got the trackday bug !

crispybanksy · Jul 29, 2009

had a great day at oulton yesterday
i'm out of action for about a month now (had a minor op today!)
but when i return i fancy doing this
http://www.boddicedarleytraining.co.uk/html/track_training.html

maybe sometime in september..This one is £260 pp or if 10 go 1 go's free !
either that or the ron haslam school at donington

anybody else interested ?

antzx6r · Jul 30, 2009

can i be 11 ..lol

deanoet · Jul 30, 2009

I did the Ron Haslam school last year
It is more aimed at the experience market, as opposed to the track training market

I did a write up at the time, not sure where it is or if i posted it on this forum or not
I will have a dig around

One that is recommeneded a lot is the California Superbike School, not cheap though, it counts towards your race license as well.

In answer to your question though:
Yes, i would be interested.

Ron Haslam do CBR600rr and the Blades as well on the same day. Different groups
I assume some would prefer the litre sports to the 600s

deanoet · Jul 30, 2009

Had the Rom Haslam Race school today, quick write up of it...

WOW!!! Was ace.... !!!!

Much much longer write up of it (may need to get a coffee)
Iam not writer, so the format will be all over the place, so my apologies now. Smile

Arrived in plenty of time, got signed in and kitted up and taken into the first briefing room,
Taken through the flags and their various uses, nothing surprising here, accept if someone comes off they will red flag it so the bike and rider can be recovered totally safely, yellow will only be used if someone runs wide and is rejoining so is going slow, which is fair enough.

Got shown the different corners, and explained the various cones. Red was braking, yellow was stop braking and turn in, green was apex and start accelerating.
The red was a guide, they dont change it for wet or dry days, so it isnt gospel.

First briefing ended and we were taken into the pits, given another quick brief about the day in general, there to have fun, ride your own pace, dont exceed your comfort zone, if you come off it is policy that they dont let you out again, so take it nice and easy and build up. Follow the instructor. if the person you are with turns out to be much faster or slower than you the groups will get reshuffled. The first session will be used mainly for the instructor getting to know our abilities and our confidence levels

Introduced to the instructor in groups of 2, me and my mate were kept together and the instructor was Dave Johnson from British Superbikes. (result)
He ran through a few basics and went through a few hand signals, hand to the left or right was keep left or right and expect to be overtaken, half way through the session he will put his hand up and spin it round so one at front slows down and swops place with the one at the back

So, first session
i was bike 6, (all CBR600RR), mate was bike 5, so he was at the front first.
Started off, nice and slow, following his lines, braking when his light came on (he was on a hornet 900). Nothing eventful till the second lap, just before going under the dunlop bridge over the crest the front wheel rose up into the air, which once i had discovered i hadnt had a trouser accident was a great feeling.
We were going quite well and came in as the 2nd group.
session finished with no further incidents

Debrief 1
Mate was doing good, good body position and he was happy with it.
I on the other hand was okay going to the right, but left i was leaning right and keeping upright, so got onto a bike they had on a paddock stand in the pits and he got me to lean to the right, bum half off the seat and told that is the position, same to the left, and he sorted my foot position out as well as i was riding like a "duck" with my feet sagging down, which is nice and comfy for road riding, but on a track i will catch my feet on the floor Smile

He said the second session he will up the pace, if we are right behind him he will speed up, if one falls back we will match the slowest one of us, as it happened it was a case of "if he can go that fast, i must be able too" so we were quite even all through the sessions.

The bikes came back in from group 2 and we went out again

Session 2
I started at the front this time, and we went out second. Soon got into the rytham of it, he was indicating that i wasnt leaning to the left and tapped his foot, my feet had dropped again so sorted that out, and started to get the hang of it, finding it much easier on the Foggy Esses to switch from one side to the other, clipping appexes and generally (IMO) Riding God. Smile
Got passed the first group and were going damned fast IMO (no speedo). Over the crest before dunlop bridge was getting really good wheelies off that, wheel landing and more or less straight into braking, setting myself up for the next corners with hanging off the seat, sit up, brake, off the brake at the yellow cone, lean in
Just coming up to the Dunlop bridge he indicated to the left, so pulled behind him and one of the Litre Fireblades wizzed passed so couldnt get the wheel off the ground that lap. Sad The fireblades wheel was well offt he ground though, which looked damned impressive

We switched round half way through and the session ended, we were both buzzing totally. Just the feeling of speed and trust that you need in the bikes. thoughts like "okay is his brake light working, we really should have braked waaaay back there".

De-brief 2

100% improvement for me, body position was good and he was happy with that.
He said the only corner i am not great at is the last one as i cut in too early, follow his line. My line isnt wrong, but his line is quicker, carries more speed, and gets faster down the pit straight. Smile

We went into the technical brief, which went through the corners in depth, when to brake, what line you need and WHY, saying if you get the first corner wrong you lose half your lap cos each corner flows, same after the Old Hairpin corner, smoothness is the key. if you feel you go away from the day thinking you could have gone faster it is a good session, over ride it and you will make mistakes and be slower.
In the Melbourne hairpin he said dont watch your knee, you will stay down too long and lose time, common mistake, yes your knee will be close.. Smile
Told not to think about gear too much, if in doubt go up, get a low gear and a clumsy fist full of throttle will launch you straight on, best to be slower and keep your confidence than picking the bike up waiting for the lift back to the pits

Went back to the instructor and asked what speeds we were doing, and he said, well 3rd redlines and 125mph ish and we were hitting 3rd redline very often. Smile
he said round Hollywood, craner and old hairpin we were going about 100mph which is a good start for a first time. Didnt feel that fast really

Quick chat about his various experiences on the track, and his crash at knockhill and the bikes were rolling back in, so we got kitted up again and set off out

Session 3

I was in the lead again to start with, and as we finished first we went out first. Clear track and the pace picked up quickly. Came round Mcleans and he pointed to the left, surely not, we are much faster than last time, no one took over us, slowed right down, Shoulder check, where is my mate, no sign, oh s**t, hope he hasnt come off, keep following instructor right round coppice, mate appears again, thumbs up, thank god for that and we continue. Not sure what happened but we were going a fair bit slower than we were in the last session, can only assume my mate had a problem.
End of the first lap pace started to pick up again, faster and faster, started short shifting up into 4th round hollywood, craner and old hairpin so the throttle was less harsh as was getting close to redline in 3rd (over 100mph round corners ), so speeds were picking up round there, really dropping it into the corners now, hitting my toe on some of them as drop to the right feeling the peg push up as i touch it down, totally buzzing. Foggy esses throwing myself round the bike like a loon.

Instructor puts his hand up and we switch positions, pace keeps quickening as we get more and more confident, going over the crest before the bridge we are both getting wheels well into the air, then mate lands his, and panic brakes for some reason and hits the back brake, back wheel locks up, massive fish tail, me dowsed in white smoke, i anchor on more to give him space just incase. He gets round the esses okay, obviously a bit shaken up and the speed drops for a few corners again, instructor gives the "slow it down" signal after passing the start finish to indicate pushing too hard and we settle back into the routine, after a few corners he gives the thumbs up and mate returns it, so we settle back into the routine.

Getting to redline in 3rd and clicking up to 4th before we get onto the back wheel over the crest, but no consistency on that corner, wide or shallow, so I think, "right, gonna nail it this time"
Come out of Melbourne Hairpin and missed the braking point, by miles, mate is getting closer and closer, switch to the inside so i dont rear end him as no space on the outside, more brake, back wheel comes up "s**t", release the brake and pull the brakes again, back wheel up again "double s**t, this may hurt". Mate turns in, oh fook, consious decision that i have to miss him, so steer to the right (left hand bend) round the back of him and run waaay waaay wide, notice the marshalls on the inside of the corner in mid flow leaping up from their comfy seats, one preparing a red and one preparing a yellow flag, but i managed to get it slowed down enough and get round the corner.
Had that taste in my mouth when the adrenalin kicks in.
Got onto the main straight, instructor looking in his mirrors at me, mate looking around for me, instructor does the thumbs up, and i return it and we continue. heart going ten to the dozen down the main straight. Recompose myself and onto what turns out to be the last lap.
Uneventful lap comparitively, we did manage to catch and pass the Fireblade though, which was a nice feather in the cap

Discussion with the instructor and it turned out my mate had gone in too fast into mcleans on the first lap and panic braked, smoke all over the place, Instructor said he just saw a puff of white smoke and one minute he was in one mirror, the next he was in the other on the grass snaking about and he did well not to drop it. :-/

Then my moment. - Instructor said that when he saw my rear wheel lifting on that corner he throught he was going back to the pits with only one following, and that i did well not to just panic and launch myself head first off the bike.

Final debrief and the certificates were handed out. The instructor wrote a few lines and graded us out of 100
I got an 83, mate got a 78 \o/

Cant beat a bit of competition between friends, was mates consistency that let him down as he had a couple of moments and his position wasnt great for some of the laps. Still for a first time well impressed with how we did, leading the group we were in and lapping a fair few of them.

All in a very very good morning, really enjoyed it. Still buzzing from it now.
It makes you appreciate the skill that the pros have to control those things at race pace when they slide around in wet. Just a moments lapse in concentration and the rear wheel is in the air and you are wondering how cushioned that fence is, and that is no where near their speeds. Smile

Would recommend it.
It may sound expensive, and it is (£269), but for the experience (no pun intended) it is well worth it though. really enjoyable morning and even though 3 x 15 min sessions doesnt sound like much, as my late braking moment proved i was getting tired, and my wrists were aching from all the weight on them from braking. Really feeling it now, achey back and really tired.

Really nice people there, totally geared towards you having fun, no pressure on you at all, go as slow, or fast as you like. instructor and group will be adjusted to suit your riding speed.
Click to expand...

Did that last september
Give you an idea what it is like

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got the trackday bug !

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got the trackday bug !

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