Track day at VIR – first-hand report

April 21, 10:57 PMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the DC Motorcycle Travel Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Friday, we loaded the bikes and hauled them about 4.5 hours from DC to the Villas at VIR, just east of Danville in Alton, VA. 

Unloading my bike revealed the first bit of excitement for the weekend: as I backed down the ramp, the brake lever squashed like a grape… nothing!  Jumping on the rear brake, I slowed the bike at the bottom of the ramp and pumped the front brake a couple of times.  Good as new!

Riding around the front of the truck, I grabbed the front brake to slow down and once again got the sickening “nothing”… only once it’s gone do you realize how much you assume your front brake will always work.  It’s an unreal experience.  And, just a day before track day, it’s a big problem.

Fortunately, in our group of eight riders were a few experts who quickly diagnosed the problem as a bent rotor, bumped by the chalks during shipping.  Options were considered, and the solution was proposed: remove the left brake caliper, use the hardware from the left caliper to relink the right caliper to the brake lever, and ride with half the front brake.  Half an hour later, solution implemented, it was time for a test…. Success!  Problem solved!

Driving home two days later, I would conclude that riding on the track with half of my front brakes was a blessing in disguise....

Bikes prep’d, unpacked, we all headed out to dinner in Danville.

Track day – tech inspection

Bike prep was a simple matter of removing the mirrors, taping the lights with painters tape, and marking the tank with a piece of tape showing my name and the bike’s shift pattern: “Standard” or “GP.”

Tech inspection included an emergency contact information packet taped to the back of the helmet, a check over key parts, clutch, throttle, chain tension… and brakes.

The missing left brake caliper brought a skeptical look.  But my well-practiced Jedi mind trick was sufficient to convince the inspector, “I tested it.  It’s good.”  Now, I just had to convince myself… is half a front brake really sufficient to haul the bike down from 100+ to 30 MPH?

Tech inspection complete, it was time to suit up!  The track day, training and rented leathers/back protector/gloves/boots were all part of the deal offered by Team Pro-Motion.

Pre-session 1 training

While intermediate and advanced students from the red and blue groups headed out onto the track, our “school” group headed with the beginner “white” group into the classroom adjacent to the paddock area.  24 riders.

One of our instructors, Billy, explained “the line” to us as the optimal path around the track.  Glen joined the discussion, and emphasized that “the line” is the path around the track that enables us to keep the bike as upright as possible, thus maximizing available traction.

Together, they emphasized that following the line would make us predictable – something that’s essential when putting groups of six to eight riders into packs traveling at triple-digit speeds.

Glen explained that today would be “a very selfish day for each of us – riding on the track is completely about you, the rider.”  He emphasized that our entire focus must be on our riding and the track ahead; no mirrors, no looking back.

For the first two sessions, each of three sets of riders would follow an instructor.  We were assured that session one would be at a “slow pace.”

Session 1

Comfortably anticipating a leisurely pace around the track, we headed out on the grid, and awaited the signal from the pit boss.

The leisurely pace around the track ranged from 35 to 45 MPH, and although the apex of each turn was marked with a cone, it was more challenging that you might imagine to connect the dots at that pace.  Fortunately, progress made in each session on the track demonstrated the value of practice.

Swooping down hill right through turn 1, left through turn 2, sweeping right up through turn 3, and over the hill through turn 4 heading down into the straight following the left edge of the track toward the long sweeping late-apex turn 5 to the right.  Climbing up to the left toward turn 6, and then rapidly up and over the crest right through turn 7.  From there, drifting out of turn 7 toward the left side of the track.  Rolling into the long curving back straight clipping the apex of turn 8 on the right and then arcing slowly over the ridge toward the blind turn 9 on the left, hard on the brakes just before 9 to set up for turn 10 (right), turn 11 (left), turn 12 (right) combo into off-camber turn 13 right immediately following turn 12 as a set up for hard acceleration swooping past turn 14 on the left, still faster sweeping past 15 on the right, sweeping past 16 on the left, then continuing  right past the pit area and grid in the center of the track to sweep rapidly around to the right and back into turn 1.  Repeat, six or seven times.

I found consistently that my front tire was pushing as I passed close to the right apex turn 12, and continued to turn hard right toward the turn 13 apex.  Aiming to be inches away from the curbing, on turn 13 I often found my bike sliding ten feet and more away from the apex on the verge of washing out the front end.  I was perplexed.

Post Session 1 Training

Asked about how we felt about hitting the line, the instructors reiterated that accuracy is essential – 12 inches to 18 inches off the cone, maximum!  Then, discussion of the line shifted to specific turns challenging riders; late apex turn 5 and my problem turn 13.

Not looking far enough ahead was identified as the #1 problem for street riders.  On the track, if you're focused on the current turn, you're already too late.  As you approach the next apex, your focus should already have moved ahead to the next turn.  By looking far down the track, you are able to slow down time, plan ahead and connect the dots.  Simple.

Next up: Session 2.

Catch the whole series:

• Track day as a journey to self-discovery
• Track day at VIR – first-hand report – the first warm-up laps
• Track day at VIR – session 2 – taking it up a notch; stay on the line!
• Track day at VIR – session 3 – out in front of the instructors
• Track day at VIR – session 4 – picking up the pace
• Track day at VIR – session 5 – the best session yet!
• Track day at VIR – session 6 – death of a gixxer
• Track day at VIR – session 7 - final session! – taking advantage of the run-off area!
• Track day at VIR – conclusion – confidence without discipline spells disaster
• Track day at VIR – epilogue – lessons learned on and off the track