out onto the track," Code says.
"Just go out there and treat it like
you're easing into a ride on a can-
yon road. I've seen experienced
riders crash on the first or sec-
ond or third lap, and I'm thinking,
‘You've got all day, what's going
on?’ And it seems to be that they
think it's game on, ‘I've got to man
up, got to establish myself as the
alpha rider,’ and it doesn't work
out very well.
"Aside from that, formu-
late some sort of plan or goal to
achieve for each riding session.
It's key to always have some point
of focus or theme for each session
on track," Code adds.
One tactic that always im-
proves speed and confidence is
knowing where to look on the
track, Hoskins says. "Once we get
people relaxed, we start talking
about things like, ‘Where are you
are looking on the track? Look
further up the track than you
think you should, and things start
falling into place,’" Hoskins says.
"We spend a lot of time talking to
them about what it means to be
smooth and why you want to be
smooth, and for me, smooth gives
you speed and a margin of safety."
And if you do happen to out-
brake yourself and get into a cor-
ner too hot, Lyle says don't give
up trying to make the corner. "I
tell them to get all their braking
done and then turn in, and never,
never just give up," Lyle says. "I
tell them, no matter how fast you
are going, there's been a whole lot
of racers who have gone through
here a whole lot faster than you
are going!"
You win if you make it to the
end of the day with an unscuffed
motorcycle and leathers.
"At the end of your first track
day, you should realize that riding
on a track allows you to focus on
your riding as opposed to thinking
about so many other things while
riding," Smith says. "You should
come to the realization that riding
on the track improves your skills
tremendously, even if that wasn't
what you went out there for. You
can ride on the street for years,
but one day on the track is the
equivalent of years on the street."(Above) The more familiar you are with the track layout before showing
up, the less you’ll have to worry about, including which way the track
goes after a blind crest; watching YouTube videos can help. Here, an in-
structor leads California Superbike School students into The Corkscrew
at Laguna Seca. (Below) Reading the school schedule and knowing
when and where to meet for off-track instruction is a good idea, too.
RWRoadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019—