Your best pass?

bmart

bmart

Control Rider
Hi all. With track time closing in fast, the recently posted video with the post-pass wheelie got me thinking. What is the best pass you've made at a track day? Tell us about it and why you think that it was your best.

For me, it was 2016 or 2017. I can't remember which year because I can barely remember breakfast. I was at my favorite course, VIR South zooming around with my buddy Alan. I follow him. he follows me. We have a blast.

I was following him and he caught up to another rider going into turn 1 but didn't make the pass. He is exceptionally careful about not causing anyone to change their line. In turn, I refrained from passing him...but lined him up for between turns 2 and 3, or between 3 and 4 at the latest. There is a lot more room to pass in this area than most people think, so long as you plan properly.

Just as I was coming up to the two of them with a full head of steam to make the pass entering turn 4, the start of the downhill roller coaster, Alan stopped refraining and also decided to pass on the left of the person he was following. I was able to get my wheel forward enough so that he could see it and we went into the roller coaster three wide. I was hanging off like a monkey on a sidecar to keep from going past full lean and so that I could carry that pace into the following right (leaving enough room for both of them if they needed it) and subsequent left. It was something I wish that I had a pic/video of.

I look back on it more fondly than any other. It is a challenging track in a potentially dangerous sport. Our recipe that day was riders who were generous with each other, not putting each other in danger. Each was using their full toolbox of skills to complete a task safely and continue on. No fuss. No muss. Safe. Just a giant grin that I can still drum up when I think of it today.

The attached pic as at the Oak Tree turn on VIR South in 2014. Stalking Alan and planning to take him at the entry to turn 1 on the brakes...as usual. I love that course. (I can't get him anywhere else!)

JON_3295sm.jpg
 
Otto Man

Otto Man

John
Control Rider
It's a toss up. Have had a ton of fun over the years, but the two (on camera) would be a tie between these.

In this one, I pass the rider on the outside of the hog pen at VIR on the last lap, beating him to the line by only a few thousandths of a second. As you can see, on the rumble strips, bike failing around and I'm just hanging on, keeping it pinned. He is also the same rider that, to this day, remains to be the closest I've ever gotten to another bike/rider and never actually made contact (it's the slow mo part right before the pass). The epic "finish line" pass is at the 3:30 mark.


The other one would be on the outside of T10 at Summit when I went around fellow CR (before he was a CR) Bob W. I might have brushed my elbow along his tail section, his leg, and the tank on his bike. Something I would definitely ONLY ever do with someone I know, and trust, as well as Bob. That was a fun weekend.

At the :30 second mark, but there's a lot of fun passes in both videos. :D

 
D-Zum

D-Zum

My 13 year old is faster than your President
Many, many, many, many years ago I was down at Barber in Nov. for the last event of the year. I think I was still in B group. I think it was Cal Crosselin's first weekend as a CR.
Anyway, my two buddy's were coming around the last right by pit in following Cal, and I was behind them a bit. Cal was working with Charlie and waiting for the last turn to wave Nathan by. It broke Nathan's drive to have to wait...but he was playing by the rules. I used that to catch up and figured I'd follow Nate down the straight when Cal waved us by.
But that didn't happen. Just the way things worked out, I never had to break my drive to the last turn and when I arrived we were all straight up and own and Cal couldn't have timed the "Come on by" better. Might have been one of the best drives out of that corner I had ever had to that point, too. Nathan was a better rider than I was at that time (He'd actually gotten his I bump already...but he signed up for Barber in B, so he was riding down since that event was filled in all 3 groups). Nathan's a competitive bastard, too...in a fun way.
I shot by Charlie, Cal, and Nathan like they were standing still.

Nathan doesn't do track days anymore, but when I run into him....that pass still gets him upset.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top