Mid-Ohio track owner rolls eyes at surface complaints

Opinion/Commentary
by Pete Hitzeman
R6Live.com

Michelle Trueman Gajoch, President of TrueSports Inc., which owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, was quoted recently, joking about the condition of the track surface at the venue. Apparently, Ms. Trueman Gajoch thinks that racers simply have nothing else to do but whine about external factors making them slower. While rider and driver safety may be a laughing matter to her, she would do well to pay attention to the criticism of those using her facility.

The track received a full re-pave in 2005, after suffering through a long period of mediocrity, with concrete patches and harsh bumps dominating the track. Initial reviews for the new, smooth surface were exuberant. The concrete patches in the corners were gone, some of the runoff was improved, the asphalt was pool-table smooth, and with one exception in the carousel, was free of bumps or dips. Finally, riders and drivers at the Lexington, Ohio circuit would be free to enjoy the universally-praised layout.

Then came the last weekend of September, 2006. Mid-Ohio was to be the scene of the AMA Superbike season finale. During the week prior to the event, news broke that Mat Mladin and Ben Spies, the series leaders by a wide margin, had agreed not to race in the rain there, due to safety concerns. When the weekend arrived, the riders' fears were realized, as it rained all day on Saturday. The decision was made to try and race anyway, and the Superstock race was started. Damon Buckmaster crashed hard, and broke his arm. On Sunday, track and series management tried to force the entire weekend's schedule into a single day, sans-practice, to the vociferous objections of all the riders and teams. The races were held anyway. By 2007, the AMA had removed the second Mid-Ohio date from the calendar.

And it isn't only motorcycles that have trouble in the wet at Mid-Ohio. Several headline car events have pulled out entirely. Watching a car club circulate at the track in the wet last year, I observed that they were moving at nearly residential speeds. According to some sources, concerns over track safety in the wet directly contributed to the end of Sportbike Track Time's long relationship with the track in the middle of last season.

I have ridden (and crashed) at Mid-Ohio in the wet. The track isn't just "slick," as Ms. Trueman Gajoch opined. It's impassable. AMA riders circulating the course in rental cars, in order to gauge conditions, spun out in a few spots. At a KTM Ride_Orange day last May, six or more riders fell in less than thirty seconds when it started to rain, and they weren't going fast.

When the track is dry and warm, traction is quite good. But when temperatures climb, the high level of sealer used in the asphalt compound gets oily in some spots. When it's cool, condensation on other parts of the track (most notably in Thunder Alley) can catch out the best riders. These conditions should not be acceptable for a facility that touts itself as a premier motorsports destination in the country. The management of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course would do well to rethink their position and their attitude regarding this situation, or (as was rumored in the AMA paddock this past weekend), they may lose their AMA Pro Racing round altogether.