[Ducati] 1st Time Racetrack Experiences part 1

[Gleeb Gliber Galactica Gavorti]

Hey all
   
  I just came across a little story I wrote a few years ago.  Tale about my 1st time taking a bike  to the race track.  It might bring back memories for some, or even inspire others.  But that's not too likely since I did crash :-(  Anyways I will break it up into pieces cuz it's kinda long.
   
  Cheers!
   
  Gabriel
   
  First Time Race Track Experiences   
   
  Sport bikes are capable of so very much more than what I can use on the road and obviously the racetrack is their natural environment.  Since I am the kind of guy who wants to see just what my sport bike and I are capable of, off to the track I (finally) went.  It took about two years for me to make it happen but happen I did make it

   
  Anyone who has ever toyed with the idea of actually taking your bike to the racetrack will likely agree that the concept is a little bit daunting.  You’ll be doing things in an (over-used word alert) extreme manner like never before.  The racetrack will instantly expose all of those riding inadequacies (especially to yourself) which were easily masked on the road, no matter who you are.  It’s an opportunity to learn more (about yourself and your bike) than you ever could in any other environment.  You are also likely to have more excitement, fun and adrenaline pumping through your veins than ever in you life.  Even now the thought of riding Buttonwillow’s long, wide, sweeping right hand corner (called Riverside) at close to full lean and triple digit speeds while passing another bike fills me with excitement.  Before ever having had that particular experience I was hopeful, excited and certainly nervous about what it would be like.
   
  I actually signed up (and paid) for the track day about 6 weeks previously.  And from that moment forward not a day went by that I did not think about my track day looming in the future.
   
  The day was Monday (Columbus Day) October 11, 2004.  This particular event happened to be at Buttonwillow Raceway (http://www.buttonwillowraceway.com), outside Buttonwillow, Ca (20 or so miles from Bakersfield, Ca.).  The town’s name has something to do with the fact that it is located “in the middle of cotton country.”  (Not to be confused with some of the more notorious “cotton countries” located in the Bible belt.)  Evidently a “Buttonwillow” is to be found somewhere on a cotton plant.  The guy I saw driving a big “harvesting contraption” in the depths of these cotton fields would have known but did not tell me.   But to be fair, I did not ask him.  He was in the middle of a cotton field, for Chrissakes :-)
   
  Club Desmo ( www.clubdesmo.com)  is a Bay Area based Ducati Club that often sponsors “track days” at various racetracks in southern California. Having a Ducati (or Italian motorcycle) is optional for these events, though in this particular instance it did mean I paid an entrance fee of only $99 for the day.  Non-Italian bike riders paid $149.  But that’s pretty cheap either way relative to some other tracks.
   
  Perhaps one reason Buttonwillow raceway is less expensive to “visit” than some of the others (Laguna Seca-about $300) is that it seems a bit minimalist by comparison (please keep in mind that MY knowledge of racetracks is likewise very minimalist) and located on cheaper real estate.  Neither is road surface totally smooth and groomed in the same manner as the aforementioned track.  What Buttonwillow DOES have is (depending on configuration) about 3 miles and 23 corners.  It seems pretty technical and gives a rider PLENTY of diversity.
   
  As you merge out onto the track you are greeted with a fairly sedate left hand corner during and after which you should be thinking about the corner coming up.  Corner 2 is a very tight right-hander.  You want to enter fairly slowly, all the way on the left (far) side of the track and already leaned over as far as you dare.  After you enter the turn you should slowly roll on the throttle to increase traction but also increase your speed.  Turn 2 has a nice INCREASING radius which lets you go faster and faster as the corner unravels.  After the initial apex it’s actually not a bad place to pass if you are VERY careful.  This corner also has a dangerous, off-camber and very slippery, oily feel to it.  You must be very careful with your throttle control.
   
  To be continued.
   


"There's nothing wrong with you that an expensive operation can't prolong."  -Python, Monty.
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