Opinions - Going fast to slow down time
When I take the perfect corner, those white strips of paint, mixed with a dash of red in between reflect off the visor of the helmet, I blush inside my helmet. It is that feeling one would get when one holds their crush's hand for the first time. And when the throttle is pulled to its limit, gently at first, to be violently pulled as the apex goes away and another imaginary line becomes visible - It is a fine dance; With speed, precision and lady luck.
A lot of people have asked me (and to many other racers and racing enthusiasts in general) how fast we go on the racetrack. I think they believe that going around the race track is an experience of going fast. It is indeed about going fast around the racetrack. As racers, we all talk about a tenth here, or a tenth elsewhere, time periods which are inconsequential to most normal people. But for us, it is the difference between a pole lap, or, as it is now in the modern Moto GP era, languishing at the bottom of the time sheets.
But is it really an experience in going fast? Well, in some ways it is. To the outside world and the audience, it definitely is. But to the rider, the brain behind the visor of the helmet, it can be the other way around. It is a sensation of slowing down time to do our will. One can imagine going around a corner at over 150KMPH as being scarily fast. Leaned over, knees to asphalt, head tucked out and body aft off the bike, it indeed can be scary and fast. But get them right, and it is a very different experience. You can count the white and red boxes that mark the end of the track and the beginning of the kerbs. Time comes to a near standstill and everything goes into slow motion.
It is a fine dance; a dance with speed, precision and lady luck.
On the straights, where speeds go in excess of 180kmph in places, I consciously remember licking the sweat off my lips and tasting the salty flavour, before it is time to steer myself into position for the next turn, the next apex. A lot of things that I would not usually see become visible when I am hurtling myself on a motorcycle at these speeds - that slight line across the tarmac, or that dark patch of tarmac, that particular anomaly on the runoff, all these being indications as to where to start turning into the corner, become visible.
How can you notice these things if you are actually going fast?
Time slows down. It is like break dance in slow motion. In our minds are things that happen which normal people do not understand. We process information faster, and see much more things than would be visible. We have to. Our lives depend on it.
I guess you could say that we go fast to slow down time.
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Awesome post batz, couldn’t agree more with you :) it’s amazing and the level of focus is what slows everything down I think.
The last track day I did was at donnington Park in England, and I had a pretty big crash at the 1st corner, Redgate. This is about a 100-110kph corner and I remember every second of the crash, from the extra squeeze on the throttle at too much lean, the bike sliding out from underneath me... sliding into the gravel and feeling like I wasn’t going to stop sliding... I remember it feeling like falling off of skis if your doing down a really steep run and just can’t stop yourself from sliding. Then sitting back up and seeing the bike topple and smash over one last time. In reality this was probably about 3-4 seconds! But I remember it as a big chunk. It’s crazy isn’t it :)
Yeah, I think that we have such a high level of focus that everything becomes visible within our sphere of vision!...
Once you learn to understand crashes, you tend to not blank out when you crash. This used to happen to me a lot before, but now I know exactly where and why I crashed. And yeah, from the feeling of the front wiping away from under you, to the leg going off the peg, to the sliding on the tarmac, it is all very much in slow motion!
I hope you walked away from that crash unhurt! Which bike were you riding? Must have been a pity to see the bike wreck itself like that!
Yep exactly, time really does slow down. Which is a good think because as you said, you can then look at every aspect of why and how you crashed, and know exactly (most of the time) what mistake was made and how to not let it happen again.
Yep I was pretty much completely fine! Stood up right away... felt a bit sore the next day, and was a bit bruised. But I had good gear on and a back protector so it all helped :) it was a cbr600rr... :/ that’s what hurt the most!
Better sore than injured! CBR600RR? Ouch, must have been hard to see the bike wreck itself. How much did you end up putting down to fix it again?
Luckily for me, it was at a race school I had paid for, so part of my insurance I paid for covered bike damage... still, it hurt seeing a cbr600rr flipping over like that...
Good that your insurance covered for it, else would have been a hole in the pocket to fix it!
You focus because a mistake can cost your life, and that's thrilling and addicting. And as irrational as that's is, the adrenaline is addicting and you keep on coming for more.
Adrenaline is indeed addicting. It is a high, a fine, mad, high! I guess, at a primal level, that is why we all ride bikes. For the love of the high!
Supongo que es algo que hay que experimentar para saber lo que se siente... saludos..
Indeed, you need to try to understand! Cheers!
much adrenaline friend, for your great description the feeling must be really incredible.
Incredible feeling for sure. Not the ones that go away easily!
ive never done track but it sounds both thrillng and terrifying to me ;p
love the description - such a nice read. makes me miss my bike and cant wait to get her back for some summer riding!
It is terrifying until it becomes thrilling ;)
Still in the UK? Did you do the ride you mentioned you wanted to?