Mr.Azim
Well-known member
I decided to take this course because I've learned as much as I could on my own/through friends without impeding on their own track time and race preparation.
Scott Rupert was my instructor, and you'll basically spend all day with him. I was moved to his pits, and right from the start he let me know he was going to beat me and answer any questions I had. I was pretty keen on getting faster so I had no problem with this.
Right away there was a huge change on the concept of race lines, where to go wide, where to drive, where to ride tight, which turns should exit outside and which on the inside. I started the morning at 1:15 and was running 1:10 by the afternoon. Throughout the day we had talks about breaking zones, trail breaking, tires and worked on suspension tuning. Unfortunately, I low-sided at around 3pm... bike would have been fine if it didn't flip after hitting the grass. It took a few tumbles and broke the fairing stay/break reservoir and pretty much everything in the cluster.
I was registered for SOAR that weekend, so after seeing the damage I was pretty much sold on me packing up and going home. As soon as I got back to my pits, Scott and his buddy Luke Bauer bring out parts and tools and get working on the bike with me. I was back out in an hour and, after some troubleshooting the next day, was ready to race Saturday.
Fastest lap of the weekend was a 1:09, and finished 7/11 in Dunlop and (I think) 6/10 in Rookie. From someone who usually gets lapped by the leaders and finishes in last/second last place, this is a huge improvement. Fawaz himself would come by to see how things were going and ask if we needed anything else in between his trackday organizing.
I will be revisiting this program at the start of 2013.
http://www.racer5.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=85
The price might seem a little high for a "track day" but you're not just riding... the knowledge and improvement value on its own is well worth it.
Just be ready to push it and not chicken out, or the instructors will call you out on it
Scott Rupert was my instructor, and you'll basically spend all day with him. I was moved to his pits, and right from the start he let me know he was going to beat me and answer any questions I had. I was pretty keen on getting faster so I had no problem with this.
Right away there was a huge change on the concept of race lines, where to go wide, where to drive, where to ride tight, which turns should exit outside and which on the inside. I started the morning at 1:15 and was running 1:10 by the afternoon. Throughout the day we had talks about breaking zones, trail breaking, tires and worked on suspension tuning. Unfortunately, I low-sided at around 3pm... bike would have been fine if it didn't flip after hitting the grass. It took a few tumbles and broke the fairing stay/break reservoir and pretty much everything in the cluster.
I was registered for SOAR that weekend, so after seeing the damage I was pretty much sold on me packing up and going home. As soon as I got back to my pits, Scott and his buddy Luke Bauer bring out parts and tools and get working on the bike with me. I was back out in an hour and, after some troubleshooting the next day, was ready to race Saturday.
Fastest lap of the weekend was a 1:09, and finished 7/11 in Dunlop and (I think) 6/10 in Rookie. From someone who usually gets lapped by the leaders and finishes in last/second last place, this is a huge improvement. Fawaz himself would come by to see how things were going and ask if we needed anything else in between his trackday organizing.
I will be revisiting this program at the start of 2013.
http://www.racer5.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=85
The price might seem a little high for a "track day" but you're not just riding... the knowledge and improvement value on its own is well worth it.
Just be ready to push it and not chicken out, or the instructors will call you out on it
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