For the past 5 weeks I have been lucky enough to ride 5 different race tracks. The list is pretty good. Aragon, Laguna Seca, Spring Mountain, Chuckwalla and Buttonwillow.

Everyday that I have ridden the weather has been perfect with abundant sunshine at every event. Even though the sun was shining the temperature was a bit on the chilly side. Certainly not east cost cold but chilly enough to make me think about some of the things we teach during a STAR school related to how our mindset should change when the temperatures aren’t ideal and how you need to find your pace.

Keeping Your Tires At Temp

You have to remember if air temp is down then track temp will be down as well. Even if the sun is out it will take time to warm up the surface. This is very important to keep in mind especially when you are getting ready to go out for morning sessions. If you have your tires on warmers and they make a five-minute call for your session, don’t rush out to pit lane and sit, the surface and air temp will quickly suck the warmth from your tires. Wait for the session to start, miss the first 30 seconds, then you know when you roll out your tires are hot.

You need to keep the temp up in your tires so when you get out on the track don’t “cruise” around to slow. So many get in the “wait for my tires to get warm” mode but that’s why they were on warmers in the first place. All to often I see people going slow for their first 3 laps as if they had no warmers on their tires and then try to up their pace. Smooth acceleration and braking while upright will keep heat in. As you feel your tires come in you will be able to get more aggressive on the edges.

For those of you who don’t use tire warmers (there might still be a few of us) getting heat in our tires will take a bit more time. We have to build heat in our tires smoothly and less aggressive. With experience you learn how to feel heat in a tire. I make sure on my out lap that tipping into a corner happens very slow. I am not in a hurry to get to my full lean angle. Usually by the second lap I am ready to find my pace but this is different for every person based on how much load you put on the tire. Someone who is a bit faster will load the tire more and increase heat in the tire faster. As compared to someone who is a bit more conservative; this person will need to give their tires 3-4 laps or until they feel comfortable.

Why I Am Not A Flicker

Be careful of your left/right transitions. In other words, watch the input through the bars going from side to side, especially on out laps. One of the reasons I have never been a “flicker” is this reason alone. I see so many people give way to much steering input through the bars on a cold track and end up on the ground. You need to make your transitions smooth throughout the whole bike, not just through the front end. Be cognoscente of elevation also. Turns that fall away from you while transitioning increase our chances of tipping over because there won’t be any load on the front, so contact patch will be compromised.

Tire Choice

I made the joke this past weekend that I felt I had an advantage running my street compound Dunlop Q’3, pretty much all I ride on at our STAR school events.  Many of us have bought into the idea that we have to have race slicks or race DOT’s for the track. What you have to remember is this; race tires are built to operate in an optimum temperature range. On 80+ degree days it is easy to keep the tire temp in your tires after they come off the warmers. On cooler days, depending on the rider, your tires are more likely to be operating below optimum ranges. Street compound tires as compared to race slicks or race DOT’s are easier to get into a heat range that most can ride at. I’ve heard some really bad advice from riders telling newbies they have to put the latest and greatest race tires on their bikes, but on cold days this couldn’t be any further from the truth.

Lastly, days that are chilly intimidate most people and they should. Everything is colder including the rider. I never see to many people doing jumping jacks to warm themselves up in the pits, haha. That said, you can still get a lot out of your day even if all you do is get close to that almighty PR you set last time you were at the track. These days are great practice days, don’t worry about lap times and speed so much, get that technique dialed and enjoy your day with friends. As your experience grows, colder days won’t matter so much to you because you will have gained the knowledge of how to handle things. Doing 24-hour races where temps got into the 30s at night really taught me a lot. Riding at night with temps that low while raining is a whole other thing and we’ll save that for another time.

Hope this helps you all and ride safe,

JP

Our last event of 2015 is December, 14 & 15 at Chuckwalla. We have extended a special offer to anyone attending Femmewalla on Dec 11, and those that attend So Cal Track Days Dec 12-13. We will be out there supporting both of those events ourselves and look forward to seeing everyone.  Get your spot now!

The post Basing Your Pace on Conditions appeared first on JP43 Training.

Well, what’s new in Moto GP? Hmmm…….

I, like the rest of you, watched the Malaysian Gran Prix last Sunday. Pedrosa won right??

It was truly a great performance for Dani and yet most people will never remember it. What went on with Rossi and Marquez will be etched into history and could be a game changer for how things are run from here on out. I have read so many comments on everything about what went on but let me give you a few perspectives.

For the past two seasons Marc Marquez has dominated Moto GP. He has been an absolute phenom and has proven to be a step ahead of his competition. Really, up until this year, there has been zero reason to not like Marquez. He always seems jovial, great in front of the camera and good to his fans. This year however, the competition has caught up, things aren’t going the way they have and with the increased pressure we have seen many mistakes.

I saw a different Marquez after Argentina. To this day the fact that he blames Rossi for his obvious screw up is baffling. When I saw his first interview after the race I thought he was joking. Remember, Rossi was catching him at almost 1 second per lap due to tire choices. There was zero chance Marquez was staying with Rossi after Rossi went past. Marquez played hardball and ran into the side of Vale and went down. Then his last gasp effort at Assen was just as strange. No idea what he expected Rossi to do. He again ran into the side of Rossi’s bike and again he lost. He initiated the contact both times and neither worked in his favor.

Rossi, on the other hand, has finished every race and more often than not, on the podium. Racking up points and being the story of the year, he has shown what it takes to win again. How a 36 year old, 9 Time World Champion can keep digging deep? Been fun to watch.

At the press conference in Malaysia, I was blindsided by Rossi’s comments after the Australian Gran Prix. We have all heard about the head games he has played in the past with Biaggi and Gibernau. Was this another way for him to get into Lorenzo’s head? It all didn’t make sense after what I considered to be the best Gran Prix I had witnessed. I didn’t want to believe it if I am being honest. I actually doubted The Doctor!!

Then Sunday came. I was just waking up in my hotel in Spain and put live coverage on the TV (love that). Pedrosa looked unstoppable for the first time in years but nobody was watching that. What was going to happen behind him?

Marquez Vs Rossi

Let me ask you a couple questions:

1. When have you seen Marquez put up zero fight for 1st or 2nd?
2. When have you seen Marquez lose .4-.8 seconds a lap at the start of any Gran Prix in the past 3 years?
3. Marquez claims he was waiting for tires to come in, 7 laps into the race? They worked ok for Pedrosa?
4. Marquez claimed set up issues and more than that, claimed turn four was a huge problem for him. Why then would you keep stuffing it up the inside of Rossi in that corner having to over slow the bike and allowing the two ahead to keep getting away?
5. Did anyone else notice that when Rossi rode back up the inside of Marquez before the contact he was sitting up?? That’s how much Marquez was slowing up mid corner, go back and check it for your self.

I did have one problem with Rossi

The only problem I had with what Rossi did was that he didn’t do it sooner!!!!!! I was screaming at the TV to park Marquez. Racing Rossi to me was no problem but what Marquez was doing was disrupting a Championship that he no longer had any involvement in. In my opinion he got what he deserved. Rossi wasn’t trying to take Marc out and for those that think Rossi kicked him, STOP IT!!!!! Marquez could have kept going straight like Rossi did, he didn’t, he fell over. Then went whimpering back to his pits crying about something that HE started, again!!! Then before the race ended started claiming his innocence; he was just racing and enjoying the battle, I don’t think so. He was as innocent as a guy who walks into the bank and gets handed someone else’s $100,000 on accident, then leaves with it. He didn’t do anything wrong, he just didn’t come out and tell the truth. Does anyone honestly think for a minute that when the Marquez crew was having dinner at some point this year, little Marc hasn’t told them he wants to get back at Rossi? I’d bet my life on it.

A totally unwritten rule of racing is to never get involved with the guys running for the Championship. I know this opens up a can of worms but it’s a fact, especially in the last two races.  I’ve gone up to guys on the grid and said I will not get anywhere near you two. I’ve also had riders come up to me and say the same. Whether I have liked them or not, I was out of the Championship and I wasn’t going to take my grudges out and alter the outcome of the season. Do any of you think that Marquez, during those laps with Rossi on Sunday wasn’t smiling a bit under his helmet? Funny thing is, he crashed enough on his own this year to take himself out of the Championship.

And then there’s Lorenzo

I’m over Lorenzo. What a whining tart he has turned into, constantly moaning. The best video clip of the year is him pulling into the top 3 parc ferme after qualifying in Malaysia only to see that Rossi pipped him for 3rd. He had already shut his bike off and had to push it down to his garage where he pouted away to the back and then complained about brake issues. If Marquez did to Lorenzo what was being done to Rossi can you imagine the press conference after? He would have bitched about Marquez to no end, especially if Rossi was checking out because of it. Lorenzo’s comments after the race in Sepang were despicable. Running off the podium then crying, if Rossi wins the Championship it won’t be a real Championship? Really? He is constantly reminding us that he is a World Champion, stop your crying and act like one.

I personally think Rossi would have finished 4th on Sunday, all things considered. I have said for the past two columns that he doesn’t quite have the pace of the other two. I have been a fan of all three of these guys but as you can probably tell, there is only one that I am rooting for these days. I give Rossi about a 20% chance of winning the Championship now but I would love to see him do it. Coming from the last row will be very, very, difficult but taking the crown on home soil of Lorenzo and Marquez would be priceless.

This was a hard column for me to write and it dominated my brain for days while in Spain. I just feel like the wrong thing was done on Sunday and it started not because of Rossi or what he said in a stupid press conference, those are just words. It started because someone got his ego checked this year and doesn’t want to look at why. As brilliant as Marquez’s riding is, its time to grow up. Rossi will always be endeared and when he goes, Moto GP is in big trouble. Especially if Marquez and Lorenzo are what we all have to deal with.

Cheers and ride safe,

JP

The post Marquez Vs Rossi appeared first on JP43 Training.

A couple weeks ago I wrote a column talking about the fastest and the smartest. How lucky have we been to witness this MotoGP season? It could only be more interesting if Marquez could have figured into the points here at the close of the year but as I have documented already there were to many mistakes made throughout his year. This past weekend in Australia the fastest (Lorenzo) won the battle and edged closer to who I think is the smartest (Rossi) in the Championship battle.  But man was it interesting.

Was that the best MotoGP ever? For me it was. From the very first lap I was glued and into every move that was being played out. Marquez is simply amazing to watch and the heart he shows is nothing short of incredible. What is going on with Lorenzo and Rossi right now is fun to watch. I still feel that Lorenzo has a bit more pace as was proven throughout the weekend from FP1 till the last lap of the race. We all knew Marquez was going to be strong but how about Andrea Iannone? That Ducati was so fast and with the big straights coming up this weekend in Malaysia, he could be a real threat for another podium. Iannone isn’t scared of anyone and has quietly had a great year based on consistency. If Rossi loses this Championship by 3 points, Iannone may have to turn in his Italian passport. I said earlier in the year that Iannone could win a race before Dovi, he almost did Sunday.

All that said, I felt Rossi had some pace that was going to push him to the front. It seemed he could go with Marquez but once Iannone went passed on the front straight just before mid race, things became hard. At Aragon I felt the same way but he couldn’t shake Pedrosa and Lorenzo was able to keep his lead around the 3 second mark. The only way Rossi will fix this will be in qualifying. He absolutely must get on the same row as Lorenzo or that will be his Championship run. Some people think I want Lorenzo to win the Championship but that isn’t true. Seeing Rossi win a 10th Championship would be so neat to see but I think the cards are stacked against him even with an 11 point lead.

Here is why. Rossi hasn’t won the season finale at Valencia since 2004!!! If he goes into that race with anything less than a 12 point lead he is in trouble. Lorenzo and Pedrosa have both won 2 times in the past 6 years and Marquez won the season finale last year. Someone beating Lorenzo at Valencia will deserve a big dinner ticket from #46.

This weekend is the one that is so crucial for Rossi. Sepang is a track that MotoGP riders test at more than anywhere else so there is no reason why everyone shouldn’t be fast right out of the box. Rossi said he was caught out in OZ in qualifying by some bad settings, shouldn’t have that problem in Malaysia. Also, it always seems to rain at some point at this race so a flag to flag race could be something we again see on Sunday.

CONTEST

So, with all that said and breaking down the two title protagonist, I was thinking we should have a quick contest. My great friends at Dainese have offered up a pair of Dainese Full Metal D1 Black/White/Anthracite gloves to the winner. They are the best gloves in the universe, they have the same structure of Valentino’s.

I want to know who will win the MotoGP Championship and what will their final point tally be? Any ties will be broken by who chooses closest to 2nd in the points and the point tally of that rider. This is where it sits currently:

STANDINGS

Rossi        296pts

Lorenzo    285pts

Here is the way the points play out at each round:

All entries need must be in by Friday October 23rd at 5pm Pacific Time. Your entry into comments will not show till after 5pm on Friday so no one can copy your guess.  Good luck to everyone that plays and hope that we get to see a great next two MotoGPs at Sepang and Valencia.

Cheers,

JP

PS We have some spots left in upcoming STAR Schools.  Check out the dates and get registered.

The post 2015 MotoGP Championship appeared first on JP43 Training.

I mean, I realize it could always be better but this year has had some real drama. So far the biggest thing for me has been the weather. One thing I always express to young kids I get to work with is, “lets be the smartest rider out there.” What I am trying to say is, people remember Championships and ultimately that is what will pay your bills down the line. You can’t advertise 2nd place.

Well is it any doubt that the smartest rider this year has been Valentino Rossi? Maybe that is why he is 9 times World Champion. I have heard all the things said about how the weather has played out in his favor at some of the rounds and Assen is still something people talk about. To be a World Champion you have to be ready for any conditions at any time. When those lights go out at 2pm on Sunday the rider most plugged in will usually be on the podium winning or racking up the points. Valentino has done everything he can do to be where he is this year and it has been so cool to watch. Not sure how anyone could root against him. He has done more to put our sport on the global map then anyone and at 36 how can you not love how deep this guy digs? Be so cool to see him get a 10th World Championship.

Can Jorge steal the crown?

As hard as this is to write, I think Jorge Lorenzo will. His pace in the dry has proven just a bit much for anyone to match, even Marc Marquez. Jorge has the ability to go out and run lap times that are consistently quicker and he can manage a gap much like he did at the most recent race in Aragon. I wrote a column in June that basically said that Marquez can not keep riding over the edge. As a racer we always want to give 100%, but when you do that you run a very high risk of falling over. The Yamaha has improved and Marquez can’t run and hide so easy, and in fact it often looks like he is struggling to keep up. Just recently I heard a comment from Lorenzo expressing how he rides at 95% because he cannot be at the limit the whole time. If his 95% is that much better than the chasing group, it’s going to be a long 4 races for Marquez and Vale.

Now, heading into next week Marquez has injured himself again. Breaking his 5th Metacarpal in a mountain bike training accident only adding frustration to his season. I have never ridden at Motegi in Japan but it looks like a track with a lot of hard braking areas which will really stress his hands a lot. Having had surgery will help the healing but he hasn’t shown that breakaway pace anymore and riding injured won’t help that. With there being some big shake ups in the rules as well as tires for 2016 it will be interesting to see if he can get the feel he wants back in his Honda.

Rossi and Pedrosa

It would be crazy if I didn’t talk about that battle between Dani Pedrosa and Vale at Aragon, what a chess match. Seeing the passes from the aerial views showed me just how bad each rider wanted to finish 2nd. I wonder if Rossi could have closed the gap to Jorge had he been able to get through on his first attempt, we will never know. Since Portugal in 2006 I have essentially written off Pedrosa from any kind of fan aspect. He took out Nicky and I know racing is racing, blah blah blah. What he did that day to put himself in that position was inexcusable to me. However, on Sunday I was more than impressed and even found myself rooting for him a bit. Why? He was showing fight to the best Moto GP rider I have ever seen. Vale nearly always comes out on top of those battles and it was good to see a smile on the face of Pedrosa for once. He has had a great career but I think that ride alone in Spain could spark something for him. If he gets up and starts battling Jorge things could get very interesting. Also, there will be fireworks in that Yamaha garage before this is all over because you know Vale is not going without a huge fight.

So where do I stand on all this? My heart wants Rossi but I think Lorenzo has the best shot. Marquez will be hurting at Motegi but will win 2 of the last 3 I reckon. If Pedrosa builds on Spain’s performance he could be the real spoiler in all this.

So who is your money on? The Smartest or the Fastest?

Cheers and ride safe,

JP

Check out a STAR School and see what it takes to be the smartest rider out there!  BTW, the smartest usually turn into the fastest on any given day.

The post Will The Smartest Win Moto GP? appeared first on JP43 Training.

The first time I can remember being at Laguna Seca was 1976. I was six years old and was on my father’s shoulders after he just won the AMA Superbike National. I remember crossing the track, my dad with champagne bottle in hand, despite the security guards efforts to stop us.

Now close to 40 years later, Laguna is still around and I feel so lucky to get to ride it. When I raced there I can honestly say it wasn’t my favorite, but looking back, I think I put too much pressure on myself to do well in what was my “home” race. It was one of the few tracks I was never able to win at. I still had one of my most memorable races there, finishing 3rd in a World Supersport race. Even that, I feel I should have won… always a racer I guess.

Eyes Up – so important here

Laguna is a great track to have a STAR Motorcycle School at. The track offers challenges that other places don’t. The elevation changes make Laguna so unique. From the top of the infamous “Corkscrew” down through “Rainey Curve” you need to have all of your senses about you. Unless you’ve been up there and walked it, you have no idea how steep it really is. I also think turn 1 is a corner that often gets overshadowed. Blind and flat out you better have your vision scanning at all times and know what you are shooting for. Remember my “Eyes Up” article, this is a great place to practice the use of visual aids. Turns 3 and 4 are tricky because they are both so flat. Everything there is so unique and the coolest part of going back as a STAR School is getting to walk the track. The views from behind turn 6 looking over the valleys of Salinas are amazing and going up the hill to the “Corkscrew” out of turn 6 will blow your mind. Working on our braking and visual drills around this place will be a great learning experience for our students.

On October 30-31 STAR Motorcycle School is putting on a two-day event at Laguna. It won’t just be two great days of instruction and riding. We have done everything we can to make this an event that people will want to come to every year. Included with your tuition are two nights hotel at the Embassy Suites hotel, catered breakfast, lunch and banquet dinner after our first day at the track. Every student will go home with video of themselves, get to test ride a new Ninja and get a group photo up in the corkscrew.

Special Guest

I wanted to have a very special guest at this event and I am so fortunate that Factory Yamaha rider and 4 time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes is a friend of mine. Josh will be riding with us for two incredible days and we will do a Q&A with him at dinner Friday night. Josh was my teammate on Attack Suzuki in 2003 and to see what he has done with his career since then has been so much fun for me. He is the most personable guy you will ever meet and one of the most ferocious on the track.  Everyone will be sure to have a memorable time.

Don’t wait till the last minute on this one it will sell out fast, so go register now and save your spot.

Hope to see you there,

JP

The post STAR Motorcycle School and Laguna Seca appeared first on JP43 Training.

To be the best rider you have to constantly evolve with the times. Things can change so much year to year that you have to be able to take advantage of what technology gives you. The world of electronics has changed a lot of what racing has become. Two riders on the same bike with two different electronics packages will often garner two very different results. As it usually is, the better electronics package will usually win. Kids in another 2-3 years won’t have any idea what it is like to ride a bike without electronics.

During my career I have had the opportunity to ride the fastest and trickest stuff available. I know this is ancient but I was around when bikes went to fuel injection and that was a big deal back then. Now as a coach to so many I have to keep up with the advancements being made. The one thing I understand as a coach that has made STAR and our motorcycle training so effective is my approach to the very thing that hasn’t changed; the person twisting the throttle. The rider needs to be connected and understand things more than ever these days so they can learn to take advantage of what is available to them.

When I get with any rider my goal is to always make them the absolute best they can be on the track or street. Once I learn what kind of rider they want to be it makes my job easier. In 2015 I have been so incredibly lucky to work with hard working riders that want to go as far as they can in the sport. Their ability to learn and see their success along the way has been incredibly satisfying. When the time comes and they move through different teams and sizes of bikes, I know that the base that we have built through hours of training has better prepared them to be ready for whatever is ahead.

Nothing showed me this more than this past weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. I am invested in everyone who hears me teach, whether you are a new STAR school student or a returning one. When I am standing on the grid for a race now with whomever I am coaching I feel the nerves as bad as they do. But I also know that they are prepared and have worked hard. It’s a work ethic that I want all our students to adopt.

Michael Gilbert, Caroline Olsen and Evan Cordonier are a great example of what I am talking about. To say that I am proud of them and what they each have accomplished is a giant understatement. All three have different stories, but all come from the same love of the sport and tremendous desire to get better.

Michael Gilbert

I got with Michael 13 months ago for our first 1on1. I could tell right away that he was frustrated with his current progress and was ready to possibly go do something else. We changed a few things, set realistic goals and he was in the points every race he entered with 3 podium finishes while finishing the season at New Jersey adding his name to a long list of AMA winners. What he did in the rain on Saturday at a track he had never seen was nothing short of amazing. He analyzed the conditions ran down the leaders, then checked out!!! Seeing his dad Gregg so happy makes my job the best it could be. Michael finished every race he started, zero DNF’s on a bike that was never once taken apart for a rebuild. He ended up 6th in points at the end of the year. The future couldn’t be more bright, amazing job Michael.

Caroline Olsen

Caroline’s story is a bit different. She comes from Norway and is a 2 time Norwegian Supersport Champion. She first came over to compete in 2013 in what was supposed to be her first full year in AMA. 2 races in she had a horrendous start line accident that would have sent most people away forever, not Caroline. She sat out all of 2013 and came back to a partial 2014 season. Going home for more surgeries to repair her shoulder her plan was to sit out all of 2015 and recoup. After surgery she did some races in Norway and asked me my thoughts on doing the final MotoAmerica round at Jersey. We were fortunate enough to put together a one race program with John Ulrich’s M4 race team. I have been saying that she is the “real deal” ever since I’ve known her; she went out in Jersey and proved it. Saturday in very difficult wet/dry conditions she came home 10th and on Sunday she improved even more. With the 3rd best race lap she ended up 6th beating many series regulars. I am looking forward to working with her during the off-season. 2016 is going to be a great one.

Evan Cordonier

Someone that will be getting talked about soon is Evan Cordonier. Not many know who he is at the moment unless you are racing in Colorado’s MRA series. Everything that we teach about riding a motorcycle at STAR is exemplified in this young man’s arsenal. I met Evan and his father Jon through a mutual friend in the industry. Evan was so green to our sport that he didn’t even know any of the sports major players. Didn’t matter, he just wanted to ride and get better. Evan was a blank canvas with zero bad habits to fix and he was able to adapt to all the things I wanted him to do. Evan is so understated and quiet but he just gets on with business. In his first full year in 2014 he won multiple class championships and set multiple class lap records. For 2015 he turned expert. In round 5 of this year Evan had a huge start line accident that totaled the bike; luckily he was fine. With the next round just 2 weeks away they had to scramble to find a bike to ride. I made a few phone calls and we got him on a 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R. Because of the work we have done and the training that he has embodied Evan was able to go out on a brand new stock bike and not miss a beat. He has 21 podium finishes this year and with one round remaining he sits 2nd in 5 classes and leads in one other. Evan is a true example of all things STAR and I am happy that he is an instructor of mine as well.

I mentioned earlier the importance of the base that we build in our training to prepare you for whatever comes. These are just 3 of our students that exemplify how true this is.

• Michael’s ability to analyze the conditions, run down the leaders and check out.
• Caroline’s results in very difficult wet/dry conditions after a horrendous accident that would take most out of the sport.
• Evan’s ability to hop on a new bike and run with the leaders as he has all season.

These are just 3 examples of the many that have attended STAR Motorcycle School. I am lucky to say that there are so many who have carried the lessons they have learned and are continuing to evolve and improve. I am one lucky guy who gets to watch from the sidelines now and share in the good days and not so good days. At STAR we want to build and cater to whatever your riding goals are. Keep an eye out for these 3 young talents.

Check out the STAR schedule and register for one of our upcoming schools and take a spin around the track with these guys and see what I am talking about.

Cheers and ride safe,

JP

PS I would encourage you to follow these guys, here are their Facebook pages:

http://bit.ly/MichaelGilbertRacing

http://bit.ly/CarolineOlsenRacing

http://bit.ly/EvanCordonierRacing

The post Watching Progression appeared first on JP43 Training.

• How do you gauge how far you look down the road or track?
• How much are you taking in that can help you make your next decision?
• How much different are we as track day or street riders to the elite of our sport as far as visual goes?

Our eyes play such a pivotal role in everything we do; this is something that most of us take for granted. What if your vision was impaired by 20, 30 or even 50%, how much would that affect everything you do? Now think about that on a motorcycle.

I have had the privilege to race the biggest endurance races in the world and all of them go into or through the night. I have been asked the question, “how much slower do the top guys go at night”, more than once. The answer is always the same, they don’t slow down, some even go faster though there vision is impaired due to darkness. Why is that? As we start to dissect the things that are going on the answer becomes obvious.

Visual Aids Slowly Disappear

Visual aids are everywhere during the day but then they slowly disappear once night falls. What ever level rider you are, street, track day or racer, you should constantly monitor where your motorcycle is pointing. When you do this it allows you to make the decisions you need to from lean angle, throttle control, turn in points to exits. The more consistent you are during the day with all these steps the better you will be when some of those reference points get taken away. This is where being a consistent rider is so important.

All the top riders have practiced and worked on their technique so hard that when the visual aides are taken away while racing at night they are not thinking about body position, shifting, braking and the physical things we have to do on a bike. Now, they are able to get their eyes up and focus their attention on where the bike is going and hitting their marks.

What’s that Bridge Say??

When I work 1on1 with people one of things I always ask them is to tell me what the signs say on the pedestrian bridges that go over the track? Why? Because I am trying to get their eyes up and not focus on just the tarmac. Most couldn’t tell me what the signs say even though they may have ridden that same track dozens of times. For people new to a track its maybe the most important first step we do.

Signs are one of the best reference points. Lining myself up under letters has been something I have always done and I have made it a point to pass this down to every rider I work with. Getting your eyes up and taking in things like signs on bridges helps make everything bigger and slows down how fast things are coming to us. When we are looking down at the ground things appear to be going a million miles per hour, get those eyes up and things will slow down. Don’t get me wrong, I use reference points like curbings and color variations in the track surface to help navigate around a track as well. The difference is, I take in things on the ground so early and far up the track that they come at me very slowly. This is a practice that you will get better at with repetition.

Josh Hayes

I am so lucky to call Josh Hayes a friend. As I was thinking about what to write to you concerning this subject I recently talked with him after his race weekend at Indy. One of the things he mentioned to me was how hard the track was to learn because there were so few visual aids to help him. The track is so flat that even looking up track it was hard to distinguish where the edges of the track were. But with laps and repetition this process became easier. Josh’s biggest issue here was how little time he got on the track, he didn’t get the advantage of riding around a track all day long like some of us at our track days. Even a 4 time Superbike Champion has to think about his riding sometimes.

At STAR Motorcycle School we spend valuable time in the classroom as well as on track drills that are designed to get students eyes up. We teach you how to find things in the distance that will determine more than just where the bike goes. It determines how much we open or close the throttle, where our bodies will be set, braking and shifting.

STAR has a great schedule ahead where we can help you achieve all your riding goals. Getting our eyes up will be one of the things we will talk about on Day 1 and when we do our track walk on Day 2 this stuff will really hit home.

Now think, if someone turned out the lights on your track day, how prepared would you be?

Maybe we should do a STAR night school huh?

I love to hear from you so let me know what you think in the comments below.

Ride safe,

JP

The post Eyes Up appeared first on JP43 Training.

• I wonder what they are working on?
• What are their goals?
• What are their deficiencies?
• What are they good at?
• What is there potential harm percentage?

Honestly, its enough to make me a bit crazy at the end of the day, but its only because I care so much about peoples safety.  That is why we put so much into our STAR School events.

I am so emotionally attached to this sport and I understand the dangers that are there for all of us, me included. I wonder how much better we could all be if we open our minds and continue the process of learning? At what point do we decide that we have had all the motorcycle training we need and we are good enough?

I for one have never had the mindset that I was a good rider.

Maybe it was the way I was brought up at an early age. My dad never let me believe that I was “good enough”. To this day I want to improve and maybe that’s why at the age of 45 I feel like I am riding as well as I ever have. I still feel relevant when I swing a leg over a motorcycle; that’s a great feeling knowing how long I have been doing this. Father time hasn’t caught up to me just yet and my passion for the sport is still growing.

There are so many things as riders that we do when we ride. Some we take for granted and some things are a struggle. When we get on a motorcycle we have all these things to think about:

-Body Position

-Downshifting

-Braking

-Lean Angles

-Visual

-Lap Times

-Breathing

-Relaxing

-Bar Pressure

-Go Pro’s being secured right

-Keeping up with our friends

-Speed

-Bikes Electronics

-Suspension

-Tire Choices

-Advice and who’s giving it

-Entry Speed

-Lines

What’s your list look like? What order would you put all this stuff? What are you doing to be a better rider?

Stop living with your deficiencies and get better. Most of you don’t realize this but small tweaks on what we are doing on the bike will pay huge dividends to how much better we can be.

When people come to STAR I do my best to let you identify what your list looks like. How can we make you better and keep you safe no matter what your goals are? Look again at that list, grade yourself and be honest. When you do that ask yourself if you are where you want to be. If you are like me, I want to get the most out of what this sport offers. These bikes right now are so good and so fun to ride and its only going to get better.

Our next event is coming up September 26-27 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. We have worked very hard to bring STAR school to the “NEXT GENERATION OF MOTORCYCLE TRAINING”. Like our riding, it was time for STAR to evolve. We have made some big changes so that all our students can look at there list, plug it into a motorcycle-training program and see immediate improvement. Time to plug in, stop being complacent and go to the track with a different attitude.

Hope to see you all at a STAR school soon so we can work on your list. Check out the dates for upcoming schools here.

Ride safe,

JP

The post Stop living with your deficiencies! appeared first on JP43 Training.

• How do we ultimately choose the line we choose?
• What are the main ingredients to finding the right way through any corner?
• And, does every bike go through a turn the same way?

These are just some of the questions we answer during a 2 Day STAR School, check out the event schedule and find a date that works for you.

In this picture, how many different lines can you see?

Can you put your bike in any one of those lines and                                         successfully complete the corner?

So first, let’s talk about the different factors that play into how we determine a line.

What comes before or after a corner; are you coming from a fast straight or are you leading onto one? Is it a fast or slow corner? What part of the corner is the most important to be fast in? All questions you have to answer. One thing you never want to be is one dimensional when choosing a line. After all, wouldn’t it be great to be able to put your bike anyplace on the racetrack or road at anytime? When it comes right to it, there are many ways to take the corners that these track designers throw at us. I have been lucky enough to go through some of the most famous corners in the world and I always adopted one simple solution.

Keep reading to find out what that is.

I have heard a thousand times “follow me and I will show you the race line”. That is so funny to me. What is the “race line” or “fast line”? It’s so open for interpretation. Someone with 100 track days may do things a bit different compared to someone who is at their first track day, wouldn’t you agree?

The key ingredients to finding your best line are two simple things, speed and lean angle. Without these two working together finding a line can be difficult. For instance, a line you may see Tom Sykes riding in WSBK may not be the best place for a new track day rider to begin. Obviously the speed and lean angle Tom creates will be far advanced to most riders that treat track days as hobbies. Starting wide into a corner to open up the radius only to find that your lean angle won’t allow you to get to the apex is a recipe for disaster. When that panic sets in our instinct is to upright the bike, which now runs us out of track or road.

HERE IT IS…

The best way to choose a line is to work from mid track out. It is something I have done my whole career. As my speed picks up I can open my entry to the corner.   This allows me to not have to hold the brake lever on or run deeper into the corner on a tight line to make the turn.  I also will get to self evaluate my progress each lap doing it this way. As you progress to the point where you find your greatest lean angle, your next goal is to be there for the shortest period of time you can. Most people I see enter corners way to wide but don’t have the lean to find a proper apex and end up riding 8 feet from the inside edge of the track. This now closes off their exit, all bad things. If they would have entered just a bit tighter and found an apex, their risk levels will go down as they twist the throttle on exit allowing the bike to be stood up and driving off the corner (I am a big believer in exits and will address that in a future column).

What I want you to do is look at the track differently. Find ways of getting into the corner and asking yourself how much more lean can I achieve. Leaning a motorcycle is important because it helps you turn. So, once you find your greatest lean angle you want to stay there for the shortest time possible but without knowing what that lean angle is, our lines will be compromised a bit. Start from the middle of the track and work yourself gradually out and you will discover that not all corners are the same. You’ll discover, not every corner is a wide entry.  These are all things we work on at a 2 Day STAR School.  Come join us and learn how to be a better, safer, more confident rider.

Beware of the “racer line” it could be doing you more harm than good. 

Ride safe,

JP

The post What is the “race line” or “fast line”? appeared first on JP43 Training.

With that said if I had to choose a “Rider of the Year” in June I would be hard pressed not to choose Jonathan Rea. The first year Kawasaki Rider has been nothing short of amazing and for those that haven’t watched, you’ve done yourselves a disservice.

Couple stats:

• 14 races run and he has won 10.
• Finished 2nd in the other 4 and is having the most successful start in WSBK history.
• One point away from having a full 5 race lead in the Championship, amazing.

Some of you will state that watching one person win every weekend has declined your interest in the series; you aren’t taking in the full picture.

Part of being a true fan is understanding when someone has stepped up their game so much that they make the rest seem substandard. Don’t get me wrong, Tom Sykes, Chaz Davies and others in WSBK are hardly substandard. These are guys with World Championships under their belts and many WSBK wins to their credit. But Jonathan has been riding a bike in the past that was 4th or 5th best out of the machines running. That caused him to override his equipment almost every weekend, the result, it made him more and more hungry. Now riding the ZX-10, with a great crew, he can push to those same limits and the bike will take him further with less risk. He can stick to a race plan and have the confidence in knowing that whatever he does he will be there at the end of the race with a shot at winning. His two races at Assen this year were unreal. If you get the chance, do yourself a favor and watch them both. To handle the situation he dealt with in both races and put up with the constant pressure he had was simply master class in my opinion.

It was great to see Leon Haslam winning at the start of the year. This again goes to show what a great rider on a great bike is capable of. That Aprilia is a proven race winner and Leon took it right to the front. He has struggled a bit lately through some injuries and such but is always a podium contender.

The two Ducatis seem to be finding their way as well. Chaz is the more consistent runner and after Thailand it appeared Ducati made a significant jump. At the start of the year the bike looked slow causing Chaz to override the bike, something you can’t keep getting away with lap after lap at that level. If a Ducati starts to win with any regularity it will be Chaz doing it. His teammate has proven he is fast over one lap in qualifying but seems to lack any real race set up.

The one rider that I love watching and have done some Twitter posts about is Michael van de Mark. Here is a young gut that I think will get on a competitive bike in the coming years and go straight to winning like what we have seen Rea do this year. Riding along with World Champion Sylvain Guintoli Michael has shown that he can run the pace and could be a factor this weekend in Misano. I love how he rides a bike and the controlled aggression he does it with.

There is so much good stuff to watch in WSBK at the moment so don’t miss out on some great racing because the Championship is essentially over. There are big rivalries, great story lines and more important, they are riding bikes like the ones parked in your garage so it’s somewhat relatable.

Predictions for the weekend:

• Rea and Sykes will have huge challenges from the Ducati’s at their home track.
• Chaz will be there till the end.
• If there is one track the Honda’s can sneak up at, it may be Misano.
• How will Biaggi do in his return will depend on how motivated he is, we know the bike is still capable.

Either way, tune in and watch because with Rea being so good right now, there is history in the making.

Be sure to enter your comments below and let me know what you think.

Enjoy the races,

JP

The post WSBK Predictions For The Weekend appeared first on JP43 Training.