We had an opportunity to attend an Open Practice Session as part of the RideSmart trackday on Saturday, 8/29 at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX. While it’s good to have an empty track to work on fast laps, etc., the open practice sessions allow experience in passing and being passed (given that expert riders and faster bike classes are also in the same groups). Thanks to Scott Buckley for allowing Carlo to follow him during one of the sessions. It helped identify the weakest area (Rattlesnake/Wagonwheel).
We have also switched footwear from Dainese Torque Outs to one of the newest, and most advanced boots in the market – the Sidi Vortice. This is as close to a custom-boot that anyone can get, but it does have a bit more bulk and the sole is more rigid so it took all day to even start getting used to it. It was comfortable from the beginning (and takes about 5 minutes to put on due to the adjustments) but it’s just different. We got a kick out of seeing it worn by several riders in MotoGP, especially the 250cc class.
Our best recorded time was 1:32 which is 2 seconds slower than our best time there. We did have a very good last session of the day, but the timer battery died, but Carlo thinks that the time is closer to 1:30 so I guess we’ll see how it goes this coming weekend.
From the track pictures, we will be working on some small body position changes – turning the head more aggressively to look through the turn, and relaxing the inside arm so that the elbow isn’t pulled in too much. We’ll also be working on quicker turn-in and being comfortable with more lean angles at some key portions of the track.
We also struggled a little bit on gearing and shift patterns but we think the 15/46 gearing should work fine, with the only hitch being a short-shift after Horseshoe but before committing to Boot Hill in the back section.
M2TX 