Many of you know that Faasst Motorsports took over operations at Pueblo Motorsport Park last year. 2014 will be the first full year under Faasst's control and they plan to make it better than it's ever been before. They've already more changes and improvements than I can count in the last 8 months or so and will keep them coming going into the future. They have a 12 year contract with the city of Pueblo to operate PMP, so the track is just going to keep getting better!
I wanted to share some of the recent improvements with you since these are a benefit to anyone using the track, but especially bikes. They've focused a lot of attention on Turn 10 as well as the runoff areas around the track since those are critical to safety.
Turn 10 guardrail removal - This was a big one. There was a guardrail from the outside of T10 and extending about 150 feet to the southeast. In other words, if you happened to veer off to left as you approach T10, you would almost certainly have an unpleasant interaction with a steel guardrail. So last week, that was improved with the removal of all of the guardrail that extended to the southwest from the edge of the track. Now, if you happen to run off there at 70mph, you have a MUCH better chance of not hitting anything.
Turn 10 gravel trap - This is another big one. They dug out about 4 inches of the clay/gravel that was on the exit of T10 and replaced it with much softer pea gravel so that if you crash on the exit, you and your bike slow down quickly before you can hit anything. This is still a work in progress(stopped by the breakdown of the front-end loader). If you have mechanical expertise to help fix the John Deere 544 or a hook-up with someone who can provide more pea gravel, please let me know!
Turn 10 softer barriers - There are some barriers and a light pole that cannot be removed, so they wanted to make them as soft as possible in case the worst happens and you find yourself heading towards something immovable in a hurry. They put additional tires around any such barriers and also added 80 ft of tires to the exit of T10 so you don't have any exposed concrete there. They also pushed ALL of the old tire barriers back about 8 ft so you have less of a chance of even hitting those.
Turns 1-7 run off improvement - This was something I specifically wanted since I've spent a lot of time riding with SuperStreet and my MRA Novice friends and for some reason, we all seem to spend a significant amount of time in the dirt. I want to make sure that any accidental trips off-road end with nothing more hurt than your pride, so I spent this past Sunday running their box scaper over every bump, tumbleweed, and prairie dog hole8-) I could find. I'm going to be down there again this weekend and when the track isn't hot, I plant to hit 8 and 9 as well as extend the work I already did on the other corners. I'm planning to do this regularly throughout the year, so that it is always ready and in good condition for you.
We also consulted with MRA reps this past weekend and have additional motorcycle-specific projects that we hope to accomplish this winter/spring/summer if possible.
They could use your help. I donate all of my time; Faasst doesn't pay me a dime(although I do get special perks like getting to run PMP backwards in the dark8-)). I do it because I love racing and I want all of us to have a plethora of top-notch tracks all within driving distance. You can help, too. If you have time on a Wed-Sun(preferably on non-event weekends, go down to PMP and stop in at the office. Just let Judy or Donovan know that you want to help improve the track and would like to donate your time/equipment/expertise/pea gravel/elbow grease/whatever. This track is out of the hands of the politicians now and into the capable hands of some die-hard racers, so please help us make it successful!
Here are some pic's of T1's runoff after I got to it Sunday.
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