AMA Test NJMP 7/22/2009

The other race org doesn't race at Shenandoah anymore. I think that had to do with with the low attendance numbers on a track that racers felt wasn't very safe.

 

I was having a bit of fun with you. But since it is incumbent on me to "show my work" - nice deflection, btw - I've gathered some lap times that show just how far off an Intermediate track day rider is from the AMA.

At VIR this year, Shane Narbonne won just about everything he entered and ran several laps in the 1:28.x range.
Top-5 experts ran 1:34s or faster.

The average Intermediate track day pace is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:45 if not closer to 1:50 around VIR North.
I base this on some research of the NESBA and DC Sportbikes.net boards and a good friend of mine who is a coach for STT.

Last August, Miguel Duhamel finished 5th with a best lap of 1:26.7 on his CBR1000.
Ben Spies sat on pole with a 1:23.4

So to recap, an Intermediate track dayer is at least 20 seconds a lap slower than the pointy end of the AMA Pro field.
20 seconds per lap
That put the leaders ripping your buddy a new one on lap 6 of a 28 lap race and puts him at least 4 laps down by the end of the race.

Now what that time differential translates to in mid-corner speed, I don't know. But 20+ seconds a lap is huge.

 

I know your talking about racers.. but IMHO NJMP will be one of the largest spectator events for the series. (excluding motogp rounds)

 

NJMP Rules

A couple things that we were told:

For the race weekend long pants will be required on pit lane for the AMA race weekend.

Bikes will need to be refueled off of hot pit as in taken behind the fence.

Not sure if these rules will be waived (this was hinted at) as they come from the NJSP. Same laws apply to a race track as does the laws concerning the fact that you can't pump your own fuel at gas stations.

This was told to us by several of the security guards/track employees stationed at the pit entrance.

Do these rules apply to track day events and are they enforced?

Todd

 

Wanna bet?

 

I was at a track day there, didn't see any restrictions on doing your own fueling from dump cans if that's what you mean.

 

Wonder how they'll do the pit stops for Moto-GT?

 

They were fueling bikes on the hot pit yesterday.

 

:up:

 

Dude get off the board and get back to WORK

 

:up:

 

no, not really, but I would be curious to see trap data from the corners comparing ama pace to wera pace to nesba pace. There is a differential, but I just can't believe it is as big as 40-50 mph.

As the thoughtful analysis above shows, the overall difference in laptimes clearly shows a speed difference, but how much of that is made up in the fast straights, where the Yosh superbikes have motor on almost everyone? We don't know that yet. As someone else said, the speed differences are probably the biggest in the fast straights and the fast corners. I wouldn't call Turn 1 at NJMP Thuderbolt a fast corner, but it is certainly not slow, either.

The point is, it looks like the track passed the audition, and there will be a race there this year. Hey, maybe the track management will fix a few things. I will be there. I hope I am not watching the last AMA race ever....

 

Just do a NESBA day when some AMA guys are present - you'll become a believer pretty quick.

Nothing quite like watching Opie Caylor get his elbow down through 14 at Barber while passing you at mach alot

 

Work was yesterday ... Jamie and Rog were going good at the test.:up:

 

Watch Yates go through there. It'll change the way you view that corner.

I learned my lesson in the speed differential between fast club guys and top level fast guys at VIR in '07. I was coming down the hill into the hog pen. There's a left kink just before you drop into the right leading into the hog pen itself. I had my knee on the gator strip on the inside of that left kink feeling pretty good about myself when, out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of blue and yellow on my left. It was Robbie the Robot passing me in the grass. More accurately, in the air over the grass. All I could do was smile and shake my head in disbelief. He was going at least 20 mph faster than I was on a section of track where I would have never believed it was possible to do so. Passing me in a way that I still have trouble understanding. It was fucking awesome.

 

Airfence is not really a fix but more of a bandaid. I've ridden the track and it is fun but there is definately room for improvement that should of been handled during the design.

 

That's funny, you can't be serious, are you?

 

Always a fun moment!

 

Yea so i heard talked to Jamie today...... said u guys had got a lot of stuff figured out went faster then the best "claimed time of Davies" :up:

said he liked the track very flowing like Barber:up:

 

Jamie was railing out there yesterday and they were just about the last guys off the track, working hard. Wouldn't surprise me if he beat Chaz's time.