Pardon my spelling but posting from my iPhone. Here are IMHO ONLY some first impressions of NCM: First impressions of NCM: - this track has a learning curve. There are a BUNCH of blind spots and it will take a leap of faith to run thru them fast. - There are at least 2 corners you had better respect the entrance, or you will get caught out on the exit with nowhere to go. - surface is SMOOTH with little rubber laid down so its still slick (yet, ppl are respecting it and there have been ZERO red flags so far- hope I didn't just jinx it). - pit in and out kinda suck but dont see what they can do about it. - front straight seems shorter than NOLA but I havent found a good brake marker yet (146 mph later saw 160). - This organization put down entry, apex and exit cones which also re EXTREMELY helpful and should be emulated. - no PA yet so clock very important as coms for riders nonexistant. - no power so its gen city making coms worse. More impressions: - There ARE some issues with fencing. I am not a pro so I'll leave it to the Pros to be specific; MCRA put out all the air fence they have (10 sections) and haybales but its something that NCM has committed to remedy. - this track reminds me a lot of NOLA, the front straight is almost as long, and it has about four "bus stops" in it - but three of these here are blind. There are also two section with brake markers that you can almost ignore and use the long sweeper to decelerate. - One turn is named 'deception' - and it lives up to its name- its a hard right over a crest leading to a high speed back straight; the deceptive part being the rumble strip is hidden behind the crest where you would not expect it. There is a runoff behind the rumble strip because I found it twice yesterday until I figured out it requires a late apex and sharp turn in to line up the next corner. - there is a high speed crest in the last back straightaway that gives a 100+ MPH wheelie. - Coms sucks and its nearly impossible to convey info. Anybody running events here be prepared. - The race winner was running 1:59 lap times; my PB was a 2:15 and I think I could squeezw another 3-4 out of it before I' be pushing MY luck..EDIT: Now understand it was a 1:55 not 1:59...best I got was a 2:12 with traffic never got a clean lap.. - will post vids tonight or tomorrow (but i know some of you will be on it by then good luck!) P.S.: The Rumble strip on the apex of the last corner entering the front straight (left turn) is painted white only - the is NO sand in the paint and NOT touching or using it is HIGHLY recommended..
Lastly, this track is EASY on tires; 2 days and they look like I just rode around the block to scrub them in...
Keith, do you think the track, OVERALL, is safe for bikes? I seems as if it is pretty safe? Not like I will ever get there, but is it safe for "race pace"? I saw where some AMA guys originally thought NOLA was dangerous through the esses. Article said if someone went down "at speed", they would slide back across the track into midfield traffic.
track is freaking fast with blind sweepers, easy on tires and knee pucks, without cones in corners it be a mess
I got stuck in Novice for a while so I'll upload a video later of the first session of the day that shows the pit in and pit out procedure, plus some leisurely laps. I mean Ron Hix's laps were awesome but mere mortals like myself can process things that fast, haha. WHAT DID YOU DO??? There was one red flag yesterday and I feel like there was at least 6 today. Also I was behind the historic first crash on the track so I've got that footage as well.
Alot of air fence is needed for sure. Track surface is actually very grippy with some heat in it and comes to temperature quick. The faster you go the more it makes sense. For reference, my fast lap was in 2:00.02 range.
Fastest I could eek out with traffic was 2:12 never got a clean lap (Intermediate). Here's a vid someone else (on a HP4 who later crashed) took, of course I get passed on the front straight...but my bike is home and shiny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSqPR3F7SKo
Nice write up, Keith! All good information. But you left out some of the most important parts! WAS IT SAFE AND FUN?!? -Fun track? No? -Flowy? Choppy? -Is it fairly wide? Compared to Barber? but most of all, WILL you be going back when STT runs there next year? :thumb:
And here is the crash video of the HP4 (watch the last minute of this)...too much gas at the wrong time...what I'm pointing out is look where the bike ended up in relation to the tire wall.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rY5IhwXgj8
- Yes - It has some really nice flow parts, but it's got some turns that make you scratch your head... - A third as wide as Barber... - YES
If you had to choose between Barber or NCM? Momma only allows for 1 long distance track day in my budget. :lmao: