What a great track, organiser and all round event.
Firstly the track hosts AMA races as well as many other car events. Its a Calabogie type track with blind corners and enough elevation change to keep you awake. I have to say the surface isn't as good as Calabogie and can be a bit unpredictable in patches until it warms up.
The organisers were great. 3 days beforehand I get an email with a reminder to return my waivers (which were attached) to help speed up registration. It also includes all the rules, regs and a timetable of how the day works. Inculded in the price is a free T shirt and a hot lunch, which is worth having. Also there was free bottled water on ice all day long. While we were there it was 90f and 93f respectively so plenty of water was a must! Registration is quick. Riders meeting is short but to the point. Tech inspection is as to be expected. And there were about 6 or 7 control riders in every session who would drag you around or follow you around or just offer advice inbetween sessions. Everyone was very approachable and everyone seem to want to make sure your track time was maximised and that your safety and enjoyment was their first priority. Crashes were dealt with very quickly and efficiently. It was a bit strange having them scrambling emergency vehicles onto a still hot track (but full of red flags) but it works for them so I can't argue.
Being able to rent a garage with a big workbench, power and compressed air on tap was a bumper bonus and at $50 a day between 4 people was hardly a hit on the budget as it meant we didn't have to carry 4 generators and 2 pop ups all the way there.
I understand that they have the advantage of a decent revenue stream from many other events throughout the season at Mid Ohio but just in their overall organistaion I honestly think all trackday organisers could learn something. They only had 2 people at registration and only had 4 people at tech but still managed to get 90+ people on track on time each day. As I said earlier they want everyone on track as much as possible so work hard to ensure that. But they also rely on rider cooperation as well. So I suppose as riders we could all do a better job in being prepared for a track day. And that's not just having your bike set up but having al your paperwork filled in in advance and being prompt for riders meetings etc etc.
But all in all I'd say that it's well worth the trip. It's about 7 hours from Newmarket to the trcak so isn't just around the corner but at $385 for 2 days it's not the most expensive track you'll ever go to either.
Oh, and having great company helps as well. Apart from the whiny girl on bike #140 with the broken, rattly clutch. She needs to unbunch her panties.
Firstly the track hosts AMA races as well as many other car events. Its a Calabogie type track with blind corners and enough elevation change to keep you awake. I have to say the surface isn't as good as Calabogie and can be a bit unpredictable in patches until it warms up.
The organisers were great. 3 days beforehand I get an email with a reminder to return my waivers (which were attached) to help speed up registration. It also includes all the rules, regs and a timetable of how the day works. Inculded in the price is a free T shirt and a hot lunch, which is worth having. Also there was free bottled water on ice all day long. While we were there it was 90f and 93f respectively so plenty of water was a must! Registration is quick. Riders meeting is short but to the point. Tech inspection is as to be expected. And there were about 6 or 7 control riders in every session who would drag you around or follow you around or just offer advice inbetween sessions. Everyone was very approachable and everyone seem to want to make sure your track time was maximised and that your safety and enjoyment was their first priority. Crashes were dealt with very quickly and efficiently. It was a bit strange having them scrambling emergency vehicles onto a still hot track (but full of red flags) but it works for them so I can't argue.
Being able to rent a garage with a big workbench, power and compressed air on tap was a bumper bonus and at $50 a day between 4 people was hardly a hit on the budget as it meant we didn't have to carry 4 generators and 2 pop ups all the way there.
I understand that they have the advantage of a decent revenue stream from many other events throughout the season at Mid Ohio but just in their overall organistaion I honestly think all trackday organisers could learn something. They only had 2 people at registration and only had 4 people at tech but still managed to get 90+ people on track on time each day. As I said earlier they want everyone on track as much as possible so work hard to ensure that. But they also rely on rider cooperation as well. So I suppose as riders we could all do a better job in being prepared for a track day. And that's not just having your bike set up but having al your paperwork filled in in advance and being prompt for riders meetings etc etc.
But all in all I'd say that it's well worth the trip. It's about 7 hours from Newmarket to the trcak so isn't just around the corner but at $385 for 2 days it's not the most expensive track you'll ever go to either.
Oh, and having great company helps as well. Apart from the whiny girl on bike #140 with the broken, rattly clutch. She needs to unbunch her panties.
