Well after saying I was going to get around to doing some bike-on-track action this year I've at last managed to do so. A few weeks ago I was at Donington doing the Ron Haslam event there on the 600RR's and yesterday I was at Cadwell on a hired Kawasaki 636.
I've heard differing things about the Haslam school but my experience of it was excellent. Due to the different ability level between myself and my friend we managed to get 1 to 1 instruction for the 2nd and 3rd sessions. As a result I found I was going much quicker than I thought I would have - must have been getting something right! 3 * 20 mins sessions doesn't sound long but for a first time on a bike on track (and particularly if you've never been out on track at all) then that's probably about as much concentration as you can muster. Instruction was very good, I took my own kit but the kit they had to loan out looked in good condition and the motorbikes went well although how well I couldn't tell as the speedo was taped over. I guess I was hitting 130-140 down the straight as I was running out of revs in 4th (max revs in 3rd is apparently 122mph). All in all an excellent day.
The Rapid Tracks day at Cadwell was another excellent day. A couple of spots of rain on my visor on the first session were the only sign of bad weather during the day. The rest of the time is was boiling hot!
I started off in the novice group but I found that they were a bit too slow and I wasn't having much fun. So for the second session I headed out at the front of the pack with Andy M and got upto a much more interesting pace but one at which I was still comfortable. On coming in at the end of that session we had a chat and he suggested moving up a group, so I did.
The intermediate group is often called the inconsistent group due to the varying skills of the riders but I actually found them pretty good. On one session I was following an R6 (I think) for a few laps and I could see where I was quicker (into the corner mostly) and where he was quicker (out of the corner). Without mirrors on bikes I couldn't really expect him to move over so I had to make a move on him which I did out of the Gooseneck, down the hill.
Renting a bike on the day worked out very well. I had an easy cruise down there in the car with the leathers etc in the boot along with a coolbox of food/drink and I had an air-conditioned cruise back in the heat as well. The bike ran perfectly and the fuel was topped up for me when needed.
In general I think it's a valuable experience for all bikers to do some form of track riding. There is a big tendency these days for people to ride without doing much braking and that in itself involves good planning skills but it's important to know (in my view) how well the brakes work and how good the bike is at cornering. The "moments" I've had before on the bike have been caused by me lacking confidence and lifting the bike up when it would easily have gone around the corner on a safe line if I'd have tried and not panicked.
Conclusion - lots of fun but when up to speed there is the distinct feeling that getting it wrong will hurt. However I believe my many years doing car training on road/track helped keep things smooth and flowing so when something did perhaps start to go wrong I had the chance to reverse the action and bring it back. And for thrills there's nothing better on two wheels than getting in an undertake on Chris Coner at probably 80mph with the bike leaned over
by Rik » Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:48 pm 
. [Ducks for cover and scuttles away shamefully.]