Grattan Raceway

The author's home track, those that are able to master Grattan are capable of going fast at any racetrack in North America . Why is that? The track offers a wide variety of situations. Built off a converted drag strip, the 2.38-mile, 12 turn course follows the undulating terrain with many blind corners as an added kicker. Off-camber corners ask much trust from the rider's confidence and the on-camber corners can be taken much faster than one might expect. It must be said that the track surface itself is not of the happiest condition. With bumps, cracks and sealer everywhere, the best thing to do where lap times are concerned, is to avoid looking at these imperfections and push on. Trust the machine - it will stick. This track is run in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.

Paddock
There's plenty of asphalt to set-up a pit. If heat is an issue, teams that lack cover can set-up their pits down on the grass as it's a little cooler over that way. There are ten garages to be rented, electrical outlets are provided here, but riders must bring their own lighting.

Grand Rapids is a fifteen-minute drive south, and thanks to the two universities located therein, local talent is prevalent.

Facilities
The latrine isn't the greatest. When running the water, be careful not to light a match in there. The stalls in the crapper are tiny, take off the leathers before making the number two. Showers are available to wash off any mud at the expense of smelling like a rotted-out well. Sometimes the kitchen is open with hotdogs and other ballpark type foods available.

Staff
Probably the finest group of full-time corner workers the author has met. While it's apparently obvious they lack any form of dental coverage, these people know how to help and most have been there at least five years and some have been there for twenty.

What to Bring
An Ez-Up and your own water are a must. Food is always a good idea too since there isn't much available near the racetrack. If you have tire warmers or anything electricity dependant, bring a generator and lots of extension cord.

Talladega Grand Prix Raceway

Little Talladega Grand Prix Raceway is a relatively flat, 1.3-mile, nine turn track that posses an absurd amount of grip. This track chews up tires! The advantage - insane lean angle is possible. It's easy to deck out bodywork and hard parts if the rider is willing, and there are no undulations in the surface – billboard smooth. The layout of the track is easy to learn as it lacks any steep camber or blind corners. Many of the AMA teams test here as the abrasive nature of the pavement punishes tires a great deal, providing good information for tire manufacturers to improve their technology. This track is run in both directions.

A ten-minute drive east lands you in town with all kinds of uninteresting things to do. Along the way is the Kawasaki dealership that owns the track and they usually have the sort of spares a bike would need after a trip down in the kitty litter.

Paddock
There really isn't one, just grass and gravel. It's best to pit near the main building as it stays driest when the rain comes down.

Facilities
Nothing to speak of here. No running water or electricity available. The only building on site serves as a tower and as registration during events. The port-a-loos aren't bad though. No kitchen either.

Staff
More than sufficiently experienced, these people have to deal with the largest WERA region by number of participants. Although the smallest facility on the schedule, they are very capable.

What to Bring
Water and an Ez-Up are a must as the weather can get very hot in Alabama . A heavy-duty/high-traffic carpet makes an excellent garage floor, bring one. Food is a ten-minute drive down the road.

Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch

Forty minutes outside of Las Vegas makes Spring Mountain (usually referred to as Pahrump by racers), is a very exciting place to ride. Designed by former Can-Am racer Rupert Bragg-Smith, the 2.2 mile, 10-turn (more like 15 turn) track is very smooth except for a bump on the exit of T2 and the ripples exiting T7. Another aspect of note is the lack of run-off. Being built in the desert provides consistently excellent weather BUT, should one fall off, expect some pinball as the copious moonrock is hard to miss at high speed. This is the last track one wants to fall off at. The issue of runoff is expected to be addressed in the near future since new owners have acquired the track and have set about making many improvements everywhere.

Like Grattan Raceway, if one can go well at Pahrump they can expect to go fast elsewhere due to the technical nature of this track. Rupert had testing and tuning in mind when he penned the layout that exists today. This track has variety in spades, if only it had a little bit more elevation changes. No less, blind corners abound and the first two turns allow the rider to test traction at the limit in either direction. What you can expect from this place is to test every aspect of your machine: cornering in both directions, maximum acceleration/braking at all lean angles and full-throttle/full-brake at full lean. These reasons are precisely why the track is favored as a test ground by all the major teams in AMA series. Due to the presence of a drainage culvert on the short straight immediately before T1, the track is only run in a clockwise direction. Food and petrol are available right down the road from the track.

Paddock
Herein lies the largest paved surface of any facility yet visited by the author. Recently the desert north of the paddock was groomed to make additional room for parking larger rigs. There are no garages available to rent and not a tree in sight, be sure to bring an Ez-Up to get out of the usually blistering sun. There is no electricity available.

Facilities
There are a few buildings here, but they're not for riders' use. As for the two largest buildings: one serves as a garage and storage for the National Corvette School 's fleet of cars and the other is often used for registration and classroom instruction. There are no showers to be found but there is running water in the bathrooms.

Staff
The weekend the author was present was the last day Rupert Bragg-Smith held title of the property. In this confusion, the regular corner workers didn't show up for work and a very professional crew from Willow Springs International Raceway made the drive to make sure the event could happen. IE, no comment.

What to Bring
Being in the desert, an Ez-Up is a must because there is no shade, same goes for water; bring gallons. No food is available on site, have some chow on hand or take a quick trip outside the main gate for the munchies.

Beaver Run Motorsports Complex

A new facility built in 2002 located Western Pennsylvania , Beaver Run's North track (the South track has yet to be completed) is a twelve-turn, 1.6 mile, mostly right handed track with many blind corners combined with almost constant elevation changes. It gets a bit bumpy through the fifth gear kink and on the run up to the front straight out of the hairpin. While it's not a difficult track to learn, it does put a premium on front-end confidence. Armco is always in site and serves as an excellent turn in marker at some points. These rails, while distant, always have hay bales between them and the racing line. Should one run off at this track, expect to get muddy, especially if rain was in the forecast. Don't bother bringing a photographer here since the track has given all photography rights to an on-site company.

Beaver Falls, town, is ten-minutes East of the track and has more than enough watering holes. Having an open trailer or truck with a bike(s) in it should not be brought into town. The locals don't appreciate real (that is, fast) bikes and always make noise upon site of any bike that is superior to the Harleys (not really made in USA ) they poop around on. Be advised, unload in the paddock before heading into town. Should preference come into play, Pittsburg is a forty-minute drive down the turnpike and loaded with all kinds of trouble to be found – highly recommended.

Paddock
Get there early and get pitted near the tower on the asphalt. While the paddock is large, there are often kart and autocross events happening at the same time making on-pavement space limited. Should one miss out on the asphalt, there's a lovely grey clay material that'll find its way into every piece of equipment, regardless of the weather, should pitting on it occur. No outside electricity exists, but huge, well-lit garages are available for rent and electricity is provided.

Facility
This year Beaver Run built a large conference building which houses fourteen garages below. Running water is available and there are nice showers here as well. Be warned, it can be a bit of a hike up to this building from paddock row. There is also a roach-coach of sorts with all kinds of munchies to be had, try the bacon, egg & cheese bagel and kiss McDonald's goodbye.

Staff
The facility has no real full-time corner workers, hit and miss here.

What to Bring
If pitted on the pavement, an Ez-Up is always nice to help stay cool, otherwise bring a roll of heavy-duty/high-traffic carpet to work on the bikes in the dirt. Spare footwear and towels are good when the rain comes. In the mountains it can get cold any time of the year very quickly; pack a jacket and warm clothing when visiting The Beaver.