Inaugural Military Motorcycle Track Day!
On the 11th of May, an inaugural Military Motorcycle Track Day was held at Jennings GP in Florida. Organized by Steve Johnson of MacDill Air Force Base (AFB); the event provided uniformed military members (active and reserve), government civilians and dependents an opportunity to apply the skills that they have learned through various Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) courses at more realistic speeds in a controlled closed-course environment. Event attendees hailed from MacDill AFB and from Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
The Jennings GP circuit provided riders with the perfect venue to improve their skills and get more familiar with their motorcycles without distracted drivers, dangerous obstacles and the poor road conditions encountered in day to day driving.
Safety was the theme of the day for all involved. Like most track days, this event had very specific safety guidelines. The focus on safety alleviated apprehension and eased reservations; as a majority of the participants had never ridden a closed-course race track.
The event was fortunate to have Doug and Becky Westly and Ron Croft as dedicated rider coaches supporting the first time track riders. Doug and Becky are themselves military retirees with extensive riding backgrounds and currently the managers of Honda Motorcycles National Demo program. Ron is a St. Petersburg, FL attorney with an extensive riding resume who supports numerous track day events for other organizations.
Dainese of Orlando Florida brought out demos of their air bag (D-air) track suits, racing gloves and AGV helmets for riders to try. Dainese staff provided the participants with a better understanding of the importance of proper fitment as well as the safety aspects of the Dainese gear.
With the advice of the coaches and support of the control riders, first time track riders quickly adapted to the closed-course environment. Enthusiasm of the riders was apparent as they rode until 5PM, using every bit of the 7 hours of track time. The event concluded without incident achieving the goal of improving everyone’s confidence and abilities.
Special thanks to the coaches and to Dainese of Orlando, as each volunteered their time to the event making it a huge success.
Future Military Track Days supporting southeastern service members are being scheduled for this fall when Jennings GP resumes operations. For more information on how to participate please send an email to [email protected].