Boston Moto trackday?

[ducpainter]

Nate,

Long story short; The rider was given a firm warning and closely monitored for the rest of the day.

Long story long; the rider wasn't sent packing, he is a frequent track rider with many laps under my supervision (both that day and others). I know from experience that he is very cautious with his passes. I was dumbfounded when I heard it was him. And I personally worked with him for most of the afternoon to ensure that he was being safe.
Eric's report on the incident made a large difference on the decision made.

we wish Eric a quick return to the track.

Q

Thanks Quentin.

I must have misunderstood Eric, or just plain was pissed that it happened and came to my own conclusions, or a combination of both. Eric is the nicest guy in the world, and probably my closest friend. I hope you and Scottie understand where I was coming from.

Personally, I would have escorted him to the gate, but that's me. An experienced rider should know better than to attempt that at a track day IMO, and if there should be any hard and fast policy, ejection from the event for taking a rider out should be one of them.

I wish Eric was still going to MI with me in 10 days.

Nate

[NAKID]

Sorry, I have to agree with Nate. If I was on the track the day it happened, it'd be either him or me. If he was still allowed on the track, I'd be out of there...

[ozmanyyy]

Thanks Quentin.

I must have misunderstood Eric, or just plain was pissed that it happened and came to my own conclusions, or a combination of both. Eric is the nicest guy in the world, and probably my closest friend. I hope you and Scottie understand where I was coming from.

Personally, I would have escorted him to the gate, but that's me. An experienced rider should know better than to attempt that at a track day IMO, and if there should be any hard and fast policy, ejection from the event for taking a rider out should be one of them.

I wish Eric was still going to MI with me in 10 days.

Nate

Eric is a great guy,,, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Oz

[DrDesmo]

Eric is a great guy,,, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Oz

+1

Adam

[The Architect]

Sorry, I have to agree with Nate. If I was on the track the day it happened, it'd be either him or me. If he was still allowed on the track, I'd be out of there...

+1

It would make me very uncomfortable to be on a track with a school that allows people back on after they have taken out another rider (especially if the rider they took out was an instructor.)

[ScottieDucati]

I'm sorry you feel that way, it seemed like you had a good time at your first BM day, and we hope to have you back for more.

As it states in our rules, we have a 2-strike policy.  One warning, if it happens again, you're done.  Same rule applies to handlebars touching the ground.  Unfortunately, nobody other than Eric and the rider involved knows what really happened, unless there's video that caught it that I'm unaware of.  When I spoke to Eric, he was bummed and pissed at the fact that there was an incident at all, but was completely not indicating the other rider was a hazard or unsafe, he simply made a mistake.  It's why we do trackdays, to learn, and to grow.  We can only hope and strive to limit the mistakes and the consequences of them when at all possible. 

The customer involved has been to several of our trackdays, and has never had a single incident in the past that I am aware of.  I've personally ridden with him and he's a smooth and predictable rider.  To throw him out simply because he made a mistake (when it appears that he likely thought he had already completed the pass long before the turn in point) and especially without witnessing the event itself, is a bit rash IMO. 

Either way, we strive to put safety at the forefront of everything we do and for this to be the only two-bike incident this  year that I'm aware of, is not a bad track-record, especially for a new organization that is still learning and growing.  I'd like to keep it the only multi-bike incident this year. 

Regardless of that, you have to maintain a separation between what *caused* the incident, and what resulted from it.  Someone being injured holds zero bearing on the ability of the other rider being able to ratchet it back and ride safe for the rest of the day.  I know the customer knew he had made a mistake and felt worse than anyone else (except maybe Eric himself).  I don't see the outcome of what happened as justification for tossing someone out who has proven a safe and predictable rider at multiple outings with us.  I'd like to think that Eric feels the same way, and would want the customer to remain on the track and apply the lesson he just learned in order to become a more experienced, and safer rider.  And yes, mistakes DO happen, both at trackdays AND in racing.  In fact, they happen on the street too.  I'd rather it happens on the track than on the street, that's the entire point of trackdays in the first place.

For the record, if the situation would have been differently... If it were a rider identified as erratic and if we had spoke to him about his riding being a potential hazard then we would have a different story.  Verbal warning counts as your first strike.  This was not the case.  The rider involved is an upper-level intermediate rider with 5+ trackdays this year under his belt, and no other incidents in that time table.  Unfortunately, circumstances added up to a poor time to make a mistake and there were consequences as a result.  I wish there *was* an easy flaw in rules, policy, or what have you that could fix such things from ever happening, but unfortunately the dangers inherent in our sport are just that.  Otherwise, we'd all be sitting on the couch on sunny days.

[The Architect]

Scottie, thanks for the response.  I did have a good time and felt comfortable while there. 

I understand the two strike policy.  I've seen some very experienced riders make mistakes on the track and later apologize for it in the garage.  One minor mistake is not a reason for someone to lose the rest of the track day. 

But taking down another rider should maybe be addressed differently.  In this case you knew the rider, his history and abilities and made a judgement call. 

I understand the risk I take everytime I go on the track.  And I appreciate anything the school can do to weed out or control the high risk riders.  I'd rather be on the track than on a couch.

edit: spell check