mark419ny

This post may be a little long and boring to some of you but I just want to tell you about my 1st experience at an AMA race and just how it reassured me about how people are genuinely good at heart. I will keep the grammar and paragraph spacing proper for all you English majors out there and I think i posted it in the right spot so that tool that didn't like what i had to say about Rossi can well suck it.
I had no intention on going to the races in NJ on the 9th but after talking to my chat buddy on here (Gunny Fitz about my first service) he asked me if I was going and it may be a good idea to see what its like. Gunny said he knew a lot of guys that will be there and he will make many introductions. Gunny knew i needed a custom suit and told me he knew Todd who makes the Heroic suits custom (I can't fit in an off the rack suit) I spoke to Todd on the phone before and his shop is by where i live but I didn't like some of the explanations Todd gave me on the phone but as it usually is with a very busy guy, the conversation with Todd and me was a miscommunication.
The track was much further from me then i thought. It was about 2.5 hours i thought it wouldn't be more then 2 but that was fine. I texted Gunny and told him I was here and he said just look for the guy in the green military shirt and a service dog. Sure enough there is Gunny with his wife and dog. It wasn't a strange meeting as sometimes can be when you meet someone off a website. I tell you it was more like 2 old college buddies seeing each other after a while. I explained to him i was never at a race track or witnessed anything like this live so he showed me around. I watched as 600 cc whipped buy us on a curve and couldn't get over how fast it really is live and how fluid the riders were switching from side to side.
After watching a few laps Gunny asked me if i wanted to meet Todd. I said ok lets go see him. I met Todd and found out how busy that guy is. He was repairing a racers jacket right there as I was talking to him. He has some great products and for the price of an off the rack suit you can get a custom one. Todd was really busy as I said so we left him and Gunny showed me the paddocks.
Let me tell you Gunny could have stopped there it would have been worth it for me just for meeting Todd but no way. I was his guest and he wanted my first time at the track to be good. He asked me if I knew who Josh Hayes was. I said yes (I just knew he was a rider I only watch wsbk and motogp). Well for those that don't know Josh Hayes is the defending superbike AMA champ. After asking me that within 10 seconds out comes Josh. Gunny is like Josh this is my friend Mark and thats all it took. Next thing I know I'm in team Yamaha's trailer. I met Garloff's family, Tommy Hayden, and of course taking pictures and talking it up with Josh. Another 600 race was about to start and Josh's wife was racing in it so the trailer was basically empty.
The story doesn't stop there. Before i knew it i was in the pits. I was chatting it up with team Yamaha as they were timing laps and petting Gunny's dog Russell(Scott Russell loved that by the way). Russell is a service dog that knows 80 commands and is only 2. The damn dog salutes on command. What a great pup he was and not even scared of all the bike sounds that some dogs are. Even more amazing is that Gunny only got 2 passes to the pits. His wife let me go because I was never at a race and may never get to do this. When does a person give up a special access for a person they met a half hour ago. I tell you not many. I can go on and on about how great all the riders were, i can tell you how great my day was, as you can probably tell by my post but better then all of that I met a great guy that truly enjoys helping other riders. If you have a question about anything about bikes trust me ask Gunny. If he doesn't know the answer he will get it.
A special thanks to the Gerloff family as they were more then kind to me. To Josh Hays what a race. He won by 20 seconds for at the time 12th straight victory (13 after sunday but i had football practice). Josh I will watch all your races your a great guy. To Melissa (Josh's wife) thanks for the chat and the picture and I am sure you will get better finishes in the future.
I'm trying to post some pictures.

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mark419ny

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mark419ny

First pic Scott Russell and Me
Josh Hayes and me
view from pits
Tommy Hayden before restart
Scott Russell Russell and Gunny
View from trailer

Gunny Fitz

Brother it was a true pleasure watching a kid in a candy store!
You will get even more pumped after your race school man, just wait! Many Thx for the kind comments. I ttruly didn't expect that!

Gunny Fitz

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RSR racer

Gunny and Mark Rule!! I would have loved to be there but my son had his lacrosse try outs...(his team is national defending champs!)...what a great day..glad you guys met with Todd..great products. Josh is too cool.

Ill be down at NJMP on the 23 and 24 if anyone else wants to get some track time in...with team pro-motion...first time running with them so I'll have to spend first day in novece class, which isnt such a bad thing since ive never had the Pani on a track yet...will just ride within my limits and get to know the bike more

Phil

now that I've read it, i will send you my address, gunny...

Gunny Fitz

You will have a blast my friend! Glen runs a great track school and has super intructors too! When you register w his Ex wife Barb tell her I sent you to them for some brownie points-lol. Anxious to hear how you feel on track with that bike buddy! Mark is meeting up w Todd at his shop in NY to get fitted and come up w a scheme for his leathers. The dude wears like a 62 size since he is a knuckle dragging machine! He didnt know that he should be riding his bike in the "progressive" setting and I told him how much difference it will make for him on street! Night and day!

We should all (maybe not some) have a member get together at a race or track day to meet in person. Mark was right in his story, it was like two old buddies seeing each other again! I was very proud to have hooked him up to see the inside story on racing and meet the best riders in the world. I had the techs from Graves Yamaha giving him the play by play on how everything works in pit and how things are done, while I just sat back and smiled. Great, great guy and its a true pleasure seeing (and now hearing here) someone so appreciative and pumped up about it all. And to think, he was seconds away from buying an R1 and not going the Ducati route!

mark419ny

You are so right. I wasn't going to spend the extra cash for the DUC. My friend Alex from home begged me not to get the R1. He has an 1198s a white one. He said man do you remember when you got the bmw and couldn't explain why it was better then the infiniti but it just was, well that's how the DUC is with the Japanese bike. Coincidentally that's how i started talking to RSR racer. He has a r1 and gave me great insight on the 1199. I am SO glad i didn't get the R1 not because its not a great bike but because I would have regretted it the same way i regretted getting the zx10r over the r1 back when i got my first bike.

Theefiveoh

That was a cool story to read. Sounds like you had a great time!

mrbrettbaker

RSR, or anyone else here coming to our TPM days 22/23/24, I'm a coach with TPM and will be in Garage 16, furthest from tech, and I'll have my Pani there. Fell free to stop by and chat, or for some coaching. I have a pretty good lesson on getting your body position correct. Will probably do some novice/intermediate sessions on the Pani, but no advanced.I break out my R6 track whore for that!

Any help I can give fellow Pani owners on the track,feel free to ask
mrbrettbaker@aol.com

BTW, Todd's the man! I have a set of Kangeroo/cowhide hybrid TPM coach leathers coming from him. He is using cowhide in the sliding/impact parts and 'roo in the others, and Glen got the first set.Very flexible and light

RSR racer

Dude...I am so going to be in your head for data, questions and any and all on track instruction!! ...will want to work specifically on body position and transitions, lean in angles, etc....my track awareness and racecraft is well honed from 10+ years of racing Porsches; so I will be there for technical input and corrections as indicated...not there to set any speed records...(that will come in time)

can't wait to see you there, can i set up my trailer and tent over by your paddock area?

mrbrettbaker

Absolutely! If you are on Facebook friend me, Brett baker . I am having a big steak cookout and party Saturday night, if you friend me I'll send you invite. Bring a side dish, your poison of choice and a toy for Glen's daughter Izzi's charity, toys for kids in the Philly children's hospital.

RSR racer

not on FB but I'll PM you my email...poison I got plenty of!! what do you guys need? I can fit a huge cooler in my trailer or truck...if I can get there in time on sat night, that is...

anthem

Hey brett - are you going to teach them the Kung Fu - get the F away from my Panigale body position while you're out there ? :-)

mrbrettbaker

I KNEW you'd post it! Are you gonna be there BBQ at 7:00 saturday nite!
Anthem's taking about a near miss I had on the Duc. A young lady hired me for some one on one training. I passed her wide on the outside of "stupid turn" T9, a sharp right. As I passed her, she "target fixated" on me ,stood her bike up and I caught in my periphery her coming at the center of my bike at a 45 degree angle. I clutched, and reached behind me and grabbed her fairing at the headlight and held her off me, trying to avoid us tangling hard parts.Unfortunately she went over the top and hisided, but her and the bike were only slightly banged up. RemArkably, her riding got better after she realized she could crash and walk away!

anthem

Nah, probably not make that weekend. Kid started school, so weekends are in full swing now.. . .

You should teach your Kung Fu motorcycle defense moves. I mean single handedly holding off another bike coming at you at speed and flipping her to high side the bike. . . . impressive.

But I agree with you - once you fall and realize you can walk away, you end up riding better. The only problem is that I'm not sure I'm willing to fall on my the bike I'm riding out there to know where the limits are. .. ..

mrbrettbaker

Back to my point about owning a track whore! As a coach I'd prefer no one ever fall, but it is good to push the limits a bit and have a bike squirm around, slide, push, wobble, to get comfortable with those feeling on the track. When you cross the line at the track, you USUALLY walk away. if it happens on the street it is usually far worse. I have completely lost my r6 and pulled a 'hail mary' move and saved it. I CAN'T push my Pani even close to that point, worry too much about the pricetag!

anthem

When you have the hot sexy superbike, no fun doing the track whore. Just like when you have a hot supermodel, no fun .... (well I'll leave that blank).

But even then it shouldn't be a big deal as I have insurance even on track (and I know not all do). So /theoretically/ I should just ride it the same as I would a "track whore" or rental, but for whatever reason I come close but not quite. I'm at 1:50 or so pace around NJMP on the 1199 when I'm capable of 1:45 on the S1000RR. I don't think its because I'm babying it because I'm willing to ride my bikes on track but more just not knowing the actual limits (the body position and geometry is a bit different) of the bike on the track yet (that being said, I'm nowhere near the actual limits of the bike either). But then again, I didn't really know my limits on an S1000RR when that time was put down either. .. I doubt we're anywhere near the limits of these bikes until your sub 1:33 area for NJMP. . . .

So yeah, I don't advocate track bikes at all. I have the bike so I'm going to ride it :-), and ride it hard. Not sure I'd feel the same if its say a D16 limited edition though, but the panigale isn't anywhere near that category - its just a mass produced superbike.