Thunderhill- Please critique my riding

[thasmydjay]

Hello BARF,

I spent some time at Thunderhill this weekend, met some good people and had a blast. Here's a video of a couple of laps. I feel like I improved a little since my last track day at Sonoma but still have a loooooooong way to go.

A couple of questions. Do I want to start in the middle and work my way in at turn 3? And on turn 5 where should I be at with the throttle? Any other tips?

Thanks,

DJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tHWRvYNVp8&t=291s

 

[stangmx13]

accelerate when and only when u can remove lean angle and exit the corner. do not start accelerating at some arbitrary point in the corner where u think u should be going faster. if u enter the corner too slow, wait til your exit point using maintenance throttle. then try a faster entry next lap.

for example:
- watch your speedo in T2 at ~4:00. u add 8mph of speed without changing your turning radius, meaning your lean angle increased. you are setting yourself up for a crash with this.
- into T14 at ~3:30, u over-brake and take a wide line. but u noticed that u were going slow, so u get on the throttle 20ft+ before the apex cones even though u hadn't turned much yet. this sends u straight towards the dirt and u chop the throttle to recover.

aside from that, u can pick up A LOT of time by not being lazy on the throttle. if u can accelerate following the above "rule", especially if you are straight-up, try to go to WOT. then use the brakes when u need to slow. u are coasting a lot in between T1 and T8.

 

[thasmydjay]

for example:
- watch your speedo in T2 at ~4:00. u add 8mph of speed without changing your turning radius, meaning your lean angle increased. you are setting yourself up for a crash with this.

Thanks for your feedback. This is something I definitely tried to work on and what caused me to lowside at Sonoma. I felt like I couldn’t find that “sweet spot” for maintanence on the throttle sometimes. Is it my body/hand position? I made sure that my inside peg was weighted, outside leg anchored, and no weight was on my hands.

 

[stangmx13]

I don't see anything obviously wrong w/ your body that would affect throttle control and I can't see your right hand in T2.

I bet u were struggling with maintenance throttle because your mind actually wanted to accelerate, not because it doesn't know how

maintenance throttle is diff for each corner. so there is some skill involved in it. I base my maintenance throttle mostly on how the bike sounds and secondly how I feel the rpms. try paying more attention to that feedback.

 

[Smash Allen]

maintenance throttle is a bit tricky for me, since at full lean you need more throttle to go the same speed vs straight up, because the tire is smaller i think? realizing this helps prevent me from getting 'stuck' on the inside of those big long sweepers, like t2 thill east or riverside at bw

 

[stangmx13]

maintenance throttle is a bit tricky for me, since at full lean you need more throttle to go the same speed vs straight up, because the tire is smaller i think? realizing this helps prevent me from getting 'stuck' on the inside of those big long sweepers, like t2 thill east or riverside at bw

that and increased tire friction due to turning. the tire friction is a larger effect.

T2 at Fontana has some gnarly maintenance throttle. u enter at about 110mph in 4th or 5th gear and it takes at least 2/3rd throttle to not slow. good thing a 600 should be WOT through there, so I don't need to worry about it.

 

[jaybocc2]

DJ, check this out:

youtu.be/oWH2AJALQBg

youtu.be/LZZXc7jztQ0

listen to ken talk, pay attention to his line and bike placement. Very important.

The second video you can try and watch how much he accelerates and brakes in certain places. That should help give you some idea how much maintenance throttle is and when and where he is on the gas compared to you.

 

[FXCLM5]

ken has podcasts too!!!!!!!!!