Did my first track day at Snetterton on Sunday, B was there instructing too .
Thoroughly enjoyed it, although for future track excursions i will upgrade hoses to braided and upgrade pads too… std setup struggled a bit at the end of both straights! Tyres (BT-020) proved up to the job until the last session when my pace had increased somewhat came in a lap early on the last session I did as i got the feeling that i would be going 5mph quicker round Coram on the next lap with 2mph of pace left in the tyres
Was instructing at Snetterton this weekend.Booked a B&B as there was no way i was getting up at 4am in the morning to get there.
Found a nice place not far from the circuit,freshened up a bit then went for a few hours into Norwich.Pleasantly surprised to see so much going on there from a football stadium to a cathedral.Plenty of bars and restaurants.Its a big place but easy to get around with what looked like a free shuttle bus to hop on and off.The locals were quite friendly and i saw no trouble on Saturday night.There again i was tucked up in bed by 11am.Anyway,enough of the tourism. The usual briefing was given for the riders and off we went for the compulsory 3 sighting laps for each group at the beginning of the day. Two of the riders must have left their earplugs in during the briefing because they came past me flat out on the first sighting lap. Things did not get much better during the day as Russels chicane caught out several riders.Most of these riders were from the fast/ACU group,nothing serious though.Im not a fan of that corner either.You have to be precise and careful of pace going into it so that you can concentrate on the all important exit,but cautious of the cooler left side of the tyre on the way out.
Spent some time helping a lad with a superbike spec R1 he is racing this year.He insisted i try it out and in the end i agreed.Tuned engine,top spec.suspension,slipper clutch,quickshifter etc.Whatever i asked of the bike it delivered easily.What a pleasure.After that,time was spent getting the best compromise out of my standard suspension and improvements were made.The front was diving too much under braking but more compression damping helped stop that.The forks were also bottoming out under braking so more preload was dialled in.Ive got a box at home with an Ohlins unit,Brembo master cylinder and braided steel brake lines.Its about time these were put on as well as getting the forks revalved and sprung.It handles great for a road bike but quality suspension will make a big difference on the track.
Glad you two enjoyed yourselves. I am off there this Saturday to do my race licence. Had hoped to come and watch this event but alas, just back from tenerife and I had too much to do.
Well done Biggus for popping the Track day cherry, glad you enjoyed it and survived it.
Weather forecast is not good, reckon it shall be full wets and gently does it with the right hand. Going to change the gearing as well, will be running 15 front 45 rear for the occasion. Bike was fired up last night, dont think the neighbours appreciated it! Will be putting it all together friday night, battery in and bodywork on.
Damnit, that write-up makes me want to get back out there B! Come on and fit that gear to the bike, you’ve had it laying around for long enough, I got mine fitted before you and got it all after you! I’ll lend a hand if you like?
I love Snetterton, great wheelie oppotunities had down the pit-straight coming out of that chicane, hehehe…
Thanks for the offer Jay,perhaps if we get a warm day soon the brakes could be fitted.(so that will be May then)TBH Ill probably pay someone to fit the rear shock though as im not familiar with it.
Its been good practice trying to ride round the bikes limitations on std kit but its bugging me now.
The exit of the esses has a dip in it on part of the track, enough to make things feel a bit squiffy… but this only happened a couple of times, so i’m guessing i was on the wrong line
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