the bb trackday thread.
Discussion
) As a rundown on days and groups; 12 track days last year (first year of track days after 15 years motocross) all at Snetterton. 5 in Novice, 4 in Inters, 3 in Fast. This year 3 in Inters. I prefer the inters as I was riding on the edge of my comfort zone to be in the slowest 50% of the Fast group. Also felt I had to be running race tyres, warmers etc to keep up. The other problem was the race guys who really were starting to get to close for comfort with me on my road bike.
Now in the inters I am sometimes one of the fastest, or in mid group depending on which race meeting is coming up at the track. Yesterday, for example the Fast group had three BSB superstock 1000 riders who I saw at the BSB test last week and 4 motostar riders. There were various tannoy announcements about not timing on the pit wall. I believe that one of the motostar teams got a b
king from track control for ignoring repeated requests. That was one Fast group I really didn't fancy being in....
I see myself staying in the Inters for the foreseeable future. Why? I enjoy it riding at 90% of my ability and don't want to push myself too far out of my comfort zone. Do what you feel is right and if in doubt get an instructor to follow you round, they will be honest about your speed and ability, mostly...
Now in the inters I am sometimes one of the fastest, or in mid group depending on which race meeting is coming up at the track. Yesterday, for example the Fast group had three BSB superstock 1000 riders who I saw at the BSB test last week and 4 motostar riders. There were various tannoy announcements about not timing on the pit wall. I believe that one of the motostar teams got a b
king from track control for ignoring repeated requests. That was one Fast group I really didn't fancy being in....I see myself staying in the Inters for the foreseeable future. Why? I enjoy it riding at 90% of my ability and don't want to push myself too far out of my comfort zone. Do what you feel is right and if in doubt get an instructor to follow you round, they will be honest about your speed and ability, mostly...
Tim85 said:
Fleegle said:
Not having a poke, merely baffled.. How could it be frustrating? If going faster than the majority of the Novice group, I really only see a few places at Cadwell that could create bottlenecks.....Mountain through to Old Hairpin and that stupid chicane. Everywhere else has passing opportunites. The start finish all the way through charlies and right up to Park should give a fast novice time to get bikes behind him. Confidence on the brakes will open that up to Mansfield as well
having done very little track days and like mtb being overly nice on road/track the biggest issue i found on track was passing people. Id have the pace to catch up to people then id subconsciously slow to their pace for a lap then find a place to pass with plenty of room then id go on. This was exagerated at cadwel with it being like a go kart track an the novice group was all over the place. This is something that hasnt been much of an issue in inters as its probably the only thing ive consciously focused on and i trusted other riders lines much more. Its still a part of me that i know even if i was the fastest guy out there id never race as its just not in my nature, the same way that you as a racer probably just have it in you to pass people without it even crossing your mind what theyre doing or what may happen its just that annoying thing in my mind thats overly british and polite. 
It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
Fleegle said:
I'm surprised at the comment likening Cadwell to a go kart track - you obviously haven't done Brands Indy or Lydden yet
It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
Well put. I echo the sentiment.It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
muffy said:
Fleegle said:
I'm surprised at the comment likening Cadwell to a go kart track - you obviously haven't done Brands Indy or Lydden yet
It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
Well put. I echo the sentiment.It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
I've done 3 different tracks all in Novice.
I think I'll be in novice until I build a bit more confidence as I've only been riding since March last year.
I feel quite comfortable on track, my last day at Croft was a definite improvement.
I find it hard to gauge my ability compared to others in novice though, I pass quite a few but then others fly past me!
I think I'll be in novice until I build a bit more confidence as I've only been riding since March last year.
I feel quite comfortable on track, my last day at Croft was a definite improvement.
I find it hard to gauge my ability compared to others in novice though, I pass quite a few but then others fly past me!
sc0tt said:
muffy said:
Fleegle said:
I'm surprised at the comment likening Cadwell to a go kart track - you obviously haven't done Brands Indy or Lydden yet
It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
Well put. I echo the sentiment.It's very easy to get drawn into hanging back behind someone to find a safe place, been guilty of it myself, but overtakes can be overthought as well. More often than not, the time thinking about it is time you have lost, usually because the opportunity is no longer there
No-one wants to spook another trackdayer, this isn't the purpose of them, but you will be surprised how easy overtakes can be done on the brakes providing you have confidence in your brakes, body positioning and of course, tyres. This can be done without even getting close to the other rider on a trackday
Every trackday will present its own problems though, just look at it as a new challenge
clen666 said:
I find it hard to gauge my ability compared to others in novice though, I pass quite a few but then others fly past me!
After 3 days I would say don't bother comparing it to others. You have said you've seen improvements when you did Croft so that tracktime is improving you in some areas. Get completely comfortable with your machine and mindset before you start comparing yourself with others....you will find that quite often the ones you are comparing yourself with are the next red flag waiting to happenFleegle said:
After 3 days I would say don't bother comparing it to others. You have said you've seen improvements when you did Croft so that tracktime is improving you in some areas. Get completely comfortable with your machine and mindset before you start comparing yourself with others....you will find that quite often the ones you are comparing yourself with are the next red flag waiting to happen
Yes completely agree, I possibly could have worded the post better. I'm not actively comparing my speed/ability with those on track, just I have noticed that the Novice group can seem a right mixed bag. It's clear that there are those that book in as the other groups are full.
rat840771 said:
There is an MSV track day coming up at Snetterton on Monday evening for £39, 2 groups, Novice and Inter/fast.
Has anybody had any experience with this company, I presume it will be a similar set up to No limits but hopefully a bit quieter as they are not as well publicised?
MSV are who own cadwell, Oulton, Bedford, snett and brands. MSVT are a part of MSV, and are a relatively new player on the Trackday scene, and from my experience aren't as well known or popular as NL so the days are quieter. NL run better friendlier days, but if quiet tracktime is what you want then you're more likely to get it with MSVT. Has anybody had any experience with this company, I presume it will be a similar set up to No limits but hopefully a bit quieter as they are not as well publicised?
mckeann said:
MSV are who own cadwell, Oulton, Bedford, snett and brands. MSVT are a part of MSV, and are a relatively new player on the Trackday scene, and from my experience aren't as well known or popular as NL so the days are quieter. NL run better friendlier days, but if quiet tracktime is what you want then you're more likely to get it with MSVT.
They've been doing TDs for quite a few years, I remember doing one about 5 years ago at Oulton with them, although I think they were quite new to them then, as they seemed to run the day as a hybrid NL/FE day, somehow taking the worst of each, with out the positives of either!Don't forget MSV also own the BSB series, hence why Whitham always sucks up to Jonathan Palmer on his grid walks like Martin Brundle does to Bernie Eccleston.
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