coldduc
11-23-2001, 08:46 AM
The First Time Can Only Happen Once
North Florida Motorsports Park
Oct 6&7 2001
How many motorcyclists ever get a chance to ride a brand new racetrack? I mean so new the track manager & owner had only done 3 laps the day before you got there!
I had just that opportunity this past weekend, at the new facility in Jennings Florida (North Florida Motorsports Park) with Club PCS Sportbike Riders Club.
I have to tell you that three weeks earlier it sure didn't look like a racetrack, and even 5 days earlier I could just begin to identify the track from the 'dozer berms.
But Julian Poczatek, the track manager, managed to pull the place together enough to afford our Club the first outing on an awesome circuit.
As George and I unloaded the trailer Friday evening to set up, I realized we were really going to have a challenge before us;
The asphalt completed, the hot pit and refueling lane finished in time.
The run off and grounds looked more like the surface of the moon than the lush grounds of the more established courses we run throughout the year. No curbing & no brake markers.......
I've gone to tracks that were new to me, plenty of times. But everybody was learning this place this weekend!
So without the comfort of previous experience we set out Saturday morning to instill a healthy dose of caution/fear at the riders meeting to the 20 or so participants assembled there. " You may find some sand on the track if the wind kicks up"
" Remember this track is very green, and there is absolutley NO rubber down yet"
"There are no trophies or money to be won here" Wondering to myself if any of these pearls of wisdom will last longer than turn 3 once they hit the track? Is anybody really listening?
With everyone fully cleared through tech, and registration, and the blah,blah,blah, blah, riders meeting over, we sent the first group of more experienced riders(racer&hotshoe) off to their fate.
With Borg and Julian smiling on, I watched these brave men test the wilds of North Florida Motorsports Park, awaiting the verdict.
Twenty minutes later, John Orr's Aprilia RS250 was a welcome sight at the sessions end and I knew that he wouldn't take a swing at me if the track was scary or dangerous....... Well, John? " This place is awesome" Saved! Looking for another opinion I found Shawn Morgan, (this was a more daring choice since I'd known him a total of about 90 minutes). What do think Shawn?...... "This place will be great once we get a line down..." I can breathe now.
The morning sessions go smoothly and without incident, so we break for lunch at noon. Julian's arranged for a local concessionare to provide lunch. So, out of the back of his pickup come the coolers, dogs, & burgers, and lunch is done.
I suit up to get my first ride on this piece of real estate, and the street & sportriders group is forming at the grid, awaiting the "green flag" from Jean Marc at pit control. Cornerworkers & ambulance in place, they ease out onto the track. I miss the chance to go out with our "Control Riders" who already have as much experience here as anyone else on the planet, while I'm still warming up the FZR400 that's my mount for the weekend. So I resort to my tried and true method of trying to learn a new track. I say trying to learn, because I'm not sure you can ever fully "learn a track". Changing pavement conditions, weather, time, and bikes ridden, make even circuits like Roebling Road, where I have the most experience, a new lesson each time I ride there.
Off I go for my first session, cold tires, sweaty palms and carrying more baggage than a Momma's Boy on the first day of school. Off the hot pit into turn one, nice steady radius, clean track up into 3rd gear. Through the left hand kink and watching the rubber trail for guidance into turn three. After three comes the "chicane" a quick left/right into a deceptive left hander and then onto the technical part of the course.
Now riding a whole session in 4th gear while you learn where a new track lays, is at once a lesson in patience & humility. Patience because a FZR400 doesn't move you to adrenaline rush at anything under about 10,000 rpm! And humility because every rider that has ridden the previous session is passing you like you're still riding your first Big Wheel. But as trying as the process may be, it works for me. Riding the course in only 4th allows me the time to commit to memory each directional change and off camber or decreasing radius turn. Upshifts and downshift points are mute if you can't remember where you're going to run out of track or apexes. As the tires come to temperature I pick up the pace a bit and now I'm using 4th & 5th!
I spent the rest of Saturday just easing into "my groove" and listening to the heckler tell me that he can tell where I "lift off the throttle" everwhere on the track, cause the little Fizzer is SO loud. I really do like Leon, MOST of the time.......
As I get more experience in track days, I find that the "dinner with the group" on Saturday night is almost as much fun as the tracktime. Pointing out your close friends weakness' or blunders or questioning their riding abilities over linguini, or a steak, or even a good pizza, rates right up there with the best of life's experiences. So I don't miss a chance. Hence the "pillow" in the frontal area of my leathers.
Sunday morning brings some new riders from Daytona & Jacksonville and a chance to use more gears. A brief riders meeting, Jean Marc's in motion and we're ready to ride again.
I always put the racers group at the top of the rotation, like Custer sending out scouts for Indians. If they don't come back, you know not to send out the rest of the troops! When there are any problems, these guys are best equipped to deal with it, and of course they're the least likely riders to actually wait their turn!
Now that the scouts have proven the track rideable again we quickly run through the morning rotation, and I'm where I like to be, riding a bike, any bike on a great race course.
Man what an awesome place! I'm out trying brake points now and gradually working up to speed. Then Darla comes briskly by me and all maturity and sense of reason goes out the window. In this case age & tretchery don't overcome youth & talent, but she's quick, safe and smooth. Swallowing what little pride I have left I set about keeping her close enough to pick up the brake, shift points and the sweet line. Now I'm really having fun. By the lunch break I'm working out the kinks, and really feeling confident enough to push a little.
As I roll out for my first session after lunch, I spot what looks like a familiar GSXR1000 up ahead of me. I wick it up a bit to get a closer look, at Greg Benefield using up corner after corner in a very fluid manner. I spend this whole session chasing Greg, anonymously. And shaving seconds from my lap times. Oh baby, this is getting good now.
By the end of the day Sunday, I'm exhausted, and exhilerated at the same time. I've gone from not having any idea what to expect from an unknown monster to respectable lap times and the confidence that the next time I'm at NFMP, I can get down to business quickly. Now I've got pack up the truck & trailer for the drive home, sigh...........
Tony R Foster
President
Club PCS SportBike Riders Club
Oct 8 2001
North Florida Motorsports Park
Oct 6&7 2001
How many motorcyclists ever get a chance to ride a brand new racetrack? I mean so new the track manager & owner had only done 3 laps the day before you got there!
I had just that opportunity this past weekend, at the new facility in Jennings Florida (North Florida Motorsports Park) with Club PCS Sportbike Riders Club.
I have to tell you that three weeks earlier it sure didn't look like a racetrack, and even 5 days earlier I could just begin to identify the track from the 'dozer berms.
But Julian Poczatek, the track manager, managed to pull the place together enough to afford our Club the first outing on an awesome circuit.
As George and I unloaded the trailer Friday evening to set up, I realized we were really going to have a challenge before us;
The asphalt completed, the hot pit and refueling lane finished in time.
The run off and grounds looked more like the surface of the moon than the lush grounds of the more established courses we run throughout the year. No curbing & no brake markers.......
I've gone to tracks that were new to me, plenty of times. But everybody was learning this place this weekend!
So without the comfort of previous experience we set out Saturday morning to instill a healthy dose of caution/fear at the riders meeting to the 20 or so participants assembled there. " You may find some sand on the track if the wind kicks up"
" Remember this track is very green, and there is absolutley NO rubber down yet"
"There are no trophies or money to be won here" Wondering to myself if any of these pearls of wisdom will last longer than turn 3 once they hit the track? Is anybody really listening?
With everyone fully cleared through tech, and registration, and the blah,blah,blah, blah, riders meeting over, we sent the first group of more experienced riders(racer&hotshoe) off to their fate.
With Borg and Julian smiling on, I watched these brave men test the wilds of North Florida Motorsports Park, awaiting the verdict.
Twenty minutes later, John Orr's Aprilia RS250 was a welcome sight at the sessions end and I knew that he wouldn't take a swing at me if the track was scary or dangerous....... Well, John? " This place is awesome" Saved! Looking for another opinion I found Shawn Morgan, (this was a more daring choice since I'd known him a total of about 90 minutes). What do think Shawn?...... "This place will be great once we get a line down..." I can breathe now.
The morning sessions go smoothly and without incident, so we break for lunch at noon. Julian's arranged for a local concessionare to provide lunch. So, out of the back of his pickup come the coolers, dogs, & burgers, and lunch is done.
I suit up to get my first ride on this piece of real estate, and the street & sportriders group is forming at the grid, awaiting the "green flag" from Jean Marc at pit control. Cornerworkers & ambulance in place, they ease out onto the track. I miss the chance to go out with our "Control Riders" who already have as much experience here as anyone else on the planet, while I'm still warming up the FZR400 that's my mount for the weekend. So I resort to my tried and true method of trying to learn a new track. I say trying to learn, because I'm not sure you can ever fully "learn a track". Changing pavement conditions, weather, time, and bikes ridden, make even circuits like Roebling Road, where I have the most experience, a new lesson each time I ride there.
Off I go for my first session, cold tires, sweaty palms and carrying more baggage than a Momma's Boy on the first day of school. Off the hot pit into turn one, nice steady radius, clean track up into 3rd gear. Through the left hand kink and watching the rubber trail for guidance into turn three. After three comes the "chicane" a quick left/right into a deceptive left hander and then onto the technical part of the course.
Now riding a whole session in 4th gear while you learn where a new track lays, is at once a lesson in patience & humility. Patience because a FZR400 doesn't move you to adrenaline rush at anything under about 10,000 rpm! And humility because every rider that has ridden the previous session is passing you like you're still riding your first Big Wheel. But as trying as the process may be, it works for me. Riding the course in only 4th allows me the time to commit to memory each directional change and off camber or decreasing radius turn. Upshifts and downshift points are mute if you can't remember where you're going to run out of track or apexes. As the tires come to temperature I pick up the pace a bit and now I'm using 4th & 5th!
I spent the rest of Saturday just easing into "my groove" and listening to the heckler tell me that he can tell where I "lift off the throttle" everwhere on the track, cause the little Fizzer is SO loud. I really do like Leon, MOST of the time.......
As I get more experience in track days, I find that the "dinner with the group" on Saturday night is almost as much fun as the tracktime. Pointing out your close friends weakness' or blunders or questioning their riding abilities over linguini, or a steak, or even a good pizza, rates right up there with the best of life's experiences. So I don't miss a chance. Hence the "pillow" in the frontal area of my leathers.
Sunday morning brings some new riders from Daytona & Jacksonville and a chance to use more gears. A brief riders meeting, Jean Marc's in motion and we're ready to ride again.
I always put the racers group at the top of the rotation, like Custer sending out scouts for Indians. If they don't come back, you know not to send out the rest of the troops! When there are any problems, these guys are best equipped to deal with it, and of course they're the least likely riders to actually wait their turn!
Now that the scouts have proven the track rideable again we quickly run through the morning rotation, and I'm where I like to be, riding a bike, any bike on a great race course.
Man what an awesome place! I'm out trying brake points now and gradually working up to speed. Then Darla comes briskly by me and all maturity and sense of reason goes out the window. In this case age & tretchery don't overcome youth & talent, but she's quick, safe and smooth. Swallowing what little pride I have left I set about keeping her close enough to pick up the brake, shift points and the sweet line. Now I'm really having fun. By the lunch break I'm working out the kinks, and really feeling confident enough to push a little.
As I roll out for my first session after lunch, I spot what looks like a familiar GSXR1000 up ahead of me. I wick it up a bit to get a closer look, at Greg Benefield using up corner after corner in a very fluid manner. I spend this whole session chasing Greg, anonymously. And shaving seconds from my lap times. Oh baby, this is getting good now.
By the end of the day Sunday, I'm exhausted, and exhilerated at the same time. I've gone from not having any idea what to expect from an unknown monster to respectable lap times and the confidence that the next time I'm at NFMP, I can get down to business quickly. Now I've got pack up the truck & trailer for the drive home, sigh...........
Tony R Foster
President
Club PCS SportBike Riders Club
Oct 8 2001