Almost soiled my shorts at Road Atlanta

This was my first visit to R.A. WoW, what a fun track!

In my first National Race yesterday, went over the hill before 12 a little crossed up.

When the front came down, my bars wagged for a second, no problem.

But 30 yards later, when I pulled the brake leaver for the 90 deg turn onto the straight.... AAAAAHHH NO BREAKS!!!

Thank god for the runoff area!

I pumped them and they started working again. After testing them a few times, got back on the gas and re-joined.

Still got 11th place.

Luckily I had read about tank slappers pushing brake pistons in, realized that is what happened, and didn't give up. Hopefully, next time, I'll be more comfortable to push it once the brakes come back.

 

Glad you're OK. The 'new' 12 is way safer than before and the safe runoff allows for some great last lap heroics from the common folk.
And don't feel too bad; not much time to pump brakes going down the hill to 12.
And yes, Rd A is way cool. Been racing there since '88! T1 and the esses up to T5 will always be some of my favorite track spots anywhere.

 

Just an FYI - the same thing can happen going into T6. Depending on your HP, you can easily wheelie coming over the hill after T5 on the gas and then can end up with some good headshake. Then you come into T6 with no brakes. That scenario is what ended Tray Batey's career.

 

Ditto. It was first time there also. AWESOME track. Great event by WERA

 

do i get to be the first one to say 'it used to better'


RA is awesome, current config./old config. i love that place.

 

I still would like to start a "move the dirt fund" to restore turn 3 to its former configuration. It would not be that hard to get a bulldozer and a back hoe to get the berm moved 30 ft back for safety....

 

Turn 3...... NOT Turn 12.....

 

oh you edited your post..... yea.....

 

Show up in a car and you will use the old config.

 

idk about other track orgs but with Nesba we didn't run the chicane which kind of sucked..I did a track day there in April hoping to work on that for this weekend, nope. totally different coming out of 1 up the hill. It was fun and safe? I guess, at least that's what they insisted...but didn't help with any improvement on handling that section for races

 

It's not dirt righ there. It's granite. Would take more than a backhoe.

 

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i've already had one little James with my ex and that's still causing problems to this day. i do appreciate the offer tho.



but seriously tho, huh?

 

I like the chicane, probably the most challenging section, at least for me. Blind and really slow...at the nesba track day dudes were tucking the front and all kinds of crazy shit in there without it

 

The "old config" was pre-Panoz and there was no chicane in the middle of the back straight on the run up to the bridge (among other things)...

 

anytime you have headshake like that, from the front coming up or maybe you ran off track and came back on.. put a finger to the lever to test that you have brakes. Just a light pull, and you are better off giving up a 1/10th doing this than going into the next corner without brakes. I'm not talking about doing a stoppie or jamming them, just a light pull with a finger to see if the lever comes back or it takes a couple pulls to feel pressure. Anyone RIGHT behind would have seen your "oh-shit" moment and likely isn't right in your wheel tracks. do this EVERY TIME it happens.

It's interesting that forums are full of threads on "how do i get my bike faster" or "how to get around this track better".. but you see few threads on "how to save my friggin ass when things go wrong".