Bike track day, part II

Another interesting distinction between car track days and motorcycle track days… All but the advanced group of a car track day require ‘point-bys’ in order for one car to pass another. So the car in front must signal/allow the car behind to pass them. At a motorcycle track day, mirrors are usually taken off as a precaution should the motorcycle get wrecked (more on this later). No mirrors mean it’s a lot more difficult to see behind you. So there’s pretty much open passing anywhere. In my novice group, they did limit the passing while in a corner to only passing on the outside. Still open passing on the straights.

I tend to be the courteous and cautious type, so if I saw someone closing on me (glancing back once in a while), I’d wait until a safe section of track to slow down a tad to make it easier to pass me. This was fine for those who were also more cautious. However, there was a LOT of very aggressive passing going on where a few guys cut it pretty close. Lesson, just ignore what’s behind you and make them work to get around you.

So what happens when you have a bunch of over aggressive guys? You end up with a bunch of wrecks. I think there were 13 wrecks with at least four guys going to the hospital. The number was abnormally high (first real track day of the season), but not an uncommon occurrence at all during a motorcycle track day.

Here’s some vid from the B/Intermediate group to give you a flavor of what it’s like. My buddy Cam is in the blue leathers on the dark colored motorcycle.