The leadup to this trackday was a little odd, but they all are. My brother was going to take his huge Kawasaki, so Jake, my usual van passenger decided to go with another friend on Sunday. Then my brother decided he couln't go, so a friend who has 600 miles on his new R6 got the day off to go. Sundays and Mondays are his usual days off, but he was able to trade with a co-worker to get to the track on Saturday.
I pained the track plastic in the weekends before the trackday. It came out well enough to look OK from the stands when the bike goes by at a high speed, but you don't want to look too closely! I gouged up the nose a little when I mismeasured for mounting a couple old ammo cans in the van to carry earplugs, straps, and that kind of thing. The ammo cans were easy enough to remove, but the damage had alreday been done.
In the morning, my back was good and stiff from prepping and loading up the night before, so I was a little nervous about how it would respond during the day. It didn't loosen up much after a hot shower, so I figured it would be an interesting day. The forecast was great- sun and warmth, so that would help a lot. My friend was ready to go when I got to his house around 6 am. We loaded his bike and headed for the track reasonably early- me drinking Red Bull and him drinking coffee. I don't drink coffee during trackdays for silly superstitious reasons.
On the way down Highway 167, a rider on a grey 675 passed us in full leathers. We speculated whether he was on his way to the track. I knew from the 675 board there was likely to be another 675 there, and he was doing his first trackday ever. It turned out it was him, and it was great to have him there. He signed up for the intro session, and like the rest of us, joined NESBA on the spot and will be back for more!
Registration went like it always does, and I got nervous for tech, just as I always do. The bike and my gear always pass without a problem, but trackdays are so much fun that I worry about failing tech and spoiling it.
A track school the day before had a blown engine on the back side of Pacific. The issue was announced during the rider's meeting, and we were assured that the oil was all cleaned up. One of the control riders went out and turned some very hot laps right away to make sure everything was fine. Apparently it was, since the advanced group went out right on time. The first advanced session was uneventful except for a getoff right at the end. With the perfect weather, warm temperatures, and sunshine, it seemed like a good omen.
I went out near the back of the intermediate group since I don't push hard during the first session. My back was loosening up nicely in the warmth, and with a couple of my favorite old man drug- ibuprofirin. We didn't get more than a lap before the red flag came out. I didn't see anybody down and found out later that a chain had popped in the front straight. We regrouped and went out again, only to have another red flag after about a half lap. I didn't see a bike down or even a big cloud of dust anywhere, but it turned out an R1 had been pitched into the briar patch outside turn 6. It didn't look salvagable when it came back on the back of a truck. The second red flag got us a pretty good admonishment from the control riders to cool it. Intermediates are pretty much the ax murderes of trackday, or they were yesterday morning.
The second session out was much better. There were no red flags, and I asked a control rider if I could follow him a bit. He spent the entire session letting me follow him and then following me to see what I was doing. At the end of the session, he gave me a lot of great feedback I could put into practice over the rest of the day. I had hoped to find him toward the end of the day for two reasons. I wanted to make sure it all sank in, and I especially wanted to thank him for the help. During the second session, I started going a whole lot faster, and got a bit ham fisted with downshifts. The back end was bouncing around pretty badly on corner entrances. I don't back anything into anywhere on purpose, let alone back a motorcycle into a corner, so it made for a few interesting moments. It wasn't exactly spooky, it was just different. For some reason, the fear switch was turned off in my head for the day.
The last session before lunch was another messy one, with a rider down right in front of me in turn 3, a really tight right hander. To go fast through there, you drag your knee in the dirt next to the apex, so I was looking for the bare spot. When I picked up the apex, I also noticed the asphalt was covered with gravel. Yikes! Then I noticed a bike right where I needed to go to avoid the gravel. Yikes again! Somehow, I made it through, as did everyone else. We got in four or five more laps after the restart, so it wasn't too bad.
Right after lunch, there was another red flag. Maybe people up here get a little crazy and loose their minds when the sun comes out. It is the only explanation I can think of for all the riders falling off. The ironic thing is there was earthwork going on in a couple places somewhere nearby, so you could see the occasional cloud of dust, but no red flag. After all the red flags, I was looking for clouds of dust and just about anything else to make sure I knew what to expect coming up.
The last two sessions of the day were pure nirvanna. The tires were just beginning to get worn, so I was getting a few wiggles here and there, but otherwise they just stuck. I felt really in tune with the bike for the first time in a while, and everything just slowed down. It felt like there was plenty of time to look around, think about the upcoming corner, decide where to brake and downshift, think about all the bumps on the track (lots of bumps at Pacific these days), where the other riders were, and what lines they were going to take and what line I would take to deal with it. The track seemed to get a lot wider, the bike seemed more powerful, and the tires seemed stickier. It was a combination of great feedback from the control rider who gave me advice, and getting really confident in the bike's ability to respond and in its responses.
None of us ate much all day, but we sure drank a lot of water. I probably gained weight over the course of the day. Even so, muscle cramps came on when we were loading up. It didn't matter, since we were all a bit sleepy during sessions, but really dialed in on the track. It is almost like a switch goes on and off. Off the track, there just isn't enough stimulus to keep your brain awake. Once back on the track, everything turns back on and operates at a much more efficient level than usual.
As we were packing up, the Saturday night drag racers were turning up, so we got treated to a parade of pretty amusing hotrods. Some guy had a beautiful 1950s vintage Mercedes Benz sedan that clearly wasn't much Mercedes underneath. The whole back of the car was huge drag slicks, and the front tires were as skinny as motorcycle tires. There were a lot of the usual muscle cars, but the Mercedes wasn't the only unusual special to show up. On the way home, I was a road obstacle in the van, since there didn't seem to be much point in going fast. Track days will do that. I can ride to work without any red mist for at least a month! If you have been to the track, you know exactly what that is like. We all had a complete blast, and will be heading out again as soon as we can. Another friend who moved to San Diego is moving back to Seattle. We both got to the track for the first time ever together, so I am looking forward to his return very much. The social part of a trackday is nearly as much fun as the riding part.
Here is a shot of the bike with its rattle can paint job. The feet belong to my friend the 999 pilot.
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