The street is for the soul; the track is where you find out what the bike — and the rider — can actually do. Over May 25–26, the Gotham Ducati DOC family traded city traffic for one of the best-kept secrets in Northeast road racing, heading upstate to NY Raceport (formerly New York Safety Track, NYST) in Harpersfield for two days of PJ's Track Days.
If you've never ridden Harpersfield, here's why it's worth the trip.
Built on a former airport site, the 2.1-mile, 18-turn circuit was designed to feel like a real mountain road — non-stop elevation changes and blind crests that, on the right line, flow into one another like something out of the Isle of Man Mountain Course.
With around 450 feet of elevation change packed into a 40-foot-wide ribbon, it rewards commitment and punishes laziness — exactly the kind of place a Ducati was built for. Ultimate Motorcycling + 2
Two days gave everyone room to find a rhythm. Riders worked through sessions, dialed in lines, and chased cleaner laps with the support and structure PJ's brings to its events.
There's a particular kind of bonding that only happens in a paddock — pulling bodywork, comparing notes between sessions, talking tire pressures and braking markers, and watching club members get visibly faster over the course of a weekend. The Panigales and Streetfighters in our garages finally got to stretch their legs the way Borgo Panigale intended.
The weekend wasn't all lap times, either. The first night, a select few sat down to a dinner prepared by Chris Cipollone — chef-owner of the Michelin-starred Francie in Williamsburg and a Hudson Valley native — proof that when a club runs this deep, the off-track table can rival the on-track sessions. From there it was a short run over to Windham to stay with John and Jarrett, trading the paddock for Catskills hospitality before getting back at it on day two. Francie
No tickets, no traffic, no cars pulling out of side streets — just our bikes, a world-class little circuit, good food, and the family chasing apexes together.
The road will always be home, but weekends like this are where the riding gets sharpened.
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