot
>somehow weighed 500lbs and was very difficult to remove from the lever.....
>
>Don't panic - if you get too hot into a corner, don't concentrate on the
>corner, but rather force yourself to find your apex and head for it. You
>may still crash, but have a chance of making it through without any
>problems at all.
>
>In racing it is not a matter of if you will crash, but rather when you will
>crash. The beginning class averages one crash per ten riders.....
>
>After the class, a basic exam on the mornings subject is given - 70% or
>higher to pass, but if you don't ace it, you were sleeping in class.
>
>Then a break for lunch followed by the follow the leader section. As we had
>a large group (60 beginners and 40 experts) we broke into odds and evens
>(based on the tail number of the bike) and then into smaller groups, with
>one leader (either a member of Penguin racing or a local racer) and four or
>five riders. We then headed off on to the track following our leader. The
>goal was a slow pace (a slow pace for racing that is - it moved right
>along) run around the track that could be done with no or a minimum of
>braking in order to find the best lines for the track. After each lap the
>lead bike in the group dropped over and the next bike came up, so that
>about once every four laps, you were right behind one of the instructors.
>We did 4 or 5 laps and then headed off to talk about what we had
>experienced (as the evens rolled out for their session). The evens came in
>and we headed off for another session. We did this a few times and then all
>groups came in.
>
>At this point it became open session for the rest of the day. The group was
>broken down in three smaller groups - odd beginner, even beginner and
>expert class. Each group got about 20 minutes on the track and then 40 off
>as the other two groups went out. This kept the numbers on the track down
>to about 30-40 riders at a time so it never felt crowded. During this open
>section there were a large number of instructors on the track and back in
>the hot pits. You had the option of talking to an instructor, having
>another follow session or have the instructor follow you and critique your
>riding. The riders on the track did the same and if they felt you needed
>more help they would come along and flash the "follow me" sign and correct
>your problem.
>
>The expert riders were amazing to watch - watching them hit turn one at
>140+ mph was just incredible, especially knowing first hand what the track
>looked like from that angle. However along with that speed, they had some
>spectacular crashes. The expert class managed two red flagged sessions,
>loosing about 15 minutes of riding time.
>
>One of the highlights of the day was watching Eric Woods blast around the
>track on his modified Yamaha - I think it was a Yamaha YZ426 (yeah that's
>right - a dirt bike!!!). They had pulled the knobbies and added 17" rims
>with DOTs. He rode the piss out of that thing and humbled many of the
>expert class........
>
>On my final track session on the next to last lap I got to witness a crash
>right in front of me. Was headed down the back infield straightaway toward
>turn 8, a hairpin followed by a sweeper that takes you onto the back
>straightaway. In front of me was a Duc 748, followed by a Monster (dark)
>and then me. We had been warned over and over that this corner could really
>bite you as it was easy to come into it too hot. The Ducs were fighting it
>out and the guy on the 748 missed the braking point on the track wall - I
>know this because the next thing I saw was the cloud of smoke from the rear
>wheel. I heard the instructor in my head saying "you've made the corner
>before - get off the brakes and turn in" but obviously the duc rider
>couldn't hear the same - he was headed toward the gravel traps. Then I
>heard the instructor again - "you will think, hey that guy is crashing,
>that's pretty cool - look away!!!! Look Away !! or you are going to be
>right with him". Concentrated on the apex which was on the other side of
>the track and continued through the corner without incident.
>
>If nothing else, coming away with that skill was worth the price of
>admission. Once you have completed the basic course, you can take the
>advanced course (expert level) where Eric Wood handles body positioning,
>going faster etc and does a lot of one on one track work.
>
>Money well spent as far as I am concerned.
>
>The facility in Homestead is fairly new and has a really nice layout. You
>use the front and rear straights from the oval, but then head onto the
>infield track for a majority of the track time. If I can find a dealer
>doing a track day there, I will be sure to be back.
>
>- Eric
>
>
>     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
*
>      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
>          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
>   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info
>


     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=