Noob questions about first track day.

That should be fine.

There's a gasoline station a few minutes down the road from the track. A single jerrycan will suffice for the day, usually.

The grounds are locked at night and nobody will mess with your stuff.

I just bring tent and sleeping stuff and waters in a cooler. I personally don't cook at the track and eat food from the vendor if it's open or run down the street to a fast food joint for lunch. Bring whatever snacks you may want. There are showers in the silo.

 

Absolutely. I've done that many times. People generally just put everything underneath their canopies and drop it for the night.

 

This is the way I used to do it, never had a problem. Most any track, especially at STT events, is like that. Show up the evening before of morning of, leave all your junk there in your pit spot until you get ready to leave. It is very unlikely anyone will mess with any of it. Now I just go for single days and drive in the morning of and drive home after the day is over, but I rented many motels leaving my bike, trailer, tools, gas, canopy, etc at the track without a single issue. There should be several hotel options available over in Oxford and the surrounding area to choose from.

Good luck and have fun! Novice group provides for a very comfortable first day on track. Tally is also a good choice for your first day as it is a short and fairly easy track to learn. The track coaches are there to help and don't hesitate to ask them any questions you may have. Also don't hesitate to ask anyone pitted beside you if you have any questions. Most everyone at the track are great folks and always willing to help. I should be there one of those days unless something happens, most likely Sunday.

 

There are power boxes with outlets you can plug in the pit areas over by the building. I think you can pay the person in the guard shack for it, but usually there are people checking in on you to make sure you paid for it.

Any 8x8 or 10x10 canopy is going to be fine. I prefer the Coleman 10x10s that are occasionally on sale. Make sure you have weights or something heavy to keep it held down on the ground. I use the transport straps I use for my bike to keep two opposite corners held down by a spare wheel or the gas can, etc.

I like to bring at least the canopy and chair(s) with me. I have a folding table that's nice to throw gear on between sessions. I have a fan, but only bother when it's warmer out.

A more complete list of stuff I like to bring is:

Spoiler

Bike (Second wheel set, tires)
Ramp
Gear (helmet, suit, gloves, boots, back protector, ear plugs)
Stands (Front, rear)
Tire warmers
Generator
Extension cord
Tools
Spares box
Canopy
Chair
Table
Fans
Cooler (water, food)
Gas can
Bicycle
Foot pump
Duffel bag (clothes, toiletries, shower etc)
Camping gear (Tent, inflatable mat, sleeping bag, pillow, flashlight)

And it all fits in my Tacoma.

You'll have time after the rider's meeting. Novice goes out on track 40 minutes after the hour. Generally, you'll meet with your novice instructor before each session until the afternoon, but they'll let you know what's going on at the track.

 

You are much better off to leave your bike and stuff at the track than you are to have it with you in the hotel parking lot....

 

Others have answered your questions well, but I will add my input too.

1. Electricity - You pay the person at the gate for power, it is $20 for a standard power outlet, bring plenty extension cords if intending to use power. Power spots are located on the power poles around the main building on the left as you pull into the pit area. The last time I bought a power spot there, I got there a bit late, used the power spot anyways, then went back across track to the gate and paid the lady $20 during the lunch break while track was cold (no riders). They give you an arm band to tie around your power cord so they know you paid for that power spot. The catch is, you must go in and look to see if there is an available power spot, there may or may not be depending on how crowded it is, then go back and pay the person at the gate for it if you find one.

2. Canopy - 10x10 cheap canopy is perfect. I bring 2 portable tool boxes full of miscellaneous tools with me, and I use them to tie down 2 opposing corners of the canopy so the wind doesn't blow it away. I also have a cheap square folding table from walmart and 2 folding chairs I bring with me to sit in, pile gear in, etc. I use the table to place my helmet and gloves on in between sessions, sweat towel, drinks, etc, and to eat my packed lunch on.

3. Gear - Not many people put their gear on before the rider's meeting. Just lay it out so that it will be easy to put on quickly before you go on track. As soon as the rider's meeting is over, Novice group will report to the top floor in the main building for the first of a few classroom sessions. You will be in the classroom until probably around 9:25-9:30am, then go back to your pit and get your gear on and head to pit-out to line up behind your instructor. The lead Novice instructor will place you into Novice subgroups and you will have a particular instructor for your sub group. They will explain how everything works as far as lining up at pit-out and using pit-in too.

Novice group rides the last 20 minutes of every hour, Intermediate is first, Advance is 2nd, Novice is last of the hour. Before each group's session starts, the director will call over the loudspeaker "First call for Novice", then "2nd call for Novice", then "3rd and final call for Novice". You will be safe to wait until around the 2nd call for Novice to get on your bike and head to pit out. So don't feel rushed if you don't have your gear on and ready to go out as soon as they call first call.

And if you want to skip a session throughout the day, feel free to do so, but I recommend going to ALL of the classroom sessions for your first track day. You will likely learn a lot of valuable info on technique, rules, and general track etiquette.

Also, this time of the year you probably won't need a fan, especially if you have a canopy to chill under. I despise hot weather and I will not be bringing my fan nor buying a power spot. I should be there Saturday unless weather takes a turn for the worst, but it's looking pretty good as of now. All I bring is a cooler full of water and gatorades (it is important to have both), a lunchable for a light lunch and some chips/beef jerky to snack on throughout the day, sweat towel, canopy, table, chairs, tools, 2 gallon gas can (my particular bike doesn't drink gas).

Make sure you stay hydrated. Drink plenty the day before and the day of. Or if you are like me, you don't have to take much extra measures to hydrate, because I drink water pretty much all day every day. Good luck and have fun!

 

This! 100x safer!

 

Another bit of info, depending on how hard you end up riding, you may need to flip your rear tire around backwards after the first day. Just keep an eye on it. Tally is all left hand turns except for one and the pavement is rough. That track destroys the left side of your tire, so generally running two days in a row requires getting the rear tire flipped before starting the 2nd day to maintain even wear. However, you may be able to get away with running both days without flipping if you aren't just hauling ass and depending on what tires you are running.

What tires will you be running?

 

You should be good to go with those tires and pressures. You might can get away without flipping the rear in between days, depends a lot on how hard you end up riding. Main thing is not rush anything, take it easy, learn the track and technique, and just examine your rear tire after the first day and see what it looks like. If you need to, ask someone else if they think it needs flipped before the next day.

 

I will be there Saturday, coming solo unless girlfriend decides to come. Riding in Intermediate group. If you spot my bike in the paddock, feel free to stop in and chat. Dark green canopy. Silver Honda NC700X, open 12' trailer towed by white 2005 Chevy truck.

 

Well, how was it?

 

Bummer man! But it happens! I crashed my first trackday at Barber years ago too! Doesn't look like the bike is messed up too bad. That right hander is tricky, My least favorite turn on that track. Highly recommend hitting Barber next if you choose to go back to the track. Barber is twice as wide as tally and the asphalt is perfect. Plenty room to run wide if an error is made.

 

It happens...Ask the crowd at the riders meeting who has crashed at the track...98% will raise their hands. It's a right of passage just like the first time you drag your knee.

BABY STEPS!

 

"It's a right of passage just like the first time you drag your knee". I touched my 1st knee down at Tally so this place will always be special to me.