Fever

What does bread and your track riding skills have in common ? They go stale. Unlike bread, however, you can shake the cobwebs off and refresh your riding skills. May 8th was my first track day of 2010. My track fu was weak. The track in question was Summit Point main. Having never ridden it before, I spent some time reading about it and watching some onboard footage. Apparently they’ve repaired it, again, and the surface was in good shape. Since we arrived early, I decided to walk around the track and take a look-see.

I’ve seen plenty of sessions and races here but it’s a bit different when you’re actually on the track, even on foot. From afar, all the patch jobs look rough but looks can be deceiving ; all the transitions were smooth, not too many noticeable irregularities. Track itself is about 2.0 mi long with a really fun carousel section. Here’s a youtoob video of the track. Not mine because I suck and don’t have a cam mounted on my moto.

Before you could say chickenhawk, it was time to get out and shake a leg. It was windy out, I could feel it sitting in the pit-out lane … I felt something slapping me around the neck. Shit I forgot to strap the helmet. By the time I got my gloves back on, it was time to roll. Awesome ! In all the excitement, I rolled on the throttle a little too quick and lobbed the front to the heavens, forgetting the gearing. Man, it felt like the school bus could do this in 3rd & 4th gear alone … But where is the fun in that ? This was our first lap of the first session out so we were running under a yellow flag. They usually do this so we can see where the corner workers are and gradually get up to pace. This was a good thing because this track is slippery in the mornings and things can go wrong very quick.

I have to say that I had doubts about Summit main before setting foot (wheel) on it. I started doing track days on a ’96 CBR 600 F3, which was more suited for short, technical tracks than speed and this track seemed to be opposite. But now I had a GSXR 750, geared really short so things were a bit different. It was very easy to get up to speed, felt more planted in the corners and had amazing brakes. I felt more confident hanging onto the throttle longer and there was much more real estate to hang onto while hanging off in the corners. So, with all that in mind, I started to feel good after the first session.

They'll never be the same.

The weather was still just OK, with high wind and all but it didn’t matter right now. I spent the first part of my morning getting my turn in, apex and brake markers, now it was just a matter of being consistent. The only part of the track I was uneasy with was the straight right before the last turn. See, I have this ‘thing’ about bridge abutments and this part of the track has it. It always got my heart racing. Well, I guess there are worse ways to go than hurtling yourself into a concrete bridge support … Anywho, the sessions after lunch went by quick. I didn’t even realize how much my legs hurt at the end of the day. Balls of my feet were on fire but it was the good kind of tired. Can’t wait to get back to this track soon.