Any advice...

[Jims]

Hi guys!

Right, that's it! Last night, my dad's told me and I'm having quite a few track days planned for this summer. Think my first ones in a couple of weeks, either going to be Mallory Park or Brands (when my dad told me, I couldn't stop smiling, been going to Brands since I was about 4)! :D Anyone got any advice? I'm gonna be on an RGV250, so I should expect that Troutslayer could throw some advice my way, you know, common mistakes, anything!

[Biker Dude]

i got a good tip...

try to keep the rubber on the track :D:D:D:D:D:D

[troutslayer]

damn, typed a reply, but invalid session!

is this the first trackday for you? dont overestimate your ability, go in the novice group.

first 2 laps keep it steady to warm the tyres before upping the pace.
if theres a stoppage due to a faller, you're tyres will cool down, so again, after a stoppage, couple of laps to warm the tyres.

let me know when you're going to brands and who its being booked with, i gotta fit an engine and run it in before july 10th :wink:

if u want a corner by corner guide to brands, let me know and i'll describe every inch of the circuit, where to be, what to look for and what to miss, in detail for you.

dont highside at paddock when there are 30 odd bikes following you. not only is it embarrassing, its also bloody scary! :shock:

[Jims]

Ah, gotta hate it when that old invalid session thingy comes up!

Yer, it's my first track day! :) It's ok, I'm already in the novice group!

As I don't think I'll be able to get my bike ready for Mallory, we are just doing an evening session at Brands on the 8th July. Not sure how many spaces there are left though and can't remember who we booked with, but i'm sure they will say on UKtrackdays site.

Well I will probably be taking it easy anyway for the early sessions anyway, cos it's a new bike to me and only ridden it up and down my road! But I'm told that the first 15minute session is behind an instructor with no overtaking, so it's a full sighting session.

Any advice would be great, cheers! I mean, I know Brands pretty much like the back of my hand, but riding it is a totally different thing I expect!!!

Cheers for the advice

[troutslayer]

8th july, that'll be with focussed events then. i'm not down as an instructor for that date, due to a: already having full quota of instructors that day, b: tzr hasnt got an engine c: zxr hasnt got a clutch...

oh yeah, and as we're racing there on the saturday 2 days later, expect the evening session to have loads of racers booked into it!

brands, in a nutshell, start finish straight, should be well into 6th before start/finish and reaching max revs before your brake point. let the bike drift to the left before the finish line, your heading into:

paddock (this is the scary one). you wont be able to see the corner. head towards the small marshalls hut on the left, go down 2 gears and brake just before it and tip in to the right, aiming to get pretty close to the kerb half way thru the kerbing that u see. dont look at ur speedo, but u can take that at anything upto 80mph if youre going full whack (you wont be). stay loose on the bike, as just after the apex, the track drops away a bit quick. at the bottom of the hill, your nuts will hit the tank as it comes back up the hill! you should have drifted all the way to the lefy by this point, practically clipping the kerb on the left. it is ok to ride on this kerb if need be, its quite smooth. stay well out of the gravel. go up into 5th.
next brake marker is the bridge, brake just before it (or as u go under it if youre brave). cog down 2 gears into 3rd.

druids hairpin - take it anyway u prefer. personally, i prefer a wide line in, giving me a faster exit. you might find u prefer a tight line in, in which case, be about middle of track when u approach druids. click into 4th and get over to the right side of the track.

graham hill - be all the way to the right as u come down the hill from druids. when you're about 30 feet away from graham hill bend, theres some black tyre marks on the tarmac. this is you're turning point. just slight braking before the tyre marks, you may get away with exiting the corner in 4th, depends how you're gearing is, if it struggles to accelerate away, then cog down into 3rd before the corner next time around! as you leave graham hill bend, you'll run wide over to the right. DO NOT HIT THIS KERB!!! it's very bumpy and will send u into a tank slapper. if you're going to go on the kerb, then run a bit wider and take to the grass just beside the kerb. this is artificial grass, is nice and smooth, and you can rejoint the track before the next corner... keep on the right hand side for the flip flop bit... you'll be in 5th by now.

flip flop bit - turn in is quite late for the left (flip), much later than it looks! keep on the RHS and you'll outbrake people into here, as people tend to turn to early. when u do turn in that little bit later, turn in hard and be sure to get your knee OVER the kerb. Do this bit in 4th gear, once you've apexed, get the bike over to the right. Change down to 3rd whilst making the left - right switch. no need to brake for the right (flop), just throttle off slightly. many different routes through here... make the flop and get to the first bit of kerb, then let the bike drift. a lot of people try to stay to the rhs all the way thru the corner, but they have to do it slowly! if u let the bike drift to the left, straight ahead of you will be the med centre...

[troutslayer]

contd.

stay out to the left. just before you get to the service road that leads to the med centre, turn in nice and tight. you shouldnt have braked for this, maybe just eased off the throttle a little. this is clearways.
this is where staying left and late pays off... everyone else will have tried to hit the kerb and follow it around, which means they had to throttle off all the way thru the corner. you can keep the throttle on a little, and increase it as you get more confident. your entry into the corner will have been alittle quicker, and your mid corner speed will be a lot quicker! this is where u need to make a good decision though... you'll be able to go round the outside, by just letting the bike drift a bit, but keep the gas on (you should be in 3rd at high rpm's, so u wont get any surprise power kicks) OR, you can go up the inside by just turning it in a bit tighter. depends entirely on the situation. if theres room, go inside, if there isnt room, go outside. keep it cranked over. on the final part of this turn, the bike will drift wide, you CAN turn it in a bit tighter if youre running out of track. keep loose during clearways, as there are a few bumps that can unsettle both ends (especially around the second part of the corner). as you exit, you should be in an ideal rpm range to snick 4th as you start to stand the bike up again, then 5th and 6th down the home straight. (alternatively, as u get a bit quicker, u may find it better to snick 4th whilst still in clearways, but do it very smoothly....)

thats brands in a nutshell. evening session will be enough to learn the circuit, but not LEARN the circuit, if u see what i mean. do a few laps and figure out which corners you need to concentrate on most to improve on, and work on them. use the instructors, thats what theyre there for.

places where the 2strokes will murder the 4strokes: druids and clearways. if a 4stroke comes past you on the way to druids, take the wide line and nail them on the exit. if it comes past u while ur still in paddock, dont bother trying to take him at druids.
if u get paddock right, you'll go through there quicker than the big 4strokes.

but remember, u dont get any trophies for crashing on a trackday! so dont be in a rush to get quicker, all in your own time! and if it helps at all... i scare the **** outta meself everytime i go thru paddock! each lap that i go just fractionally quicker thru paddock on, i always thing 'kerrriiiissst!! i'm never gunna get around here!!!'

[Jims]

WOW!!! Cheers! I'll print this off and keep it!

I have the MCN circuit guide and a video, but you never know, because they're kinda geared towards big 4-strokes I guess, so it's good to know what you say. I've just got to implement what you have said now!!! :? yer, I get what you mean about the whole learning the track thing. Thanks once again! 'Cos as I said to Jamie last night, I'm pretty much brickin it as it is!!! So hopefully, with this insight it will prepare me better and let me know what to expect!

[Jims]

WOW!!!

Never done a track day before and now I have two sessions at Brands booked! One on the 8th (as i've already said), but now i have another on the 14th!!! :D £69 each evening!