I read a comment in one of my RacerX magazines that really caught my attention. It was an interview with the three French riders who came to America - Vuillemin, Tortelli, and Roncada. They were talking about how the French riders sometimes seem to have the best lines on the track. In response to this the three French guys said they all had the same teacher in France and he taught them "the philosophy of the lines, not just pointing where to go. He would ask us where to go and why, and that was very good for us". Now of course I race a quad and not a bike, but that sentence really struck home with me. And anyone who watched Tortelli pass Carmichael at the Red Bud MX bike national on the OUTSIDE of the turn can attest that these guys do have creative, fast lines.

I race every weekend on the local and a few national races and most quad riders tend to follow the same line. The first time I walked the Red Bud National MX track before practice I couldn't believe how wide the track and corners were compared to my local tracks. The whole track was disced up into a beautiful loam and I couldn't wait to get on the track and go 3 or 4 quads wide through these big corners. I couldn't believe it but by the time my practice started many of the corners started developing only one good line on the very inside of the turn. The soft loamy dirt was pushed to the outside (which was actually the middle of the track) and hardly anyone would ride out there. The reason I am writing about this is because most racers (and posts on this board) are more concerned with what motor mods to do or which shocks to buy. I wonder how many people work on the mental and physical side of racing. I bet we could cut just as much off of our lap times by working on this as we do working on our quad. I thought I would post my thoughts on the mental side of cornering and I would love to hear any of your comments. If people are interested then next we could talk about the mental side of jumps or starts etc... Maybe only the die hard racers will appreciate this, but to me it is much more interesting than reading another post on PEP vs. TCS (ha ha).

Cornering 101:
1) Walk the track! I can't believe how many people I race with do not walk the track prior to practice. Yes, I sometimes race the same track every week but I still walk the track to look for something new. This is the time to ask yourself where to go and why. One of the main things you should do is look for outside lines because the majority of riders will hug the inside.
2) Momentum is the key! I think it is important to think about maintaining your speed through the corner. This is why sometimes the inside line is not the fastest if you have to slow down to take it.
3) Throughout the day look for berms, braking bumps, etc.. that develop during all the motos. I race on some soft tracks that develop huge ruts from the dirt bikes. Most quad riders hate these ruts but sometimes you can hook your inside or outside tires in these ruts and it well help you through the corner. If you line up your tires just right, sometimes you can pour on the gas way early and the rut actually holds the quad in the corner like a slot car. This also helps you keep from spinning the rear end around too much and can make the corner way faster than avoiding the ruts.
4) Look at all your options. Most corners have many options and we should test these during practice to find out which is the fastest. By trying different lines during practice it would also help keep the track more open and make the racing more fun. A few options might be: hold inside throughout entire corner, hold outside through corner, swoop from outside to inside at the apex and back to the outside, square it off, or if there is a berm we can take the high line.
5) Speaking of berms - some tracks it seems only the faster riders use the berms. A berm can help in a corner because you don't have to brake as much. I have seen guys pass several riders in one corner by taking the high line in the berm while the rest of the group goes nose-to-tail on the inside of the corner. If one guy on the inside bobbles all have to slow down while the guy up on the berm keeps on trucking.

Well, I have written more than I planned so hopefully I haven't bored too many people. I would be interested in hearing any thoughts on cornering or any other strategy in racing.

 

hey blodg500rx, i think that this is great.i ride/practice/race a mx track at a friends house and in a local sand pit and i am planing on racing this spring. and i think that if u and the other die hard, or very experienced racers would give the insight on there strategies and opinions of all the aspects of racing(cornering, jumping, passing, holeshots, whoops, physical and mental conditioning)i think that there would be alot of feedback and it would become a great post to read and learn for many of us.

i am goin to save what you have written for cornering 101 and really try some of your strategies and ideas next time im riding. i really believe that this can be a great post and im sure im not the only one that it will help.

thanks alot blodg500rx.

 

hey blodg what tracks do u race a is it ama or cra?

 

I really liked one part of blodg's post. Walking the track before practice. I do it before every race and think that its really important. That is where i think up my lines, and i practice those lines in practice. I am guiltly of hugging the inside line. I need to pull away and try new lines.

 

Finally, a post that is actually worth something!!!!!!!

Great Job Blodg500RX

 

I have to agree the cornering is something that most people dont consider when racing. On my track in the back yard we practice cornering and have come up with the term we call railing the corners,using the bearms really works. Next time your at the nationals watch the pros they just hang it out in the corners and come out just flying as if they never let up on the gas.


See you at the nationals #132 tecate (riding green machine) in the B-class come up and say hello well tell some lies and swap some stories.

 

I think this is a great post if you already know the basics of cornering. I for one would like to know the physical basics of cornering. When to brake, when to gas, body position.

I watch some racers lock their back wheel up and slide into the corner and another gas it and spin around the corner.

As a beginner what would be an effective practice routine?

 

bansee97 - This summer I mostly raced MRA tracks. 2 years ago I raced one CRA race at Amherst and 3 years ago I raced one CRA race at Ohio International. This coming season I plan on racing many more CRA tracks, which ones are the best for a quad? I would like to try Malvern and Spring Valley, I have heard they have a good quad turn-out at those tracks.

KyRaptor - I started the thread to invite everyone to think about the mental approach to cornering and "why" we take the lines we do. I think the physical basics of cornering can only be learned by practicing, but I could probably give some suggestions on the basics for the beginers. I will post again when I have more time.

And thanks for the positive comments. I am also guilty of using the same lines which is why the "philosophy of a line" hit home with me. I have always tried to look for passing opportunities in the corners, but never really asked myself "why" I take each corner the way I do.

 

i also think this is a great post. when i went to a race i saw that a lot (most of the riders) would hang on the Inside and the track was packed down realy good and then it started to drizzle right after they had wetted down the track and all of the bikes stayed on the inside and ushaly had to stop to make the corner but a few were taking the berm and moved way up to the front.

 

i race malvern alot and have raced spring valley a few times and i raced at orrville which is wayne county speed way malvern is a fast track with not a lot of jumps it can get really rough at times and spring valley is a good technical track with some good jumps they have a jump that is like 70 ft from what someone said but i dont think it is that far wayne county speed way which is orrville is a tight track with a few jumps but it is a quick track and nice and smooth i havent been to any other of the tracks but i want to this yr some time i heard amheart is a good track and so is pymatuning what do u race ?