RACETRACK REVIEWS
A Lap of Carolina Motorsports Park
Author: Jim Richardson
A Country Club for Southern Gentlemen (who are addicted to speed….)
You never know what to expect when you head out to put the tires down on a new track. Web sites often paint a rosy picture and the impressions gained by onboard track video depend a lot on the image quality and the riding skills of the person who shot it. So it was with no great expectations that we set out on our first trip to Carolina Motorsports Park, a 2.3 mile road course nestled just outside of rural Kershaw, SC, about 45 miles south of Charlotte, NC. CMP plays host to WERA, CCS, AHRMA and other groups, as well as track days. It also bills itself as a "country club" for motorsports enthusiasts. For a fee you can join the Palmetto Motorsports Club, which offers special track time and other perks, much like a golf club.  The CMP facility itself was a pleasant surprise. It's not exactly Pebble Beach but the grounds are well manicured and maintained. There are clean bathrooms and showers (yes, these things are important!), overnight security, plenty of free electricity available and even free wi-fi throughout the park. While there are garages available for rent at $50 a day, most of the paddock is hard-packed grass, which makes staking down your EZ-up a cinch but could prove problematic if you need to do any serious maintenance. If you're obsessive, bring some carpet or a mat.
We took the opportunity to walk the track the evening we arrived. While watching a variety of on-track videos, we'd noticed quite a few rough spots, including curbing that had been chewed up at the apex of several turns. We found that these have been repaired. Also, several sections of track have been repaved and there is a relatively new series of turns on the western end that replaces a couple of hard rights with what is essentially a sweeping, decreasing radius curve.  The next morning dawned November-brisk and looking to be just perfect for scratching around on a motorcycle. We gridded up, intending to take it slow on the first session in order to get the lay of the track. While there's not much elevation change, CMP offers some interesting riding. Basically, the track breaks down into two twisty and technical bits with a really fun, fast, dog-legged backstraight. This high speed section is reminiscent of Road Atlanta, only without the downhill drop. Here’s what you’ll find during a lap of Carolina Motorsports Park.
|