Lap time minimums?

[Michael De Simone]

Scott,

You are fine. You are not the only person to start out slow. You were about 140% slower than the front of the pack last weekend which, coincidentally, was not that much slower than where I was my very first race. You will build confidence and you will get faster. You will start learning tracks faster and there are a lot of people willing to help you out and work with you to get there.

[Staton Shed]

A vote for "no" to lap time minimums. Should the guys running 1:40's at TWS move to exclude the the guys running 2:20's? Of course not.

Scott - it's a great sport/hobby and a great group of people. I hope you stick with it. You clearly have a passion for it to overcome the obstacles you posted. If you ever need help from anyone (me included), just ask.

We all know to watch for a yellow shirt and its up to us to make a clean pass and/or allow for the possibilities a new racer MIGHT make as we pass them.

I am cool with the idea of a rider keeping the yellow shirt for the season if they feel they need to keep that "warning" out there either by their own accord or the suggestion of mentors/officials. Is that allowed/encouraged?

[Brad Thomas]

Scott,

It gets better. Thanks for jumping in on the thread. Welcome to the club. If you need some help or have questions just let me know.

[Dustin Ducote]

As I said the first day this was posted, You did nothing wrong man. Please don't let this situation discourage you. I was out on track with you in practice and you were fine man. You might have gotten a little spooked but that is to be expected and other riders should have the situational awareness to know you are coming up and to not target fixate on who they are racing.

Ya gotta look around a bit and not have tunnel vision as it seems happened here.

Coming from someone else who had (prior to NOLA) tracks around to ride on and TWS and Barber being the closest, I know what you mean. If you don't own a Busa or stretched GSXR you aren't riding around here either. No where to ride but flat straight roads.

I started riding motorcycles also as an adult and when at tracks for the first time am also one of the slowest out there for a bit. I'm by no means fast now but just know that not everyone is Ty or Brandon. If you are pitted too far away come pit by me at the next race.

There kinda should be a mentoring program to help with this part of the learning process. The first weekend between listening to the calls, where to grid, what the calls are, pit in, pit out, warmers, fuel, it is all overwhelming and a lot to take in.

It would be easier if there were some senior members that had signifiers at their pits to designate who you can come to and ask at any time any questions. Or every rookie gets assigned a senior rider for two weekends. You need practice time and missing the calls can prevent that.

Hope to see you back on track soon man.

[Ron Mears]

......
I will be at the next session and I will looking to redeem myself... I am going to try to find a way to be much better prepared and hopefully that will be enough to dispell your concerns... I already have contacted some folks in the ranks that I think may be able to help me out and if and anyone else is willing to do so I am open to all advise and critique. But I will be there and I will looking to compete... hopefully it will be a better outcome...
Mitchell... Again I am sorry... if there is anything I can do to help you let me know...

This sounds like a racer to me. Your head is in the right place. You can learn as much in a tough weekend as you can during one that is more successfull.

[Nancy Selleck]

I am cool with the idea of a rider keeping the yellow shirt for the season if they feel they need to keep that "warning" out there either by their own accord or the suggestion of mentors/officials. Is that allowed/encouraged?

Yes, it is allowed...and we do tell riders that in Registration when they complete their requirements.

[Nancy Selleck]

There kinda should be a mentoring program to help with this part of the learning process. The first weekend between listening to the calls, where to grid, what the calls are, pit in, pit out, warmers, fuel, it is all overwhelming and a lot to take in.

It would be easier if there were some senior members that had signifiers at their pits to designate who you can come to and ask at any time any questions. Or every rookie gets assigned a senior rider for two weekends. You need practice time and missing the calls can prevent that.

Hope to see you back on track soon man.

Yes, we do have a mentor program: http://www.cmraracing.com/showthread...Mentors-Needed

Not sure what all is discussed in the Prov Nov riders briefing each morning, but I'm pretty sure that the leaders of the meeting tell the new racers that they are available to help.

[Dustin Ducote]

Yes, we do have a mentor program: http://www.cmraracing.com/showthread...Mentors-Needed

Not sure what all is discussed in the Prov Nov riders briefing each morning, but I'm pretty sure that the leaders of the meeting tell the new racers that they are available to help.

I guess what I was saying was making it more of a requirement. Basically a couple of solid expert racers who have the time to take out of their race weekend and have the rookies pitting with them or near them and take them under their wing and help them with everything.

[Staton Shed]

Yes, it is allowed...and we do tell riders that in Registration when they complete their requirements.

Thank you Nancy. I thought so. I appreciate the confirmation and reminder.

[Nancy Selleck]

I guess what I was saying was making it more of a requirement. Basically a couple of solid expert racers who have the time to take out of their race weekend and have the rookies pitting with them or near them and take them under their wing and help them with everything.

Not a requirement because some new racers come with more experienced buddies. As you can see when you click on the link that I provided, there are a number of experienced racers who have volunteered to help.