[Charles]

Hey guys, I was able to fit in another track day at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace), over the weekend. I rode an open track day, as a first-time rider with Team Pro-Motion. Great bunch of guys and gals! It was a great day!

Here's a video montage that I put together highlighting some of the sessions... Enjoy:

 

[jtdbsr]

Hmm.. were you the guy I chatted with on pit lane while waiting for a bike to be picked up?

 

[ducducgop]

Cool video man, really want to get my bike out on the track soon!

 

[Charles]

Hmm.. were you the guy I chatted with on pit lane while waiting for a bike to be picked up?

It sure was JT! What a small world! I was planning to stop over after that session to chat some more but I got side-tracked.

How did your day turn out? I saw some incredible improvements on my lap times (almost broke in to 1:07s (1:08.02), and that's all the way down from the 1:11s last track day at PittRace with this bike.

The 'Open Track Day' format sure was great, but it took me a couple of days to recover from so much riding!

Do you ride a lot with TPM?

 

[Charles]

Cool video man, really want to get my bike out on the track soon!

Thanks! You should go for it... find the nearest track and find out who does track days there and check them out... a lot of track day organizations provide instruction and/or classes for first time track riders.

 

[ducducgop]

Closest track is NH Motor Speedway for me, has anyone been there? I heard the track is not in the best shape and not the best course for an 848 but i still wanna check it out. I have a friend who has been on his and he said its a blast.

 

[jtdbsr]

It sure was JT! What a small world! I was planning to stop over after that session to chat some more but I got side-tracked.

How did your day turn out? I saw some incredible improvements on my lap times (almost broke in to 1:07s (1:08.02), and that's all the way down from the 1:11s last track day at PittRace with this bike.

The 'Open Track Day' format sure was great, but it took me a couple of days to recover from so much riding!

Do you ride a lot with TPM?

Ride with TPM only actually. Great little track, will be back next year to try the new track. Now it's your turn to make the trip to Pocono. The FUSA layout at end of August will be awesome!

The best I could do was high 1:07s which is not bad for first time being there. Had to end the day early because the rear tire started spinning and didn't want to red flag the session

There was another 848/1098/1198, red and white. He was flat out flying.. Good Ducati turn out, counted 6 or 7.

 

[Charles]

Closest track is NH Motor Speedway for me, has anyone been there? I heard the track is not in the best shape and not the best course for an 848 but i still wanna check it out. I have a friend who has been on his and he said its a blast.

Go check out the organization that jtdbsr and I rode with last weekend at PittRace (Team Pro-Motion www.teampromotion.com), it looks like they have an event coming up in NH in a couple of weeks. As an existing member, jt might even be able to formally refer you as a new rider.

Now it's your turn to make the trip to Pocono. The FUSA layout at end of August will be awesome!

Well, I might be able to do that. The 'new' layout looks challenging...

1:07s for your first time at PittRace is very good in my opinion. It has taken me 6 track days to get to the low 1:08s. The fast riders are 1:05s and below--and the really fast guys (and there's only a handful), are sub-1:00. I believe most of my recent improvement can be credited to gearing and geometry changes to my bike. It didn't feel good before. I'm still blown away with a 3-second drop last weekend. I'm going back at least one more time this year (with MotoSeries) in Sept to see if I can drop three more! It's not likely, but I'll try.

 

[jtdbsr]

Absolutely! The difference in proper suspension and geometry is unbelievable. Followed Brian's thread http://www.ducati.org/forums/how-tos/42144-understanding-chassis-little-more-part-deux.html and never looked back.

PITTRACE is pretty bumpy compared to the other tracks like Thunderbolt, NCBIKE and Pocono. I suspect a special one off setting for the suspension would probably yield a few more seconds. I was watching the fast guys and their bikes showed a soft suspension setup. I was experiencing a lot of head shake exiting turn 5 and 6. Try a softer setup next time and let me know how it feels

 

[jwm2k3]

Closest track is NH Motor Speedway for me, has anyone been there? I heard the track is not in the best shape and not the best course for an 848 but i still wanna check it out. I have a friend who has been on his and he said its a blast.

I've got about 25 trackdays at NHMS. It is a technical track, but very fun!!!