In a 5 or 6 lap race the top guys dont lap any c or d graders on the big tracks , maybe Broadford or Morgan Park they would
In a 5 or 6 lap race the top guys dont lap any c or d graders on the big tracks , maybe Broadford or Morgan Park they would
If you fast lap gets messed up that sucks but it's racing. If someone is dawdling and causing a safety concern black flag them.
do a burnout
There is a reason why the have vest for newbies in the states and in the UK
In WA you have to attend coaching ride days and be accessed to be able to apply to MWA to get your license ... Riders wear vests for both the coaching and as D Graders. Seems sensible to me.
http://mcrcwa.com.au/Competition/roa...g-classes.htmlTo be eligible to compete riders must participate at RidedaysWA Coaching Courses where they will be assessed by an accreditated coach and once approved can apply through MWA (Motorcycling WA) for a Competition License.
Rancell would you mind posting up the URL you are quoting from?
Ta ... found it ... wanted to see what 16.4 was ... http://www.stgeorgemcc.com/pg_roadracepdf.php?id=u2y2w2
16.4 There will be an ADDITIONAL briefing for ALL D - Grade riders immediately following the main Rider Briefing. Attendance for all D - Graders at this additional briefing is COMPULSORY.
Some kind of assessment/ explanation of race craft before getting a licence makes complete sense. Tough to implement but worth thinking about (I assume someone has thought about it already?)
What I'd like to know is what is the official reason for the vests? Could any of the incidents at last StG round be avoided with vests? Could any incidents people have seen been avoided with vests?
do a burnout
Well, the thing is, there are a ton of different scenarios and I haven't even imagine 1/10 of them. But just off the top of head:
Faster riders starting from the back of the grid due to:
-missing or crashing during qually, bad setup, bike issues, intermittent rain, etc;
-Qually time reduced due to time constraint caused by another crash or crashes in previous sessions;
-Missing formation lap
Those are all real life scenarios and not that uncommon as I, in my very limited experience, have seen just about every single one of those play out at some stage.
I do agree that there's the risk of the vest getting caught on the bike though...
If the vests were really a hazard, simply make them with a rip zone/ velcro so they separate from rider if caught...
Vests are an aid.. not a black and white solution... they identify a potentially inexperienced racer so that others can:
a - be mindful that their response to "agressive" overtakes or close racing could have an adverse outcome
b - be aware that lines taken may not be ideal/ consistent
c - be aware that they may brake early
d - be aware that they may stall off the line
e - be aware that they may wheelie off the line
f - all of the above...
This doesn not presume that a non vested rider won't do all or any of the above, but there is a higher likelihood that something like this will happen to a begginer/ novice/ D grader...
I have been guilty of all but the stalling off the line... (so far) shit happens... an aid helps to reduce (but wont eliminate) the risk... would be interested in any references where vests have created a hazard/ caught up in a bike/ etc??
Life's too Short- YOLO!
I've been watching, reading and listening to all of the commentary regarding the last St George round for 2014 on this site, in the pits, on social media and in general conversation both during and ever since the meet.
The opinions of course are varied, what is written here will simply be mine.
There was a lot of frustration. There has been some well thought out and considered points but a lot of the statements made have been so broad and sweeping as to be purely insulting. But its easy to do that by picking a group and crucifying them together. Thats the way society gets off on itself nowadays, puffs up its collective pigeon chest and points its claw at the easiest target.
What was the problem ? The problem seems to be a very high number of dangerous and inconsiderate moves made on track by other riders in a club racing scenario.
Note that i didn’t say slow riders, or mid pack riders, or D graders or inexperienced riders. For the most part I don’t know who they were, where they were, what they are, their grade etc. But the majority of commentary or opinions that i’ve read over the last month have been expressed with some form of classification attached. Put simply, there are a bunch of fuckwit’s on track that are making us feel uncomfortable. In the dissection of the event many seemed to very quickly turn it into a who can we tell to fix this, who can we collectively blame for allowing this to happen, or the enduring favourite of a faceless society, someone should put a system in place to repair this….
Let me backtrack a bit. How did we end up with this problem in the first place ?
There are fuck all racetracks in NSW. There is very little road racing in NSW. There are very few road race motorcycle clubs in NSW. The busiest circuit in NSW is SMP and there is a ride day monopoly in place there that makes track days fucking expensive. Everyone is told that ARDC days and racing are better value for money than track days and it seems so much more accessible, so few rules. You are not treated like an infant like you are at SMP Ride days, after having handed over your money. The SMP Ride day model is expectant on first timer turnover and you are treated accordingly. People move to ARDC days for the value for money, the freedom to ride and improve without being chastised. They need to get their race licence to do that. Its simple, its just another form, a written test and a fee.
This new found freedom we all have. Find the easiest way to do whatever we want with the least amount of red tape, minimal conflict, remaining completely faceless and blameless. Not a care in the world until something goes wrong, and then we can gather and accuse.
I don’t think you can blame St George for how their race meet went. I don’t think you can demand that they do something about it. I don’t think you can complain that they’re not doing enough to enforce things. I think you’re wasting your fucking time with all of your complaints if you’ve been affected by a situation and not done something about it. Particularly when you have all of the systems in place to do something about it.
I choose to live with a culture of responsibility rather than exist in a culture of blame.
When you get your race licence there is a big book full of rules that comes with it. You may have had to read a couple of pages of it to get your licence. There are an awful lot of rules in that book that relate to exactly what you should do at a race meet if there is a problem with the meet. When you enter a race meet there are a lot of rules on the entry form. You sign a declaration agreeing to those rules. When you’re at a race meet there is a riders briefing. In that briefing you are reminded of what is in the big book of rules, in particular about what you should do if you have any problem with the race meet. They introduce you to the appropriate people that you should speak to if there is a problem and you sign a form stating that you attended and listened to that briefing.
At every one of those steps you are expected to behave like a responsible individual adult and recognise that you are signing an agreement to do your part in making things go as smoothly as possible by followings the rules. This includes notifying the officials if one of the fuckwits out there makes you feel uncomfortable. Look at how much shit is going on at race meet manned by volunteers, how are they expected to know anything thats going on in your head without you making it known properly and effectively. By the way, if you can’t work out which fuckwit it was on track that was causing you so much pain and suffering, maybe you’re not riding within your limits either.
Lets face it, most of the people who put together these club meets for us are doing it for free. The only one who gets paid at the meet is the guy who enforces the rules. All of the money we give to MA for our licence every year. We know they’re not spending it improving the sport for us, we know they’re not creating an awesome State or National Championship series for us. They’re sitting around making up rules and enforcing them. It is our responsibility to act within the rules at each and every step of the way to improve our sport.
If thats not enough for you, if you don’t like the rules, be a voice with a face and not a mumble or a whisper.
I think the vests for D graders are a good idea. in NSW a D grade is a novice rider. After their first year of racing if they do a couple of meets they will become a C grader. I think its important for the novice racers to know that they are being viewed as a novice in the hope that it makes them assume some responsibility for all of the rules they have agreed to abide by every time they’ve signed something.
Now, back to Katy Perry…..
You have to wear almost all your gear to scruitineering too.
13.4All riders MUST WEAR leathers, boots and back protectors to scrutineering as well as presenting helmet and gloves. Riders not wearing these items will be moved to the back of the queue.
13.5 Random spot checks will be performed by Scrutineers throughout the meeting and any bike found to be non - compliant will be disqualified from the meeting without a refund
Totally agree with Mick's points and Jamie's words.
I don't think anyone can link any decision by st george (or any other club) to a particular incident at a particular race meet. Surely any decision/rule change is cumulative thing?
Not that I have vast amounts of racing under my belt but almost every race meet I've done there is (unfortunately) a chopper at some point. There has and always will be incidents at a race track, this is why "motorsport is dangerous and can result in injury or death" is plastered on every form you sign.
To me it seems st g have asked themselves how can they make racing at their club safer overall, and quite possibly noticing how other clubs do it in other parts of the world and adopting/trialing those methods ie, vest. With so many variables to the cause of dangerous racing incidents, what is a club to do? Whats "right" and "wrong" is trivial until it's too late. Common sense and respect for EVERYONE is a good start, and I think vests on rookies is a good platform for people (rookies included) to choose if they want to respect others or not.
When I found out about the vest rule for rookies (D grades) over here in the UK initially I thought it to be unnecessary, however I really like the idea now. Especially after watching some mixed grade race vids.
Grading, skill level and how quick one's bike is are all very different issues that seem to be rolled into one issue.
2 cents.
I like the vest rule, not too sure about wearing all of your gear through scrutineering though
What's wrong with wearing your gear to scrutineering?
do a burnout
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There seems to be a lot of mention of D graders in this thread. From my position racing in Nov I wouldn't be putting the majority of the blame on the novice riders.
Moving to C, B and A doesn't suddenly make you to a competent, courteous, safe and risk free rider. It does seem to allow some to have a right to carve slow guys up and blame them that their not riding the perfect line.
Every person from A to the D graders have the same equal right to be on the track as long as their respecting the rules. Lap times, what you have done in the past and ego does not give anyone more right to be there than the guy starting out.
Those benefits are listed in the info letter from MNSW when you get graded up. They also include the right to wheelie, to not remove your bellypan for scrutineering, to be a complete dickhead while riding in the pits, to wear open-toed shoes in pit lane, and the morning riders briefing becomes completely optional. Did you not get the same notice, John?
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HA....Haven't had the privilege yet......does it include the following rules. I personally love guys that follow these ones.
rule No.
922 - One must take club racing way too seriously and think of themselves as a motorcycling god
923 - One must blame newcomers to the sport and talk about how good it was in the good old days when nothing ever went wrong.
924 - one must ignore the fact that you may think your fast however you are competing in club racing (for a surprising large number of years) which is run by an 80 year old lady and a bunch of volunteers
Best way to get perspective is when you get home from racing show your wife the trophy and tell her all about your day....usually the response is "that's nice dear"......she is really thinking......."wow our sons under 10's soccer trophy is bigger than that.......just go and mow the lawn"
Yea I'm a d grader... And I qualified 16th of 39 on the Sunday at the last st George meet... Not a too bad effort I thought! Although on one of my qual laps I did get absolutely carved up by a faster guy on an 1199 with twin pipes on the outside into nine... Sorted pissed me off cause I was forced to sit and and get on my front brakes hard as and would of missed his rear tyre by about 1/4 of an inch I'd say... Very bold move to say the least ... Mayb if I was wearing a vest he may not have tried it ... Mayb he still would... I think when ur out there and u wanna go fast .. No one will give two shits about a slower guy in a vest... It would just give faster riders even more reason to lay the blame on the slower
Totally agree, all D-grade riders are not lapping really slow and unpredictable lines!
Our lap times decide who we're racing against anyhow. It's racing and we're all there to go fast.
I've no idea what specific problem is being targeted by wearing a vest.
It seems a little knee-jerk, like a 'Baby-on-board' sticker on your car.
....Oh, well I was going to run you off the road but now I've seen your sticker, I won't!!
How about just don't be cunt on track, whatever grade anybody is in?
Skywalker - 2017 BMW S1000RR FOZ/Unlimited/Bears Race Bike #62
Red Baron - 2013 BMW S1000RR FOZ/Unlimited/Bears Race Bike #62
Maybe d graders should have mirrors and break lights so they can see if a quick guy is coming up behind them and they can pull off track and the quick guys can see when they brake at the start finish line for t1?????
Last edited by dan; 14-12-2014 at 12:35 PM.
do a burnout
I really don't see why any d grader should be up in arms... its not about lap times its about experience ffs. .. here is a solution. Leave d graders without bibs.. A to c graders wear a different colour bib so they know who they are racing against and the grade... that way no d grader gets their nose out of joint for being singled out. ..
The sport is doing this successfully around the world... get over it. ..
Has any one considered that some (not all) incidents may have been averted with a little more experience in the riders? A bib "encourages" others to give a novice a bit of leeway. .not saying everyone will but the majority will.
Life's too Short- YOLO!
Hang on, I'm talking about solving a problem here not whether or not someone's ego is damaged by wearing a vest.
I'd wear a bright pink one if I thought it'd do any good. My point is that I don't believe wearing a vest is helping any and I'm genuinely asking what problem is being solved in doing so..?
Skywalker - 2017 BMW S1000RR FOZ/Unlimited/Bears Race Bike #62
Red Baron - 2013 BMW S1000RR FOZ/Unlimited/Bears Race Bike #62
Ok..
Let me use an analogy....
Why use L plates on a car? Does it not advise the other drivers of the level of experience the driver may have, and there is some chance of an unplanned response/ action from the learner? That's not saying that the L plater is guaranteed to make an error, but there is a possibility, and more so with some than with others... It also doesn't mean that every non L plater is going to be a little more patient around them (there are some drivers who see them as an obstacle and want to get infront of them as it slows them down), but the majority of drivers do give a bit of extra berth/ have a little more patience... I personally think it should be enforced more heavily as the L plater is concentrating on 1001 things and any unnecessary distraction from an arrogant driver will have a negative impact...
Lets consider this in a racing context....
the novice is trying to learn/ take in a hell of a lot when starting out... we will keep lap times out of it as some guys are super quick but may be new to racing, and some guys may have been riding for 20 years but happily lap around in white group at a pace they are comfortable with..Lap times can be worked on and learn the circuit on track days with a 2m passing rule etc etc etc when things are more predictable...(mind you this is not a requirement, as has been stated, a race licence is fairly easy to get and does not require a minimum pace, x amount of track days, have riden in green group or higher, etc etc..).
What is it that is different for a novice between track days and racing? Some things come to mind..
- Being on the track with a variety of levels of expertise that can have 20s / lap difference
- Timing counts - everyone is out to do a hot lap for the duration of Qualifying and the race..
- Qualifying- usually in the morning so no time to warm up to your best pace (which for me is usually around the middle of the day)
- Gridding up- knowing which row and which position you will be in and finding that as fast as possible. Add the extra bit of confusion at SMSP that there are 2 sets of grids - cars and bikes.. confused me first time out...
- The start - Clutch/ Gears/ Throttle/ Revs/ Red lights/ Flags/ no lights..not to mention keeping the front wheel on the ground and the back wheel turning when expected to..
- Turn 1- getting through T1 without getting bumped/ running off/ 10 wide etc etc etc.... and remembering that you normally go through there much faster than you will be on an opening lap of a race.
- adjusting to the fact that guys will lean on you mid turn going round a corner and expecting you to hold your line..
- seeing your brake markers as you are coming up to a turn faster than you normally do and not used to bikes being so close..possibly outbraking yourself a little (possible even having the bike in front of you be so hard on the brakes that their back wheel is in the air and you have no where to go)
- seeing a wheel in your periphery as you tip into a turn and keeping yourself from standing the bike up for fear of the muppet taking you out
- seeing any flags out on track and responding accordingly
- experiencing the bike doing things like head shake or slides etc that you dont normally do on track days as you ride at 9 tenths..
- making sure you dont miss the last lap board and the chequered flag so that when ol mate pips you down the straight and then rolls off as the race is over and you dont realise, you don't take him out...
- not missing the back entrance at T4 when the race is over
- all the rules you are expected to know and abide by..
- hoping you dont get lapped by the likes of Kevin Curtain and Brock Parkes who are racing for sheep stations (luckily they know how to navigate a backmarker and they are done before you know what didnt hit you)
And the list goes on..
everything I reference above, is based literally on what I have experienced. Some here will actually remember some of those moments and get a giggle out of it too (i just did thinking back) As you can see, I had a lot going on to deal with, not to mention the adrenalin pumping and remembering all the other things you need to that your brain forgets..
"Would a vest have helped?"
It would have let others know that leaning on me in the middle of a turn was a risky move as there was no way of knowing how I would react.
It would have let people know that if I looked like I was too hot into a turn, chances are I was outside my limits as compared to being within my talent...
It would not have necessarily eliminated the any of the incidents, but it may have prompted the other riders to "reconsider" their bold move that they pull on a b grader with confidence of predicatable lines etc, and may have made them pick a better position to overtake...
Just like the L plate, it provides a risk awareness to other riders. (we should all acknowledge that beginners/ novices/ etc are going to have a lot going on so chances of missing something or doing it different to what the experienced persons may do are higher)
To take it further, I would think there should be some appropriate ettiqette policed for the other riders around D graders. ( I think this should be law for L platers and those intimidating them unneccesarily)..eg maybe no rubbing, etc etc
This is for the safety of all, especially those new to racing...
this post is too long already so I sill stop there
Mick
Life's too Short- YOLO!
Hi All. All trace of colour is almost impossible to get rid of given the geometry of radiator, hoses etc. Water looks clear after flushing multiple times but heat the bike to 100C and a tint seems to reappear. I use glycol FREE anti-corrosion fluid only between races and got a bigger radiator eliminating the need for 'glycol coolent'. That said I'm told I left a trace of green at St G in the clubsport 600 race 1 north circuit but I do not remember anything past griding up. Yeah I was the racer impacting stalled guy.
Would a high vis vest made any difference? On the start line probably not in this case looking at footage, but otherwise a high vis vest would suggest 'hey new guy here' - take a good look at his lines and take a extra couple of corners to pass if needed. As long as there are no unnecessary risks we all take the risk of competing like in all sports including topically cricket.
Yeah busted ribs good, shoulder blade bust almost and soft tissue damage coming good. Spoke to Owen and he came across a good genuine guy. He did not intend to stall any more than I would hit him. Both of us do not remember so no emotion from me. After 7 years of racing accidents happen. No finger pointing or aggro from me. I have my ninja 300 won in FX Club this year so I'm race ready mobile If I choose. Otherwise I have volunteered to Jan as whatever flaggi , pick up etc than would assist our club in 2015...
Totes!! It's impossible to get it all. And besides, IT'S NOT A REAL ISSUE!! It's not like it's a fire hazard or anything. And it's still waaaay less slippery than oil. Although I repeat, I've never in all my years seen a problem caused by coolant. Oil on the other hand....
Hey, I might run my bike with water instead of oil!! Reckon that'll work?
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I agree it is hard to get rid of all the blue or green tinge in coolant - I flushed the old GSXR with 10 l of demineralised water first, ran it for 15 minutes, then flushed another 10 l ... it still came out with a mild green tinge. It doesn't feel slippery, just feels like water to touch. Now I just run mine on demineralised all the time. (Well the last time I rode em. )
We do keep seeing incidents involving oil and bikes with belly pans that are suppose to catch the oil? How's that work ... or not? They mustn't be containing it properly, especially if it's being pumped out say through a filter coming off ... and how does that happen if it's lock wired on as per regs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUR27Krv6b0
Last edited by Phat3R; 14-12-2014 at 08:55 PM.
Great to hear mate. Look forward to seeing you out there
Life's too Short- YOLO!
White vest for white group riders
do a burnout
That's what I mean. It's not checked properly. Whereas knee-jerk reaction to a tinge of green and we've all gotta disassemble our bikes first thing on Saturday morning. Daft.
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I had the slightest of tinges, made me remove entire fairing and drain and re-fill in front of them. I'm sure it would tinge green again it was the third time I had flushed it (overlow was clear).
luckily the R1 means I can just take the side fairing of rather than the whole thing
Also just wanted to add Bibs would have been fantastic in the 4 hour, doddling along with a 1:12 pace (my best lap) I was on track with people who where lapping me every 6-7 laps I think it would have been helpful for both myself and others
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