According to the SW region race director, we are unsure at this point which direction we will be running the course. Neither he nor I have been there yet and we will be consulting with those that have ( Freddie, Dale Kieffer etc) to try to have an answer before we go. We were lookin g at the map provided by Team Excalibur, and it looks to me that the track was extended a bit towards the Air Force Base and really added to in the other direction. The map does not show walls, fences, runoff etc, so until we see what is safest, a decision will not be made. If anyone has been there and/or ridden it, give us some feedback here or at my email cstem@cox.net . Please send no porn or penis enhancers, I already get plenty of both!
Speaking of Vegas, I'm hearing noise about a track day on Friday, April 30th. Anyone know if this is a CCS/Lockhart related day or if someone else is putting it on ?
Having never been to that track, a track day would be good prior to a double points weekend.
Hey Corey, if you want some racer input, I'll be there Thursday..or will you have made up your mind by then?
For Hi Side- Friday is practice and GT classes racing- So yes it is practice and it is CCS.
For Tristan- Randy will be there Thursday afternoon to take a look. For feedback, we are mainly looking for folks that have ridden there already, but if you email me your email address, I will get you Randy's number if you do not have it. I am sure he would welcome having some experienced racer eyes to look with him on Thursday. I will not be there until late Thurs night (new transmission-no worries!!). Do you know where you are staying yet?
Is camping allowed there? ???
Looking at it the way we ran it for the CCS races last year they have moved turn 1 about 200-300 yards further towards the Air Force base and there's a similar right turn to the 'old' turn 1. The new pavement is like riding over a rippled sheet so it makes braking fun.
Turn 2 is a 180 degree tight right followed by an immediate left that re-enters the track at the exit of 'old' turn 2.
Other than those 3 turns the rest is the same.
I heard that one of the reasons for the extension was so that they could run it anti-clockwise without having the pit wall right there at the exit to the old turn 1.
If it is the way Simon describes it, I say run it the same way we did last year!
Well, this is what I heard and it may or may not be completely accurate.
I believe that the AFM ran it 'backwards' at the GAME event as they were originally only going to get 1/2 the track and a SuperMoto event was going to run on the other half. They would be coming out of turn 5 (as we ran it last year) turning right where the ambulance was parked on the back straight and taking that dusty cut through. This would point you right at the pit wall on the exit. Since the same issues existed with the old turn 1 they added that new pavement. After pretty much everyone said they did not see the point on driving 500 miles to race on a 6 corner 0.8 mile track, GAME relented and gave them the whole 1.8 - 2 miles. For some reason they still decided to run it counter-clockwise.
Either way is fun - with the exception of the poor pavement entering the new turn 1 (running clockwise) that seemed to have been laid in haste. They were going to address that after a number of complaints and hopefully they have by now.
I think they should flip a coin before each race to determine direction. That would make it more interesting. ;D
Running Counter clockwise--My only concern at this point is what turn 7 was when clockwise (the big sweeper. If you will all remember the entrance (exit if running backwards) had a fence all along the straitaway about 15 feet off the west side of the track, there would be absolutely no runoff there if we ran it backwards. I could envision folks getting at least 4th gear in this area. So unless the fence by the junkyard is moved, I don't think that would be a go.
Simon- I have a map that sohow the north end extended too. I take it this has not been done yet? If it has, then we could possibly run it counter as it would eliminate the problem I just confused everyone with!
We will be out there early enough on Thursday....
After last year there, I would say that runoff is the MOST important thing...
QuoteAfter last year there, I would say that runoff is the MOST important thing...
I agree Will...
But I doubt that they did anything with MY fence and concrete blocks outside of T4...... :-/
They were doing some work in the the area of the fast sweeper (the old turn 6 as we ran it last year). I can't recall exactly where that was going as it was all coned off when I was there in November and we didn't use it, except that we ran over some of the new pavement exiting that turn when running counter clockwise. It was laid using the same ripple effect that they used in the new turn 1 (clockwise).
Exiting the sweeper counter clockwise probably has the same amount of run off to the fence as running it the other way. The only difference is the angle that you exit on to the back straight does not seems as severe as exiting it in the clockwise direction. Running clockwise you get in to that turn pretty fast after the long back straight and run way out on the exit. Running counter clockwise you haven't built up quite the same amount of speed from the previous double-apex corner - but arrving at the next corner becomes a lot of fun!
Freddie Spencer's school runs it in both directions and I'm sure they can give you some good feedback on how it looks today.
Im looking forward to riding and racing at Vegas...however, im a bit frazzled with having races on Friday..I thought CCS was going to have "All" the races on saturday and sunday, or is it because of the Twin Sprints? What happened to practice and only being a trackday? >:( Am I missing something here? It also would be nice to find out which direction the track will run before friday, ya think??
I think its because of the Twin Sprints Weekend. USGPRU + Sidecar racing will also be participating that weekend. So my guess is that there's too many races and not enough time to run them all on Sat & Sun.
Dave, It was you I was thinking about when I said runoff.
That was a crash that I would never want to see again...
How r u healing up? Gonna make Vegas?
As long as the track has decent run off in both directions, hell, lets run one day each way... Its just a track, it goes left and right...
With the sidecars out there we really need to pay attention to runoff as to avoid the oil slicks.... ;D
Well, a track oesn't matter which way it is ran, just corners like Will said. If the fast right hander is the same, I definately want to run it the same way we did last year because that thing is soooo much fun!
QuoteDave, It was you I was thinking about when I said runoff.
That was a crash that I would never want to see again...
How r u healing up? Gonna make Vegas?
Nope...Got a newborn and just can't make the drive yet. I'm healing OK, I just realized that my mental game isn't where it should be. As a matter of fact, I don't think it ever was. Life has been a great distraction to my racing and I'm just now figuring that out.
Will, if you have any tips for staying focused I'll take anything you can give. That's my main obstacle right now. I will see you at Firebird if your going.
Later,
Dave
Staying focused....
With a newborn at home? Yeah right..... Mines 28months and I still have her taking up a large part of my concentration every min until we hit the track gates. Then a switch clicks and its race time. When the day is done and everything is finished, Its back to being a dad...
To build up your concentration levels... I would say play station and riding xr100 type bikes... 50 or 100 lap races...
Dave, ya know what would really make a difference... Rich Oliver Mystery School... No kidding... T-show did it and it did wonders for his understanding of concentration and endurance, not to mention making him realize he was training like a panzie!
I think we might show up at Firebird to take a shot at Ledesma's track record for a few laps... ;) But it isnt up to me... lol
I know someone already asked this, but I didn't see an answer...
Does anyone know if there's camping at this track? If so, do they lock the gates at 10 like Willow did? Who wants to be in Vegas and locked up by 10?!?!
As I remember last year, there was NO camping, and they kicked us out at like 7pm. The gates are locked, and they didnt open them til 7ish....
Kinda nutso, but they ARE right by an air force base! lol
Will, you remember correctly. I arrived the night before and the security guy was getting pretty pissy that 'so many' people were turning up, which was a grand total of five campers if I remember correctly, and they threatened to lock the outer gates to the track.
They did allow us to park outside the gate but you had to be on the gravel away from the gate. Still, it made for a great RV drag race in the morning between Leonard and Kane Lasky.
Circus Circus has an RV park for something like $ 25 a night with full hookups.
I talked to Leonard and he said the following nights you were able to camp there. Does anyone remember if they locked the track so you could not leave/enter after a certain time?
I've run it both ways and either way is a awesome! One of the cool things about running it "backward" (compared to CCS last year) is that many of the turns then have decreasing radius'. Run off seems to be about the same either way. I'll take either direction any day of the week.
Officially there was no camping last year but CCS mumbled something about maybe trying to change that this year. No one bothered me about camping there though. The only bad thing is that there are no facilities there - just the one bathroom and if they lock that up then you've got nothing except whatever you brung wit' ya. :)
HAHA Simon, I thought Leonard was the only one who woke up at 5 to be the 1st one in! Dave, I walked in on Rich's camp thinking this is going to be fun, it was but my ass was sore every night and it did wonders, do it!...everyone!
Here are some vague answers to some of your questions. On camping, no word yet. I would be prepared for a big no. It's 50/50 right now but I would still hit up the web and find some local campsites RV places. Circus Circus is a nise place.. The races on Friday are due to mainly it being a twin sprints weekend- not due to GP's or sidecars. BTW- as far as sidecars oiling up- it has only happened twice and both times the crews were very adamant about helping us clean it up and were very sorry- those are nice folks- stop by and talk to them and maybe you can snag aride- SCARY STUFF let me tell you but really fun. As far as preparking on Thursday evening, most likely no. We are looking into this but don't be surprised if the fianl answer comes from Randy at 6pm Thursday night- again be preped for the worst. (This is manily due to how we grid- by oreder of entry. If you are there thurday night (even if you are preentered- try to explain that fifty or sixty times to those who aren't!!) Other info as it is released to me. Be patient we are trying to do the best we can. And keep the ideas, info and solutions coming!
DId I read right that there are only TWO practices before the GT races start? Seems kinda dangerous, even more so for the guys that have never run it backwards...
So, maybe just maybe we get there thursday early... We have to lug that big ole trailer around Vegas? Maybe you could suggest to yer ole man that we be allowed to park our trailers and such inside the gates....
BTW, Theres a 50% chance we are going to have a very special guest racer at Vegas with us for the weekend... 50%......
Okay- official word on camping in Vegas. From the track the word is no camping. Sorry everyone, but I do remember one race I came in the Gate Sunday morning and was greeted by a racer in the pits!! Things change I guess.
Oh, and if you want to give me any special hints about "special guest" so I can prep myself with interview questions- email me at cstem@cox,net. I won't tell a soul!!
What's really cool is that we have amateurs in group 1 before experts. What's not so cool is 125 and 250 usgpru qualifying unlimited gp. gsxr1000 and a rs125 in the same group will probably result in some bad fluctuation in times. Besides that, looking forward to next weekend!
Tshow....
The qualifying is three 15min sessions.... Thats what the word EACH means! lol
BTW, we are racing both the GT races, right?
Damn I need to go back to school hahahaha.