The GECCO
February 23rd, 2009, 09:11 AM
Wow....what a day! Part of the process for installing apex curbs at HPR is doing our best to insure they are in the right place, and the best/only way to do that is put different types of vehicles on the track at speed and mark where they apex. We scheduled that activity for yesterday and the weather Gods blessed us with a beautiful day. We had a couple SCCA Camaro's, an SCCA S2000 racer, and, of course, motorcycles.
Mike Applehans, Mike Pettiford and I were there on bikes. The surface was pretty dirty, which was expected, and obviously very green, but the grip is there and I think the track will "come in" very nicely. I'm encouraged that after nearly a full winter of freeze/thaw the asphalt is butter smooth.
I know a lot of us have walked/biked the track and I've been around it many times in my truck while working on various things out there, but to finally put together several laps at speed was, well - indescribable! One of the things that really struck me is that for as long as this circuit is, there is very little time to "rest". The long straight is really the only rest you get, in my opinion. The straight after Danny's Lesson goes by a lot quicker than I had thought and the prep necessary for the next two turns is significant. The other two straights leading into the Bobsled and the Prairie Corkscrew are straight sections of pavement but they really end up being treated as long, arcing transition sections. The straight between T10 and T11 gives you a very brief breather. Even the front straight isn't much of a rest because the beginning of it is blind, which keeps you alert, and very shortly after you get your vision back you are busy getting slowed down and set up for T1.
A couple other notes, I'm sure more will come to mind as I download some more.
- To paraphrase Mike Applehans "It's unlike anything we've ever had in Colorado. This track requires rhythm and the blind spots require you to be very aware of where you are on the track. If you are a 'point-and-shoot' racer you will spend a lot of time in the dirt at HPR"
- Turn 8 comes up FAST! Distance markers will be a big help there. It's very difficult to be consistent there, especially since just a small variation in speed and/or line through the High Plains Drifter (T7) can have a large impact on where you are on the track and how fast you're going when you crest the hill.
- As I mentioned before, the asphalt is smooth as glass. It was pretty dirty, which was simply unavoidable and everyone did a great job of getting it as clean as possible, and obviously very green, but the grip is there. I was quite comfortable getting the bike over far enough to drag a knee in T2, T3, T4, T7 and T11, where it was cleaner. This is on a liter bike I bought a week ago and had literally never ridden before, and I haven't raced in nearly two years, so that amount of confidence in the surface is not a casual thing.
- Lap times. When Arie Luyendyk was there last month he was in a Z06 Corvette with race tires and his best lap was a 2:01. Mike Pettiford was in the same Corvette yesterday and ran 2:05's, I was in the 2:04's on Ben Fox's R1 from last year. If I had to guess I would say that by the end of the season riders like Shane Turpin and Brad Hendry will be setting the lap record around 1:40.
Track designer and SCCA racer Bill Howard deserves more Thank You's and Congratulations than the racing community will ever be able to express. This is, without a doubt, the best track in this part of the country. And, while i certainly haven't ridden every track in the country, I feel it is arguably the best track in the entire USA.
Welcome to racing paradise, it's right here in Eastern Colorado and it's name is High Plains Raceway!
Mike Applehans, Mike Pettiford and I were there on bikes. The surface was pretty dirty, which was expected, and obviously very green, but the grip is there and I think the track will "come in" very nicely. I'm encouraged that after nearly a full winter of freeze/thaw the asphalt is butter smooth.
I know a lot of us have walked/biked the track and I've been around it many times in my truck while working on various things out there, but to finally put together several laps at speed was, well - indescribable! One of the things that really struck me is that for as long as this circuit is, there is very little time to "rest". The long straight is really the only rest you get, in my opinion. The straight after Danny's Lesson goes by a lot quicker than I had thought and the prep necessary for the next two turns is significant. The other two straights leading into the Bobsled and the Prairie Corkscrew are straight sections of pavement but they really end up being treated as long, arcing transition sections. The straight between T10 and T11 gives you a very brief breather. Even the front straight isn't much of a rest because the beginning of it is blind, which keeps you alert, and very shortly after you get your vision back you are busy getting slowed down and set up for T1.
A couple other notes, I'm sure more will come to mind as I download some more.
- To paraphrase Mike Applehans "It's unlike anything we've ever had in Colorado. This track requires rhythm and the blind spots require you to be very aware of where you are on the track. If you are a 'point-and-shoot' racer you will spend a lot of time in the dirt at HPR"
- Turn 8 comes up FAST! Distance markers will be a big help there. It's very difficult to be consistent there, especially since just a small variation in speed and/or line through the High Plains Drifter (T7) can have a large impact on where you are on the track and how fast you're going when you crest the hill.
- As I mentioned before, the asphalt is smooth as glass. It was pretty dirty, which was simply unavoidable and everyone did a great job of getting it as clean as possible, and obviously very green, but the grip is there. I was quite comfortable getting the bike over far enough to drag a knee in T2, T3, T4, T7 and T11, where it was cleaner. This is on a liter bike I bought a week ago and had literally never ridden before, and I haven't raced in nearly two years, so that amount of confidence in the surface is not a casual thing.
- Lap times. When Arie Luyendyk was there last month he was in a Z06 Corvette with race tires and his best lap was a 2:01. Mike Pettiford was in the same Corvette yesterday and ran 2:05's, I was in the 2:04's on Ben Fox's R1 from last year. If I had to guess I would say that by the end of the season riders like Shane Turpin and Brad Hendry will be setting the lap record around 1:40.
Track designer and SCCA racer Bill Howard deserves more Thank You's and Congratulations than the racing community will ever be able to express. This is, without a doubt, the best track in this part of the country. And, while i certainly haven't ridden every track in the country, I feel it is arguably the best track in the entire USA.
Welcome to racing paradise, it's right here in Eastern Colorado and it's name is High Plains Raceway!