What do you guys look for in a track day?

[daviid]

So as the title states? What are you looking for in a track day? What makes or breaks a day for you?

[.Cheetah.]

Amount of riders on the track at one time........
The way they are divided in classes..... If someone is to fast for slow for INT, bump them down. Too fast.... bump them up....
The track.....


For me, Im a street rider 1st..... So the safety wiring, siliconed caps, water wetter and stuff is a little much. Thats why we have been doing (LOUSBK) days with Commonwealth. Their pretty layed back when it comes to that stuff. Now if I had a track bike, it would be no big deal.....

[ChrisV]

Ive only done 1 track day so far, so needless to say Im a beginner and I like the control riders on the track watching out for people and keeping it safe for us newbs

[crazylegs]

Amount of riders on the track at one time........
The way they are divided in classes..... If someone is to fast for slow for INT, bump them down. Too fast.... bump them up....
The track.....

For me, Im a street rider 1st..... So the safety wiring, siliconed caps, water wetter and stuff is a little much. Thats why we have been doing (LOUSBK) days with Commonwealth. Their pretty layed back when it comes to that stuff. Now if I had a track bike, it would be no big deal.....

I think cheetah hit the nail on the head . One thing that i really like about STT is that their very professional. They have a huge staff of paramedics, tire changer with tires you can purchase. A parts counter, control riders out there that can help you if you need them too. Their novice classes are second to none... Photographers and a suspension technician.
Oh and lets not forget their free lunch... They are a bit more expensive then most but i feel like i get my money's worth for all that they offer..

[munky]

no rules.

[cowasockee]

no rules.

There must be rules flyboy or it would be mayhem.

I look for professional control riders. Curteous riding by participants. Great weather! I don't ride for the fastest lap time. I don't have the focus for that. I ride trackdays to improve those facets of riding that can only be improved upon at the track. ie... Smooth throttle control to wot. Really quick turn in. Good corner entry speed. Lean angle. And putting all that together. Just random thoughts.

[Railing]

Well I did 15 track days last year, and actually went to 17 days (two as a spectator). Here are my thoughts... First, you can't have NO RULES, you need to have rules in place. If they want no rules, or "light" on the rules, tell them they should be racing. People go to a track day to have fun, and NOT get hurt. Just spell the rules out ahead of time.

1. Paying for entrance. STT does this at a LOT of events. Freaking stupid. I paid for the day, I should be able to get in without paying to get in the track. If so, build the cost in to the day, don't charge me at the door. When they say "You get a lunch ticket for it." Bull$h!t. They get the lunches sponsored. The money for that day goes to the one person "hosting" the day, so they have some money in their pocket. Don't charge for admission, freaking stupid and I let STT know that at EVERY event, including telling the hosts.

2. Organization, organization, organization, and Riders Meeting. Freaking be organized. I rode this past year with 5 different groups sponsoring the day, some were organized, some weren't. Have things spelled out for people ahead of time, where to park, how to register, what they need to do. Have the group information spelled out, have people know what they are suppose to do in Novice (no passing, only on straights), etc. Riders meeting. Keep it SHORT. Explain the stuff with as little padding as possible, especially for those that have done days before. Explain passing rules, flags, and track conditions, then send us on our way. It isn't needed to have a 30 minute riders meeting. If someone hasn't been to THAT track, or to ANY track, they should stay and here the "extended" version. But those of us who hear it all the time, please keep it short. Give the rules ahead of time, and make sure people have read them....

3. Riders and THEIR responsibility. If a rider is riding novice, they should be a novice. Int, be int, adv, be adv. Many times a spot is full and they sign up for a session above or below. If someone is too fast for one, bump them, if they are too slow, bump them down. Or if that group is too full, tell them they have to slow down for that group, as this is the one they signed up for. Tell them it's THEIR responsibility to ride at the level of the group (this is good for track times in general). This of course goes hand in hand with good corner workers and good control riders to help monitor this. Having them on the track to watch it key. If someone is being stupid in a group, freaking talk to them, punish them for it if they do it again (passing under a yellow, passing on the inside when they aren't suppose to, cutting someone off, continuously popping a wheelie, etc). If they do it twice, sit them out a session. If they do it after that, kick them out. I hate stupid people on the track.

4. Accidents and cleanup time. It takes time to clean up an accident. If that accident spills over in to another groups time, take away from the group who HAD the accident. Tell everyone this from the get-go. If Advanced group has an accident with 3 minutes left, and they use up 10 minutes of Int or Novice, then tell them they will lose 10 minutes on the next time out because the other group lost their time. Cycle options last year gave Advanced seven full 20 minutes sessions, and cut Int and Novice times on 3 sessions, and completely cut one of Novices group (which was my first track day weekend). So I only got 6 sessions, 3 at 20 minutes, 3 at 15 minutes each. Be fair to ALL groups, not just the fast riders, everyone of us pay the same amount. Same thing holds true for all groups, and let them know this, make this clear (read #2).

5. Safety Wire and Bike Inspection. I disagree with those above. I wrecked because of someone spilling either oil or coolant on the track in a PREVIOUS session. Personally on the day, you are riding in a controlled enviornment, and part of that is having a bike up to snuff to be on a track. NO OIL LEAKS. Coolant is SIMPLE to change, put in Water Wetter or Engine Ice, MUCH easier to clean up. If a group doesn't want it, tell them if there is a spill it's THAT groups time that will get it taken away for the clean up. As the host of the event, have tubes of silicon available for use in the tech inspection area, and just have them run a bead around the oil cap and around the bottom of the oil filter. Even for novice, it is one less thing to worry about, and I for one think ANY leaking needs to be resolved, and then them MUST come in for inspection AFTER the first session of running BEFORE going to their pit. So many people just wipe it off and bring it back, and the leaks happen at speed. After the first session they can't wipe it off and you can check the leak to make sure it IS resolved. So many bikes I have seen have leaks but they cover it up for inspection... This is dangerous for ME...

6. Free Lunch. Free lunch is always good. Get a sponsor for the day, or at least a partial sponsor to give a "cheap" lunch. You can mention it to them, or they can even come and setup for the day for people. STT had a LOT of free lunch this last year, and I see that MOST of their days this year it is NOT provided. That will suck.

7. Services. Get someone their for different service. Tires, Parts, Fuel, Accessories, photographer, etc. Find someone local or anyone that would like to come and setup. LET THE RIDERS KNOW AHEAD OF TIME. Then they can plan to come and look through the stuff. This is helpful to the riders.

8. Control Riders. Although they bug me at times, a GOOD control rider offers advice, but doesn't give it unless wanted. A control rider should rider similar to the group, so don't run out at Advanced pace in Novice when tires of the novice people are still cold and the control rider has had on tire warmers. Some of those novice people could try and keep up and wreck in the process because they think they can do it do. INSTRUCT the novice group for the first session of the day at a minimum. Show them the race line, give them a bit of guidance, show them pit off and pit on, do a drive through for it. Many novices riders won't ask for it, but they want it. For Intermediate group, have control riders for watching for people, and if you say don't pass on the inside, they shouldn't either. When I am riding INT, and there is NO inside passing, I don't expect ANYONE to be there, even a control rider. If I am parking it in the corner, they should be able to pass me without scaring the crap out of me in the process, causing me to bobble, or almost wreck (I can think of at least 5 times this has happened).

9. WHITE FLAG. With rougly a lap left of the session (so at the pace they are going plus 20 seconds), throw the white flag to tell them they have "roughly" one lap left to run, and to expect the checkered flag the next lap. I always find this useful so that if I am working on something like body position, I can "test" it under a "fast" lap before I get the checkered.

10. Be Fair. As I stated previous, be fair to EVERYONE. We all paid to ride there, and in many instances some of the Advanced people did NOT pay to ride because they worked out some other deal. We pay for the event, we should get to enjoy the event. Many times I have been at a track day, and due to one group wrecking, another group suffers. This isn't fair to all the other groups when it uses up times. And it isn't fair to the group that people keep wrecking (which is typically the INT group, and I ride INT). If it comes down to it then fine, shorten EVERYONE's time, but don't give a group full sessions and take away from others, reduce everyone's times. Figure out how you are going to do it, and make it fair for everyone, as we all pay, slow and fast alike.

[Krash]

whats already been said.

divided skill groups, control riders are a plus, on site medics, corner workers, fee lunch included is a nice plus too.

I dont mind the safety wire and non-slippery coolant rules, it just helps to now that if someone does dump it, I wont lose track time while they try to clean the track.

a beacon for my lap timer

[Railing]

whats already been said.

divided skill groups, control riders are a plus, on site medics, corner workers, fee lunch included is a nice plus too.

I dont mind the safety wire and non-slippery coolant rules, it just helps to now that if someone does dump it, I wont lose track time while they try to clean the track.

a beacon for my lap timer

The Beacon is a must... Very nice to already have setup...

[Krash]

tell us how you really feel Railing, dont feel like you have to hold back.

I agree with everything you said.