Just curious, because I was looking at some track gear for sale until I realized the jacket was textile, not leather. Seller says they checked with BC and Ontario tracks and it meets requirements. The only events I go to are Rider's Choice, Pro 6, and DOCC, and they all require leather. Are other organizers allowing textile materials now? I know some tracks in the US allow the Motoport Kevlar race suits, but not sure if all of them do.
No. You wouldn't want to even if they did. When you are sliding down the pavement you'll be extremely thankful you spent your money on good gear. It's when, not if.
And from the organizer liability point of view, why coddle the unique snow flake that will then turn around and sue you for acquiescing to their demand.
Mostly out of curiosity based on what the seller told me. I know leather is the traditional standard for race suits, but most modern suits are about half textile already. So I thought that maybe Alpinestars found a way to make a textile suit that's track safe. Kind of like the Motoport Kevlar race suit that's allowed by certain organizations in the US.
Just curious, because I was looking at some track gear for sale until I realized the jacket was textile, not leather. Seller says they checked with BC and Ontario tracks and it meets requirements. The only events I go to are Rider's Choice, Pro 6, and DOCC, and they all require leather. Are other organizers allowing textile materials now? I know some tracks in the US allow the Motoport Kevlar race suits, but not sure if all of them do.
Just curious, because I was looking at some track gear for sale until I realized the jacket was textile, not leather. Seller says they checked with BC and Ontario tracks and it meets requirements. The only events I go to are Rider's Choice, Pro 6, and DOCC, and they all require leather. Are other organizers allowing textile materials now? I know some tracks in the US allow the Motoport Kevlar race suits, but not sure if all of them do.
Just curious, because I was looking at some track gear for sale until I realized the jacket was textile, not leather. Seller says they checked with BC and Ontario tracks and it meets requirements. The only events I go to are Rider's Choice, Pro 6, and DOCC, and they all require leather. Are other organizers allowing textile materials now? I know some tracks in the US allow the Motoport Kevlar race suits, but not sure if all of them do.
Tracks don't mandate equipment, track day organizers do.
Riders Choice, Pro 6, DOCC are organizers who rent out Calabogie, Mosport, Shannonville, etc. They are the ones who set the rules. Anyone who can "organize" a bunch of guys together to pool their money to pay the rental fee can set their own rules and let everyone run the track in flip flops and shorts if they want to. It costs $5300 to rent TMP for a weekday.
I've been to some track days where the organizers let textiles on the track. These are the same ones that allow coolant in the rad instead of water wetter/engine ice, and they also skimped out on marshalls and emergency medical staff. One guy was on the track in high-top leather running shoes. Nobody said anything.
Just because some organizers let you on the track without leathers has nothing to do with the track facility itself. These organizers care only about collecting everyone's entrance fees, not about their participant's safety.
Do yourself a favour and consider your own safety first instead of what trackday organizers will let you get away with.
Tracks don't mandate equipment, track day organizers do.
Riders Choice, Pro 6, DOCC are organizers who rent out Calabogie, Mosport, Shannonville, etc. They are the ones who set the rules. Anyone who can "organize" a bunch of guys together to pool their money to pay the rental fee can set their own rules and let everyone run the track in flip flops and shorts if they want to. It costs $5300 to rent TMP for a weekday.
I've been to some track days where the organizers let textiles on the track. These are the same ones that allow coolant in the rad instead of water wetter/engine ice, and they also skimped out on marshalls and emergency medical staff. One guy was on the track in high-top leather running shoes. Nobody said anything.
Just because some organizers let you on the track without leathers has nothing to do with the track facility itself. These organizers care only about collecting everyone's entrance fees, not about their participant's safety.
Do yourself a favour and consider your own safety first instead of what trackday organizers will let you get away with.
Regardless of whether the track, the organizer, or their respective insurers mandate the safety gear requirements, my point isn't about what you can get away with, but what advancements there have been in safety materials/design to make equipment MORE safe. I remember when suits were made completely out of leather, and they could be pretty restrictive. Then they started introducing stretch panels and new materials for those panels. Alpinestars and Sidi stopped using leather in their race boots ages ago, so it seems to me that continuous advancements in those materials should eventually trickle down (up?) into the the rest of suits? Maybe it hasn't happened yet, maybe it has, that's what I was trying to figure out.
Regardless of whether the track, the organizer, or their respective insurers mandate the safety gear requirements, my point isn't about what you can get away with, but what advancements there have been in safety materials/design to make equipment MORE safe. I remember when suits were made completely out of leather, and they could be pretty restrictive. Then they started introducing stretch panels and new materials for those panels. Alpinestars and Sidi stopped using leather in their race boots ages ago, so it seems to me that continuous advancements in those materials should eventually trickle down (up?) into the the rest of suits? Maybe it hasn't happened yet, maybe it has, that's what I was trying to figure out.
I wouldn't look to track day organizers as the arbiter for what is safe or what isn't. Their main priority is to drive up attendance and revenue, and making concessions to safety lowers the bar to entry and lets more punters in: "Oh, I don't have to drain my coolant and safety-wire all my bolts? Then I'll sign up."
Instead, I'd look at what the professional racers are wearing. These are guys who have a vested interest in keeping their bodies (and their multi-million dollar contracts) safe and sound. And to me, it looks like they're all still wearing dead cow hide.
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