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Marshy
01-06-2013, 10:04 AM
Good short article:

Track Days: Crashing Not Included!
by Joe Melendez on 05/30/13
Often when I try to promote new riders, or even seasoned street riders, to come out and give the track a try I am met with resistance. One of the main objects of their resistance is often "I would like to go, but I don’t want to crash my bike...”.
As the title of this blog insinuates, crashing is NOT a prerequisite to riding on the track. In fact, a race track ridden during a track day is just another piece of pavement. There is nothing special or magical about it. The venue itself does not magically make you fall down at a predetermined time that starts to tick off like an egg timer the moment you roll onto the track. There is no requirement posted by any track day organization that requires you to try to push your personal limits and see how fast you can go before you crash. Rather, it is quite the opposite. Most track day orgs promote safe riding well within your limits and in a controlled environment and to let "fast" happen naturally.... more on THAT aspect in a later blog...

So what IS so special about a track day? To paraphrase Huey from Marietta Motorsports, what if I told you this Sunday on your normal weekend ride I was going to take you and all of your friends to this secret road. This road makes a big loop that is closed to cars. There are no cops on this road, and there is an EMT that sits in an ambulance at the end of it "just in case". This road is so awesome that the neighbors all stand outside their houses in each corner with flags to let you know if something bad has happened ahead of you that you need to know about. Another great thing is the road is a one way road. And the best part is yet to come... you can use the entire road without risk or penalty and there is no speed limit. Would you want to ride that road? Absolutely!!!!

There is no reason for anyone to think they have to crash at a track day. You don’t have to ride any harder at the track, than you do at your local twisties. Just the nature of repeating the same set of turns all day long, and the removal of other worries as said above, you will naturally progress as a rider. So much so, that I nearly guarantee to any student of mine or potential track day customer that they will learn more in one day at the track than they have the entire time they have owned a motorcycle, regardless of how long that may be.

People usually crash from pushing their personal limits too far too fast. The problem isn’t where they are riding, but rather the mindset they come into the day with.

If you start your first track day with the right learning mindset and with a reputable org that offers complimentary novice instruction like Sportbike Track Time, there is no reason you should be likely to crash, and you just might find it to be the most fun you have ever had with clothes on.

Source: http://www.gomotocoaching.com/Blog.html?entry=track-days-crashing-not-included

Negrogrande
01-06-2013, 04:26 PM
haha I wish i had read that before my first TD crashed twice in 1 day