~ Auto Buzz ~: IENATSCH TUESDAY: “Look GP to Go GP” How a cute little saying adds speed and safety to all track riders.

CAPTION: Wait a minute! That’s not a GP bike and that’s not a GP track! Nope, it’s a production bike at the Isle of Man with YCRS graduate Alan Cunningham aboard. He takes our advice seriously and does his best to mimic the best…at a place where mistakes are occasionally fatal.

Last year, we had a student who fell in love with this sport—hook, line and sinker. He arrived at the Champ school with some interest…and left with a new addiction. Even though he’d ridden bikes for 11 years, he had never been to the track, never ridden an R6, never heard the sport discussed like we discuss it. After two days, he was hooked like Oprah on donuts. He attended his first trackday three weeks after graduating from our school. They put him and his Honda CBR600F4i in the C Group, the slowest group, and he had a fantastic day. Was he fast? Not really. Was he dangerous to himself or others? Not at all. That usually makes for a fun day, and a fun day is what he had. He called it “one of the best days I’ve ever had on a bike.” So he went to the photographer’s trailer after his last session to see if there were any shots of him. The shooter pulled up a bunch of photos and he began to look through them with the same critical eye we apply to our student films. He liked what he saw and was using the shots to find areas to improve on. Just then, another rider leaned over his shoulder and asked, “Is that you?” “Yep.”

Yes, we want to be him! Even if your champagne spraying sucks, you can still mimic his body position on the track.

“Man, who you trying to be? You think you’re Valentino Rossi or somethin’?” This question was asked with a deprecating laugh. Our student looked back at his pictures, then up at the smartass. “Well, no, I’m not Rossi. But I want to look like him.” Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Trackrider, you do. You want to look like Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Josh Hayes, Jorge Lorenzo, JD Beach, Jake Gagne…pick your favorite champion. Put your body in a position that mimics the body position of the best in the world and nation. We laughed at this student’s story and shook our heads at the fact that another rider would ridicule him for his attempt to look like a GP star. We’re sure the mimicking rider had seen our student and knew he was “only” in the C Group. That’s a common mistake: confusing lap time with technique…believing a slower rider is a lesser person…thinking that a quicker lap time means you’re a superior human being. Our student knew that quick lap times become repeatable and drama-free when the techniques are practiced correctly.

Now it’s raining and “it all counts.” This graduate stayed out during a wet track day because her Champ school body position practice allowed her to run less lean angle. Less risk.

And one of the Champions Habits we teach: Look GP to go GP. Watch the best in the world, look how they sit up on the brakes, drop their heads to initiate turn-in, drop their heads on the exit to run less lean angle. Look at their foot position and corresponding knee position. Freeze the TV and study it. Duplicate it. Know that the reason these stars put their body in those positions at those moments is because they can go faster, longer! They score more points and stay healthier. Don’t be confused. We’re not saying “Drag your elbow like a GP star.” We’re saying mimic their body movements, from being pre-set for a corner to tucking in on the straights. Dragging your elbow isn’t the issue. The issue is that your body is inside the bike’s centerline as the bike turns in and in a position to move and adjust. We could just as easily say, “Look Production-Bike Champion to Ride Like a Production-Bike Champion.” In other words, ride your sportbike on the track the way it’s designed to be ridden, because the designers were all former winning roadracers, guaranteed.

Let’s say Bar Hodgeson lets you ride his one-off Ducati F1 at Mosport. Loudbike’s Steve Munro built it and you don’t want to be the one who writes it off in a fourth-gear highside. Hang off for more safety and less money spending. (Photo by Alex Bilo)

A perfect example: Bradley Smith has attended YCRS twice and rode a variety of bikes but mostly the 2013/2014 R1. He rode the R1 on Q3s exactly like he rides his GP bike in terms of body position, brake, and throttle use; it’s the same techniques with differing applications to adjust for grip, weight, and power. He looked GP on our R1 and made a point of telling the class, “Falling off a production bike hurts as bad as falling of my GP bike. I want to ride the R1 and my M1 as safely as possible for the speed I’m going. YCRS teaches you that lean angle is risk, so I’m trying to minimize my risk.”

Which rider is a GP star and which one is a first-time YCRS student? Here, Zack Cooper is chased by Bradley Smith. At the same speed, Smith is running less risk. At the same lean angle, Smith is running more speed. Yes: win-win. This picture pushed Cooper to “be like Bradley.” Good idea. (Photo by 4theriders.com)

If you aren’t trying to hang off like Mr. Moto GP Podium Bradley Smith, you will be running more lean angle at the same lap time. More risk, going slower. Just the opposite of the faster, safer rider we want (faster) and need (safer) to be. I know one student who set up a pair of full-length mirrors in his garage, put his bike on stands and then hung-off and examined himself in the mirrors. Bizarre? Maybe, but his body position got real good, real quick. What do I mean by “good?” He looked like Cameron Beaubier. More next Tuesday!