Harris Hill Road Course Review

[Miatamaniac92]

For some of you guys interested in Central TX Tracks.....

Well the Austin area is finally getting some road courses. One of the first to open in the area is Harris Hill Road.

Harris Hill Road is a new MSR-type (country club) track just built South of Austin. It is 1.8 mile course will some pretty nice elevation changes.

Jeff from the Austin Miata Club set up an event to check and run the track last Saturday (29 March). We had quite a few Miatas from the Austin and SA club show up.

We broke up into 3 groups; Novice/Touring, Intermediate, Advanced. Novice group did not require helmets or a Roll bar, Intermediate required Helmets, and Advanced required helmets and a Roll Bar. Each person decided his/her own group.

The laps were done with a pace and chase car, with NO passing allowed. However, it seemed that most people did a pretty good job of self-categorizing.

I was never held up or felt like I was slowing the person behind me down.

The Aussie hot shoe Jon E. was gracious enough to let me ride with him during one of his advanced sessions. He showed me some great lines that I hadn't picked up yet in the middle of the intermediate group. I also had my running GPS watch with me and clocked some of his lap times. While being third behind the Pace Car, he was running in between 1:41 and 1:43.

My times were quite slower with a couple at 1:49 - 1:51. I was quite impressed with my GPS watch and the data plots it was able to give me.

Overall, I loved the course. To be fair, I probably would've liked anything better than a 1/4 mile oval though. The elevation changes were interesting. I was getting a top speed in the upper eighties (GPS data isn't in front of me) on the first long straight.

Harris Hill also announced they will be doing motorcycle events as well. This is a change from what they had said a couple months prior.

They also said that any flag to flag racing will have to be approved individually by the City of San Marcos.

The pricing also seems very reasonable, with a $900 membership fee and $1500 refundable deposit. I had hoped the memberships would be transferable, but I understand the business rationale for not doing so.

But the best thing for me is the track is only 20 minutes from my house!

Chris

[redmenace]

Thanks for the writeup -- sounds fun! I gotta ride shotgun with Eccles someday...

Harris Hill also announced they will be doing motorcycle events as well. This is a change from what they had said a couple months prior.

Yep: Elite Trackdays is the org. I ran with them once at MSR, and cannot recommend them highly enough. Plus, Moira is good people.

...the track is only 20 minutes from my house!

I HATE YOU!

[altiain]

Thanks for the writeup Chris!

[Miatamaniac92]

Yep: Elite Trackdays is the org. I ran with them once at MSR, and cannot recommend them highly enough. Plus, Moira is good people.

How do they run the riders training? I've never done a motorcycle track day.

Does the instructor follow you or just watch you take turns on the track?

The owners at Harris Hill, said the bikes don't like to run it clockwise b/c of the turn on the big hill. It does like it would be pretty exciting on a bike.


Chris

[redmenace]

How do they run the riders training? I've never done a motorcycle track day.

Going from memory here about Elite... dunno how much of this will change at H2R. The Novice run group started with classroom before going on track. Then they did lead & follow for the first several sessions. You learned the line during the L+F, basics and debrief during classroom. Once L+F was over, you started passing and getting passed; instructors stay on track watching you, and would cue you to follow them for one-on-one coaching.

Elite differs in that they have only two run groups (Novice & Advanced) instead of three, and they run L+F for more of the day than other groups. And they have a very low rider cap, so you're not drowning in squids. Add these up, and they're a best bet for a beginner IMO.

(You still got the R6, right?)

[Miatamaniac92]

Yep still riding my brother's R6 more than he does. I need to replace the back tire now after driving to Bikes Blues and BBQ in Arkansas last Aug.

I'm looking for my own, too.

What are you riding right now?

Chris

[redmenace]

I have one of these:


Believe it or not, this thing's WAY more fun than the TL-S. (Theoretically cheaper to lowside too, but I hope to never find out.) Not much of a road tripper, though...

[Miatamaniac92]

I'd like to ride some dirt bike. I've heard it's easier (slower speeds) to learn to wheelie on them.

Chris