Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaph42
I agree newbs on literbikes should be in novice. But I severely disagree that smooth riders should be bumped up. Being smooth and predictable shouldn't mean you get a free pass to run up one class. A common mistake CR's make is when they bump up someone on a fast bike who is smooth but kinda slow. That's actually part of the problem. That person should not be bumped up because it's just going to piss people off. It is about speed (mostly apex speed) and your very fast buddy was wrong about the lady.
Next related subject. When I make complaints like this, there's always a contingent of posters who act like "Well well, look at mister super duper fast, who doesn't like all the many many slow people at the racetrack." It's not like that at all, it's just track day frustrations. And these frustrations aren't from a lack of skill, where a CR/coach can jump in and save the day. It's just the way most track days are organized and run.
Most of my frustration went away when I started racing, where riders on similar bikes can let skill sort out the pecking order, no CR's needed. 2016 was the last year I raced before I had to retire due to medical issues, but man I had more fun than my first 4 years of track days combined. You also have to like where a bump from amateur to expert happens based on merit derived from statistics, rather than one CR's opinion which is not always always the best.
Getting kinda off topic here, sorry. To the original poster: Don't worry about what group you're in and just focus on having fun.
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Having experienced fast guys coming by me as a fairly common occurrence during three hour endurance races, I'd much rather have the experienced fast guys go by me than the often hair raising experience of trying to get by a slow person. Whether the bike is slow or fast, it's the unpredictability of a less experienced rider that can cause the most trouble. Only a few of the truly fast guys get by our team in a corner anyway because we're able to generate the same or better speed in turns.
So I get passed on straights a ton and I don't care. If someone tries to show me a wheel right before a turn, I keep right on going and make them work for it. As for coming on a fast bike/slow rider, I just have to work on strategic passing so that I get by them early in a set of turns and put enough distance on them before we get to the next straight so they can't pass me back.
Endurance racing or trackdays, That's part of the game riding a smaller bike at the same time as bigger bikes. If you don't like it, the solution is simple: Just get a bigger bike.
Skill is the best indicator of relative safety IMO, so groups should be organized that way.
Making a bunch of passing rules for trakdays is not good because it complicates the things that a rider has to think about. This can cause focus issues which itself can be a safety concern.
I also agree that sprint racing pretty much eliminates this issue due to similar bikes being on track at the same time and leveling the playing field somewhat.