beechkingd
Member
Why did they take it down after CCS left on Sunday? This is the first time I've heard of Nesba not having out on Main since it was available.
Summit Main 8/26 air fence?
- Thread starter beechkingd
- Start date
sooperman12
New Member
There were a lot of weird things happening yesterday at Main. No air fence was the most glaring. But small details like not having cones set up. When you have Intro/Beginners riding each session, those things are key in teaching riders how to ride within their limits. Lots of crashing yesterday too. Just a weird day. I mean weather-wise it was gorgeous, but it was definitely one of the weirder run NESBA events I've been to. What's ironic is that tech was SO much stricter than I remember it being. Everything was nit-picked. Which is great. But then you'd think the track would get the same attention.
Motofun352
Control Rider
Last 2 times at main on Mondays, there was no AF. I understand the AF they are buying for Road Atlanta can be left up??? It sure would be nice, at least in turn 4, to have a permanent AF barrier, if possible. With no AF in 4, I know I take the edge off....Of course my edges are pretty dull, but still....
The airfence needs to be set up and maintained by someone who is a certified volunteer. The guy who used to do it for nesba retired. I believe a solution is being looked into.
beechkingd
Member
The actual inflatable airfence does need someone who knows what they are doing to deploy and maintain, but to my knowledge the "dog houses" don't require anything other then being put in the storage container when they aren't needed anymore. They were all setup and in position until Sunday at the end of the races. To my knowledge there was no announcement made that there would be no airfence deployed for us. I would have most likely ridden JC on Sunday if I had known this in advance.
Chrisk
New Member
There was both good and bad on Monday. The good... Large turn out, one member I talked to made a comment that the paddock was more full than the last WERA weekend he attended. All CR's did a great job with the large groups and trying to keep everyone under control. And the weather, that was great too.
Now the bad...Way too many people in the "I" group, the starter counted 75 bikes at one point before the second session ( I thought NESBA had a 40 person limit per group?) it was just plain unsafe, half those people should have been in "B". I saw multiple people almost stopping in the middle of the corner. There were still people coming out of pit out as I came around on my first lap! Lots of crashing, probably from the numbers in the groups and people pushing too hard. So much crashing that the whole schedule got out of sync. I ended up getting bumped to "A" right after lunch ( thank you to Steve Broadstreet !) which allowed me to enjoy 2 sessions in the afternoon but never got shivered one at the end of the day due to crash cleanup. Did only 5 sessions all day, the first 2 were a joke in "I".
I know that to stay in business NESBA needs numbers at the track, without that they are losing money every day. I believe that partnering with local dealers will bring interest from new riders to try the track and that is a good thing, but there has to be a happy medium. I just hope that there were some lessons learned from this experience that will not be repeated in the future.
Now the bad...Way too many people in the "I" group, the starter counted 75 bikes at one point before the second session ( I thought NESBA had a 40 person limit per group?) it was just plain unsafe, half those people should have been in "B". I saw multiple people almost stopping in the middle of the corner. There were still people coming out of pit out as I came around on my first lap! Lots of crashing, probably from the numbers in the groups and people pushing too hard. So much crashing that the whole schedule got out of sync. I ended up getting bumped to "A" right after lunch ( thank you to Steve Broadstreet !) which allowed me to enjoy 2 sessions in the afternoon but never got shivered one at the end of the day due to crash cleanup. Did only 5 sessions all day, the first 2 were a joke in "I".
I know that to stay in business NESBA needs numbers at the track, without that they are losing money every day. I believe that partnering with local dealers will bring interest from new riders to try the track and that is a good thing, but there has to be a happy medium. I just hope that there were some lessons learned from this experience that will not be repeated in the future.
HondaGalToo
Control Rider
Yup. That's a real problem. 75 riders in I? If that number is accurate, that's insane. NESBA never used to allow overbooking like that. And no airfence? That's a shame...
HondaGalToo
Control Rider
Good to know, thanks for the clarification.
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Unbroken13
Member
I ran jefferson Sunday... And turn one is a little scary whith no run off there... But no big deal... But I will say that the choice of parking by the corner worker after turn 4 was a little freaky... His truck couldn't have been more than 20 ft from the track right where u would have slid off u lost it coming off turn 4... I usually try not to post negative things... But ....
jtsgsxr6
Member
I also found I group Monday to be rediculous, I did talk with Bob while I was there after the rediculous 2nd session. I ran 4 sessions and packed it up. No more Coleman days for me. Did two of them this year, that's enough. My constructive criticism is 4 groups only works when you're splitting up I group into two. The dozen riders in the Novice first timer group did not balance groups out well.
RADAR Magnet
New Member
Yeah, I'm on board with the consensus view that this was not a good day. Personally, I think that's a kind characterization. The win-win for the dealer and club is obvious but it wasn't a win for the club members (or the poor SOB who had to pick up all the wrecked bikes). I can't imagine it made a good impression on potential new members either. But maybe Colemans sold a ton of gear anyway and maybe NESBA got the membership bump it was looking for.
As others have said, the number of people in I group was ridiculous; perhaps other groups were too, I don't know. Allowing street-oriented riders with little or no track experience to self-select their group is both crazy and IMO a disservice to the existing members. Not putting out any cones when there are a ton of new/inexperienced riders is asking for more problems. And not putting out airfence at an event like this one just puts a cherry on top (I hope the guys who hit the tires in T10 are okay; I know one guy hit them pretty hard).
There were errors of inexperience (like signaling for pit out while crawling through T10 for a victory lap) and multiple sessions had multiple bikes littered around the track; I can honestly say it seemed like Monday's event with perfect weather had more accidents than the two days I was at VIR in rainy/damp conditions a couple of weeks ago. It was ridiculous. The fact that there was only one guy with a little pickup truck to collect all the bikes helped screw up the schedule and only added to the frustration. We got in exactly two sessions in the morning.
I understand the need for new members but I don't get the way this was done. It's disappointing that NESBA was willing to compromise on safety and degrade the overall quality of the event. Bob, why push the limit on group size, why permit self-selection by the least experienced riders, why not find another guy to deploy airfence with so many new riders out there and why not put out cones to give them a little more help???
I really like this club; have ridden almost exclusively with it since beginning track days three years ago and don't have any interest in joining a new club. I was attracted by the commitment to safety and the idea of earning bumps to more advanced groups. Why not demonstrate those qualities for prospective new members? They would probably like them too. Instead, Monday pretty much showed them how bad it can be and that's not good for anyone.
As others have said, the number of people in I group was ridiculous; perhaps other groups were too, I don't know. Allowing street-oriented riders with little or no track experience to self-select their group is both crazy and IMO a disservice to the existing members. Not putting out any cones when there are a ton of new/inexperienced riders is asking for more problems. And not putting out airfence at an event like this one just puts a cherry on top (I hope the guys who hit the tires in T10 are okay; I know one guy hit them pretty hard).
There were errors of inexperience (like signaling for pit out while crawling through T10 for a victory lap) and multiple sessions had multiple bikes littered around the track; I can honestly say it seemed like Monday's event with perfect weather had more accidents than the two days I was at VIR in rainy/damp conditions a couple of weeks ago. It was ridiculous. The fact that there was only one guy with a little pickup truck to collect all the bikes helped screw up the schedule and only added to the frustration. We got in exactly two sessions in the morning.
I understand the need for new members but I don't get the way this was done. It's disappointing that NESBA was willing to compromise on safety and degrade the overall quality of the event. Bob, why push the limit on group size, why permit self-selection by the least experienced riders, why not find another guy to deploy airfence with so many new riders out there and why not put out cones to give them a little more help???
I really like this club; have ridden almost exclusively with it since beginning track days three years ago and don't have any interest in joining a new club. I was attracted by the commitment to safety and the idea of earning bumps to more advanced groups. Why not demonstrate those qualities for prospective new members? They would probably like them too. Instead, Monday pretty much showed them how bad it can be and that's not good for anyone.
Mikey75702
Member
If the riders were allowed to select between B and I, that's the way I remember it being done since I started... But if they were allowed to pick in A.... :wow: And for some reason when I have had a chance to run track days with orgs where a dealership is bringing a ton of people, it has always been a crap shoot... But it does seem to help with financials, so it's probably a necessary evil.
RADAR Magnet
New Member
I agree with the necessity of it but don't think it has to be an "evil." It's an opportunity for the club to display it's commitment to safety and organizational capabilities. Those could have come across much better Monday. I'm still kind of shaking my head about the lack of airfence, particularly in light of recent efforts to raise money for it elsewhere; if correct, it's kind of amazing to think one guy's retirement can bring the whole thing to a stop; hopefully he gets replaced soon. At least I avoided any bad outcomes and know to skip these events in the future.
Frankoq
New Member
This was my second ever track day.
I was in the intro group and the first session was a parade around the track. I guess that is ok for the first 2 laps perhaps, but not for the entire session. There were no cones for the braking zones. that was not good specially on turn 1.
I did 2 sessions in the morning due to the delays.
The afternoon was better where we were allowed to ride and push it.
few people in the intro group so I ended up having my personal instructor for 3 sessions. That was awesome as he showed me the lines and helped me push my limits. I did and I felt I did much better than the first track day. But, lots of accidents-delays. Lots of people passing where they were not supposed to and passing on the inside.
I hope the guy that went down in turn 7 is ok. he was just laying down looking at the sky.
Then there was the guy that passed me on the inside between turn 3 and 4 and then i saw him limping to his bike in turn 5.
Coming down to turn 1, I see a cloud of dust. Yup, someone went down on 1.
next lap around and someone decides to park his bike at the outside of the apex of turn 1. wtf?
Odd day but all in all, I had fun and hope to come back soon.
I was in the intro group and the first session was a parade around the track. I guess that is ok for the first 2 laps perhaps, but not for the entire session. There were no cones for the braking zones. that was not good specially on turn 1.
I did 2 sessions in the morning due to the delays.
The afternoon was better where we were allowed to ride and push it.
few people in the intro group so I ended up having my personal instructor for 3 sessions. That was awesome as he showed me the lines and helped me push my limits. I did and I felt I did much better than the first track day. But, lots of accidents-delays. Lots of people passing where they were not supposed to and passing on the inside.
I hope the guy that went down in turn 7 is ok. he was just laying down looking at the sky.
Then there was the guy that passed me on the inside between turn 3 and 4 and then i saw him limping to his bike in turn 5.
Coming down to turn 1, I see a cloud of dust. Yup, someone went down on 1.
next lap around and someone decides to park his bike at the outside of the apex of turn 1. wtf?
Odd day but all in all, I had fun and hope to come back soon.