So, CCS held the first night race under the lights at Palm Beach Int'l Raceway this past Saturday. I just happened to be down in FL on business (I'm a Mid-Atlantic racer) and decided to swing by as a spectator and dragged along one of my colleagues who'd never been to a race. I'd never been to a night race, so I was looking forward to it.
Let me say right off that I thought this was one of the coolest club races I'd ever seen. Saturday night, motorcycle racing, great weather, first PBIR race under the lights - what's not to like? There was also a "Loco Fest" concert (http://www.racepbir.com/component/jcalpro/view/104/66.html) going on at the track with a bunch of up & coming bands as well as Karts running on the Kart track, all which added to the event.
As the Sun went down and the bike's got ready to go on course, the anticipation seemed to increase. When the first bikes rolled out for pratice under the lights we were both like kids at Disney - what a sight. The couple races that night (GTU and GTO) were very good. Especially the GTO - it went right down to the last lap amongst the top 3 which was exciting for spectators.
Not sure if folks appreciate what they have there, but the ability to run motorcycle races at night under the lights seems pretty special to me. Just thought I'd share my thoughts from the spectator perspective. A couple photos and videos below.
Short, crappy video of GTO night race start into Turn 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyj9sULLt_c
Short, crappy video of night practice session at T1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGHzPwQgI2Y
Saturday Evening Rider's Meeting(https://www.ccsforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg11.imageshack.us%2Fimg11%2F6356%2Fpbirnightraceridersmeeta.jpg&hash=2ba14853644961ac161b51064dde37cba95d2ccc)
Saturday Night View of Start/Finish Straight and Pit Lane
(https://www.ccsforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg11.imageshack.us%2Fimg11%2F7158%2Fpbirnightracestartfinis.jpg&hash=08c110a2cf3b6f1b593800193cec66dd0c954ce6)
THe white bike in the practice vid is me. I think the CCSFORum just doesn't get much talk......but it was pretty cool. We have an awesome series down here in FL. The competition is very tough and it seems to be a lifestyle in FL and not just a hobby. The guys take this stuff real serious and do it year round. We have on occasion Barnes,Pietri,Long,VIlla,A.Ferrer,Jeff/Eric Wood,Narbonne,Greenwood,Hermann,Cardenas,Londono,STokes,Smith etc come out. Lots of AMA guys.
The night thing was pretty cool. We were tipping around in the GTO race cause we didn't know exactly how the grip was going to be and getting used to the lights. The track will make some changes and it was cool as hell to watch. SOme people chose to sit it out until the lighting is improved. I think the spectators enjoyed it. Not real stoked on the language coming from the concert with my kid there, but....
The track is good for racing.....couple spots can be improved safety wise. The straight is just long enough to make a draft pass. The GTU guys were the ones who put on the good show with that tight battle. We also did qualifying for the "shootout" at night. It was weird trying to put in a fast lap in the dark.
DId you get to see the "shootout" on Sunday? That is always the biggest part of the CCS FL weekend. Run what you brung for $$
Looks cool!
How was racing under the lights different?
Or was it just a mental thing?
Looks pretty cool.Probally takes some getting used too.
That sounds very cool. Will it be a regular thing?
Quote from: Fast4fun on March 18, 2009, 12:44:38 AM
That sounds very cool. Will it be a regular thing?
Yes it is
That was some awesome racing for sure! 8) Kudos to all of you racers that came out.. :thumb:...only a couple of red flags for the entire event. Once complete, PBIR will definitly be one of the best venues in the country! Hope those that unfortunately had a crash this weekend heal quick.
d-wire,
You're right, it was the GTU race that went down to the wire with Puerta on the Ducati coming out on top. Agree on some of the concert language, could've done without that. Good idea, though, to have other activities that pull in more spectators.
We had to leave right after the GTU race, so didn't get a chance to see any qualifying or the Sunday races. Wish I could have, I'm sure they were good.
Quote from: bel-biv on March 17, 2009, 10:17:52 PM
Looks cool!
How was racing under the lights different?
Or was it just a mental thing?
Yeah, it's a mental/visual thing. You find that some of the places you been looking when looking through a turn are now in a shadow and you have to adjust to that. Kind of unnerving when a brake marker is in a shadow. It just means you have to focus a little more.
Strange as it sounds I ran my fastest lap in the GTO night race. I thought for sure I would better it on sunday but that didn't happen, though I did nearly match it... I guess I'm a little faster with my eyes slightly closed!!! Not that I'm that fast anyway...lumbering around in the 25's...
well i enjoyed every single moment and i cant wait to be on the track again, i have bike riding anxiety syndrome.
got down to the 18's chasing some pro guys and got my 1st win as an expert and at night even tho its not a legit win bc pietri got a lap deducted. =(
I had a blast! awesome track, very very wide, very grippy, the layout is easy to learn, and the night racing is great, I just cant see well at night... (okay im just chicken) I couldnt hear the concert over the generators ::) and im ready to go back and do it again! :cheers: