Wednesday 16 January 2019

Which Track in FL for 1st Timer?


Hello track fanatics and most handsome/attractive beings of reddit! Please go easy on me :)Title kind of spells it out but i'll add a few caveats.I'm looking for the right place to do a first track day and am in florida for the next several months.Catch is I a) really don't want to crash or hurt myself (insurance deductibles are on the high side so I don't want to get anywhere near that), b) i strongly prefer a setting with slower speeds and tighter turns (is that even possible????) , and c) ideally some place that isn't crowded or with some big novice group.​I mention the slower speed stuff because while i've no problem reaching supra-legal speeds ----in a high speed, out of state test location that is! --- i find it far less intimidating and productive for learning to practice aggressive cornering and lean angles on slower speed curves. Sure people hurt themselves at 35 mph but i'd take my chances with that over a tumble at 90 any day.In the quest to find the right spot, i have watched videos of jennings and palm beach raceway. Jennings seems really fast and scary with even the novice videos showing people going 85+, even 100+ for most of the first third of the track. It also seems super popular, (it is some sort of winter track mecca in the south, yes?), and with tons of attendees. Can't say I blame them if they are coming from the chilly north of the country but i'd rather not be on track white knuckling my way through 100 mph turns with 20 people circulating the track.​Palm beach i think is basically a car truck but they run bikes there too. It seems slower in sections but it also appears to have much less runoff which sounds less safe.​Finally I think there is a go kart place in central florida that looks pretty cool with lots of slower, tight turns. However the site mentions karts and small CC bikes ---smaller than what I ride anyway (middleweight) so sadly it might not.​I practice where I can on the street at odd hours and isolated places but it is still risky. The roads are littered with stuff and all it takes is one bad spot, then there are guardrails, sidewalks, barriers, and all kinds of stuff to put the big hurt on you in case of a fall. So that's my thought with this post....a less crowded, safer place to work up the big lean angles, putting together all the cornering and riding techniques. I feel I could go much harder/faster on the street especially on a group ride or two but it seems way too risky and i value my life and license. I have seen a few people end up in ditches locally (yeap, they actually exist) trying to push and I don't want to end up that way.​EDIT: No sooner do i pay a visit to r/motorcycles than i find this which is one of those things that makes me worry about a track day: https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/4f9qaq/i_narrowly_avoided_a_crash_this_weekend_at_putnam/guy crashes into someone and the person whose bike gets trashed has no recourse.​ via /r/Trackdays https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackdays/comments/agtsu4/which_track_in_fl_for_1st_timer/?utm_source=ifttt

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