I've crashed in the grass 3 times at Blackhawk Farms. Every time was from using too much rear brake because I was running out of runoff. I probably could've made those turns if I really tried. I guess some tracks have more runoff than others. I almost went down avoiding an air fence at turn 2 on ACC north, though.
I will agree in some situations, but it is my point I guess the only crash I have had was at Barber in April when I turned in too early for 11 after making a pass and rather than lift and reset my line I stayed committed and went over the curbing and over compensated for for 12 and blew that turn thru the grass between the curbing and the pit and crossed the track at probably 80mph headed towards the air fence and the corner station so I tapped the front brake and dumped the bike. Might have faired better to use the air fence since my collar bone did not like being thrown to the ground. In the end I went down by choice not because ai went in the grass.
NEVER is a dangerous word. Sure if a meteor hits right in front of you and creates a giant crater in the track and the unicorn on the track is making is impossible to swerve to the right to stay on track and your buddy behind you is on fire from being hit by meteor shrapnel and can't see you if you stop on track, then I suppose you should go off track in novice 7 or 8. But for all real world purposes, there is no reason a novice 7 or 8 customer should have to head into the grass.
LMAO. I will give you that, of course people have to over come the desire to target fix on the grass. I agree with the novice comment by the way. Especially during morning sessions when you are in a controlled environment .
This is the I group session 1. The last video I posted was actually session 2 not session 1. It should be done uploading in about 15 minutes. B http://youtu.be/jizW3R-v0c8
I think this topic could go on like a tire thread, chain lube thread or (god save us) motor oil thread. I think running off once is a good indicator that you're doing something wrong. If you run off twice in one session, I'm probably going to make a judgement about your riding... and I'm not going to be riding close to you on track. That's all.
I respectfully disagree. I ran into the grass one time. At ACC north. Front straight, and i came to turn one a bit hotter than i was used to. Street habits creeped in and i used the rear brake, locking up the rear wheel. This sensation, which i had never felt before, freaked me out and instead of compounding the problem (the problem being that everything was coming way faster than my brain -talent level- could process at that time) so i ran off into the grass. Collected myself, and went about my business. I think that its easy to forget that as a novice novice, the speeds aren't nearly fast, but the bar for winding up "over your head" is very very low. If you've spent your riding career -up to that point- riding on the street at "legal" speeds, and not riding like a jack ass, the new sensations that come with riding on the track can really add up quick. This explosion of input from the bike, the situation, the rider, all the new information you've been given, can really over whelm someone. Knowing that it is ok to use the run off area instead of compounding the already over whelmed rider with trying to make a turn they are convinced (right or wrong) in their own head they cant make, is very important. It certainly was for me. Now after 6 more track days I know i could have made the turn with no issue, but that's because i have built the foundation of knowledge and talent that allows my brain to process the information properly, and execute the turn cleanly...or at least clean enough.
Third I session from Sunday. A couple of interesting mistakes in there. One is mine, another is someone else's. Luckily neither lead to anything more than an Oh poop! B http://youtu.be/bwsN-TQXUu0