A little trip to the track

Post by **OU812** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:57 pm

Went for a ride up to Blackhawk Farms Raceway near Rockton IL. A nice small(1.9 mile) track for bikes.cars, and go carts. I raced there 17 years ago, and blew my bike up the 3rd weekend spent there(Old 86' FZ600 air cooled, in1990). Took no slabs to get there, about 100 miles, with my friends GPS blacking out quite often. Just as we pull up to the food pavilion, it starts to pour. Lucky us we made it. Ves showed up within minutes, and we talked and watched out for hail, as it seemed likely this could show at any time. The rain lasted about 30 minutes, and then Mark(MAD1150) and his wife Vicky showed up, and the sky cleared. Well the riders broke for lunch, as this was a track day, and no strict rules( I guess) on the time. we left the track and went into town for lunch. Returned to the track, and all was well, as it had dried. We watched as the riders went out and did their 20 min. sessions. 3 levels, so the hour goes by fast. I took a few pics, and talked with Ves about the rules for track days, as he has done them here, and elsewhere. I thought, boy would it be fun to get back out there at 47+ years of age and dice. Well, needless to say as we were waiting to cross the track on our exit, right in front of us a rider high sided and did about 4-5 rolls on the track. Thank God he eventually got back up, but it took awhile. My visions of grandeur left forever after the accident. I will stay on the road.

Here are a few pics of the riders hammering.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:43 pm

Nice..It looks like you had a good pozzie for those pics.

I'm glad the rider that high-sided got up..It makes you feel sick in the stomach when they're carried off..even worse when they're not moving.

DJ

Post by **OU812** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:14 am

Yes DJ, I had the spot for the view I wanted, but I had the zoom on full, and the quality was on lowest for more memory. That is why they look so grainy. Sorry

And I agree, best when the rider who eats it gets up on his own.

mad1150 · Post by **mad1150** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:16 am

I'll ad my shots too.

From outside the track:

From inside:

The Paddock:

Post by **OU812** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:40 pm

The 2nd pic, as you look to the left and see only a rear tire, that's where the rider bit it. Still did not know what exactly caused it.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:10 pm

Maybe he got on the gas too much and the back came around..or maybe he used all the track..and then some..going a little too wide..who knows..about that far coming out of fast sweeping bends is a common place for crashing from what I've seen.....btw Great track...lots of trees everywhere..some look a bit like weeping willows...thanks for the pics.

DJ

Ves · Post by **Ves** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:11 pm

You guys took some nice pics.

I have to tell part of the story. So, we go into Rockton during lunch break to get some food. We found a pretty decent place and order drink and food at the bar. The food comes, and Steve gets this platter... Oh, if we only had a camera (our bikes were a block away)... It was a party tray with four different compartments, filled with all sorts of fried stuff and four different sauces... We all could have eaten from it... Needless to say he had a few leftovers.

Post by **OU812** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:40 pm

Lunch, today.

Mark, you must help me with my jurrasic park model camera.