The Ultimate Track Day Guide for Willow Springs Raceway
12/17/2009 2:11 AM
We’ll try to go over all the most common questions we get asked in this guide. This guide is specific to Willow Springs raceway - “Big Track”, but many of these things work the same at any track day.
To register for our track day go to http://www.motoyard.com/trackday
Night before
Get plenty of rest. If you are planning on driving in the morning, go to sleep early - track days are much more fun when you get a good nights rest before, trust me. If you would rather stay in a hotel - the nearest hotel to the track is - the Devonshire Inn (http://www.devonshireinn.com/). Don’t expect anything fancy, just plain rooms, room with one bed is around $65, room with two beds is about $90. Mention that you are going to the Motoyard.com track and they should give you a discount (about 10% off).
Getting there
Willow Springs Raceway – Rosamond, CA is about 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles. If you are coming from Los Angeles or San Fernando Valley area, it’s a little over an hour of a drive. Watch out for CHP’s on the 14 Freeway. They usually sit in places where you are going downhill, mostly hiding around a bend – where you don’t notice yourself speeding up going downhill. Once you get on the 14 freeway, there is almost never any traffic all the way to Rosamond weekdays or weekends. Once on the 14, keep going until you see Rosamond Blvd. exit (it will also say Edwards Air Force base). Once off the freeway, make a left onto Rosamond Blvd. If you need gas or something from the convenience store there is a gas station, Albertsons, Jack In The Box, McDonalds and Subway all right off the freeway (once you make a left). Race gas is available at the track, but since its race gas, and 110 octane, it costs $8 per gallon. So if you want to save some money, it might be worth to get gas at the gas station off the freeway. From there it’s about 4 miles or about 5 minutes. You can see the track from pretty far away. Go past the first entrance (its never open) and go to the main entrance. At the gate, you will need to sign a waiver and pay $10 gate fee collected by the track (this goes directly to the track).
If you are wondering why we posted these pictures of the entrance - it’s because lots of people go to the wrong one. It’s never open.
Once inside the gate you should drive straight all the way to the pit wall. Look around for space to pit. See parking map below. There are some spots that have power and shade (marked on the map), although people say the fuses can’t handle too many tire warmers there. Some parking is right next to dirt, which might help you unload your bike easier (the dirt is lower than the pavement) – some like to park off pavement. You can park pretty much anywhere if it’s not closed off. Some like to pit right next to the pit wall to see all the action, some like to park in the back for some quiet time. Pets are allowed, so if you want to bring your dog, go ahead. Don’t forget the speed limit anywhere in the parking lot or the pits is 5mph.
Cafeteria is normally open all day during our track days. It’s a good place to cool off on a hot day and get some breakfast or lunch. We’ll have free snacks and drinks in the registration area, but the cafeteria has a full menu – hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, even breakfast.
Schedule
Registration opens at 7:00 am. We will have free drinks, coffee and snacks there. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. You will be asked to sign a waiver, and then you’ll be given a tech ticket. Take that ticket to tech inspection.
Tech inspection opens at 7:30 am. You should have your mirrors removed or taped. Tape up the lights as well. Basically tape up anything that can shatter. If you are wondering why everything needs to be taped up – well, it’s to make the clean up easier in case something happens on the track. The longer the clean up takes, the less track time people will get. We don’t require water in the radiator (instead of antifreeze), but it’s recommended for your own benefit anyway – your bike will run much cooler with water. Of course everything on your bike should be in working condition and you should have good tires. We will have a tire vendor at all of our track days if you are interested in buying tires – most of the time you will get a better deal at the track than anywhere else. Also you should have either one piece or full leathers, (Aerostitch type suits are okay). If you have a two piece suit – it needs to zip together. If you don’t own leathers, but have a jacket, you can usually buy some pants that will zip together with that jacket. Boots are required, that cover your ankle. Gloves and un-crashed DOT helmet is also required. You don’t have to wear everything to the tech inspection, but if you have a question about any gear, please ask at the tech inspection. There will always be a person looking over everything as you enter the track and if you forget your gloves, we’ll stop you. After your bike has been inspected, we’ll put a sticker on your bike with your group shown on the sticker. If you want to change groups later on the day – please don’t hesitate to ask. We prefer people go into the group they are most comfortable in – it’s safer for everyone.
Rider’s meeting is at 8:20 am sharp. Everyone who is riding must attend. The rider’s meeting will be held in the cafeteria. We’ll go over the track configuration, flags, day’s schedule, etc. You should probably tech your bike before the riders meeting, but if you don’t or you get to the track late, just talk to one of the staff and we’ll tech it for you. After the riders meeting, we welcome anyone to come up to the classroom (which is upstairs right where the announcement tower is). If you’ve never been to this track don’t be afraid to come up, we’ll go over the track on the board in the classroom. It won’t take long, but it is helpful if you want to get familiar with the track before going out. Rider’s meeting ends at 8:45 am, so Group C will have almost an hour to before their first session, Group B will have about 40 minutes. The classroom will take no longer than 20 minutes, so you will have plenty of time to get ready. There is no pressure to come to the classroom, but you’ll probably learn some valuable information from our veteran racer instructors, and have a leg up on others when you go out on the track.
Track sessions start at 9:00 am. The usual rotation at our track day is, Group A – Advanced, then B – Intermediate, then C – Novice. Each session is 20 minutes long. So… Group A is at the top of each hour, Group B is 20 minutes after the hour and Group C is 40 minutes after the hour, and so on, every hour. We will make announcements, but look at your watch in case you cannot hear them. If there is an incident on the track, and everyone has to get off, we will continue with the rotation. Meaning if there is an incident on the track at 10:10 am and it takes 15 minutes to clear up, Group B will start at 10:25 am and end at 10:40 am. Of course we don’t want anything to happen, but things do. There is an ambulance on stand-by at the track, all day just in case. You don’t have to ride the whole session if you don’t want to and you don’t have to start at exactly the beginning of the session. It’s all up to you. If you are getting on after the session has started, just make sure you look at the track before getting on. When getting off, don’t forget to raise your hand or stick out a leg (we’ll go over this in the riders meeting)
Vendors
There will be a tire vendor at the track. We currently work with Dunlop to bring the tires, which is the most popular brand at the “Big track”.
There will be a suspension specialist at our track day as well. If you want to work on your suspension there is no better place to do it than the track where you can try things out.
If you need transportation of your bike to the track, email us and we can refer you to a company that will do that for you.
If you want to rent a motorcycle, we can refer you to some companies that rent motorcycles, some of them will bring them to the track as well, if there are enough people who are renting from them.
Riding Groups
You can sign up for any group you feel will suit you best. If you think you are faster or slower than most people in your group, then just ask any of our staff to switch. There will be always someone watching you whether you realize it or not. There are corner workers who are on the track at all times as well as our control riders that will be out there with you most sessions, so we’ll know if you are ready to switch. If you’ve never been to the track or never been to this track, it’s always better to go into a slower group if you are not sure. Just like any new road, a new track requires time to learn, so leave your ego in the pit and just enjoy your time. If you are interested in one-on-one instruction don’t be shy, just ask any of our staff – one of our control riders will be glad to help and show you the lines.
Track time
Don’t forget this is a track day and not a race. You can go as fast as you want or as slow as you want, but just try not to go over your head and be safe. Don’t worry about what’s behind you (another reason mirrors are off or taped up), the people behind you can see you - let them worry about it. For Group B - Intermediate and Group C – Novice, we’ll do 2 sighting laps, and we’ll show you how to exit the track properly on the first lap, by pulling back into the pits. After that we’ll go back on the track by riding through the pits and do another slow lap to get familiar with the track. After that lap, you are free to go. We will have an instructor lead the way for the two laps.
Two very important things are getting off the track and getting on the track. A lot of crashes happen when people get on and off. When getting off the track you need to raise your hand and stay to the outside (the instructor will show you on the first sighting lap). When getting on the track make sure you stay inside the track and look at the straightaway before pulling on – to see if any bikes are coming into turn one. The “starter” will tell you when it’s ok to go when you pull in to the pit, but it’s still a good idea to look anyway because at “Big Willow” bikes are coming at a very high speed into turn one. When you see a checkered flag on the start / finish line, that means that you should exit next time around. Even when exiting after the checkered flag, you still need to raise your left hand or stick a foot out there might be someone behind you, who might have missed the checkered flag and are not getting off behind you.
If you want to skip a session or two, you are free to do so – it’s your day. We don’t break for lunch, so sessions go throughout the day until 5:00 pm, but you will have 40 minutes in between each of your sessions to break anyway.
Lap timing will be available at all our track days at the big track (unless otherwise noted). For people who have their own AMB transponder, all you have to do is bring it and give us your transponder number. We will also have transponders available for rent for $30 per day, but quantity is limited. If you’ve never used an AMB transponder, it’s the most accurate way of getting your lap times. There is a receiver built into the track that will detect your transponder each time you pass over the start / finish line. All you have to do is attach the transponder anywhere to your bike. Your lap times will be captured in the system, printed out, and posted throughout the day. We also upload these lap times on to MyLaps.com – so you can see them when you get home.
Have Fun!
Use your judgment, and watch what’s going on around you. Be safe and enjoy the day. The goal is to have fun, that’s all.