PADDOCK | TrackDNA Motorcycle Magazine

COACHES' CORNER

The track has a way of teaching through its people — the mentors who pull you aside, the riders who share what they wish they knew sooner.

This corner brings together those stories, lessons, and honest insights that make the culture stronger.
Take what the community has learned and use it to carve your own line.

COACHES' CORNER

The track has a way of teaching through its people — the mentors who pull you aside, the riders who share what they wish they knew sooner.

This corner brings together those stories, lessons, and honest insights that make the culture stronger.
Take what the community has learned and use it to carve your own line.

ALL THINGS PADDOCK

Why We Keep Coming Back: The Track as a Second Home

Photo by Shaun Bexley There are places in life that feel familiar the moment you step into them — as if a piece of you has been there long before your first visit. For many of us, the motorcycle track...

Unsung Heroes of the Paddock: A Tribute to the Marshals Behind Every Safe Lap

Photo by Theo Poncet If you’ve spent even one morning in the paddock, you know how alive it feels. The smell of fuel, the shuffle of warm-up routines, someone torque-checking bolts for the fourth time....

Beyond Lap Times: Your First Track Morning and the Soul of the Paddock

Photo by TrackDNA Most riders expect their first track day to be loud, chaotic, or intimidating. Mine wasn’t. It was quiet, human, and unexpectedly welcoming — and it changed everything I thought I knew...

How to Talk to a Suspension Tuner at Your Next Track Day

Photo: Ohlins.com If you’ve ever walked past the suspension tent and thought, “I don’t even know what to say,” you’re not alone. Every rider starts there. Even though I was a full-time certified motorcycle...

Second Track Day: Key Lessons, Mistakes, and Mindset Shifts for Track Riders

Photo by WP Your second motorcycle track day doesn’t feel like your first. There’s still some nervous energy buzzing under the suit, but now it’s mixed with something quieter — a subtle confidence that...

Finding My Line: A Rider’s Turning Point with a Track Coach at COTA

Photo by Harlie Raethel Most people rolled into COTA the night before, already tucked into their pit spots, sipping coffee and swapping stories under the glow of trailer lights. I wasn’t one of them. I...

THE MAGAZINE

"I want you to try this on the next session. Imagine that you don't have the rear brake."

Paul Carter’s advice after the 1st session!

BUILDS & GEAR

Three Track Setups on Three Budgets

Photo by Christian Romei There’s a quiet truth you learn pretty fast in the paddock: you don’t need a race bike to ride the track — you just need a bike that’s predictable. We’ve seen riders roll in with bone-stock street...

karthegan-padmanaban-3cPGvpTVRm8-unsplash-2

Track Prep on a Budget: What You Actually Need for Day One

Photo by Karthegan Padmanaban Walking into your first first track day can feel like stepping into a whole new world. Everyone seems dialed in — warmers, stands, tire gauges that look like they belong in a MotoGP pit. Meanwhile,...

How to Talk to a Suspension Tuner at Your Next Track Day

GET THE INSIDE LINE

Real stories, track insights, and paddock moments — straight from riders who live it. No noise, no fluff, just the DNA of the track delivered to your inbox.

MIND & BODY

Why We Keep Coming Back: The Track as a Second Home

From Survival Reactions to Control: What I Learned from Keith Code

You don’t have to spend long in the paddock before someone mentions Keith Code. If you hang around long enough, you’ll eventually see one of his books pulled out of a gear bag, hear someone quoting “the...

Between Sessions: Reset Routines That Helped Me Stay Sharp on Track Days

Photo by Ronnzy Moto By my second motorcycle track day, I realized something every new rider eventually discovers the hard way: the real riding happens between the sessions. The track teaches you lines...

Taming the Nerves: A Mental Game Plan for Session One

Photo by J.F – Japan There’s a strange window of time right after the morning riders’ meeting — when everyone walks back to their pits and the paddock noise climbs again. Even with a few track days...

Dealing with Plateaus: When Your Lap Times Stop Dropping

Photo by Ali Mahmoodi Every rider hits a wall at some point. You start dropping time quickly in the beginning, feeling that addictive rush of improvement with every session… and then one day the clock...