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Whilst organising the the Ixion Mailing Lists Cadwell Park Trackday, several people (being newbies to this sort of thing) asked if there was a FAQ about Trackdays. Well I didn't know of one so I cobbled these pages together from bits and pieces I had laying around.
I should say before you go any further that I'm not a racer (don't have that killer instinct or a penchant to spend weekends living out of a transit van). I'm a pure road rider and go on trackdays for the sheer fun and enjoyment of riding my bike without the added excitement of Volvo's, Gatso's and Lemming Pedestrians and also to take the opportunity to learn more about how I and my machines perform at higher speeds.
I hope you find this info useful and to see you at a trackday sometime in the future.
So how do you pick the 'right' event?
Well my suggestion is to avoid the larger commercial events and go for the smaller club trackdays.
Various organisations such as MAG Sports, the Ducati Club, the Laverda Club, the Triumph Owners Club and of course our very own Ixion Mailing List organise trackdays for their members and tend to be more friendly than the more publicised events. They also normally work out much cheaper than the days run a commercial basis - an added bonus. You don't normally even have to be a member of these clubs - they're glad to get as many people along as possible.
A goodly mix between commercial and club events are the ones organised by Bruce Card's Track Tamers organisation. Bruce runs the days on a minute profit margin so his prices are very very cheap and generally attract a good crowd. He normally has some decent instructors who're more than willing to help you improve your skills and the looney fringe stay away - what more could you ask for.
BTW - It's worthwhile going along with a friend or two - if only to have someone with whom you can compare notes afterwards.
Get to the circuit in good time (there's normally a signing in and scrutineering session first thing). If you turn up late you will not be a popular chap. Race circuits are expensive to rent and track use normally starts promptly.
Having said that you will probably aquire some tasty looking stringy bits on the sidewalls - ideal for showing off at the local bike club.
Obvious things to check, apart from the normal oil levels and chain
adjustments etc, is that your brake pads are in good condition, again you'll
be using the brakes harder than normal and they will wear quickly over
the course of a full day on the track.
Bring some insulation tape (I prefer the cloth tapes to the plastic type) so that you can tape up your lights and mirrors. Every trackday there's some plonker wandering round the paddock asking if he can 'borrow' someone's tape - don't be that sad git.
The reason for needing to tape up your light and mirrors is so that in the event of a spill, the circuit is not covered by lots of little shards of glass - an unwelcome addition to any road surface.
Quite a few people remove their mirrors anyway - but if you're planning on doing this, make sure you have suitable bolts or cable ties with which to resecure your fairing if your mirrors form part of the mounting.
Some trackday organisers ask that you 'wire' up your stands. Bring a handful of large cable ties for this purpose.
Most track owners insist on either full one-piece race type leathers or a two-piece suit that zips together. The reason for not allowing 'unzipped' jacket and jeans is that the jacket will tend to ride up if you go tarmac surfing thereby exposing your bodily bits to the road surface.
You will also need a decent pair of motorcycling boots, proper gloves and a decent helmet with its BSI and/or ACU stickers intact.
Make sure your bike and personal gear looks presentable. Common sense really but Scrutineers will automatically look more favourably on a clean and tidy setup and will be instantly suspicious of a ratty looking heap.
Typically the limits are 100-110dB - in other words if your silencer is 'sensible' (you can ride past a patrol car with a clear conscience) for street use it won't be a problem.
If you've got any doubts then ask the organisers in advance what the limits will be - Donnington for example has noisy and not-so-noisy days - and this is despite the airport half a mile away!
If you do fail a noise test, then you're going to be found round the back of the paddock stuffing brillo pads and dead pidgeons down your silencer until it meets the limits - don't expect a refund if you can't quieten it down.
Having said that, it is worth trying to get some idea of the 'normal'
approach to the corners on the circuit you're about to be riding. I well
remember riding Castle Coombe for the first time and being totally phased
by Quarry bend.... until someone pointed out a much better way of tackling
it than one would normally use - then it became fun instead of a PITA.
So find someone who's ridden the track a few times before and ask their help. Most people are very willing to pass on this sort of information. Looking at a diagram of the track and having some idea of the corner names beforehand can be a big plus here.
Some people learn tracks very quickly, others need some help. As the day progresses you'll improve and corners that you start off hating will become fun. Keith Code's suggestion of becoming 'friends' with the corners is a good one even if it's phrased in 'California Speak' - get to know the corners and you'll enjoy them more.
The slower (normally called Touring) groups, will probably consist of nervous track virgins and folk riding non-sporty machinery.
The medium groups (always oversubscribed) probably have the greatest variation, from confident riders with little track experience through to very quick riders who thinks it's fun to be the fastest in their group.
The fast groups will probably be dominated by modern Sports bikes with a few race machines thrown in for good measure.
In my opinion, the medium group is probably the worst one to end up in! In the touring groups people will be less agressive and in the fast groups sufficiently skilled not to cause other riders problems. So if you think you can cut it in the fast group my advice is to go for it, you probably won't be the slowest anyway.
If during the day you feel you're in the wrong group, then have a word with the organisers (you were paying attention in the pre-track briefing so you know who the organisers are weren't you?) and ask them if you can change. If you're looking to move out of the medium group then they will probably be more than happy to help.
A Red flag means that the session is being stopped. SLOW DOWN,
make your way gently back to the pits and await instructions.
Be aware that the reason for the session being stopped is probably a
crashed bike somewhere on the circuit - expect the track to be completely
blocked by wreckage or occupied by an ambulance.
A Yellow flag means that there is something different on the circuit
ahead of you and
you should take extra care eg a rider has gone off the circuit and is
waiting to rejoin. A waved yellow flag means that there is something on the
track itself and you may have to take avoiding action.
If you see either a static or waved yellow flag then again SLOW DOWN
and be careful. If you're being shown a static or waved yellow flag then
you must not overtake anyone until you are clear of the yellows.
If you've been shown a black flag then Marshals feel that you've
either been a very bad boy or have something wrong with your bike. Whichever,
the procedure is to raise you hand to show other riders that you're slowing down
and ride round to the pits.
Once at the pits, park sensibly and then go see the Marshal
who will be able to tell you what the problem is.
Boo Hoo! The chequered flag means your session is over. Raise your hand
to show you're slowing down, carry on bck to the pits and brag about your exploits
till it's your turn again. Please don't be a prat and try to sneak another lap, pull
off as soon as you see the chequered flag.
A green flag means that the circuit is open and all is well. You'll normally
see this at the end of your first lap.
As the instructors are normally racers getting some free track time, they will take it fairly easy (in their terms) for the first lap or two then pick up the speed and finally piss of into the distance with their ego's swelling to ever larger proportions. Not useful.
If the first session is being run on this format. then all I can suggest is that you try to get into the first two or three bikes behind the 'instructor' and concentrate on the first few laps. Anyone further back won't be able to see the lines being used because there will be a bunch of wobbly bikes going everywhichway between you and the instructor. Useless.
Use the first session to get 'dialled in'. See where the tracks going and make the attempt to learn the circuit. Get used to the increased speeds and try to shake loose the "where's that Volvo lurking" attitude that's so important on the road. There will be plenty more time during the day to go for it; so be smart and use the first session to learn something.
So, take it easy on the first lap of each session. Use the straights to lean from side to side and get your tyres warmed up (but avoid excessive weaving because others might be coming up fast behind you). Again, it's very common for the stupid crashers to live up to their potential and stuff the bike in the armco during the first lap. Once again, play will be suspended, everyone will get pissed off and the crasher won't win the 'New Chum of the Month' award.
So what? I hear you say..... well this means that the left hand side of your tyres will be a lot colder than the right and consequently will be providing less grip. Be aware of this and be more circumspect with the power on left handers.
Mallory Park circuit near Leicester is a good example of this. It's nearly all right hand bends except for the Devil's Elbow corner as you join the main straight - and this is where people get the back end of their bikes all loose and leave huge black lines on the tarmac as the tyres spin under power and the back end steps out.
For much the same reasons, Mansfield at Cadwell Park always seems to catch some people out early in the day.
Trackdays are not races and anyone who acts like they are should get themselves a real race bike and go play with the like minded souls in the club racing scene.
There's not normally any need to go around stuffing other riders into the corners or blasting past five millimeters away from other bikes. Take your time and when you come across a slower rider consider what you're about to do, plan the overtake and execute it cleanly, quickly and in a friendly manner.
One rule on the track is that the person in front 'owns' the road. This means
that they can go where they like and do what they want - on the track, bikes
normally have their mirrors removed or taped up, so the guy in front probably
won't even know you're around.
Because of this 'rule', the onus is placed on the chap overtaking to do it safely. However, this doesn't mean that when you're the overtakee you should weave around like a weavy thing. Take smooth lines and when changing position on the circuit do it in a positive manner so that people coming up behind know what you're up to.
Remember that while you will be faster than some folk, there's always someone faster than you.
Perhaps this should read "if you crash it's your last session" but the point he was making about the final bash is still worth remembering.
By the end of the day everyone will be getting tired. Track riding is much more tiring than the equivelant road mileage simply because you will be travelling much faster and the adrenalin will be running hard.
So when it's time for the final session of the day, think about what you're doing and take the opportunity to wind down a little - it's very silly to sling your bike up the road as the final event of the day.
I'm being very serious here. The closest I've come to a road accident in many years was after a trackday at Cadwell Park. I piled into the first set of bends on the road outside the circuit at what felt like a comfortable speed and found that I just didn't have the grip I'd been used to all day and very nearly drifted headfirst into an oncoming car. So please be careful and get your road-riding head back in place.
The Race schools in the UK are a bit of a joke really - treat them as a fairground ride and you'll probably be happy. The exception to this is the Keith Code California Superbike School. A one or two day course where they actually teach you about cornering and have decent instructors who know what they are doing. Expensive but worth it. Normally run at Brands, Cadwell or (new for 1997) Oulton Park.
Of course, if you're feeling really flush then the California Superbike School have lots of sessions at various tracks through the USA and even do schools using 125GP race bikes.
If you want to go Real live racing I can only suggest that you go take a look at Roger Ford's UK Racing pages.
Events further afield. Several Ixionites go to the trackdays organised at Assen in Holland. Whilst probably not giving you as much tracktime as the average UK event, they do have the added attraction of providing lap times for every bike - adds a bit of spice to the post track bullshit sessions.
Other events are available on the continent - stay tuned to the bike mailing lists like Ixion and Euro-Moto.
Roger Ford's MagSport Racing pages are also worth a pointer here if you're interested in racing.