Trackday veterans will find the policies at SoCal Track Days accommodating; no scheduled sessions means riders get as much track time as they can handle.
Sportbike riders have been increasingly flocking to trackdays, spawning an array of organizers hosting track events. But with so many options available to the sport-riding public, what's the difference?
Well, experienced trackday addicts are finding a lot to like about
SoCal Track Days, a great group of riders who have thrown out the usual format in favor of a system that has several advantages.
The majority of trackday providers separate riders into three groups along skill and experience levels. The multiple-class format divides each hour into 20-minute blocks, allowing novices, intermediates and experts their own sessions throughout the day. This format works well because the separate categories and the shorter sessions gives structure to the proceedings and keep riders fresh. This is a smart way of accommodating people of various skill levels, ensuring that Ricky Racer doesn't collide with Wally Wobbler by keeping together riders of similar speed capabilities.
But then there are riders like most of us around the office - guys who have been to the track countless times and who know how to pace themselves during a day at the track - who can feel handcuffed by the three-group trackday because it effectively means one-third less track time. So if you are the kind of rider who regularly attends trackdays or races, and you don't care to mess around with newbies or trackday virgins, SoCal Track Days has the solution.
The Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, located in Pahrump, Nevada, hosts all of SoCal's trackdays. We've gotten to know the circuit well through past bike tests, including our most recent Supersport Shootout.
The SCTD format is simple: Go out and ride - there are no defined sessions. The premise is that riders with a lot of track experience can take care of themselves. Contributing to the safety element, SCTD events have a smaller total number of attendees than most other providers, so the track is seldom congested. The philosophy works wonders for experienced riders who are familiar with how to cope with a day at the track. And with no scheduled sessions, there's never a need to rush your lunch or frantically scramble to get geared up or fueled.
Now the bad part - SCTD plays only at
Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada. Not that it's a bad location, it's just that you might not live near the 2.2-mile circuit about 45 minutes north of Las Vegas. But it's worth the trip, as the license plates in the parking lot from California, Arizona and Utah prove. The facility itself is first-rate and is always improving, the weather is usually great, and the track layout is technical enough to be challenging even after several visits. With 20 events on their calendar for 2007, there really is no reason why you shouldn't be able to find a date that fits into your schedule.
The SoCal Track Day effort is spearheaded by Micky and Aimee Grana, along with Clif Sands, who are real enthusiasts and more helpful than you might expect from an event organizer. The trio has a wealth of riding experience to its credit and has been riding Spring Mountain two dozen times a season, so they are gurus for providing insight to the track's 10-turn layout. If you need help they've got you covered. And if they don't, their sponsors will, including
Aftershocks suspension, Michelin tires from
Racer's Edge, Dunlop tires from
Jim Cox Racing, and Trackday.net photography. These companies are at your disposal at every event, making the experience that much better.
SoCal doesn't mess around with the Group A, Group B, Group C format. There's just one group and its members get to turn laps on the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch as long as they want.
At just $195, each SoCal Track Day event is one of the most affordable you can find. Every event on the calendar features two possible back-to-back dates to choose from, meaning that a track junkie can ride them both for $390. There's a weekend in every month of the year except in July and August.
The only caveat is that an inexperienced rider could be quickly overwhelmed by the pace of the other attendees. Fortunately there are other quality trackday providers that will more than fit that bill.
As far as the fast folks out there go, the spots fill up fast. So if you have a yearning to get on track early, the high-desert weather of Nevada is conducive to getting track time in before the big-name facilities on either coast are graced with the springtime conditions we all know and love.
SoCal Track Days 2007 Calendar
All events held at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump Nevada.
Jan. - 13-14
Feb. -10-11
Mar. - 10-11
Apr. - 14-15
May - 5-6
June - 2-3
Sept. - 1-2
Oct. - 6-7
Nov. - 3-4
Dec. - 1-2
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