Motorcycling Lifestyles
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Sport Bike Track Time Raises the Bar
SPEEDtv.com's Neale Bayly tries a track day with Sport Bike Track Time
Neale Bayly  |  Posted November 18, 2008   Charlotte, North Carolina
Just a couple of seconds of distraction on a racetrack can spell disaster, and fatigue is one of the primary causes of this. (Photo: Neale Bayly)

So what do you do when you are the most successful track day provider in the United States of America? Do you sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors or do you get out there and keep making things better? Well for Monte and Bonnie Lutz and their regional directors, Mark and Lois Sheldon, there seems to be no stopping them.

Arriving at my local racetrack recently, Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina, I found Mark Sheldon busy preparing for the mandatory STT riders meeting. Talking with him and seeing his enthusiasm for the new management and all the exciting improvements and changes that have been happening at CMP lately, I knew we were in for a good day. Over the years I have sat through more STT riders’ meetings than I can remember, and with no offense intended to Mark, there are few more entertaining than motorcycling’s own Adult ADD poster child, Monte Lutz. That said, when Mark began his presentation, I have to admit to paying more attention than I have in years also.

Motorcycling is dangerous. It comes with risks that our neighbors and co-workers aren’t facing on the golf course or tennis courts. A bad accident can take a life or leave lasting injuries, and maybe that’s why the experience is so much more exciting than playing with your balls. (Golf or tennis that is) So when Mark starting telling us about the research STT and two other track day providers have been doing to highlight and pinpoint how and when accidents are most likely to happen, I was all ears.

According to Mark, 90% of crashes at track days happen in the last five minutes of the rider session. This is caused by mental and physical fatigue causing mistakes that can lead to accidents. I personally agree with this as I have often thought about the structure of a twenty-minute session, and how there is nothing else I do in life that demands that level of concentration for so long. Just a couple of seconds of distraction on a racetrack can spell disaster, and fatigue is one of the primary causes of this. To combat this and people’s natural desire to not want to admit to being tired, STT South now flies a white flag the lap before the checkered flag comes out. This gives riders the opportunity to come in a bit early, and during our day with STT I took the clue every time.

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