To those of you who have ridden BOTH NOLA and Barber....can you suggest which one is better? I have ridden Barber and love it. Is NOLA worth a 10hr drive though? Thanks.....
I don't think I would drive 10 hours for Nola. I drove 6 hours for nola on feb. The track day was $100. I don't want to do that drive again. But I do drive 6-7 hours for Barber.
Agree with Marc, yes, it's worth it! It's a 10 hour drive for me as well, it's one of my favorite tracks and I'll be there next month! Every track is different and so are people's opinions about them. I have loved every track I've been to (17 of them in total) but I do have my favorites and NOLA is in my top 5.
Yes NOLA! I have only go to go once but will be there both events this year. Its a 10 hour drive for me also.
Between the two....Barber hands down. But NOLA is a lot of fun to ride too...there's no 170MPH straight at Barber...
Uhhmm...no...not really... NCM is certainly a nice track but it cannot hide that it was designed for cars more than for motorcycles. It still has some sketchy corners where you really do not want to have something happen. And it is certainly a horsepower track. While I like the track...it is no replacement for Barber. Have been to NOLA once and kinda agree...you should go at least once. It is definitely an interesting track to experience. Again though...no comparison to Barber (I promise I am not saying that because I had my only crash on the track (so far) at NOLA).. At the end of the day, if you get the chance any unknown/new track is worthwhile to experience...
Never been to NOLA, but. NCM is also one of my favorites. Yes, it has been designed with cars in mind. Yes there are some sketchy corners. I think trackdays are more than manageable there. I would disagree that it is a horsepower track though. I've seen 600s go as fast as 1000s. It's about flow and momentum. NOLA for me is almost 20 hrs. Just a little too far. Maybe I'll make it some day.
IMHO, NCM and Barber (edit: I mean NCM and NOLA) could almost be sister tracks. Both are pretty flat, both have a huge front straight, a 'bus stop' and some flowing high-speed corners. But, Barber is the "Jewel of the South" as far as tracks go; the entire experience (track, layout, landscaping, artwork, etc.) is about as good as it gets.
Agreed that you can't beat the overall experience of Barber; it kind of feels like they built a track in the middle of a high end golf course. Every square inch landscaped, something interesting to look at everywhere. But NCM just feels like it flows better to me, except I couldn't ever get "Deception" right.
Pretty flat? Barber has some serious elevation changes, and doesnt have a huge front straight...but come in too hot off the straight and T1 will be a big surprise. Cant say anything about Nola...except its in my list for this year and its a 15hr round trip. Ugghhh
Nola is my closest track, 3 hours tops. It's fun as hell on a 1000 never rode anything else there to compare. The front straight is ridiculous on a 1000 into T1 which is all but a 90 degree turn. The esses are wicked fast and very easy to screw up but when clicked right you'll get that tingly feeling inside. It's flat but wide and grip is pretty good. Barber is just beautiful all around and very technical and a workout on a 1000. I've been going to barber since the first motorcycle race was held there April 2003 with wera. I still don't know how to go fast there but I do like the place. Grip not so good at barber in the wet trying to race on it would be my only gripe. Barber is 4 1/2 to 5 hours away so my 2nd closest track. Both IMO are very good tracks!