Track riding miscoception - by street riders

[reciprocity]

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Thank you. I stand corrected as I hadn't seen this info before. This is much more reasonable in my mind.

Does Calabogie or the Bellville track do anything similar?

Calabogie does not, Shannonville does have this option, an evening rental but there are not a lot of organizers that offer it as the bulk of trackday riders would like more time.

You said it yourself, you just want to try it once, and others you know would like to do this as well.

why would an promotor start organizing events for a one time only customer, its a flawed business plan that will fail.

 

[caboose56]

A half day or even an hour is all I'd really want as a taster and I know a fair few people who'd be happy with that too but sadly that doesn't seem to be an option.

In the post that you quoted I told you that such a thing is in fact available.

Thank you. I stand corrected as I hadn't seen this info before. This is much more reasonable in my mind.

Does Calabogie or the Bellville track do anything similar?

There are evening track sessions at SMP, don't know much about them, schedule/cost wise.

Shannonville > Take On The Track puts on evening events. At least they have done so in the past.

Paul or Michelle > 1(613) 394-6234

 

[JANUSIEWICZ]

howcome people are saying motorcycles and trackdays are expensive? they are extremely cheap......

2007 FERRARI F430 F136 F1
Colour RED
Body 2 door 2 seat COUPE
Transmission 6 speed Sequential Manual Auto Clutch
Drive type Rear
Engine 8 cylinder Premium Unleaded Multi-point injected 4.3L (4308cc)
Kms 1234
Price $318,600

Description 2007 F430 Challenge Race car.
For track purposes only.

The F430 Full Season Championship Package is a comprehensive package that includes all races as well as the World Finals in Europe. The cost for this package is $39,000 USD, which includes the items below*:

• Six (6) race entry fees + one (1) entry to the World Finals in Europe
• Fuel — per series regulations
• Pirelli Tires — per series regulations (8 tires for 2 races per weekend)
• Memorabilia item
• Official SABELT Challenge suit
• Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishing positions and special achievement awards
• Special race and season awards
• Two (2) hospitality tickets — one (1) driver and one (1) guest for five (5) race events (Montreal — only one (1)

now THATS expensive!

carry on......

 

[SunnY S]

I am curious, what is the actual cost in total to take your bike and go to the track for a couple of hours ?

Since you asked..... my last track day was at TMP/ with Turn2 for an evening session. Cost me $50 for entry fee. A few dollars in masking tape to tape up the bike and lights. Water is free to replace the coolant. And a tank of gas which is around $15.

So, total outlay, was under $100, and we got to blast around an open track for 4 hours at any speed with full marshalls and ambulance.

Cheaper than a plane ticket and shipping the bike to the Nurburgring.

I asked at the bike show whether there would ever be the chance of just doing a lap or two and I got a negative response.

As for sharing the Nurburgring with other traffic, yes that's true, you will never get the entire circuit to yourself. But at least you still have the option to go round a track like this very inexpensively if you want and I'm guessing most people on this board would not pass up that opportunity.

Put it this way...it puts track riding for anyone at the price of a go-karting session and there's nothing wrong with that for a bit of fun.

A lap or two? Why the hell would anybody take all the trouble to get to the track and want to do that little? I need minimum 2 laps just to get my tires warmed up.

.

 

[Venom01]

Ill have to read the requirements on track gear, but the price of that alone freaks me out a bit (not that I don't think it's worth it) but would school package be more worth it for a first timer at the track? I'm not real comfortable with the notion of wiping out my street bike either due to lack of track riding experience. I am looking too push myself further and that may very well result in a crash. However WHAT IF paying for a level one class proves to be under my abilities? I'm sure this may not be the case. What would you experienced track people suggest. I don't want to fork out for a weekend school package just to find out its not challenging me.



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[Nick_f]

i have been wanting these questions answered for 4 years now, but to afraid to ask because of flaming from the 'track guys'

Awesome thread guys!

Next question is, who wants to take me under their wing for my first track day?

 

[Venom01]

i have been wanting these questions answered for 4 years now, but to afraid to ask because of flaming from the 'track guys'

Awesome thread guys!

Next question is, who wants to take me under their wing for my first track day?

Of they are going to flame me because I have no track knowledge then they can keep it to themselves. Sometimes people forget that their was a first time for them too.
Quick follow up, would people get offense if I bought gear with my name on it? It happens to be Rossi.

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[SunnY S]

i have been wanting these questions answered for 4 years now, but to afraid to ask because of flaming from the 'track guys'

Awesome thread guys!

Next question is, who wants to take me under their wing for my first track day?

For any newbs to the track, its highly recommended you take some kind of Intro course to the track. Hitting an open lap track day with no experience can be daunting for first timers and can jeopardize the safety of the other riders if you are not familiar with flags, signals, etc.

Try this, or something like it if track is your first time to learn etiquette, rules, techniques, etc.....

http://www.torontomotorsportspark.com/raceway/track_school_intro.html

 

[jc100]

Since you asked..... my last track day was at TMP/ with Turn2 for an evening session. Cost me $50 for entry fee. A few dollars in masking tape to tape up the bike and lights. Water is free to replace the coolant. And a tank of gas which is around $15.

So, total outlay, was under $100, and we got to blast around an open track for 4 hours at any speed with full marshalls and ambulance.

Cheaper than a plane ticket and shipping the bike to the Nurburgring.

A lap or two? Why the hell would anybody take all the trouble to get to the track and want to do that little? I need minimum 2 laps just to get my tires warmed up.

.

I would if I'm in the area already. What's the harm? Also, it's never a flawed business plan to give people a taster of something that may require a considerable investment if they like it. How big do you think the track stuff would be if it were affordable for the average Joe to see if he liked it first. For every person like me who might try it once or twice there would be someone else that might like it enough to save up and get a little more serious.

Here's another analogy...the reason the UK always had ****** tennis players was that tennis clubs charged a fortune for membership so most people never really got to find out if they were any good at it or if they liked it that much. Having money does not equal skill and it never has. Get more people into a hobby/sport and you feed better people and more of them to the top...that is a self fulfilling business model based on progression/promotion/accessibility. Now, if your business model is simply to fleece people for cash in return for making them feel like a racer for a day...then you're going to have a smaller pool of customers and hence talent that has larger amounts of ready cash.

Both of these models work to make money (I'm sure one day of pay per lap would bring in more than one day of track day), one works better than the other for promoting a sport and there's no reason why both can't be done together with alternating/different dates.

 

[jc100]

For any newbs to the track, its highly recommended you take some kind of Intro course to the track. Hitting an open lap track day with no experience can be daunting for first timers and can jeopardize the safety of the other riders if you are not familiar with flags, signals, etc.

Try this, or something like it if track is your first time to learn etiquette, rules, techniques, etc.....

http://www.torontomotorsportspark.com/raceway/track_school_intro.html

You posted that before I posted mine...that's much more like it!! Now this is something I'd be more inclined to do.

 

[FriendlyFoe]

I just feel that after 10 years of street riding my biking skills are pushing what i can do legally on the road..

Took 10 years eh? Two seasons and a half dozen track days, half of which were instructed and my skills can generally at least double anything i can legally do on the road. Instructed track days make you a much better rider, good form and learning how to ride your bike at the extremes of braking and cornering make you a much more competent and all around better rider on the street.

I really dont understand how people bash track days. Riding on the street is a hobby. Riding at the track is a sport. You cant even compare the two.

 

[Jayv]

As to the comment that nburg is doing okay, that track is on life support according the media.
We have crap tracks in Canada? Hmm bogie is worth every cent and mosport is the fastest track in north America, and also has mcmosport burger which you can't get in Europe

 

[Venom01]

Took 10 years eh? Two seasons and a half dozen track days, half of which were instructed and my skills can generally at least double anything i can legally do on the road. Instructed track days make you a much better rider, good form and learning how to ride your bike at the extremes of braking and cornering make you a much more competent and all around better rider on the street.

I really dont understand how people bash track days. Riding on the street is a hobby. Riding at the track is a sport. You cant even compare the two.

Not 10 to learn how to ride, duh but its has taken that long to want to taste more so to speak. It still love going for a spin on the road but there are not too many spots in general to hone high speed skills safely or legally on a public road.

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[FriendlyFoe]

there isnt anywhere you can really do it safely at the street. I was more trying to get at how much faster you learn how to weild a motorcycle with skill by taking an instructed track day as opposed to just riding on the street.

I dont think i would have learned as much in my first 3 years riding on the street as i did in my first two *instructed* track days.

 

[jc100]

Took 10 years eh? Two seasons and a half dozen track days, half of which were instructed and my skills can generally at least double anything i can legally do on the road. Instructed track days make you a much better rider, good form and learning how to ride your bike at the extremes of braking and cornering make you a much more competent and all around better rider on the street.

I really dont understand how people bash track days. Riding on the street is a hobby. Riding at the track is a sport. You cant even compare the two.

Only bashing the price...and there's a reason why you don't get insurance breaks for track schools but you do in the UK for advanced rider courses.

 

[jc100]

As to the comment that nburg is doing okay, that track is on life support according the media.
We have crap tracks in Canada? Hmm bogie is worth every cent and mosport is the fastest track in north America, and also has mcmosport burger which you can't get in Europe

It had a bad patch but they increased prices lately and it seems like there's plenty of customers still.

 

[Metastable]

I think many folks are still a bit hazy about the purpose of my post. IF YOU ONLY WANT TO RIDE THE STREET.... that is GREAT! Try doing 1 only 1.... trackday (that has instruction) or better yet 1 track school, especially if you don't want to use our bike, so that you can learn things that would be VERY HARD to learn on the street! I know that a school is expensive! But 1 school can save your life out there on the road.... it can give you the confidence to just lean into the corner instead of trying to hit the brakes, because you think you can't make the corner. IT TEACHES YOU HOW TO RIDE!!!!

If you only do a few laps, you won't learn anything. That's a different topic all together. It takes TIME to learn. You need a full day. The more instruction you have, the more you will learn.

Ill have to read the requirements on track gear, but the price of that alone freaks me out a bit (not that I don't think it's worth it) but would school package be more worth it for a first timer at the track? I'm not real comfortable with the notion of wiping out my street bike either due to lack of track riding experience. I am looking too push myself further and that may very well result in a crash. However WHAT IF paying for a level one class proves to be under my abilities? I'm sure this may not be the case. What would you experienced track people suggest. I don't want to fork out for a weekend school package just to find out its not challenging me.

I wouldn't worry about doing a full weekend. 1 day is plenty. Plus they gear the coaching to your skill level. They will teach some folks more basic things and more advanced riders other things, although the overall message is the same. If you are not comfortable riding your bike, then use one of theirs. I know FAST provides all the gear too..... so you don't even have to invest in that. You can show up with T-shirt, shorts and socks and you'd be good to go.

 

[FriendlyFoe]

Any idea what a track facility costs to maintain? Lifes all about choices. Do you have a nice TV? Stereo system? I dont because i've been dumping money into toys since i was 17.

 

[Metastable]

I decided to go fiddle around youtube and check out the video below... it is pretty good. You can see some shots of the initial follow the leader sessions which are nice and slow. By the end of the day though, you pick up a lot of speed (they don't show that much in the video). The key thing to learning is to slow down a bit first... that's the beauty of a controlled instruction trackday... they bring you up to speed without the "need" to prove anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iouTY-xXBF0

and on this video, you can see how the pace picks up later on in the day... even from 8min to the end, you can see the pace is pretty decent.... more than what 90% of road riders would ever get to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P68QBS84xUs

 

[ZX600]

Took 10 years eh? Two seasons and a half dozen track days, half of which were instructed and my skills can generally at least double anything i can legally do on the road. Instructed track days make you a much better rider, good form and learning how to ride your bike at the extremes of braking and cornering make you a much more competent and all around better rider on the street.

I really dont understand how people bash track days. Riding on the street is a hobby. Riding at the track is a sport. You cant even compare the two.

Let's not get crazy here, it doesn't mean that because you do track that you are a riding god.

I know plenty of guys that have all the equipment, took a bunch of instruction courses and can't ride for ****, it takes talent to be good at it.

and in regards to your comment about learning more in 3 track instructed days than 3 years on the street, the only reason you were able to take full advantage on your instructed track days is due to the riding experience you acquired on the street. Cliches are funny

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