Rate that Track

[Jim]

Barber this weekend. it's been on my list for about 10 years now and i'm finally getting to ride there.

this will unfortunately be the 6th new track for me that didnt have a friday track day for me to learn first. it sucks learning a new track in saturday race practice.

[Paul_E_D]

Barber this weekend. it's been on my list for about 10 years now and i'm finally getting to ride there.

this will unfortunately be the 6th new track for me that didnt have a friday track day for me to learn first. it sucks learning a new track in saturday race practice.

Barber is pretty awesome. The track is surprisingly narrow and scrappy in spots.

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[Jim]

Barber is pretty awesome. The track is surprisingly narrow and scrappy in spots.

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i went 2 years ago for a MotoA round to help pit crew a friend. so i've been once but this is my first time riding the track. this is the main reason i'm doing a WERA season this year. Barber and Road Atl

[OneCheekRider]

I did the 5 mile course at Thunderhill for the first time the other weekend. Loved it! Haven't been there to Thunderhill 15 years... Fast flowy 3 mile East section I remember from 15 years ago and the new-to-me 2 mile West section was a bit more technical with some great elevation changes. Aside from the 100+ degree temps it was a great weekend.

[Jim]

1. VIR (north, south, full, grand)
2. Road America
3. Road Atlanta
4. Barber Motorsports Park
5. Pitt Race
6. Summit Point
7. Roebling
8. Daytona
9. NJMP
10. Blackhawk Farms
11. Autobahn Country Club (south)
12. Homestead
13. Carolina Motorsports Park
14. NHMS
15. Talladega Grand Prix
16. Autobahn Country Club (north)
17. Monticello (south)
18. NC Bike (with and without the chicane)
19. anything besides Thompson
20. Thompson (counter clockwise)

barber added

[tsorfas]

20 tracks is beyond impressive Jim

[Kurlon]

Well... I'm not at 20 like Jim...

1) NYST - Only ran counter-clockwise but had a ball, nice and technical with good flow and super scenic to look at. Need to get down there with a motard some time.
2) NHMS - Home, spoiled by the available facilities, close, but the pavement is rougher in places, and runoff concerns...

[Jim]

20 tracks is beyond impressive Jim

#19 is a joke though. i need a gap to keep Thompson at last place even when i ride somewhere new

[Kurlon]

COTA is now my #1 fav. Lots of technical stuff to master, PLUS a 1km dragstrip with a slight kink and mild whoops to let your bike eat on, AND runoff for weeks. It's got corners that have you going from top gear to 1st, a couple triple apex grind fests in both increasing and decreasing radius format, a chicane that dares you to sumo the curbs... on camber, off camber, elevation changes. With the length you can have 40+ on it at once with a massive range of lap times and really not encounter traffic.

Facilities... yes, all of them, plus a kart track, conference halls, box seats, the world's slowest lame zip lines, soon to have condos, and the BBQ in the area is kickin.

Also, Pittenger is in the area so no worries about finding a wingman on short notice.

The downsides, well... it's not exactly 'local' and even once you get there it's EXPENSIVE. Sounds like TDs *start* at $500 a day and don't include use of a garage for that price.

1) COTA
2) NYST
3) NHMS

[Jim]

You need to try some decent ones that are cheaper and more local like NJMP, Summit, Road Atlanta, VIR, and Barber.

I doubt they’d top COTA for you, but overall fun/cost factor will be top notch.


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[Kurlon]

Agreed, just gotta figure out opportunities now.

[tsorfas]

Summit is an incredible track to ride. Facilities barely exist lol but the track itself is very fun. Highly recommend.

[Jim]

Summit is an incredible track to ride. Facilities barely exist lol but the track itself is very fun. Highly recommend.

not sure what you mean by bad facilities. they have tons of power and you rent the box which includes two 110v and a 30a for $15/day. two bathrooms with showers, concession stands for breakfast and lunch, and tons of parking/camping. only thing they lack is garages, which isnt very common in the south east.

when comparing a NASCAR track like NHMS, it's not a fair comparison because it's built to suit NASCAR's needs. a regular car/bike race track wont have score boards, double wide garages, air compressor lines, and 50a hookups everywhere.

[tsorfas]

Last time I was there was 2016. And yes of course I’m comparing it to NHMS and other facilities.
I don’t remember the food options but we had every meal off truck.
Showers were tiny and very limited (I don’t remember the exact number of stalls).
Like you said garages don’t even exist.
We were parked in a decent sized spot on the grass.

[Jim]

Last time I was there was 2016. And yes of course I’m comparing it to NHMS and other facilities.
I don’t remember the food options but we had every meal off truck.
Showers were tiny and very limited (I don’t remember the exact number of stalls).
Like you said garages don’t even exist.
We were parked in a decent sized spot on the grass.

so the bathroom by the tech area has one stall. there are bathrooms by the control tower that have like 4 stalls.
the track also got repaved in 2017 and has been going through renovations and improvements. your opinion would have been slightly better had you went in 2017-2018 instead of 2016.

it's not common for these tracks to have garages.
the main thing that sucks about Summit is there is essentially no AT&T service

[Paul_E_D]

I did a fan lap at COTA It did whet my appetite to ride there. I have been given mixed reviews from riders I know. Some say the track doesn't flow well despite it's size. I did like the elevation change and massive runoff.

[OreoGaborio]

I read that too fast & thought you said you did a fap at COTA.

I was all... "Yeah, that's to be expected."

[Jim]

I did a fan lap at COTA It did whet my appetite to ride there. I have been given mixed reviews from riders I know. Some say the track doesn't flow well despite it's size. I did like the elevation change and massive runoff.

the cost of riding there is what has kept it off my radar. Laguna is the only track in the US left for me that i have interest in riding on.

[Kurlon]

Laguna is on my bucket list as well, as far as COTA I thought it flowed pretty good, at my pathetic pace.

[OneCheekRider]

the cost of riding there is what has kept it off my radar. Laguna is the only track in the US left for me that i have interest in riding on.

Laguna isn't exactly cheap either, especially if you want to ride on one of the few 105 dB days.

[Jim]

Laguna isn't exactly cheap either, especially if you want to ride on one of the few 105 dB days.

$500+ a day like COTA?

Daytona, Road Atl, Road America, and i think Pitt are around $275/day for a track day. it's pricy, but sort of a one time experience.

[OneCheekRider]

$500+ a day like COTA?

Daytona, Road Atl, Road America, and i think Pitt are around $275/day for a track day. it's pricy, but sort of a one time experience.

$350-$400 depending on org and day of the week. Definitely not something I'd be doing on the regular.

I think the $350 day is on a Tue so pretty much need to take 2 or 3 days off work just to attend.

[Jim]

not adding it to my list as i didnt ride the track, but just got back from Chuckwalla Valley. pretty cool place, very big facility. i like that they run CW and CCW, and rotate direction every other race weekend. the track is totally flat with a "bowl" that has some camber. the dirt sketches me out as it looks like you're going to crash if you roll off the track. only main pain is the track is in the desert in the middle of nowhere. so the next town over with hotels/food/walmart is a 55 mile drive. any medical attention means airlift.

[tsorfas]

55 miles? Holy shit

[OneCheekRider]

not adding it to my list as i didnt ride the track, but just got back from Chuckwalla Valley. pretty cool place, very big facility. i like that they run CW and CCW, and rotate direction every other race weekend. the track is totally flat with a "bowl" that has some camber. the dirt sketches me out as it looks like you're going to crash if you roll off the track. only main pain is the track is in the desert in the middle of nowhere. so the next town over with hotels/food/walmart is a 55 mile drive. any medical attention means airlift.

you were at the CVMA races? let me know next time you're around. At nothing else, just to say hi and I'll throw you a beer