Monticello safety

Has Monticello begun or completed any permanent safety improvements for motorcycles? (like more run off, lowering the armco etc) I'm just wondering if they were serious last year when they said (so I heard) that they would. (not including hay bales, air fence etc)

I'm not intereested in anybody's opinion as to the safety of the track. That's been covered ad nauseam. Thank you.

 

One would hope so. With STT scheduled for ten events, and TPM probably in for just as many, Monticello should be making (have made) better track accomidations with concerns for biker safety. We will see. I would like to get there for a day or two.

 

If there is going to be 20+ motorcycle events at the track and they do nothing . . .

 

...I will not be surprised.

 

They'll do nothing because there are 20+ motorcycle events at their track ...

 

I rode the track 3 times - North, South, and Full. No issues here. Want to know how to remain safe? Remain focused on the track and keep your ass on it! I think that those of you who worry about track safety should be more worried about other riders. I know I am after some of the stuff I saw this past year. Ride within your means and stay on the track, it's not a race.

 

I heard squids say the exact same thing after they bombed the canyons.

 

So, you`ve never crashed and will never crash? You are in a very special group. :crackhead:

 

You could say the same about Watkins Glenn, Lime Rock or the Macau GP.

Wait a minute, that last one is a race, so scratch that one.

 

+1
Although I dont know if they are making safety changes, this makes sense.

That is why they call them accidents and not purposes.


I have ridden North. It was a fun track and a good time. I dont think I will ride there again unless I have gone without for awhile and I am needing a track fix bad.

 

Why's that? I actually prefer North over South but I will ride them both. The South course is tighter but also shorter. The worst part, safety wise, of the South course is the last turn before the front (downhill) straight. It's a long, sweeping right with a blind hill along pit in and the building is straight ahead!

 

I havent ridden South yet. North was definitely fun, but it is not nearly as safe as the other tracks I ride. The down hill right onto the back straight(looks like it was modeled after an on ramp) is pretty dangerous... lots of corner speed and zero run-off. Also, T1 is a pretty risky double apex with little run-off. Dont get me wrong, this track is still 100x safer than hitting the twisties on the street. Even at VIR, I run with some reserve most of the time, because it is just a track day. But at Monti, you kinda have to run with alot of reserve... enough that I would rather run somewhere else. Like I said though, if I hadent been on the track for a while and needed a fix, I would definitely go there and just take it easy... its still better than working.

It is a shame because it is a nice place, and a nice course, but I am not sure how much better they can make it. Alot of the turns have drop-offs after the armco... it will be very hard to extend the run off areas.

 

Can Monte chime in on any possible track improvements at Monticello?

Either way, it's nice to see them open the place up. Still not sure I'd take anything bigger than my motard, but we'll see.

 

I think if all the TD orgs had held out and demanded the safety issues to be fixed before they rode there, the track would be fixing the issues. Since there are a couple of orgs who were riding there in 09 and now in 10, what make you think the track will address the issues now.

I hope the track does fix them but i just don't see them making all the changes when people are willing to ride there the way it is now.

I hope no one gets seriously hurt there but the odds are, someone will.

 

I wish that was the case, but I wouldn't hold my breath. There's tons of car clubs in the greater ny area to take the dates, not sure why they don't cater to them.

Pocono would be a good test case, for it looks like everyone is cancelling thier dates there for 2010. We'll see what happens.

 

+1
The td org i ride with is barely doing any dates at pocono this season. Tired of the way we got treated when we went there.

 

Pocono will never change. The income they get from renting out the track is barely enough to keep the lights on. They do it mostly to keep things busy. The overwhelming majority of the revenue generated at Pocono comes from the two NASCAR events they host every year. They could close that place down the other 50 weekends out of the year and still operate well in the black from what I have been told by their staff.

 

unfortunately it is by far the closest track to me and i really wish they could make it a little safer because i am having some inhibitions about going there

 

Bring back Lime Rock...that place was fun...I used to ride right to the track, rip off some laps and ride home.....

 

Stay off the gators, dont ask me how I know

I will admit though, I had no clue that they were/are very slippery, missed that small bit of info at riders meeting.
I hate the fact that at track day events they say "this is not a race", regardless of a race or not ur still hauling ass or may I say going faster then you would on a public road.