What do YOU want out of your racing?

[gpercivl]

Top 15 in this year's 600 National's would be nice (just to get back on topic).

And, watch Logan kick some butts on the 450

[FROSTY:Me]

I hear what you're saying kickaha. I'd rather moolah than "stuff'.
My point though was to be a bit more open minded in how you aproach sponsors -Stuff may be all they are prepared to give

[Fluffy Cat]

I race to develop my NSR and RS 250s.Have learnt heaps about suspension,jetting,data logging etc.
A very good development tool and the NSR will be back. Doing some off track development on that at the mo!.

[Hoon]

I race to improve myself....conquer my fears and acheive my goals. This season I'd like to crack into the 1.09s (ideally 1.08s) and crash less. As long as I show steady improvement I'm satisfied but the day I stop progressing will mean time to move on.

[Fluffy Cat]

"Conquer your fears"what!!.You need to develop your fears.You are crashing because of lack of fear!.Here is your training prog.......
1-Create fear
2-Develop fear
3-Fear!!!!
See that was not to bad,i think you are doing good now yar gut gut.Come back for zee next session tomorrow......

[Shaun]

I have a fair amount of experience working in managing projects, ok, in a different field, but one of my key skills is the capability to understand whats required to succeed in something and even more, understand how to get it out of people to do that.

Being successful in motorcycle racing in any country especially NZ does NOT require money - thats an excuse that pessimists use to raise the bar so that they can make people fail - a cultural thing that is quite common here.

Every person has the same opportunities and talent as every other person, its all a level playing ground - most people (and I can pretty safely say most everyone on this forum) has probably never been pushed beyond their limits so will not be aware of their real capabilities there desires will always remain dreams because they dont push themselves to make them real. In that regards, people put up barriers to say why they will fail or even, they wont succeed as well as they desire too. I see this day in and day out, I even see it on riders on race tracks.

Any person in this country could potentially be made to run at the top of any event in any sport in the world, there is no excuse why not. Any person in motocycling in NZ (within reason) could be made to run in the top 10 of any aussie series. It requires two things - desire and someone to show them how.

Teamwork is about enablement and support, there are no leaders in a team, just a shared goal that is common to its members. When people work in a balanced team (from a psychology point of view), there is nothing that the team cannot achieve. Its unbalanced teams that fail. Once you put a leader in a team, that team will fail. Good team managers do not give instructional commands, only strategic commands. If you want to become a world champion then you must have the desire to make those strategic commands stretch goals (bhags - big hairy audacious goal as the technical name is), you must have the team in place that can learn how to break those bhags into mini-goals and the desire to see them implimented.

For an individual to succeed, they need to learn to listen to their team and allow the team to make mistakes and likewise they themselves must make mistakes. Only thru getting things wrong, will you really know how to get things right. I very seldom see this in the motorcycle scene in NZ. I see ego's, I see chest beating, I see people trying to go it alone, I see people riding in circles making the same mistake as the person next to them. Sure people talk to each other, laugh and joke, but those people have forgotten how to really listen, observe and understand and to push hard.

I watch the top riders and I read their comments in the mags, and its all about limitations and how machinary didnt work and how they could have done better only if - I dont read about how they are working in a team and how they are achieving their goals and overcoming their propblems. Why dont they compete overseas - because the dont want to. If they did, they'd already be there.

Teams also need to learn to make mistakes and how to listen collectively. In management we use a mentoring system, where successful people industry coach other people to also be successful, it happens in other sports - netball even, old players come back and coach the teams. Does this happen in road bike racing - no it doesnt. Has anyone actually asked successful road racers to come here and mentor the industry (not just individuals the whole industry). How do you know whats required to succeed if you never ask?

If you want to increase the number of people in the sport you have to make it a family affair, because the family is the TEAM that gives the core support and allows individuals to live their dreams. Thats why rossi is world champion, because his family was involved all thru his life in mini-moto up to motogp. You'll probably find that of any champion - if its not their family, then their team and peers will have taken its place.

I very seldom see families at road racing events getting the 5 yearold out on a minimoto while dad or mum is out on the big bike - I see it at dirt bike events which funnily enough, has world champions. There is no point in saying things about what classes you need and all that rubbish, when the most basic thing required is quite simply to make a family day out - the rest will grow from that.

This is the best opinion I have ever read about racing. The problem with racing in NZ is not the clubs and MNZ! it is the riders ( Some) A bunch of soft -ocks that will not stand up together but will all sit around after and fix the world.

I race because I love it with a passion
To do big darkies on the throttle
To learn more about set up and to push myself to another level
And to see if I can get through a season without upsetting someone with the TRUTH



Nah, never happen

[Ivan]

Same here I race because I love the feeling of speed and my knee on the ground and getting help from guys like Shaun

[Sensei]

I race ?? Oh thats right I only " Road Race " . Power to all you Guy's & Girls that Track race not my thing . I'd have to agree with Jimmy apart from the few lucky one's that have gotten oversea's . The other's will just have to fight it out among themselves time & time again .

[Kwaka-Kid]

Well it started when i saw it on TV, and there were loads of hot chicks around the racers with umbrellas and all, and already failing at every other way to score hot chicks in life i figured i could give it a go. After all, it looked easy you just kinda fall the bike down onto one side and wave a lanky knee at the ground gentally proding it. Turns out im just as bad at the sport as i was scoring those chicks, but i kinda got hooked along the way.

I Love it! Cant go without it. Love the industry and every last bit of racing/the crap that comes with it! In a way id like to say i dont care if i win or loose i just wanna be a part of it, and make sure im mixing in the middle of it all. But i would be lieing, hahha!

I wanna win! Something, anything just gimmie something! I have always been competetive and aswell as the adreneline buzz i get my silent kicks outta beating people. The Bonus to it all is to prove one side of my family wrong - and win something! someday.

oh, and that hope of hot chicks never dies of course - dont try and tell me you guys dont at least partially do it for that either!