We are in a golden age of tires for motorcycles. Let’s get that straight first and foremost. I am so tired of hearing at track events that “….these tires are/were terrible!”. That is not only disrespectful to all the engineers and testers that developed them but also uninformed with a very poor POV/perspective underscored by a [...]
We have a stunning plethora of choices for track tires via manufacturers from Hypersport multi compounds to track day slicks that do not need warmers to race only use tires with various compounds. How do you define what carcass you need for track days or racing in 2026? In contemplating this topic and acquiring perspective, take [...]
Session by session on the first day does not have to be this particular protocol that I provide below. This protocol is honed from decades of testing for myself and with riders, so you can use it as a baseline. You can build your test day any way that you choose so adapt the test plan [...]
DMT quote: “The faster you ride, the more maintenance you MUST do. This is a non-negotiable.” Preseason maintenance and chassis/suspension review: If you have an annual practice of draining the tank to winterize your motorcycle and walk away for 3-5 months due to a seemingly interminable Winter and a ludicrously short riding season, this article will [...]
With a forecast of 109F/ C for the event, I was not relishing the race weekend. Many others I’m sure had exactly the same thoughts. No matter what, you show up if you want to win Championships and preparation is everything. In this case, hydration would be the priority and I started that on the Wednesday [...]
Qualifying Time: 1.58.617 Best Lap Time: 1.56.332 For this event I would be under the very professional Motorsport Exotica canopy. This was as a teammate to Jason Diaz of Oculus Financial as he has Jerrad and his staff helping him for the full year in 2027 at all Moto America events. Jason has worked very hard [...]
A track is a living breathing thing so when you go back to it, you have to walk it to see what has changed with the asphalt:- tar snake repairs, small or large patches, areas that have been ground down and how the surface has changed over time for “bumps” especially in braking zones. Buttonwillow [...]
AFM Round 1, May 9th and 10th at Thunderhill Raceway Park. With the unfortunate cancellation of the original round 1 at Buttonwilllow on April 11th and 12th, we had an unexpected wait for racing to start in. California with the AFM (American Federation of Motorcyclists) in 2026. All the Winter preparation and anticipation was held in [...]
If you have never been to Thunderhill West, there are various configurations. This video is clockwise with 10 turns and pace is set at Novice to all the reference points are easily visible. This will give you all the information you need to know to learn this configuration and go to your first track day with [...]
Race Report, AFM race 2, Thunderhill Raceway Park, May 3-4 I was very fortunate to be able to have Steve Collins of Scuderia Ducati fame (@scuderia_ducati) build me one of his world renowned Ducati 748/996/998 conversions. Yes, he is famous in several Countries for his build and has helped many riders create an amazing Ducati. In [...]
