Mid-Ohio Rider PTR 2024/09/02 First Session Advanced (Raw)

September 2nd, 2024
2013 Kawasaki ZX6R (ZX636), M4 exhaust
Mid Ohio Sportscar Course Performance Track Riding - Advanced Session 1
Raw Footage

It's been a couple weeks, but we're back! It's Labor Day (an easy day to get off work) and the last planned trackday of the 2024 season for me. I finally used up that last gift certificate that was going to expire. And, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day - we're starting off in the low 60s, with a projected a high in the low 70s, sunny all day.

I had planned to maybe do the trackday on the Monday prior, but I guess I dodged a bullet there as the news was they unfortunately had an incident that involved 8 riders. 😮

With the cooler temps in this first session, it's basically going to be parade laps as the track isn't warm and I'd feel really silly binning it in the first session.

I'm cruising around behind another rider for a lap, and make the slow pass under braking (3:23). My parading is too slow, so a coach goes around me (3:54). He must've been towing someone since he looked back towards me in Thunder Valley. Sure enough, I get passed by the coach's tail (4:14).

Another rider goes around me into the busstop (4:54), and just before the kink (5:22). Another flies by in Thunder Valley (6:10). My fragile ego is in a three-way battle against my instinct for self-preservation and my level-headed reminder that this is just the first session of the day and I should 'take 'er easy, boss'. The gaggle of riders isn't really pulling away from me...🤔 and then I get passed under braking (7:25). At least one peels off to the pits, and I fall in line. I'm in a drag race with an R6(?) down the backstretch (9:02) and I was setting up to brake deep, I thought about it (9:16), but - it's the FIRST SESSION! Unnecessary risk. I'll pick another spot.

'Another spot' is Thunder Valley as the rider signals to pit in (9:52). That was easy.

I take one more parade lap before the session ends and I head back to my pit.

Video taken by a Sony AS100V, Stabilized, 1080p60