NEW RIDER'S INFO
Novice to Advanced, Part 1
Author: Kevin Kouri
One rider’s journey
First Weekend If you've never done a trackday, you have no idea what you're missing. Most participants will agree that it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. My first-ever trackday experience came at Gingerman raceway, just outside of South Haven, Michigan. Gingerman is a 1.8 mile, 11 turn track with 2 straightaways that total 2801 feet. The long straights are connected by a single 90 degree turn. One would expect that the little 2008 Ninja 250R I was riding back then wouldn't stand a chance against a pack of machines sized 600cc and larger; at least I certianly didn't. I couldn't have been more wrong. That first trackday weekend began on Friday, consisting of a little wrench time and a lot of packing. My friend Sean and I removed the mirrors, front and rear turn signals and license plates from our bikes, then taped over our headlights and tail lights. We loaded up the truck and trailer, then hit the rack about 11 that night. At 5:30 am on Saturday, we climbed into the truck and headed for South Haven. The ride took a little  over an hour but felt like two because we had to cross into an earlier time zone. We arrived at the track just before the gate opened at 7:00 am. By 8:00 am we had registered, teched our bikes, eaten a free banana each that we' grabbed at the sign-in desk and set up camp. At 8:30 am, we attended the rider's meeting. This is where all the day's participants gather by the timing tower to learn about the rules for each group, get a quick rundown on the meaning of the various flags, learn the location of the tire guy and hear a quick plug for the track photographer. From 9:00-9:40, the Intermediate and Advanced groups took to the track for a 20 minute session each, while all the novice guys and gals (that would include Sean and I ) attended our first classroom session of the day. The 35 or so people in the class were then split up into 7 groups, with Group One consisting of the most experienced riders and the first-timers (again, that would be us) slotting into Group Seven. At 9:30, the 10 min call for Novice was given. We geared up and headed to the grid. I pulled up to cone seven, lining up behind our instructor. He was wearing full-race leathers showing plenty of road rash and a yellow jersey with a black 7 on it.
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