HPT Track Day 4-18-2011

Heartland Park Topeka Track Day

April 18th, 2011

Pictures by Keith for Motorcycle Closeouts . Com

Five in the morning. That’s when the alarm on my phone woke my two corgis, my wife and myself this Monday, buzzing and beep-

ing with no sign of letting up. Jumping up and banging my knees and toes against furniture, irri-tated canines and the occassional wall added more to the ruckus. By the time I shut off the phone - which was all the way in the kitchen - I found my-self standing in the cold dark air by myself; even the dogs, who normally are eager to get up and start the day, stayed in bed. After pacing back and forth to get the blood flowing, I threw some clothes on and got ready to head out the door.

The first track day of the season was to start in three hours and despite having all my gear

ready the night before, I felt like there was plenty to do. I grabbed my cameras, extra clothes, food, drink, some tasty beer, a tripod, a couple of flashes, GoPro accessories, folding chair and some tobacco. I packed it all in the back of the car and was off.

After making the trek across town to wake pick up my friend Jared, we began our sprint west-

ward torward the fine capital of Kansas. Neither of us were riding our motorcyles that day, despite it being a track day. I was there to represent Motorcy-cle Closeouts and document the day with pictures, some video and the words you’re reading now. Jar-ed was there to do more or less the same for Reno’s another sponsor of the track day.

J and I arrived to the road course plenty early. I picked up a media vest and found our garage lo-

cations and drove through the tunnel to enter the infield of the track. Trucks, trailers and a few RV’s were scattered throughout the parking lot, making for a lively paddock. The air was abuzz with howls and snarls from various exhaust systems and, as ex-pected, there were bikes everywhere.

Dustin’s Motorcycle Closeouts-branded Kawi-saki was in the garage with us, looking ready

to race. Japan was well represented with quite a few Suzuki GSXRs and Kawasaki Ninjas. I expected to

see more Hondas but didn’t expect to see as many European marquees, particularly the Ducatis.

Normally, the Monday track days aren’t very full: sane people work on Mondays, others

have errands and honey-dos. This particular track day had quite a bit of participants. I’m assuming that it being the first day of the season had a part to do with the attendance, a CCS race next week-end at the very same track being the other part.

The day officially started with Hector St.John leading the rider’s meeting promptly at 8:30.

The riders gathered to hear the rules of the track and the expectations from the track staff, control riders and their peers. With a mix of track expe-rience riding together througout the day, it was very important to make sure everyone was on the same page before screaming down the front straight at over 140 MPH!

The pets were out in force as well with a number of canine companions that, unlike my two pups, actually made it outta bed. Track rules regarding dogs were pretty forgiving, asking only that owners keep their

pals on leashes and, as to be expected, pick up after them. It was fun to see folks interact with the dogs after a couple of exhausting sessions on the track.

After a full day of riding on the track, the physical and mental exertion can take it’s toll. It’s not uncommon to see riders asleep in lawn chairs or in the front seats of their vehicles. Those who couldn’t find the time to recooperate between sessions found themselves taking a a ride back in the clean-up truck... Or the ambulance..

Despite a couple downed bikes, it was a great day with plenty of thrills and lots of sights and sounds. Check out our Motorcycle Closeouts Facebook page for more pictures and be on the look out for a video of our very own Shane crashing his CBR in turn 3.