[russperry]

Folks - I'm thinking of making a long journey this spring to visit some new racetracks and I'm thinking of hitting COTA around April, to coincide with MotoGP. I'm looking for some help in sorting out which organizers put on dates there and figuring out dates that might make sense.

Anyone out here have a good list of websites I could hit for dates? I've looked at trackdaytoday.com (which is great when populated) but as of now everything there is blank.

thanks

 

[Strider]

The only organization that does track days at CotA is RideSmart (unless something has changed recently). They are a great organization, and the track days at CotA are amazing!!! I attended the very first motorcycle track day there (and several after that).

The web site is: RideSmart - Texas Track Day Motorcycle School

 

[russperry]

The only organization that does track days at CotA is RideSmart (unless something has changed recently). They are a great organization, and the track days at CotA are amazing!!! I attended the very first motorcycle track day there (and several after that).

The web site is: RideSmart - Texas Track Day Motorcycle School

Thanks a lot

 

[russperry]

Multi part question

As I mentioned in the OP, I'm putting together a plan for a year long trip across the country visiting as many tracks as I can, something of a bucket list adventure. I've found 21 different organizers and have found many events with 100's up and down the east coast, but have some huge holes in the plan and I'm looking for help at specific venues and regions.

Road America - anyone know who might host track days there? Elsewhere in the Midwest, are there any other venues I could try? An outfit called Midwest Track Days has events at Putnam Park and NCM - any feedback on the organizer or tracks?

Southeast - I've found a few orgs in Texas, and several that cover CMP and NC Bike, but I've only found one event at Barber in Birmingham, and nothing anywhere else in LA, MS, AL, FL, etc.I.. any ideas for alternative venues or organizers?

Is there anywhere to ride in New Mexico or Colorado? Basically I'm empty in the mountain states except for Utah (UMC) and I was hoping I could fit something in crossing that area.

Thanks for any suggestions More questions will inevitably follow.....

 

[sbk1198]

As I mentioned in the OP, I'm putting together a plan for a year long trip across the country visiting as many tracks as I can, something of a bucket list adventure. I've found 21 different organizers and have found many events with 100's up and down the east coast, but have some huge holes in the plan and I'm looking for help at specific venues and regions.

Road America - anyone know who might host track days there? Elsewhere in the Midwest, are there any other venues I could try? An outfit called Midwest Track Days has events at Putnam Park and NCM - any feedback on the organizer or tracks?

Southeast - I've found a few orgs in Texas, and several that cover CMP and NC Bike, but I've only found one event at Barber in Birmingham, and nothing anywhere else in LA, MS, AL, FL, etc.I.. any ideas for alternative venues or organizers?

Is there anywhere to ride in New Mexico or Colorado? Basically I'm empty in the mountain states except for Utah (UMC) and I was hoping I could fit something in crossing that area.

Thanks for any suggestions More questions will inevitably follow.....

Road America is a MUST for sure! Organizers that do track days there are STT, Midwest, ZARS, and I believe Motovid. Can't go wrong with either of those IMO. My experience has been mostly with STT. Rode with ZARS once also and although I've never ridden with Midwest Track Days, I've met the owner (who's also a Pirelli distributor around that area). Nice guy, and I've heard good things about his track days. This year, EvolveGT (from the east coast) will go there on the Friday before the CCS weekend which is around July 18th if I recall.

For colorado area, I would only really recommend High Plains. Nice track, kind of in the middle of nowhere though, so if you go there make sure you have EVERYTHING with you, cuz there's nothing within like an hour of the track lol I believe the track itself runs the track days there. Not greatly organized when I was there, but it makes it cheap since there's no middle man.

If you can swing it, I would recommend Motorsports Park Hastings in Hastings, NE with Trackaddix. Used to be my home track for years, and I'm hoping to make it out there again this year once, but it'll be challenging since I'm in VA now. Track is nothing spectacular but the organization is still my favorite out of all the track day orgs I've ridden with. Super chill and laid back environment, because the owner does it for fun. I don't think he's ever made any money off track days, he just wants to break even. It's just a really great group and atmosphere there, and the track manager/owner is a really cool dude too. Additionally, Heartland Park Topeka (or whatever it's called now) in Topeka, KS and Hallett Motor Racing in Hallett, OK are two other good options. Fun tracks as well. MCRA used to run at both of those, I'm not sure if they still do or not, but the tracks are fun.

For east coast, I HIGHLY recommend VIR. If you can get to NJMP, that would be a great option too. Fuck NCBIKE and CMP lol...I don't really mean that in a bad way, but they're not exactly the "cream of the crop" tracks for the east coast. Those are not the tracks you want to drive thousands of miles for. Those are the tracks you go to if you live really close or if you're really bored and have been to all the good ones like 15 times already and want to try something new lol I only go to NCBIKE because it's the closest track to me, but there's not much to it. CMP is alright, but the paddock sucks and the track will eat tires like no other...although I've heard it's getting repaved sometime this summer.

Anyway...VIR, VIR, VIR! EvolveGT and N2 are the biggest track day orgs around here. Both really good, but events can get quite packed so plan ahead of time. PRE is also a good option, and they're the only ones that run the Full Course at VIR once a year. I'm hoping to make it to that even because I haven't had a chance to do the full course. I've done North and South, but not the Full. North course is what MotoAmerica, CCS and WERA race on. That's the fun part, but the Full course looks like a blast too.

NJMP is nice cuz it has 2 totally separate tracks Thunderbolt is what MotoAmerica and CCS run, and also most track day orgs. Lightning is a smaller track but REALLY fast, and it's a blast too. I know N2 will be running that at some point, maybe Evolve does too, I'm not sure.

Summit Point Main is another option to consider. Not my favorite by any means, but a lot of people seem to like it. It was repaved not too long ago so it's really smooth, but I hate making the drive there and the paddock kinda sucks, so it's not among my favorites.

PittRace is on my go-to list. Supposedly one of the best tracks on the east coast, but I haven't got a chance to go there yet.

Farther down in the Southeast, Barber and Road Atlanta are the go-to places for sure, and you should be able to find a ton of options for those. There are few orgs that do track days at those locations. STT probably does the most at those tracks. Good group. Never been to either of those 2 tracks...some day though.

 

[russperry]

Thanks SBK - lots of good information there. I hadn't come across Trackaddix yet so I'll definitely look into their schedule. Thanks also for the tips on Hastings, Hallet, Heartland and High Plains Raceway. My goal this year is to hit as many unique tracks as I can, so having stopping places across the center of the country will be great.

Definitely I want to get onto as many MotoAmerica tracks as possible so PittRace is on the priority list, with RoadAmerica, Road Atlanta, Barber, NJMP, VIR and of course COTA being the other highlighted targets.

From what I can tell, the organizers with the biggest, broadest schedules are Evolve, N2, and STT so I'm expecting to run several events with each of them.

All of this still pending purchase of an RV of course

 

[sbk1198]

Thanks SBK - lots of good information there. I hadn't come across Trackaddix yet so I'll definitely look into their schedule. Thanks also for the tips on Hastings, Hallet, Heartland and High Plains Raceway. My goal this year is to hit as many unique tracks as I can, so having stopping places across the center of the country will be great.

Definitely I want to get onto as many MotoAmerica tracks as possible so PittRace is on the priority list, with RoadAmerica, Road Atlanta, Barber, NJMP, VIR and of course COTA being the other highlighted targets.

From what I can tell, the organizers with the biggest, broadest schedules are Evolve, N2, and STT so I'm expecting to run several events with each of them.

All of this still pending purchase of an RV of course

What group do you ride in typically? Only thing I will say is that if you ride Advance group, that will be hard to get to with N2. They're pretty strict on who they let in advance group. As an outsider, they'll probably make you pick novice group, or maybe intermediate. And if you request a bump, you'll have to go out with 2 different coaches to evaluate you. So you might be spending like half of the first day at least just trying to get that bump if you feel that you should be riding in that group. Or you can bypass all of that if you have an expert racing license

The other orgs are not as strict on that.

 

[russperry]

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially SBK - I've been able to tie in a lot of your recommendations in the schedule I've put together. You'll see that i've had to scratch out MotoGP at COTA - this was gonna be one of the highlights, but they just postponed it to November, so I've penciled in High Plains Raceway for that weekend. its kinda early for a track day in Colorado but it makes sense in the overall plan and route.

Anybody who wants to stop in and say hi along the way would be greatly welcomed Shoot me a PM on this forum and I can share my mobile phone number if you want to connect. I'll be updating the trip through Instagram so anyone who wants to follow along can follow me there at Instagram ID - russperry3000

Day Date Racetrack Location
Saturday March 28th Spring Mountain East Pahrump, NV
Sunday March 29th Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV
Thu-Sun April 3-5 COTA – MotoGP Austin, TX
Saturday April 4th High Plains Raceway Deer Trail, CO
Sunday April 12th Heartland Park Motorsports Park Topeka, KS
Sat-Sun April 18-19 Motorsports Park Hastings Hastings, NE
Saturday April 25th *Pitt Race Wampum, PA
Monday April 27th * NJMP – Thunderbolt Milville, NJ
Sunday May 3rd * Summit Point – Main Summit Point, WV
Monday May 4th Summit Point – Shenandoah Summit Point, WV
Monday May 11th *VIR – North Alton, VA
Saturday May 16th *Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, AL
Sat – Sun May 23-24 *COTA Austin, TX
Friday May 29th * Utah Motorsports Campus Erda, UT

June to August Summer Break

Friday August 28th Nelson Ledges Garrettsville, OH
Sunday August 30th Grattan Raceway Belding, MI
Saturday September 5th NCM Motorsports Park Bowling Green, KY
Monday September 7th Autobahn Country Club Joliet, IL
Saturday September 12th Blackhawk Farms South Beloit, IL
Monday September 14th *Road America Elkhart Lake, WI
Sunday September 20th Arizona Motorsports Park Litchfield Park, AZ

 

[Duc995]

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially SBK - I've been able to tie in a lot of your recommendations in the schedule I've put together. You'll see that i've had to scratch out MotoGP at COTA - this was gonna be one of the highlights, but they just postponed it to November, so I've penciled in High Plains Raceway for that weekend. its kinda early for a track day in Colorado but it makes sense in the overall plan and route.

Anybody who wants to stop in and say hi along the way would be greatly welcomed Shoot me a PM on this forum and I can share my mobile phone number if you want to connect. I'll be updating the trip through Instagram so anyone who wants to follow along can follow me there at Instagram ID - russperry3000

Day Date Racetrack Location
Saturday March 28th Spring Mountain East Pahrump, NV
Sunday March 29th Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV
Thu-Sun April 3-5 COTA – MotoGP Austin, TX
Saturday April 4th High Plains Raceway Deer Trail, CO
Sunday April 12th Heartland Park Motorsports Park Topeka, KS
Sat-Sun April 18-19 Motorsports Park Hastings Hastings, NE
Saturday April 25th *Pitt Race Wampum, PA
Monday April 27th * NJMP – Thunderbolt Milville, NJ
Sunday May 3rd * Summit Point – Main Summit Point, WV
Monday May 4th Summit Point – Shenandoah Summit Point, WV
Monday May 11th *VIR – North Alton, VA
Saturday May 16th *Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, AL
Sat – Sun May 23-24 *COTA Austin, TX
Friday May 29th * Utah Motorsports Campus Erda, UT

June to August Summer Break

Friday August 28th Nelson Ledges Garrettsville, OH
Sunday August 30th Grattan Raceway Belding, MI
Saturday September 5th NCM Motorsports Park Bowling Green, KY
Monday September 7th Autobahn Country Club Joliet, IL
Saturday September 12th Blackhawk Farms South Beloit, IL
Monday September 14th *Road America Elkhart Lake, WI
Sunday September 20th Arizona Motorsports Park Litchfield Park, AZ

Just so you’re not surprised: Arizona Motorsports Park has sound restrictions and you’ll need either an OEM exhaust or a really good dB killer. Also, September in Phoenix is REALLY HOT! Unless there is an unseasonal “cold” front coming through the temps will exceed 100 F by early afternoon.

 

[sbk1198]

@russperry who's doing the Road America track day in September? I've never seen one so late in the year there. I'm planning on going there in July. Also will be at NJMP the weekend before the Monday that you plan on doing (assuming it doesn't get canceled like so many other things are).

Seems to be a solid trip, with a lot of good tracks on the way. But are you taking 2 trips then? You're doing that whole tour in the spring and going back home, then doing another one a few months later?? How do you have so much vacation?? lol I'm jealous

 

[russperry]

Yep - this is gonna be a two part trip, taking the heat of the summer off. Of course that means lot more miles crossing back and forth but I hope to avoid the worst of it that way.

The RoadAmerica day in September is being put on by Motovid.com. Never heard of them before but stumbled onto them and found a day that works out for me. Hopefully I won't regret publishing that on the forum

Time off? Spell it r-e-t-i-r-e-d

There's good and bad with that - yes I've got time off, but I'm also closer to the ultimate finish line than most of the people on this board! That's why I'm taking this bucket list trip - only so many useful spring and summers left before the human engine runs out of gas....

I'm bummed that MotoGP at COTA has been cancelled of course, but I'm gonna make the best of it anyway

 

[sbk1198]

Yep - this is gonna be a two part trip, taking the heat of the summer off. Of course that means lot more miles crossing back and forth but I hope to avoid the worst of it that way.

The RoadAmerica day in September is being put on by Motovid.com. Never heard of them before but stumbled onto them and found a day that works out for me. Hopefully I won't regret publishing that on the forum

Time off? Spell it r-e-t-i-r-e-d

There's good and bad with that - yes I've got time off, but I'm also closer to the ultimate finish line than most of the people on this board! That's why I'm taking this bucket list trip - only so many useful spring and summers left before the human engine runs out of gas....

I'm bummed that MotoGP at COTA has been cancelled of course, but I'm gonna make the best of it anyway

Ahhh I see. That makes a lot more sense then lol Motovid is alright. I've been to one of their track days at Blackhawk Farms, but besides that I'm not too familiar with them. I just remember they run 4 groups, but don't recall anything negative about their track days. You'll love Road America if the weather is good. Keep updating this thread or start a new one once you begin your journey so we can keep up with where you are and what you think of all the tracks you go to.

 

[russperry]

I'll start a new one once the events start - 1st planned for just 12 days from now! All signs up to now are that the track day organizers are still planning on running events so keeping my fingers crossed.

Forecast weather for Spring Mountain and LVMS on 3/28-3/29 - sunny, 68-71F

 

[sbk1198]

I'll start a new one once the events start - 1st planned for just 12 days from now! All signs up to now are that the track day organizers are still planning on running events so keeping my fingers crossed.

Forecast weather for Spring Mountain and LVMS on 3/28-3/29 - sunny, 68-71F

I'm willing to bet a lot of the ones on your list will be cancelled. VIR has already canceled all events for the next few weeks. It wouldn't surprise me if PittRace, NJMP, and Summit Point events you got on your list will be canceled. If it was me, I would re-plan the whole thing with mostly everything being from July to October.

 

[Elijah]

Sorry I'm late to this thread but If I wanted to do a track day at COTA I'd go with 316 Trackdays. (Motorcycle Track Day Near Austin TX | 3:16 Trackdays) I personally know the guy who runs this and trust him implicitly. (Which for me is saying something because I don't typically trust people.) You get a lower student to teacher ratio than most trackdays and quite honestly he often has Moto America guys out there riding as rider coaches. So If I were to want a special COTA day I'd check them out first. Quite frankly he uses smaller groups and longer sessions than most rider schools so if for no other reason than that it's worth it.

I've done COTA probably 11 times and the normal 20 minute sessions are nice, but as soon as you start getting a feel for the braking markers, turn in points, etc. the session is over. With the longer sessions you have better focus and more time to ID what you're doing wrong and work on fixing it.

The other organizer for COTA trackdays is RideSmart. I live about 30 minutes (by bike) from the track and have done a lot of RideSmart events. As soon as I recover from my surgeries I'll be hitting up 316Trackdays. Hell, I'll probably just go out there and work for the guy just because he's such a good friend.

Just my $0.02

 

[sbk1198]

I've done COTA probably 11 times and the normal 20 minute sessions are nice, but as soon as you start getting a feel for the braking markers, turn in points, etc. the session is over. With the longer sessions you have better focus and more time to ID what you're doing wrong and work on fixing it.

How many laps and sessions do you need to figure out your braking and turn-in points? lol I would think you got that track down like the back of your hand if you've been there 11 times and after the first session of the day you click laps within about a second or so of your PB right away in all the other sessions (assuming good track conditions of course). Besides a few longer races, I don't think I've ever done anything more than 20-minute sessions. 20 minutes at full pace at most tracks is pretty damn physical, let alone one like COTA that has so many hard braking zones.

My old local track day org did 30-minute sessions and the reason I liked that was because not everyone was out there all at once. Some people would go out right away but then come back in after about 15 minutes, and then other would go out mid-session and do the last half of the session. Made it so there was less traffic each time which was nice. But unless it's your first time at a track, there is no reason to spend several laps in each session to just figure out your braking and turn-in points.

 

[Elijah]

Personally, yes, I know the track pretty well having been there as many time as I have so no, I'm not busy picking out braking markers and turning points. However, for someone who hasn't ridden the track before the longer sessions help you learn the track faster. I was thinking more along the lines of the OP who hasn't ridden the track before. (I don't know the OP skill level and am making some assumptions.)

There are many challenges to COTA, the turn in to T1 is challenging, T3-6 is tough because of the late apexes and the turns get tighter ... especially if you screw up T3, the blind entry to T10, the uphill T11 is deceptive, T13-14 and T15 can be a bitch if you don't know where to look, T16 through T18 you can't even see a turn in point or any apex so good luck, and T19 is very deceptive. So the longer sessions give you time to recognize the issues and learn. From the physicality perspective I never really had any issue except for the last session or two in the second day of riding the track. That only happened the first time I did two days in a row. But I agree, depending on your fitness and how hard you're pushing, the track is a physical challenge.

However, in this case I'm thinking more along the lines of someone who hasn't been there before and wants to get the most bang for their buck. The longer sessions do exactly what you say, more time on track with less people. Since COTA is such a physical track the time per session allows you to choose how much time you want to spend on track vs. the 20 minute session.

Either way, 316Trackdays or RideSmart is the way to get on COTA. Pick one and have fun. I know both owners, Dave and Ignacio, and both are great guys and both are trying to do the best for their customers. I just happen to like 316Trackdays format a little better and the fact he often gets rider coaches from MotoAmerica to help out.

My $0.02.

 

[russperry]

Thanks for all the input guys - both from a virus avoidance strategy and of course tips for COTA. The date I had planned on 5/23 was the "short course" which looks to cut off the long straights before and after turn 11 (maybe they don't want amateurs hitting 170+ on the back straight? )

I am considering a complete re-plan. Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch is a private resort club and appears to be still open for business at least as of yesterday. Maybe I'll just make a weekend out of that one then come back home with a plan to venture out later. Kinda sucks as I was planning on dodging the height of the summer heat but maybe it will be the better way to go.

Man - I'd be happy to be out in an RV for two months - about the best "social distancing" I can imagine

 

[Strider]

Thanks for all the input guys - both from a virus avoidance strategy and of course tips for COTA. The date I had planned on 5/23 was the "short course" which looks to cut off the long straights before and after turn 11 (maybe they don't want amateurs hitting 170+ on the back straight? )

Weird, I didn't know CotA had a "short course". They never did for any of the track days I did there.

 

[russperry]

Weird, I didn't know CotA had a "short course". They never did for any of the track days I did there.

I was surprised as well. There is a cutover from turn 6 to just before turn 12 that makes up that shorter course, with a 2nd short course that has a crossover from about halfway down the back straight, over to turn 7.

Circuit of the Americas - Wikipedia