Review: US Desmo Track Day
A lot of people never quite get around to the track day thing. Whether it is the cost, the uncertainty of the experience or plain inertia, riding a motorcycle on a closed circuit is a joy left to the minority of motorcycle riders. Even though I am an ex-road racer (the older I get, the faster I was), I was affected by the same factors and so had spent 15 years off the track. I decided to do something about it and signed up for a US Desmo trackday with my Ducati Monster S4Rs at Roebling Road, GA.
Since Roebling Road (near Savannah, GA) is about 5 hours drive away from Atlanta, I travelled down on the Sunday night with my buddy Ron, who has had a distinguished Ducati racing career (but that’s another story), and had dinner with a bunch of other riders and with Wendy and Mark from the DUCSHOP who were also in attendance.
Monday opened with a bright blue sky and temperature in the 70’s so it was perfect for riding. We made our way out to the track, set up the bikes in the DUCSHOP awning area and signed in at registration and got the bikes through tech inspection without any hiccups. Everyone was friendly and helpful which made for a relaxed but professional environment. I was given number 13 which I wasn’t exactly ecstatic about (and would prove to be a bit of a portent) but all was well with the world as we waited for the first session after the thorough riders’ briefing.
I was more than a little nervous having spent so long off track even if I had circulated around Talledega GP with the WildDucs Ducati club late last year which truly was my first track outing in 15 years. I was given the option to go out with the new riders to learn the track a little before being unleashed with the Advanced “Red” group riders but a combination of some uncertainty of when this group was going out and a preference for choosing my lines myself led me to grid up with the fast guys for the first session of the day. Nerves began to abate as soon as we hit the track. I followed Ron around for a few laps as we warmed the tires and observed his lines since he has had many races here.
The first thing that strikes you about Roebling is the speed. The straight is long and even on the Monster I was hitting almost 160 mph before the braking area. More than that though is that you enter it at around 120mph so it is a complete contrast to road riding where the speeds are much lower. I had forgotten how thrilling it is to corner at such high speed and the circuit flows very nicely allowing the torquey Monster to run the entire track in just 4th with 5th used solely on the straight. The track is very flat and at times I was unsure where I was on the circuit and what was coming up next, but I managed to keep up a fair pace and not get in anyone’s way. The time flashed by and before I knew it our session was over and I retired to the pits to talk animatedly with my peers and exchange the usual lies and banter. 
My fellow riders were a great bunch and some real exotica was present including a Ducati Desmosedici (ridden very nicely in the fast group), a 1098R and a Neil Hodgson replica 999R that had a stroked motor for monster power! Not every bike was Italian (there was a very nice Ohlins suspended Yamaha R1) but the clear majority were. My new Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires were balling up nicely but showing very little wear as the sound system announced it was time for session 2. Feeling more confident now, I upped the pace a little so let me share with you what a lap was like.
A Flying Lap of Roebling Road
Coming down the straight the engine roars through the top of 5th gear with the flat bark of a V-twin not really conveying the speed as the needle swings towards 160 mph. The braking area is marked by a series of 5 cones but I know that the insistence of my brain to brake at the first one is only fear. I resist and flash by two more markers before squeezing the Brembos, rapidly bringing the power up to scrub off speed for the decreasing radius right hander up ahead. Almost as soon as the brakes stabilize, I drop down to 4th where I’ll stay for the rest of the lap and turn in late, hugging the outside of the track as speed is washed off solely from the act of turning.
As I turn in, I crack the throttle to halt the deceleration and hold a constant speed for what feels like an eternity before turning in towards the apex, knee grazing the tarmac for the briefist of instants before the bike is rolling up and accelerating hard. On a good lap the rear Pirelli squirms and gently slides a few degrees as the torque momentarily overwhelms the traction.
By now the bike is shooting towards the left hander that is important to get right as it feeds into a right hander so I don’t want to be too far to the right on the exit. I feather the throttle without braking and turn in and accelerate again, at the last moment bringing the bike upright and braking hard and deep into the next right, trailing the brakes as I turn in and immediately picking up the throttle. This turn is the only one with substantive knee scraping as I scribe a pretty arc all the way around.
I gently accelerate because the next turn is predictably a left and it also tightens so I stay out to the right delaying my turn in to the last instance and then come in close to the inside edge of the track before powering out. Next is a right that is fairly fast despite it being essentially a high speed hairpin that feeds into the last, fast, all important right hander that leads to the front straight. I late apex here too (spot the trend!) and fire out, snicking 5th gear just before turning into the last and most critical turn. If I wasn’t such a baby, I would have left it in 4th to get an even better drive from the top end onto the straight but I feel more comfortable taking the 120 mph turn in fifth for now but note I should really experiment later with that. The turn in is blind and so I race towards the inside curb with my knee scraping gently hoping that I’m on the right line so you I won’t be making a 130mph off track excursion if I run wide. The throttle rolls inexorably on to full and I jet out towards the outside edge of the straight wobbling a little over the seam and blast down the straight, catching a brief respite before getting ready to do it all again!
Not a Happy Ending
If you are a regular reader you already know the day didn’t end perfectly for me. During a re-start (following a crash) in the third session, I lost the front end in turn 5 (2nd last before the straight) at around 100 mph and crashed. I had just passed a group of 3 riders and was a little wider for the turn than usual. A combination of pushing too hard, being wide and some sand from the edge of the track meant that when I tried to tighten my line a little, it was all too much and down we went. The bike came out of it pretty good considering, but I fractured my left scapula which ultimately needed plating to fix.
Six weeks on, I’m well on the way to recovery starting physical therapy (joy) and beginning to plan the Monster repairs. Despite this setback, it didn’t remove the fact that the US Desmo track day was a well organized, fun event, with a great bunch of mostly level headed (i.e everyone but me!) riders. Roebling Road is a great circuit and it was fun chewing the fat with others between sessions and I intend to ride with this group again.
I highly recommend US Desmo trackdays. The next event is at Carolina Motorsports Park on May 18th. Check the flier for all the details.
Thanks to the crash truck for retrieving my bike, the Savannah Ambulance service, Wendy for accompanying me to hospital and Ron for having to pack up my bike and generally wait around for me till we could drive back to Atlanta. Thanks guys, I appreciated it!!
Try These Related Posts:
