New Group Starts Holding Track Days In The Southeast

New Group Starts Holding Track Days In The Southeast

© 2024, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By David Swarts.

By David Swarts

On the surface, it may seem that the new Precision Track Days organization is simply filling a gap in the market previously occupied by the now-closed Track Day Winner. In reality, however, Precision Track Days co-owners Fahad Khan and Rafael “Rafi” Pacheco say they have a fresh approach to track days in the eastern United States.

Pacheco, a racer, motorcycle service shop owner, and industry veteran for 10 years, was a major part of Track Day Winner track days. He helped run the events and provided trackside tire sales and service, among other things. So, Pacheco brought with him hands-on operational knowledge of the track day business.

 

Precision Track Days co-owner Rafael “Rafi” Pacheco (10), as seen during the WERA Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta in 2023.
Precision Track Days co-owner Rafael “Rafi” Pacheco (10), as seen during the WERA Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta in 2023.

 

Khan, on the other hand, is an IT professional and entrepreneur who is new to motorcycling and track day riding. But with this background, Khan has been able to look at the track day business from a different view.

 

Precision Track Days co-owner Fahad Khan (999) couldn't even ride a motorcycle until just a few years ago. So, the experience of being a track day "newbie" is fresh in his mind. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.
Precision Track Days co-owner Fahad Khan (999) couldn’t even ride a motorcycle until just a few years ago. The experience of being a track day “newbie” is fresh in his mind. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.

 

“From my perspective, if you look at the rider lifecycle of a track day rider it’s three to four years before they jump into racing or before an unfortunate accident happens and they just completely abandon it,” said Khan. “So, the goal is we really want to focus and be very welcoming to the newcomers to the track, especially the Novice and the new Intermediates, and keep them coming back.

“Our goal is to keep the groups small. Keep them between 20-25 riders max. Make sure there is plenty of quality, open track time and people are more tightly grouped together [by skill level] in each of their riding groups. Our goal is to make sure people don’t give up and don’t drop out of the Novice and new Intermediate stages.”

 

Precision Track Days Lead Instructor Julian Lopez offers instruction to a group of first-time Novice riders. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.
Precision Track Days Lead Instructor Julian Lopez (standing) offers instruction to a group of first-time Novice riders. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.

 

To accomplish this Precision Track Days has gone from the somewhat traditional structure of three rider groups – A/Novice, B/Intermediate, and C/Expert – getting one 20-minute session each hour to four rider groups – A/Novice, B-/Intermediate, B+/Intermediate, and C/Expert – each getting one 15-minute session each hour.

“I see a lot of people who come in, do two or three track days, they become faster, they immediately go into Intermediate, and then they are scared s–tless because they don’t know how to pass or they don’t know how to be passed,” said Khan. “One of the biggest goals with creating the second Intermediate group was to teach them how to pass, to teach them the etiquette that they need to grow more progressively.”

 

Instructor Jeremy Jarman (wearing a jersey, back to the camera) talks to new Intermediate riders before the start of their session to ensure they have a plan. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.
Instructor Jeremy Jarman (wearing a jersey, back to the camera) talks to new Intermediate riders before the start of their session to ensure they have a plan. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.

 

Their focus on customer service goes beyond simply adding another group, though. Khan created a very professional website for Precision Track Days that provides new and experienced riders with a lot of information they need prior to their track day, from clear pricing (including early sign-up discounts and bundle deals) to refund policies to the benefits of becoming a member to other important things participants need to know. And not only can riders book and pay for their track day on the website, they can also sign their liability release waiver online, eliminating the long wait in line at the track entrance each morning.

While their arrive-and-ride rental programs are done in conjunction with outside vendors, Precision Track Days takes pride in doing everything else in-house.

“Not only do we focus on quality track time, we also focus on providing tire service and making parts and gear available,” said Pacheco. “When you have too many vendors you start losing consistency. Owning our tire service within the org we guarantee we will always have someone doing tire service for our events, and we don’t have to rely on third parties like most orgs do.”

 

The suspension service room at Pacheco's Affordable Moto Service, in Dalton, Georgia. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.
The suspension service room at Pacheco’s Affordable Moto Service, in Dalton, Georgia. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.

 

It may sound like Precision Track Days has been doing this for a long time, but the truth is the new organization just held its first event in December 2023 at Jennings GP. And by all accounts, the event went well.

“It went above expectations,” said Pacheco. “We know where we’re coming from. We are a new org in this small niche market with only so many riders and many good organizations out there. So, when a new group comes in the bar is pretty high. So, we busted our asses getting everything ready, making sure everything was up to date. We double, triple, quadruple-checked all the systems.

“The riders who were there told us it was a pretty quick process, that they enjoyed the emails with waivers, that they enjoyed how quickly we got them through tech, that they enjoyed the time they had on track, that they enjoyed having four groups, which was a small gamble for us because around this area it hasn’t been tried.”

 

Precision Track Days staff and instructors (standing from left) Julian Lopez, Robert Dooley, Seth Starnes, Jonathan Miglionco, Jeremy Jarman, Bryan Persall, Kris Steward, Michell Edwards, and Matt Cogdel(and sitting from left) Michael Henao (special guest instructor), George Balan, Rafael Pacheco, and Fahad Khan. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.
Precision Track Days staff and instructors (standing from left) Julian Lopez, Robert Dooley, Seth Starnes, Jonathan Miglionco, Jeremy Jarman, Bryan Persall, Kris Steward, Michell Edwards, and Matt Cogdel (and crouching from left) Michael Henao (special guest instructor), George Balan, Rafael Pacheco, and Fahad Khan. Photo courtesy Precision Track Days.

 

Precision Track Days has 20 total track days scheduled at six different tracks in 2024 and hopes to add more dates as they become available through the year and into 2025. For more information, visit www.precisiontrackday.org.

Latest Posts

More From The Trackhouse MotoGP Launch In Hollywood

The Trackhouse Racing introduction of its 2024 MotoGP team...

AMA Supercross: Report And Video Highlights From Anaheim Two

Cooper Webb Wins Anaheim 2 Triple Crown Supercross Levi Kitchen...

Video: British Superbike “Thrill Of The Race” Episode 11

BENNETTS BSB - THRILL OF THE RACE - EPISODE...

Moto 2 & Moto3 Spec Tires: Pirelli Takes Over, In The January Issue

Featured In the January 2024 issue of Roadracing World:    ...

Bagger Racing League Announces Four-Round 2024 Race Schedule

Unveiling the 2024 Bagger Racing League "Battle of the...