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Need Advice On High Banked Ovals


Crash106

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Finally, I actually need same very RACERY advice! :o

 

Recently, a Gold Wing Road Riders chapter sponsored a charity ride at Charlotte Motor Speedway called the 100 MPH Club. Anyone who donated a certain amount of money to the Children's Speedway Charity got to ride 3 laps behind a pace car going over 100 mph. I know that to some of you racers, 100 mph doesn't sound like much, and I understand that. For those of you who brag about sneaking up over 100 mph on a deserted highway, I gotta tell ya, it's very different when the world is tipping sideways and the next corner is barely 1,500 feet away! Here are some details about the Charlotte Motor Speedway:

 

Distance : 1.5 miles

Shape : Quad-oval

Banking : 24° turns, 5° straights

Frontstretch : 1,980 feet

Backstretch : 1,500 feet

 

I rode the banked turns at about 85 mph, but only got up to about 95 on the back straight. The front "straight" has two little turns in it, and I took those almost as fast as the banking. I was just starting to get comfortable, and ready to roll on more gas, when my three laps were over. DANG!

 

So, I realize now I should have ridden in 4th gear (good for 115 mph on the Wing). But what ELSE could I do to safely go faster on an oval track?

 

Here is a map of the track.

 

Your suggestions for next year's ride are most welcome.

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Was that too big a question? How about these two?

 

1) Do you think I should use a traditional racing line in the banking--outside, inside, outside? I see the NASCAR drivers doing this, but no one at the ride did (of course, we were all amateures).

 

2) How fast (in time or distance) can a superbike scrub off speed from 115 (on the straights) to 95 (entering the banking)? The GL1800 has powerful triple disks with ABS, but I don't get to play much at those speeds. Some of you do.

 

If you've ridden Daytona, or want to, this is actally useful information. Thanks for your interest.

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115 to 95mph is gone in the blink of an eye on a superbike, you'd lose it in 2 or 3 seconds by simply rolling off the gas and sitting upright, involve the brakes in the process and that would be shorter still.

 

 

+1 on this, on my ZX6R just rolling off the gas at 120mph would cause the bike to slow quickly enough that the digital speedometer wouldn't update fast enough to show it reducing by 1mph at a time, it would jump by 3-5 mph at a time. Just a light touch on the brakes would drop the speed VERY quickly, I'd say a 1 second pull on the front brake at about 15% - 20% of braking capacity would take me down from 115 to 95 or possibly lower. (My little 250 slows down so easily at those speeds I never have even tried using the brakes at high speed.)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Wow, a banked oval, eh? That sure would be something different... never ridden anything like that. I can imagine that it would take a little bit to suss out and learn to track to find the best line. 3 laps only would definitely not be enough - hope you get some advice for the next time!

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