First and foremonst I have to say a massive massive thanks to LB member B, Focused Events’ senior instructor on the day for all his time, kind help and advice. The whole day was run perfectly by Focused, nice people who know exactly what they are doing and do it very well. Several smaller trackday companies have gone bust and having seen how these guys operate first hand I for one will just stick purely with Focused.
The day started at an utterly subhuman 7.30 am, meaning leaving home 6.30, returning home at 6.40 for my boots [*********] so, a slightly brisk blast round the south of the M25, calmed down by spotting several trackbikes on trailers on the M25 meaning I wasnt going to be the latest arriver… The briefing you have to attend is actually 8.30 am, however if you just aim to get to this, you will get last choice of pit garage, have no time to sort bits and pieces out and almost certainly find yourself 15+ miles away, sitting fuming in the 120 mile long car park known as The M25 after 8am It is painful, but well worth getting there early.
I decided not to risk lunching my shiny K5, so hired one of Focused’s fleet of Virgin R6’s which was a very pleasant surprise. The bike was obviously used, but very well looked after. Brembo Master Cylinder, perfect suspension setup and fuelling made for an excellent ride, just a shame about the rider… After 2 or 3 sessions my new mate the tyre guy spent 5 minutes checking it all over, a very impressive service. For me, I think with hindsight it was a small mistake, as I always spend time getting used to a bike before carefully and cautiously getting up to speed on it. This meant that learning the R6 and getting used to Brands [it wasnt just the bike that was a Virgin] led to a slow start, I moved down from Inters down to Beginner - a wise move - and started to have fun. Initially I was midway in the pack but ended the day pretty much equal fastest, riding round the outside of people at the McLaren/Clearways/Clarke Curve complex is something I will never ever forget.
Looking back on it, for me, I would have been better off [faster, happier] on my own bike but that is just me, I will do that from now on, but Focused’s bikes are excellent and will suit a lot of people. If you bin it there is a £495 excess and you get the old red card but that is cheaper than just 3 fairing panels for a sportsbike, so this option will suit a lot of people. I was so blown away by the whole experience that I was concentrating on getting up to speed and could not get the most out of B’s advice, but a lot did sink in and the bit about concentrating on your exit lines and drive helped me get the R6 out of Graham Hill Bend fast enough to outdrag Blades and GSXR1000’s along Cooper straight ! I will be booking some dedicated tuition time with B at a Focused Events day ASAP as it was by a country mile the most fascinating and informative time I have spent on a bike in a long while - I just cannot recomend it highly enough.
B will hopefully be around for us at the inaugural LB trackday, no doubt constantly surrounded by a throng of keen pupils, listen and learn. You will likely pick up something like a years worth of biking experience and confidence [bikings true secret ingredient] from a trackday with a bit of quality tuition. Luckily we have one of the very best amongst us here, B you are a star, a true gent and I owe you big time, cheers mate.
Here’s me, barely doing justice to a Dominos pizza bike, 
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