Reprinted with permission of                                                      February 1993

I, unfortunately, wasn’t so smart. I kept a separate notebook for each class, each year, so that by the time I graduated I must have personally been responsible for clearing a small forest.

I’m the same way with racing. If I don’t write down whatever changes I make to my bike, I promptly forgot, so the next time out I have to start from scratch.

This past season, I recorded my roadracing exploits in a notebook made by Honda for its CR motocrossers. Some of the categories didn’t make sense for roadracers, so I left them blank or filled them in with information for which there was no space provided. But it was the best system I had so far discovered.

Now, there’s a better way. Steve Aspland, assistant referee of the Loudon Roadracing Series (LRRS) has released The Race Book, a motorcycle roadrace record journal that gives you a place to keep those important racing notes.

The 8 ½ x 5 ½ inch, spiral bound note book divides each race weekend into four pages, under the headings Practice Laps, Bike Information, Race Summary and Notes. Space is provided for practice and race results, weather conditions, jetting, gearing, cold and hot tire pressures, suspension settings, expenses, etc.

Clear plastic front and back covers protect the book from greasy hands and weather. The first page has a place for your name, address, phone number and race number, and a six-page phone book in the back gives you a place to jot down important phone numbers. There is only enough room for two practice sessions and two races per race date, so if you enter multiple classes you may need to use additional race dates to record a single race weekend. Still, the book’s 4 dates should be more than enough for all but the most die-hard racers. In fact depending on how often you race, the book could last multiple seasons.

About the only thing we can think of that the publishers forgot is a place for series points. But, you can improvise by listing points under the Notes heading or in the blank lap spaces; space is provided for 30 laps, and few races are that long.

At $14.95 (Connecticut residents add 6 per cent sales tax). The Race Book could yield the greatest return on your dollar you’ll ever see. It’s an excellent investment in your roadracing career.