Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[Ryujin]

I remember an episode of Top Gear where James May (a.k.a. “Captain Slow”) took racing lessons from long-retired professional racer Jackie Stewart. The lessons actually did improve his lap time.

I did actually get to follow a recent Canadian Superbike champion around the track, on my second to last class. From that I learned that i had been turning in literally 2 feet too soon, when going into a particular decreasing radius corner, which screwed up my drive onto the next two corners and the front straight. After that I mentioned to him that I noticed he was turning in a foot after a crack in the pavement and I was turning in a foot before it. He said, "There's a crack in the pavement?"

 

[dragoner]

20+ years around motorcycle racers as a photographer, 8 racing schools, and many track days taught me one thing: I'm not very good.

At my first racing school I thought I was going flat out behind the head instructor, who was a retired Canadian pro racer. Not a top guy, but rather an also-ran. No way I can go any faster.

... Then the instructor put is left hand on the tail section and twisted his body around to watch me going through the corner behind him. Ego, crushed.

Yeah, totally, plenty of times people have said I'm a good driver, and it's like okay, though I have known actual good drivers, people that would leave me in the dust. 90% of my participation in racing was through engine building for other racers. But that is like one of those things, where a guy from NASCAR team came nosing around, you gotta have no life except to work in the pit crew he said. Nope, no way I could do that either. All that is left is a horrible perfectionist streak working on vehicles.

 

[Ryujin]

Yeah, totally, plenty of times people have said I'm a good driver, and it's like okay, though I have known actual good drivers, people that would leave me in the dust. 90% of my participation in racing was through engine building for other racers. But that is like one of those things, where a guy from NASCAR team came nosing around, you gotta have no life except to work in the pit crew he said. Nope, no way I could do that either. All that is left is a horrible perfectionist streak working on vehicles.

I think that, for me, it's mostly a matter of not wanting to die. I don't think that I've ever ridden at more than 80% of my ability on the track, simply because my instinct for self preservation is too high. At track days I've followed kids who I could see had zero fear, but also zero skill. Their lap times were comparable to mine because they couldn't pick a line to save their lives. I've led a few around my favourite track and it seemed to help them, in a "can't do, teach" kind of way. I've worked in the pits, for a couple of racers, and can do tire swaps, set up suspension, and do other general drudge work, but that's the limit.