USING THE NOTEBOOK
Okay off to the shop to geet my notebook, wait, “Notebook” make it more of a book than a soft covered notebook. Hopefully it will last you for years so it needs to be sturdy and large enough to record a days racing on one page. Often there may be more than one bike so the book may need sectioning so think about a hard covered book. Some use a clip board with specific sheets that they staple into a book form etc.
Now you need to have various headings and room to write info and make notes. Items to consider are following but with experience you will reference to your needs.
Start with. LOCATION: DATE: WEATHER: AIR TEMP: TRACK TEMP:
BIKE: GEARING:
TEST / RACE 1
FRONT TYRE NEW WORN AGE PRESSURE - OUT PRESSURE - IN
REAR TYRE NEW WORN AGE PRESSURE - OUT PRESSURE - IN
FRONT SUSPENSION: LOW SPEED COMP: HIGH SPEED COMP: REBOUND: PRE-LOAD: SPRING WEIGHT: OIL LEVEL: FORK HEIGHT: SAG:
REAR SUSPENSION HEADINGS SAME AS FRONT: Have 3 or 4 sections for Tests or Race like TEST / RACE 2 TEST / RACE 3 etc.
PERHAPS IT WILL LOOK LIKE THIS
Lets Consider a few notes: Why record tyre pressure OUT and Tyre pressure IN. Okay if a tyre comes in at a different pressure than what you go out on then the handling of your bike will change during the race, As the pressure changes the bike may come to you (get better) or go away from you. If you know the PSI changes then any suspension / geometry changes etc will help you with understanding performance gains or losses. Its interesting to listen to riders adding a lb of pressure or taking a lb out yet what happens during the race appears to be irrelevant.
Most Racers will heat tyres on warmers to a setting of around say 80*C. This is the setting of the warmer, not the heat in the tyre and also consider the surface of the tyre, that which sits next to the heating element will be much hotter than the rubber 1mm under the surface. Now consider the 2 min call sends you into activity and you ride out to the dummy grid and sit for say 3 minutes, now you ride the out lap, dawdling around behind all those early bikes that present themselves to the starter. Now you wait for another 3 or more minutes while stragglers find there Grid spot. You may notice some “RACERS” time the track entry just before the track closure, they now have clear track, able to keep the pace up on the out lap, roll to grid position and have minimum delay prior to race start.
So now guess which riders or pits crews are monitoring out and in pressures and temperatures and who clearly have a strategy. Consider different Tyre compounds as well and the recorded information just may help you understand if the tyre is better or worse for given track temperatures, There is no limit to the advantages you gain from having a note book.
NEXT TRACK DAY why not focus on a section of performance, be it tyre temperature, tyre pressure, sensing through your feed back on track what is happening, this to is a learnt process, recording notes for you and your PITT-CREW to chew over, don’t have a PITT-CREW, consider getting someone, I am sure you will all have friends chomping at the bit to help your racing and one things an absolute known. “You cant do it on RACE TIME.”
SEE the next blog: UNDERSTANDING your BIKES GEOMETRY 1. coming soon, give us a few likes and the update will come sooner rather than later.