Novice Group Track days | GTAMotorcycle.com

Novice Group Track days

Baggsy

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Are there rules? Should there be rules? Who gets in? Is it just stay the f* out of people's way on certain track days? Should it be?
 
Best advise is to just go to one and see.

But yes, there are rules. Anyone who pays can take part.
 
Are these serious questions? For the number of posts you have it seems like you're trolling here.
But in case you aren't....
Are there rules?
Yes
Should there be rules?
Yes. It's a track day (for fun) not a race.
Who gets in?
Anyone with the money, bike(that passes tech if they have tech) and proper gear.
Is it just stay the f* out of people's way on certain track days?
No. It's a track day (for fun) not a race.
Should it be?
No, it's a track day not a race.
Passing is the responsibility of the rider doing the passing not the rider being passed. It's a track day novice group. You don't stuff riders or dive bomb corners.
 
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There's still rules in racing, it's not thunderdome.

True, that's an entirely different post. However; I doubt these are serious questions. "Are there rules? Should there be?" gimme a break.
 
There was an earlier thread about someone's accident at the track.

At some point there was discussion about someone who was looking over their shoulder.
The rule was no passing in the corners, but he was being passing in the corners.
He was told by some to get used to it.
Other said, avoid track days before big race days.

It also seems that some people are fine with jumping down a group or two to get in, but may not be as fine with the group's rules.
Should I rephrase the question? Are there rules for some people and not others in the novice group?

My takeaway from the discussion was that some track days were a mess of an accident waiting to happen.
Basically, I'm too old for this sh...
But what about others who are less risk adverse? How do you show that it's safe enough?

I thought a new thread would be more appropriate for this type of discussion.

If there are rules, and they aren't consistently enforced, are they really rules?

Should some/all track days be limited to experienced track riders?
 
Why not add your comment about the other thread you mentioned in that thread? Why create another thread to comment on it? So we can rehash the same points again?

Yes there are rules but they're not zero tolerance rules where violators are punished. So yes, the rules are not applied the same to everyone. Such is life.


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In novice group the rules should be enforced. The riders that paid to be in that group, paid for that level of activity. If you want to ride balls out and pass in the corners, etc. go into the top groups.
 
OP what are you trying to get out of this?? life is not always fair, humans are flawed creatures, accidents happen, corner marshals don't always see everything, rules don't always get enforced, the system is not perfect.... any of these answers help?

the group system is good but not perfect as you end up with a wide gap in the pace in any given group, on top of that most organisers leave it up to the rider to choose their group on top of that the pace of a given group differs from weekend to weekend and from track to track
 
Good track day organizers adjust the riders into appropriate groups during the first few sessions if needed...at least in the ones I've gone to.
 
OP
Are there rules? Yes.
Are they enforced as they should be? No.
Too many people feel they're above the rules and do whatever they want and are rarely punished for it.
If you have have ANY questions, ask the marshals during the riders meeting. Get your solid answers. Ask if they will be enforcing the rules as they should be or not. Emphasis being safety for one and all on the track.

One thing I feel that should be commented on at each and every track day during the riders meeting is track etiquette. So many people think they're fast riders, when in actuality, they have fast bikes. They slow up riders in the infield and blast away on the straights, only to get caught again 3 turns later and act as a moving road block. Same deal with fast guys on fast bikes - making passes is 100% up to them to make in safety. You collect a predictable rider from behind, it's your fault. Plain and simple. Simply put, if you hear somebody on your butt for the pretty much the entire lap, let them past. Don't crank it wide open coming onto the straight. Learn from them.
 
Enforcement of the rules is completely up to the organizers and marshals. It's true that marshals don't see everything, but when marshals are busy texting instead of watching the track it's really no surprise that infractions go unpunished. Disobeying the rules should absolutely be enforced in all groups! Breaking the rules of the group is how people get hurt. Even in red group people can make questionable passes and should be black flagged and told to calm it down and keep it safe. Accepting bad marshaling or weak enforcement as "that's life... Life isn't fair..." is just a cop out.
 
One thing I feel that should be commented on at each and every track day during the riders meeting is track etiquette. So many people think they're fast riders, when in actuality, they have fast bikes. They slow up riders in the infield and blast away on the straights, only to get caught again 3 turns later and act as a moving road block. Same deal with fast guys on fast bikes - making passes is 100% up to them to make in safety. You collect a predictable rider from behind, it's your fault. Plain and simple. Simply put, if you hear somebody on your butt for the pretty much the entire lap, let them past. Don't crank it wide open coming onto the straight. Learn from them.

a lot of people ride with ear plugs, and cant hear someone behind them, but if you cant get by someone its not their responsibility to let you thru, they most likely dont even know you are there, you should pit out and get back on, what pisses me off is when you actually pass the guy on the litre bike, and he decides to pass you back on the straight.
 
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what pisses me off is when you actually pass the guy on the litre bike, and he decides to pass you back on the straight.

That's very annoying, and is certainly an ego problem. When someone passes me I assume they're faster than me (reasonable assumption...) and follow them to see where I can improve.
 
a lot of people ride with ear plugs, and cant hear someone behind them, but if you cant get by someone its not their responsibility to let you thru, they most likely dont even know you are there, you should pit out and get back on, what pisses me off is when you actually pass the guy on the litre bike, and he decides to pass you back on the straight.

I wear ear plugs and can hear bikes without issue. Maybe the ones I use don't have the same level of dB killing as yours...
As for passing the litre bike and getting blasted back on the straight, well, that's part of track etiquette.
Agreed that it's not their responsibility to let you through, but it's the correct thing. Learn from them and get faster by doing so.
 

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