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Nelson Ledges...

Discussion in 'General' started by DucatiBomber, Apr 6, 2018.

  1. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Possibly - isn't that the one where they'd have bikes and cars out at the same time?

    The first I remember being organized were the Ducati clubs. One ran at Grattan a lot and ReDuc (Redduc?) in the northeast. I think that morphed into NESBA.
     
  2. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    So the way I did it and the way many others did it was to come to a few races and hang out with race buddies and ask questions. Then I borrowed a XR75 or something at age 26 and rode the mini race at lunch break. After one or two of those I got my screaming RD250 safety wired and put a set of race tires on and signed up for orange shirt class. I was a orange shirt guy for 2 races I think, then onto nervous novice. And the rest is history
     
  3. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    All we heard about in Cincy was racing, had at least one endurance team in town. knew about dirt bike racing and dirt track cars and all that too but no real interest. 2 years later I went to work the pits with some friends and it went downhill after that :D
     
  4. cav115

    cav115 Well-Known Member

    The owner told me it had been 6-7yrs.....since they did a partial.
     
  5. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    You don't know what you're talking about. Nothing like that happened before trackdays.
     
  6. wmhjr

    wmhjr Well-Known Member

    I'm not saying it could not be done. Obviously it could. But given the circumstances I was in back in the 70s there was just too much in the way. That's the point. There (should be) many ways to get to the grid. To say that anybody who wanted to be on the track was there is utter bullshit. Hell, I also wanted to do a lot of other things that I couldn't end up doing - and did a bunch of others as well. It's just the epitome of stupidity to discount that.
     
  7. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    So now it changes when you're not arguing with me.... Freaky shit that.
     
  8. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    So we have said many times things are changing. Now there is TV coverage and motorcycle magazines are folding every year or so. Yep things are changing :D
     
  9. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    Huh? I wanted to race so I did, and you didn't? Why I'm confused? :confused:
     
  10. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    I wanted to and couldn't afford it so I corner worked. Then when I could afford it I no longer wanted to but would probably do trackdays if I weren't at the track all the time anyway.
     
  11. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    Nope if there were cars we would agree to a 1/2 hour for bikes, and a 1/2 hour for cars. While were talking to the car guys we had to remind them oil leaks and safety wire on the course (or in the pits) was not cool.

    Reduc was at Pocono and may have been back then too. And for sure the Ducati club was doing track days but only one a year if I remember correctly
     
  12. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    I know your story Mongo :clap:
     
  13. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Yeah at Grattan one a year for sure. The cars and bikes on track same time I always figured was rumors. I remember going to the alternating sessions. First time I ever saw a pickup set up for roadracing was there one Friday :D
     
  14. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    Back in 83 or something the Duc club printed a t-shirt that said "I survived the mosquitos, the hair pin, and EJ (Ducati Owners Group Grattan 1983)". Later I saw the shirt hanging in a famous bike shop in Lansing and tried to buy it. Hell no said the owner you'll wear to the track and shit will hit the fan.
     
  15. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    :crackup:
     
    joec likes this.
  16. JBall

    JBall REALLY senior member

    I'll bite... In 89 we found a track day at Nelson Ledges, probably in the back of Cycle News or something like that, but went just because it had a race school which was the only thing I wanted to do. I was a fast (I thought) street rider and went to Mid-O every year, and watching the AMA races it looked like the cool thing to do. I did the mock race and would have raced my 900 Ninja but novices had to start on 750's, so I had a brand new 600 by the next spring and off we went racing. Had no desire to do anything else, and have done maybe half a dozen track days since then, just as practice before a race at a new track.

    It's so much easier to start now, but I think there are lots of TD folks that just want to ride on race tracks, and not actually race.

    With it kind of being my home track after Mid-O, it's cool to see that the Ledges it getting its shit back together, and I hope we get a chance to go back there and race again. For how dumpy the facilities and pavement have been there, the place was always good in the wet, which is how Grattan and Mid-Ohio have become messed up (sealer must be cheap).
     
  17. dsapsis

    dsapsis El Jefe de los Monos

    To me, the thing holding so many trackday riders back from racing is the exact thing that makes racing 100 times more fun and challenging: When you are racing, that's it, that's all. The objectives are so simple: catch that guy in front of you. And because it is so simple, failing at it (due to fear, lack of skill, whatever) seems like a giant bummer to a trackday rider who chases laptimes and dreams of benchracing his friends during lunch in the pits and (in his/her mind anyway) has fun no matter.

    Racers race. Being on a racetrack and not racing is just practice. Unless you are a trackday dude, where all there is is practice. Most trackday guys kinda think they want to race, but they don't really. Else they would. I think its a basic gene thing and on this one the Morey eel Big guy is right. I wanted to race as a kid (desert) but didnt have the resources to do so. While I came into track riding via trackdays (2002) I am pretty sure I wanted to race, even though I didn't know it at the time. By the time my wife came into the garage and saw the trackbike painted with numbers on it, that's all I wanted to do.
     
  18. mike-guy

    mike-guy Well-Known Member

    I think one appealing thing about trackdays is that the stress level is way lower. It's a great time riding with friends and getting a lot of flying laps in (if you can, somedays it never happens). I really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of trackdays for this but some part of me loves the competition and the sick feeling I get at first call. It all comes down to what you enjoy and are wanting to do I guess.
     
  19. Robin172

    Robin172 Well-Known Member

    Before trackdays in the UK there used to be "open" practice days, all you needed was a racing licence or a full road one. Brands used to charge by the half hour. I was at Snetterron one time when there were sidecars out at the same time as solos.
     
  20. RRP

    RRP Kinda Superbikey

    I'll dive into this dogfight.

    July 2004 - I knew that roadracing was a thing, that was about it.

    August 2004 - Got an opportunity to participate in the AMA round at Road Atlanta helping the Dunlop tire crew. By the time the weekend was over, I knew I had to try to do this. Stole my wife's GS550ES and converted it to a racebike. That was an education unto itself.

    April 2005-July 2005 - Played pitbitch to a group of club racing friends running CCS Team Challenge so I could learn as much as possible while I finished bike prep.

    July 2005 - signed up for an MCRA trackday (didn't know until a week before this existed) to make sure the bike was ready. The trackday got cancelled literally the day before it was supposed to happen (beginning my dislike for trackdays almost immediately).

    All my club racing mentors said "Just go race it - you'll know pretty quick whether it works or not."

    August 2005 - signed up for race school at BHF on Saturday, was racing on Sunday.


    So, for what it's worth I knew trackdays existed. I like racing, trackdays not so much.

    Fish On.
     

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