Race School Freddie Merkle

[FROSTY:Me]

GUYS N GALS - Hoon and I have been talking and we want to improve our track riding skills,I've spoken to fred Merkel about running a day specificly for race riders.
We;ll be at TAUPO raceway on 18th of november
This is going to be a day focussed on best entry speeds,braking points etc.
We need at least 8 other people committed to doing this course.
This is totally different from the road course being held 5.11.04
The cost per person will be $250 each and includes track hire, Freddies time
ambulance and a darn good lunch.
There is a motel not too far from the track so we could all stay in the bunkhouse. probably only be about $20 each
The guys I imagine would be interested would be The really fast road riders who already do track days and the guys in their first seasons racing or want to improve their racing skills.
If the weather on the day is crap the race school will be cancelled or postponed.
In other words if its dry the race school will go ahead if its wet we will have a track day costing about $50 each.
Keep in mind too guys it does rain on racedays so the guys who can handle the rain will do better than the dry weather specialists
hands up if you are interested.

[That Guy]

Yep I'm interested....although for $250 I would want a dry day to be fair. We're talking Taupo yes?

[FROSTY:Me]

That guy Yep Taupo and -Ive modified the the thread -If its wet weather then I still want to practice anyhoo but freddie wont be there so itll be a track day for those that wanna go. itll be a heap cheaper too.

[babyB]

tis good idear & i would b keen ....but in saying that i need a babysitter.. .lotto would be nice about now :disapint:

note: R1 pacific summer series is on the 7th nov

[White trash]

$250 for someone to tell me I'm a slug is a bit rich for me at the moment.

[Hoon]

OK we only have a couple suitable dates to choose from in Nov. The track is already heavily booked, no weekends or Fridays available and only one Monday.

So the date we have chosen is THURS 18th Nov 04. This fits in well with the Manfeild track day on the Friday 19th Nov so myself and Frosty (and anyone else interested) will continue down to Manfeild the following day for the next stop in our Nth Island track ownage tour and will apply what we have learnt.

Things are moving pretty fast now - I only ran the idea past Frosty yesterday aftn, so once the formalities are finalised I will draw up a flyer and circulate it here, AMCC, PMCC and Vic. We are only looking at 10 ppl total so it will be first in first served. This is completely non-profit - we are out to improve ours and others riding not our wallets so we're not that keen on more numbers at the expense of less quality.

To those of you that don't know who Fred Merkel is, he won 2 x World Superbike titles in 88/89, 3 x AMA Superbike titles and also has a Suzuka 8 hr win. We're pretty lucky to have someone of his calibre in these parts and having the opportunity to learn from him is too good to miss.

See here for a '95 interview with Fred Merkel

[k14]

Damn, would love to come. Going to be up in new plymouth by then aswell but I don't think my new bosses would like me too much if I asked for leave on the 4th day of my new job.

Hope the guys that do it have fun.

[FROSTY:Me]

well guys Im gonna put my money where my mouth is. Track hire will be paid in advance for the 18th of november.
Hoon is busting his gut to get this thing flying for all you race guys.
It really is a first come first served thing.
so either pm me or hoon.

[FROSTY:Me]

it looks like it'll be a really good day. I've talked to a couple of guys who have been to a merckle school and they all agree its fantastic.--One guy reckoned it was worth it just to see freddy handle his road bike

[750Y]

$250 for someone to tell me I'm a slug is a bit rich for me at the moment.

i'll do it for a box of steinies 8-)

[igor]

GUYS N GALS - Hoon and I have been talking and we want to improve our track riding skills,I've spoken to freddie Merckle about running a day specificly for race riders.
The cost per person will be $250 each and includes track hire, Freddies time
ambulance and a darn good lunch.

whose gunna pay $250 bucks to be told by someone called Freddie Merckle that no one has ever heard of.

Might be different if u are spelling challenged and mean Fred MERKEL the man.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/merkel95.htm

ya could also ask dick scot (Richard Scott) if he wants to come over for a yahoo. He may have to squezze into his leathers but hes always up for a yahoo

[Kwaka-Kid]

have to be honest its not up my street hey, i personally think i have more to benefit from talking to Jason Hulme and other F3 racers with my sort of bike and what they do at certain tracks.

would be nice if i had $250 however.. but no, i dont.

[Motoracer]

Alright, seeing as I do need the guidence, I'll see if I can suss out the $$ for it...

[Cajun]

have to be honest its not up my street hey, i personally think i have more to benefit from talking to Jason Hulme and other F3 racers with my sort of bike and what they do at certain tracks.

would be nice if i had $250 however.. but no, i dont.

I must say we learnt a fuck load from Flying Freddie when we did it, he told us in his whole racing life he has NEVER used the rear brake, he use to tell them to take the rear brake pedal of his bike.

If it was alittle bit resonable price i would be keen but $250 is a little sharp for me since i only paid $30 last time

[Kwaka-Kid]

yeah... im certainly not saying theres nothing to learn, but info like you just said (which again i know is just a TINY bit of it) can be gotten from anybody, i never ever touch the rear brake in racing in the dry, however in the wet i cant brake on the front hard enough to lift the rear wheel or take all the weight off it, so it can be used as an anchor some, which is what its about, maximum braking.

There are so many good riders out there and he may have been a legend but does he have a degree in teaching any of it? Some people just have it.

Look at it this way, TS (sorry dude to put you on the spot hoensty) on his 150, ran a 1:20, thats the lowest Nicko got, and nikco is out there whippin some ass in F2... has TS had any training like that? nope, just a number of track days. If i came back from freddie merkels day and didnt scrub 1 second off my time i would kick myself for spending the money.

you could of course argue it mihgt help prevent me from falling off, hmmm, who knows, a whole nother idea.

Well to be honest im now expecting with yah $250 hoon youd better whoop my smartarse next time at pukekohe :P Id be better off buying a new front tyre with that money, maybe something special even like a Super Corsa. Hahaha but no, i cant, because i need to squeeze more out of her and just dont got the dosh.