‘08 – torrential rain and flooding in Indiana kept us from leaving our neighborhood and we missed the races!

‘09 – 39 degrees and rain greeted us when we reached southern Milwaukee. Race day warmed up to the low 50s, but it was windy and a bit cool. Larry Pegram beat Mladin straight up to take his first win in nearly a decade btw.

2011 was a different story as the weather was gorgeous with partial cloud cover and low 80s.
The following photos were captured during Saturday’s events at Road America. Enjoy.

Turn 1 action aiming through the spectator fence and where the important photogs get to stand:

RL’s bike on display in the Suzuki complex:

Josh Hayes blending into the crowd nicely after walking back from a small crash. Note the scuffs on his leathers around “Yamaha” and the “Monster” hump. No bother though as Josh would break the track record during qualifying on Sat.

Nearly showtime for the Daytona Sportbike group:

Although heavily wooded, RA has it’s share of concrete as well:

Some of the best livery this year – Team Yamaha Monster Energy:

Rapp and Herrin chatting pre-Sportbike start…hopefully it was to avoid this scenario.

Jason DiSalvo walking back after a lap 3, turn 1 low-side:

It was my first bike, but not my first experience with motor bikes. Growing up my dad always had a few bikes in the garage. During the summer months he would give all the neighborhood kids rides around the block on the back of his Kawasaki cruiser. Everyone would lineup in our driveway for a ride around the block and dad would take his time to do a lap for each rider and just cruise.

When I was around 7 or 8 years old I would sneak into the garage and climb up on dad’s bike and act like the rider. One day I accidentally tipped it over in the garage (un-harmed), but never sat on the front seat of a bike again until I was 19 years old.

February 1997 -
I’m not exactly sure how I got the itch to buy my first motorcycle back in Feb. of ‘97, but I decided I wanted a bike and was going to get one regardless of my parents approval/disapproval. Mom was fully against the idea. Dad didn’t like it from a financial perspective, but I could tell he was exited about the opportunity of sharing the enjoyment motorcycles once gave him.

For $3700 in ‘97 I was the proud owner of a well-groomed Suzuki Katana 600 with less than 4500 miles on it. It was red, pink, white, black, orange and hideous, but I loved it. Kerker pipe, tinted windscreen and a cheesie cargo-net to boot. It Despite the looks the bike was fast and handled great for someone with zero motorcycling experience. In fact, the day we purchased it dad rode it home about 60 miles (in Feb.) so we could store it in the garage until spring.

The next day I completed and passed my written motorcyclist exam and was a permit rider in the state of Indiana. The spring and summer months could not come fast enough.

Once the weather broke I spent the next few months riding in the neighborhood under dads tutelage learning all the core aspects of riding. I wore helmet, but not much else at the time. I’ve become an ATGATT guy so when I think back now I’m thankful I never had any accidents.

After graduating from the neighborhood I spent the next several months riding all around south-central Indiana. Although I had to sell the Kan-O-Tuna after 2 years of ownership I will never forget my first bike.

Below is a turn-by-turn dissection of Putnam Park and the chosen lines, braking points, corner entry, apex points and corner exit strategies I use. Hopefully, you find the stills, descriptions and videos helpful at your next Putnam Park track day.

In the pursuit of faster lap times, feel free to leave feedback

Before we begin, here are a couple of bike and rider specifics:

• Street Experience: 10 years or approx. 20,000+ miles logged to date
• Track Experience: 4 years or approx. 8 track days to date
• Bike: stock 2006 Yamaha R6

Putnam Park Straight-Away:

On a hot lap, I’m hitting 140+ on the straight at Putnam. See the slight dip in elevation, just past the flag stand? Nothing daunting, but the front can get lofty here if you hit it at the right time.

Braking Area for Turn 1:

Coming down the straight I’m always in full-tuck and get up to 5th gear towards the end of the straight. I accelerate all the way down until the 1st set of rumble strips on the the left-hand side of the track. Once I see those, I pop up from behind the screen and start braking duties for turn 1.

Putnam Park Turn 1

T1 Entry

Turn 1 is probably the most popular opportunity to pass as the heaviest braking is happening right before the turn-in point. Crafty riders will sneak up on the inside of you and block pass going into 1. My preferred entry is stay to the left side of the track and drop down one gear to 4th…other times 2 gears to 3rd.

T1 Apex

Turn 1 has many lines, but I prefer to apex 1-2 feet from the curbing as it allows me to carry good mid-corner speed and change my trajectory if needed. At this point, I’m using only maintenance throttle and I start drifting outward to complete my exit and set up my turn 2 entry.

Turn 1 exit is a continuation of scrubbing off some speed and bringing the bike back up from heavy lean. Try to use as much track as possible and stay to the outside to set up for a fast approaching turn 2.

T1 Exit/T2 Entry

Putnam Park Turn 2

T2 Apex

Leaving the exit of 1 and setting up 2, I  apex early and keep my line tight here so I can apply maximum throttle from apex to exit.  Lot’s of lean angle here and I occasionally clip the curbing with my right knee.

T2 Exit/T3 Entry

Power out of 2 all the way to the outside edge using maximum track. I usually end up near the the end of the rumble strips and have the bike stood up momentarily with a handful of throttle.

From the exit of 2, aim your bike at the rumble trips on the right side of the track (T3 apex). The rumble strips are short and go by fast, but executing your turn 2 exit correctly can make the concrete between 2-3 seem like a mini-straight.

Putnam Park Turn 3

T3 Apex

I usually run about 1 ft from the curbing and then tighten up my line on the exit of 3. Once I clip the rumble strip, I ease off the throttle and smoothly get my body to the left side of the bike to set-up turn 4.

T3 Exit/T4 Entry

As you can see, I keep the bike on the right side of the track (right of the seem) but start to tip-in ever so slightly. My eyes are up and looking half-way between turns 4-5.

Putnam Park Turn 4

T4 Apex

Turn 4 is the first left-hander on the track and can catch a few people by surprise as it is slightly off-camber. Your first go through 4 should exercise some caution. This is without a doubt my favorite turn on the track.

I see the most mistakes (IMO) by riders entering turn 4. Usually people see the rumble strip and turn-in way too early which completely kills your drive on exit. I prefer a late turn-in which allows me to pick the bike up and start applying throttle as soon as possible. Again, I close the apex on exit and get closest to the curbing near the end of the paint.

T4 Exit

Lean-angles can be pretty intense through here and I’ve mistakenly dragged my knee in the middle of the track. With a late apex to turn 4, the key here is clipping the end of the rumble strips again to maximize my drive in the short-shoot between 4-5. Accelerate hard out of 4 and run it out to the edge of the track. Be wary of the ruts after the curbing, it is not fun to hit this at speed – I speak from experience

Putnam Park Turn 5

T5 Entry

Between 4 and 5 I’m accelerating hard and getting the bike back to the left side of the track. As I approach 5 I stay in 3rd gear and close the throttle slightly to settle the bike and prepare for turn-in.

T5 Apex

Turn 5 is deceptively fast as it opens up slightly on exit which will allow for more corner speed and some insurance asphalt…if you get it wrong. Just as I’m touching down in 5 my eyes are up and focused down-track near turn 6.

T5 Exit/T6 Entry

Putnam Park Turn 6

T6 Apex

Once I hit “turn 6″, which is merely just a kink in the pavement I’m accelerating hard and using little lean angle. I brush pass the right-side curbing, sit up and start heavy braking for 7.

Putnam Park Turn 7

T6 Exit/T7 Entry

Turn 7 or commonly known as the “Bus Stop” is the slowest turn on the track. In my few track days, I’ve been witness to several crashes here. People will run in way to too hot or high side themselves to the moon exiting this corner. It is probably the easiest corner to target fixate, since it is a slow 90° turn and you are under heavy braking.

T7 Apex

My goal at recent track days have been to smooth this corner out, increase corner speed and run a tighter line when apexing. I usually grab 2nd going through here, but will occasionally grab 1st if I’m following a slower rider into the turn.

T7 Exit

With a hi-strung bike like the R6 you have to keep it on the boil or you will end up in the dead-zone (under 8,000 rpms) and lose ground on corner exits. I try to get as much drive out of here as possible for the short-shoot between 7-8. As I pass the end of the rumble strips I’m revving the 6 all the way to the top and then letting the revs settle down going into turn 8.

Putnam Park Turn 8

T8 Entry

Turn 8 or “Dead Bear” can be another crash-fest as there is just enough of a straight between 7-8 to gas it and get in too deep. Other than the straight, this is the only place on the track where I’m relatively in the middle of the track prior to turn-in.

Note the seam in the middle? I stay to the right of this to do my braking and then start my turn-in near the corner worker station that is off to the left.

T8 Apex

The great part of Dead Bear is the plethora of lines you can run and it’s camber towards the end of the turn. Go in early and block the inside, much like turn one or turn-in mid corner and close the apex on exit. The positive camber will allow some extreme lean angles here and plenty of knee-draggin’ goodness. Dead Bear is also the only “up-hill” turn at Putnam so it can be easy to target-fixate as it is momentarily blind. I still catch myself dropping my eyes down to the apex of the turn instead of beyond it.

T8 Exit

I gas it out of 8 and run it out to the rumble strips. Passed the rumble strips is a small bit of tarmac to use if you get a little overzealous coming out of 8. Be cafeful going beyond the curbing as there are usually deep ruts left by the cars.

Exiting 8, I will get the occasional head-shake as there is a small dip coming back to the left side of the track. Once my body is back over the top and the bike settled, I get ready for turn 9. I see several riders getting lazy with the throttle between 8-9 and they will tend to drift into 9…losing valuable time.

Putnam Park Turn 9

T9 Entry

Turn 9 is long, wide and combines many turn in points. Be wary of riders exiting the pits going into 9, they normally will signal, but never assume.

T9 Apex

Going into 9, there is a seam that runs somewhat parallel with the apex. After I’ve apexed, I will tend to cross over this seam and run all the out to the curbing on the outside of the track.

T9 Exit/T10 Entry

I usually let the bike drift out about 1-2 feet from the curb and then get it pointed for the final turn. By this time, my eyes are already up and looking passed turn 10 and down the straight.

Putnam Park Turn 10

T10 Apex

Turn 10 is the only turn that keeps me in check. It has the dubious pit-lane wall, which is lined with tires, but still not ideal place to crash. I tend to apex early going into 10, running a tight line and using a conservative throttle hand.

T10 Exit

Once I’m through, it’s max throttle and I’m banging through the gears down the straight.

Finish Straight

For safety sake, I move to the middle/right side of the track to not interfere with any riders exiting pit-lane.

That is my dissection of a track day lap at Putnam Park Road Course, I hope you found some of the content insightful. Be sure to check out my videos and I say hey when you see me out at your next track day.

The following stills were taken from the on-board video below, I apologize in advance for the fuzziness and the sticker on my wind shield. Duly noted for next time.

Ben, #110

As a racing nut and a designer, I always take special note of the livery that race teams come up with to show off their bikes. Most of the time these start with the sponsor colors and or logo (I imagine) so there is a color palette and style that evolves around the existing art. Other times, it is completely up to the rider or team what the bike looks like when there is a special race weekend.

Anyway, counting up from the year 2000, here are my picks for great race bike livery of the last 10 years…

2000 – Colin Edwards Castrol Honda

2001 Valentino Rossi’s “Hawaiian” Honda NSR 500 (Mugello)

2002 Ben Bostrom Ducati 998

2003 Erion Honda CBR 600

2004 Marco Melandri “Spider-Man” Yamaha M1

2005 Valentino Rossi’s 50th Anniversary Yamaha M1

2006 Alex Barros Klaffi Honda

2007 Jordan Suzuki

2008 Yoshimura Suzuki

2009 Red Bull KTM