CjrJAM
10-24-2006, 07:42 PM
Did another track day yesterday out here in Tejas at Motor Sports Ranch and it was the best one I have done here to date. The weather was perfect during the day, although a bit chilly in the morning. The new portion of the track was open and we ran the entire 3.1 mile course.
A couple days prior to the event I tried to pay for my spot online, only to find out that they were all sold out with the exception of the race group, as they call it. The race group has the option of paying another 50 bucks and getting some on track instruction from AMA Formula Extreme racer Ty Howard. So hesitant as heck I went ahead and jumped into the race group not knowing what to expect as this would be my first time in that category. I have to say that at first the pace was a little overwhelming but as the day went on I started feeling a bit more confident and started picking up on lines that others were using and felt comfortable going faster. I've lost count how many track days I've done to date, but I always told myself that I was perfectly content staying in the "intermediate" category and never moving up. As of yesterday I threw my comfort level out the window and realized how much I learned from going up a level (I know I know Sean, I can hear you saying "I told you so"). Towards the last couple sessions I saw lines I would have never seen had I stayed at the level I was at previously, nor would I have had the chance to realize that I was getting bored in the other group. After yesterday I once again have the butterflies in my stomach to hurry up and do another track day and I was so freaking pumped last night, it took a while to wind down. The thing I feared the most about being in the faster group was the fact that there were going to be people passing me left and right and that made me hell of nervous. Irronically that turned out to be the funest part of it all. Although I did not come anywhere near the speeds some of those guys were reaching, I learned a tremendous amount. To my surprise getting passed by a faster more experienced rider taught me a lot, not to mention that it also helped me increase my speed. I can't wait for the next one!
Here's some links to some pics;
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85400
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85490
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85548
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85614
Peekaboo http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85649
Triple Wide http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85705
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=86031
A couple days prior to the event I tried to pay for my spot online, only to find out that they were all sold out with the exception of the race group, as they call it. The race group has the option of paying another 50 bucks and getting some on track instruction from AMA Formula Extreme racer Ty Howard. So hesitant as heck I went ahead and jumped into the race group not knowing what to expect as this would be my first time in that category. I have to say that at first the pace was a little overwhelming but as the day went on I started feeling a bit more confident and started picking up on lines that others were using and felt comfortable going faster. I've lost count how many track days I've done to date, but I always told myself that I was perfectly content staying in the "intermediate" category and never moving up. As of yesterday I threw my comfort level out the window and realized how much I learned from going up a level (I know I know Sean, I can hear you saying "I told you so"). Towards the last couple sessions I saw lines I would have never seen had I stayed at the level I was at previously, nor would I have had the chance to realize that I was getting bored in the other group. After yesterday I once again have the butterflies in my stomach to hurry up and do another track day and I was so freaking pumped last night, it took a while to wind down. The thing I feared the most about being in the faster group was the fact that there were going to be people passing me left and right and that made me hell of nervous. Irronically that turned out to be the funest part of it all. Although I did not come anywhere near the speeds some of those guys were reaching, I learned a tremendous amount. To my surprise getting passed by a faster more experienced rider taught me a lot, not to mention that it also helped me increase my speed. I can't wait for the next one!
Here's some links to some pics;
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85400
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85490
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85548
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85614
Peekaboo http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85649
Triple Wide http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=85705
http://www.hart-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=86031