Learning a new track fast?

Discussion in 'Racing & Track Days' started by misti, Nov 7, 2013.

  1. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Aside from temporary airport courses a search can get anyone to course layouts, even courses that are long gone like Riverside and Westwood. Not the real thing by any stretch but as good as coaching from sidewalk superintendents aka the fastest humans on the planet.

    Missing so far are pix of the 2.5 mile board tracks in the LA area in the teens and twenties.
     
  2. Gator

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    Whenever I go to a new track I download the track and try and memorize it. But it is only limited help for me, I need to ride it and then it comes easy to remember the entire thing. After riding I can watch videos of on bike cameras and learn more. It amazes me how some guys can look at a track diagram and go right out and flog it. Lots of laps are needed for me.
     
  3. misti

    misti New Member

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    Most people can go faster with a good tow :) I think the reason behind it is that your vision changes when you have someone in front of you, like you said you try to look ahead of the rider and keep your peripheral eye on them. When you have someone in front of you, you tend to look a little further ahead and have a wider field of view (that is if you aren't target fixating on them). And, you can learn new lines or new options that you maybe hadn't thought of before. If you mark down new lines or new references points on your own track map, one that YOU Have drawn and not just one that is printed then you can see what areas of the track are still a little bit vague to you. One corner might have 4 reference points and a clear decisive line through it and another corner you might only have one reference point. This can help you pinpoint the areas that need more work and help you set a target for the next session out.

    I did several AMA races at tracks that I had never seen before. I would usually ask someone to tow me around for the first lap or two so I knew which way to go, then I would draw the track from memory (even if I could only get some of the turns). Each session out I would re-draw the track and add more and more reference points, pinpoint the areas that needed more work, concentrate on those areas, look at my split times etc. Later on in the day I would try to get a tow from someone again to see different lines and I tried to watch what others were doing and experiment with different lines.

    Another drill I used to do (on red flags or at the very end of the session) was ride the track on the outside edge and the inside edge and go up and over the rumple strips and over any bumps or paint strips or areas that looked dirty or slippery. This helped give me a different vantage point of the track and gave me more overall confidence in the track. It also helped me pick up a few more reference points that I may not have seen before. Has anyone else done this to get a better look at the entire track?
     
  4. Gator

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    I have been meaning for some time to organize all my notes and put an effort to use them. It seems I take a map draw on it while at the track and talking to a CR, then it gets put somewhere to be found years later. lol Good idea too at looking at the track from different perspectives.
     
  5. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    One of the best ways to do that is to WALK the track. You may be surprised at times just what you see when you do that.
     
  6. Gator

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    I have been doing that for years. Nick V of Got Track started doing this on his track days and I really like what i get out of it.
     
  7. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    The lastest thing since the recent invention of walking a track is an actual tow whilst on a skateboard. The fast guys can hang ten in two laps..

    All this with a disclaimer natch.. Do not try this at Daytona or on the virtual track at Avus.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2014
  8. Skifreak

    Skifreak New Member

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    I was a little nervous before my first (and only) time on a track, so to accelerate the learning curve a tad, I used a little sports psychology.

    I found numerous you-tube videos of people riding on the track just so I could speed up the time memorizing the layout, downhill braking sections, off camber corners, etc. Then every night I would close my eyes and picture myself riding the track and do several mental laps; picture where my braking markers might be, feel where I would shift my weight, memorize my predicted entry and exit lines, etc. That way, when I got there, I had already had the layout in memory and "ridden" the track a gazillion times in my mind. Made me much more relaxed, comfortable and confident on the bike going in and sped up my learning curve. I still replay my laps in my mind in case I get to go back, which I hope I get to do.

    Maybe not orthodox, but was far better for me than going in blind.
     
  9. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Youtube is dah "shizzle" huh. I use it for assembling/tearing things apart, that I have not done before, and it gives me an "edge." Back when I was doing some track days it did not exist, you had to learn through the "school of hard knocks."

    I wonder how long its gona take before some :canada: honey named "misty" wonders into this here post?

    I used to hate women racers and women lawyers. Just saying, kinda setting myself up here but FTW. Cheers, get a grip if you got a problem. I don't hate anything anymore, and find women that are slipping oot of their race leathers rather sexy, anyWhOo000..:wacko: still don't like women baristers though.
     
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