For those interested, here’s a longer, more detailed report of yesterday’s track class. If you’ve been thinking about a track day, taking a class in conjunction with the track day is an excellent way to ease yourself into it with more of a safety net. A great way to increase your confidence and learn skills that translate into safer riding on the street. I can’t vouch for other organizations, but 2Fast doesn’t just restrict these events to sport bikes. Any rider on any bike is welcome.

My riding partner Jim and I had our first track day experience yesterday. Jim on his Triumph Daytona 955i and I on my trusty ZZR-1200. Because of our novice status, we elected to take the track day class offered by 2-fast.org at Pacific Raceway in Kent, WA. The all inclusive price for this was $249. That included seven 20-minute sessions on the track, six class sessions, two one-on-one sessions with a 2Fast instructor evaluating you on-track and providing feedback, and a grilled hotdog for lunch along with plenty of bottled water. Riders are divided into one of three classes based on skill level, novices in Level 100, intermediate 200 and advanced 300. I opted for 100; Jim initially went with 200 but voluntarily dropped back to 100 after seeing how quick even the Level 200 riders were.

The day started at 7:00am with the technical inspection. I arrived early since I was riding the bike down and had to prep it for the track. Preparation was fairly simple, disable headlights and tail lights and tape up all lenses, remove or tape up mirrors, adjust air pressure in tires and check chain tension. I ran 35psi front and rear in my Pirelli Diablo Stradas and the inspector had me add more slack to the chain to allow for full suspension travel. I’d also brought about 3 gallons of fuel in two containers that fit into my saddle bags.

At around 7:40am we went on the track ride around. They loaded up several pickup trucks and we toured the track, stopping at each corner for a briefing on where we should be on the track for each corner, where to apex, where to exit and any surface features or issues we should be know about. 2Fast had small cones around the edge of the track marking tip in, apex and exit lines. These were incredibly helpful early in the day allowing you to “connect the dots” to get a decent line around the track. By the end of the day I didn’t even notice them any longer.

At 8:15am a rider meeting was held for both the regular track day participants and the students in the class. They introduced us to the rules that each class would ride under, this mostly consisted of different passing rules for each class. We also learned about the different flags and what we should do when we see them displayed on the track. If you’ve watched any sort of racing, you’re fairly familiar with them… the typical “yellow flag”, “red flag”, etc. We were also briefed on hand signals we should use when exiting the track and hand signals that instructors and track marshals would use.

After that the Level 300 riders took to the track for their first session while we had our first class on body positioning. This introduced us to 2Fast’s “Lean Machine.” An electrically operated device with a motorcycle strapped to it. A student sits on the bike and the instructor can lean the bike left and right to demonstrate the proper body position through a turn. Very helpful being able to see it up close in a class room situation! While this was happening the Level 300 riders finished up and Level 200 took to the track, this included five or six of the students. Finally, time for Level 100 which covered the rest of us in the class.

I have to say I was pretty tense rolling on to the track the first time. Fortunately, 2Fast takes this into account and the first two laps of each session is under a “pink flag” to remind everyone to warm up before starting to push the envelope. In addition, they recommended that we use the first session just to get used to the track, work on our lines and ease into things. Safety and having fun was emphasized throughout the day. We were constantly reminded that we were NOT racing out there! I went into this figuring on not worrying about speed and trying to focus on smoothness and body positioning. I don’t think I passed more than one or two riders all day, but I was passed fairly often. You definitely have to leave your ego at home for this kind of thing!

During my third riding session I was paired up with an instructor. I would alternate following and leading her while she demonstrated and made corrections on the track. After the session we then had a debriefing. I knew I needed to improve my riding position and she gave me just one or two things to focus on for the rest of the day. To my surprise, she did give me high praise in one area, my consistency around the track. She said I rode a very consistent line, hitting the same spots on the track each time around. This mode of instruction was consistent throughout the 2Fast program… don’t try to master everything at once, pick one or two key skills and work on those. There is far too much to deal with in a single track day so don’t try!

This would be the pattern for the entire day, class room sessions followed by track sessions. Very little down time, riding continues even during lunch with riders grabbing a hotdog in between activities. Each class session focused on a different topic… braking, throttle control and shifting, relaxation techniques, panic control and fear management. One session was conducted in the track infield as we watched Level 300 riders through turn 9 as our instructors pointed out good and bad examples.

As the day ended at 4:00pm, Jim and I spent some time decompressing in our pit area as we packed up and prepared to head home. We both agreed that the day had been a blast and 2Fast did a fantastic job running the event. We really could find no flaw with their performance. The co-owners Mark and Brian along with the rest of the 2Fast staff were friendly, helpful and professional. The whole event was well organized and executed. Well worth the money and Jim and I both plan to do additional track days next year.

For myself personally, I count the day a complete success. I was one of the slowest riders there but by the end of the day I was much faster and much smoother around the track. I had also gained a great deal of confidence in myself and my motorcycle and it’s abilities through the corners. My bike came home in the same shape it left, and I was introduced to many new skills I can practice. I have to confess, I took a *small* amount of pleasure in the fact that I was having to slow down for some of the other riders through turns 3 and 4, the tightest part of the track, in the last few sessions. I still got passed a lot though…

If you’ve been thinking of a track day, I highly recommend this option as a way to ease yourself into it. From what I can tell, 2Fast does everything possible to make it a fun, educational and above all, safe introduction to riding your motorcycle on the track while also learning skills to improve your experience on the street.

If you want to know more, their website is *usually* at http://www.2-fast.org but it seems to be experiencing difficulty this morning. And no, this is not a paid endorsement!