Hey guys I have a rather unexpected trip to NY this weekend and lucky me there is a NJMP thunderbolt trackday tuesday. Never ridden with them, or heard of them either so I was looking for pros and cons. I came upon the idea late so i will email them a couple of questions later but do you guys know if they offer tire sales and tire mounting? Anyway any and all info would be nice, I read at the front end of "I" with nesba and rode in blue with TPM when i used to do their days. So what group would be best with Tonys? Thanks Dave
I rode with them last year at NJMP. They had tire service, Pirelli I think. They gladly mounted my Dunlop for me. Very friendly group. They seem to be more oriented to the street rider who does the occasional trackday. You should probably sign up for their advanced group. Even advanced had restricted passing rules.
I'd recommend Advanced. Overall, one of the least aggressive clubs I've run with. Very nice group of folks, a lot less squids than most.
I'd also recommend advanced... I found Tony's to be a little bit slower than other orgs but that's not a bad thing. They run a very smooth, safe day.
Ran with them last year at NJMSP, very few on track incidents and as others have stated very laid back. One rule that completely sucks that they need to eliminate is the "look back", they expect you to check behind you for faster riders at certain points and let them by. Never had to deal with that on the race track and was not a fan of it at all, if they did away with it and the organization had dates that fit my schedule I would ride with them again.
I have ridden with Tony's. The mind set is very different. The look back is not mandatory, it is an option to the rider. Very few incidents and very safe. I enjoy riding with them. Just know your limits and leave the ego at home. Racers look behind themselves and given the correct margin of safety looking back is not a problem. I run the advanced group with Tony's and yes, I have been held up a bit at times. I prefer that to the constant crashing I have witnessed with other organizations. At one track day I did with them Celtic Racing (I think) guys were in attendance and they had no problem with the rules, or the pace. They just passed me (and others) safely and at will!
Yea, I think that look back is an old rule. When I rode with them there was no mention of it. I also heard about that rule form someone else and they said it was a bit annoying. I think they did away with it.
When a smaller Horsepower bike is behind a large horsepower bike that is slower in the corners, the smaller bike can have a great deal of trouble getting by safely - and can become frustrated. We don't allow inside passing, so the smaller bike is basically "stuck" - unless the larger HP bike does a look back and lets the smaller bike go by. It takes 2 seconds for the larger HP bike to do this, and once it's done, everyone spreads out again. Plus...maybe the larger HP bike can get a tow through the corners and possibly learn something from the smaller bike. Without letting the smaller bike by, you can start to get a "train" behind the larger bike... with each added bike it gets tougher and tougher to make a safe pass. Again, we are all about courtesy at our trackdays. We're not saying you need to ride around the track looking back, but a couple of times per session is simple to do and keeps everyone spread out. And what we say about it is, "if you can safely do a look back without altering your line, go ahead and do it. If you are uncomfortable doing it, just take it easy down one or two straights per session and give the smaller bikes a chance to pass you safely" And yes, the smaller bike can always do a pit-in and drive through... but if a look back takes two seconds to do and can be done safely... why not do it? Tony www.TonysTrackDays.com
i just did the 2 days at t-bolt with tonystrackdays. i have never done an event with this org and had heard all the rumblings about it being to strict and to many rules and slower etc etc. i can now tell you 1st hand that its all a bunch of crap. they ran a very well organized event, there was a ton of instruction available, i was able to make a ton of passes all day long, and it wasn't overcrowded at all. i plan on doing a bunch more events with these guys cause you get a lot of bang for your buck. thanks Tony!
Thanks, man. :up: It seems that the people that complain the most about our days are the ones that have never ridden with us.
