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Note: The following is copied and pasted from my local forum I post on since I am too lazy to write everything again.
Two weeks ago (17 October) I had my first day of racing at Ikei island. All I can say is...What a blast!!
My first race was a 5 lap race with 3 other riders. I started in 4th, got a decent start and entered the first corner in 2nd. I was passed on the next lap. On the 4th lap I made a great double pass around the outside in corner 2 putting me into first. Bummer was in corner 5 I screwed up my drive out and ended up being passed on corner exit. After 5 laps I finished 2nd.
The next race is where the lessons learned comes in. This was to be a 15 lap race. I started in 2nd based on the finish in race 1. The start was OK. I was pushed a little to the inside and ran off the curbing slightly. I ended up in 3rd after the first corner. The 2nd lap is where it all fell apart. When attempting to pass for 2nd, I cam together with the other rider and was thrown from my bike. I will discuss the damage to my body later.
A little about the guy who I crashed with. He was a very frustrating rider to race with. He carried no corner speed so everyone always bogged up behind him, but his bike was set up to accelerate very quickly out of the corners. This made him very difficult to pass, but once around him I was much faster and pulled out a gap, as was the case in race 1. I feel like when he rode he had no situational awareness as to who was around him. He just picked his line and rode it, no matter who was coming up faster to fill that line.
About the crash incident. Because I knew the line he rode in turn 2 (very tight, very slow) I took the outside line, carrying more speed and tried to get a better drive into the next corner. As I was accelerating into the corner, he cut across the track right into my line that I was already committed to. As I started to lean in, he didn't let up and started to push into me. I knew we were going to touch at this point but it was already to let. I let off slightly, but he continued to push into me. I ended up going up onto the curb and almost off track. At that point my front tire hit his read, throwing me off balance. My left leg came of the pegs and hit the ground (this is where the damage to my leg happened). The force of our tires hitting caused me to somewhat highside and I was thrown off the bike.
Lessons Learned: Upon immediate reflection I blamed myself for this. I thought I was being too aggressive trying to block him into the corner. My reason for trying to force the pass was that I knew I was much faster than he from the previous races' experience. The leader was starting to get away and I didn't want too big of a gap to form. However, upon watching the video below in slow motion, frame by frame, I feel I was in the right. I had the line and he came into me, almost pushing me off track into the grass. As further example to this guys lack of situational awareness, after the crass my bike was stuck to his, yet he continued to try on ride, not even realizing it.
I would also like to thank Ben and his wife for all of there help. They recorded the race for me (allowing for my analysis), drove my car home for me (I went to the hospital in an ambulance, and my girlfriend can't drive a manual), helped load all my stuff into my car, and visited me in the hospital. I would also like to give major props to the local racers. The corner workers quickly help get me off track. the race organizer was right there the whole time helping out. One guy drove his flatbed down to the corner where every help load me up and bring me up to the parking area. Another guy, while helping remove my leathers, inadvertently ended up with a face full of my crotch. So major props to them as well.
Sorry for being so long winded. Below is the link to the youtube video. Let me know what you think.
Ikei Circuit Crash <---Link to Video
I will post some photos of everything shortly.
Two weeks ago (17 October) I had my first day of racing at Ikei island. All I can say is...What a blast!!
My first race was a 5 lap race with 3 other riders. I started in 4th, got a decent start and entered the first corner in 2nd. I was passed on the next lap. On the 4th lap I made a great double pass around the outside in corner 2 putting me into first. Bummer was in corner 5 I screwed up my drive out and ended up being passed on corner exit. After 5 laps I finished 2nd.
The next race is where the lessons learned comes in. This was to be a 15 lap race. I started in 2nd based on the finish in race 1. The start was OK. I was pushed a little to the inside and ran off the curbing slightly. I ended up in 3rd after the first corner. The 2nd lap is where it all fell apart. When attempting to pass for 2nd, I cam together with the other rider and was thrown from my bike. I will discuss the damage to my body later.
A little about the guy who I crashed with. He was a very frustrating rider to race with. He carried no corner speed so everyone always bogged up behind him, but his bike was set up to accelerate very quickly out of the corners. This made him very difficult to pass, but once around him I was much faster and pulled out a gap, as was the case in race 1. I feel like when he rode he had no situational awareness as to who was around him. He just picked his line and rode it, no matter who was coming up faster to fill that line.
About the crash incident. Because I knew the line he rode in turn 2 (very tight, very slow) I took the outside line, carrying more speed and tried to get a better drive into the next corner. As I was accelerating into the corner, he cut across the track right into my line that I was already committed to. As I started to lean in, he didn't let up and started to push into me. I knew we were going to touch at this point but it was already to let. I let off slightly, but he continued to push into me. I ended up going up onto the curb and almost off track. At that point my front tire hit his read, throwing me off balance. My left leg came of the pegs and hit the ground (this is where the damage to my leg happened). The force of our tires hitting caused me to somewhat highside and I was thrown off the bike.
Lessons Learned: Upon immediate reflection I blamed myself for this. I thought I was being too aggressive trying to block him into the corner. My reason for trying to force the pass was that I knew I was much faster than he from the previous races' experience. The leader was starting to get away and I didn't want too big of a gap to form. However, upon watching the video below in slow motion, frame by frame, I feel I was in the right. I had the line and he came into me, almost pushing me off track into the grass. As further example to this guys lack of situational awareness, after the crass my bike was stuck to his, yet he continued to try on ride, not even realizing it.
I would also like to thank Ben and his wife for all of there help. They recorded the race for me (allowing for my analysis), drove my car home for me (I went to the hospital in an ambulance, and my girlfriend can't drive a manual), helped load all my stuff into my car, and visited me in the hospital. I would also like to give major props to the local racers. The corner workers quickly help get me off track. the race organizer was right there the whole time helping out. One guy drove his flatbed down to the corner where every help load me up and bring me up to the parking area. Another guy, while helping remove my leathers, inadvertently ended up with a face full of my crotch. So major props to them as well.
Sorry for being so long winded. Below is the link to the youtube video. Let me know what you think.
Ikei Circuit Crash <---Link to Video
I will post some photos of everything shortly.
