the bb trackday thread.

[graeme4130]

Birky_41 said:

Yep pretty much this all over

I've done almeria and portimao this year and got plenty of track time. By last day can ride out with mates in group below just following them round and generally having a laugh without a typical UK track day organiser saying no or giving me a third degree

I did one track day in the UK on my GSXR... It rained over half the day

Did 2 on my little 250 and again it was spitting on and off

I'm just fed up with the online briefing, then another all in a room, red flags, weather and costs. Putting more my time back in my racing instead and euros

Like Birky says, UK days can be a lottery for Weather, and as safety standards seem to be higher, there's also the risk of lots of red flags and stoppages
Plus, and it seems to be getting worse in the last couple of years, the standard of riding at UK days is deteriorating fast as you have a higher chance of getting taken out by someone riding like a knob (this is perhaps also to do with people being able to afford to do less days, so pushing on more on the days they do)
Saying that, I've done 20+ Euro's now and I've had plenty of trips where we've not had a single dry day

[dibblecorse]

Flying to San Francisco tomorrow for 3 days at Laguna next week, will do a write up on my return.

[Zarco]

dibblecorse said:

Flying to San Francisco tomorrow for 3 days at Laguna next week, will do a write up on my return.

Not bad!

[jock mcsporran]

Just waiting on my bike back from Portimao. Red flag city there but in between the craziness it was a good few days on a great track. Only my 2nd trackday in 18 months for various reasons but will need to get a few more booked for next year.

[dibblecorse]

A couple from Laguna .....

[graeme4130]

dibblecorse said:

A couple from Laguna .....

Looked a mega trip
Was the track as good as everyone expected ?

[dibblecorse]

graeme4130 said:

dibblecorse said:

A couple from Laguna .....

Looked a mega trip
Was the track as good as everyone expected ?

I'd been before so had an idea what to expect but it was fantastic, most people were blown away by it .... was an awesome trip, 3 maybe 4 yellow flags across all 3 days, no red flags and no one hurt ... all round a winning trip :-)

[graeme4130]

Just back from Jerez with No Limits
Was pretty cold first thing, but the sun soon warmed the track up from about 11
I rioe the first day and my 17yr old rode my bike (now appears to be his bike) days 2-3
Was quite a busy and steady fast group, but still good times in the sunshine and no crashes our end

[dibblecorse]

graeme4130 said:

Just back from Jerez with No Limits
Was pretty cold first thing, but the sun soon warmed the track up from about 11
I rioe the first day and my 17yr old rode my bike (now appears to be his bike) days 2-3
Was quite a busy and steady fast group, but still good times in the sunshine and no crashes our end

Good dangle action there fella !!!

[graeme4130]

dibblecorse said:

Good dangle action there fella !!!

Little st costs me a fortune in boots
Claims he can’t go fast without doing it

[patchb]

Me and a mate are considering doing our first euro trip march time next year.

Between Cartagena, Almeria and Andalucia what would people recommend? Cartagena looks the easiest from a practicality point of view and obviously the other two are the same but I'd rather drive a bit further if either of the tracks are worth it over Cartagena?

[graeme4130]

patchb said:

Me and a mate are considering doing our first euro trip march time next year.

Between Cartagena, Almeria and Andalucia what would people recommend? Cartagena looks the easiest from a practicality point of view and obviously the other two are the same but I'd rather drive a bit further if either of the tracks are worth it over Cartagena?

Cartagena, Almeria are quite different
Cartagena is a more rewarding track when you get it right, as it flows really well, and is equally as suited to a smaller capacity bike as a big litre bike.
Almeria is decent enough, but would mean going with Focussed events (they get a bad rep, but I've found are actually OK) and their drop off is in the South East.
The track itself is kinda ok, but not amazing. It has a long back straight, which suits the bigger bikes, but for the rest of the lap, you're very much on the side of the tyre so smaller bikes tend to get held up by bigger bikes - It also has a weird no overtaking area too

Andalucia is decent, but is quite a complex track, so to go well there, you need to put the time in to really learn the lines and were the bumps are. Most people tend to hate it after the first day, but love it after the second.

You can do Andalucia and Cartagena through No Limits, who's main drop off is near Swindon, but they do have other bike drop off/pick up points

If you're going to Cartagena, I'd thoroughly recommend staying at Casa Perez, which is a UK owned multi room villa. It's full of others from the trackdays, and you'll get really well looked after there and fed well. It works out about the same price as removing the hotel from the NL booking
https://www.casa-perez.net

I've stayed there a number of times, and it's used by MotoGP, WSBK and BSB teams as a base when they're over there

[GreaseNipple]

Got back from portimao yesterday, my first 3 day euro trackday. I thought I might reach saturation after 3 days but I could do it all again tomorrow. The first day was learning the track really as there's blind corners and cambers to get used to; after the first day I wasn't really feeling it but got well in to it by the last day. Weather was mostly good, a few showers that passed quickly but full sun on the last day, not many red flags either. Some BSB riders were there, Kyle Ryde, tom neeve and storm Stacey. On the last day a couple of wsbk teams setup for their test, BMW among them and Toprak rode in the afternoon sessions on Sunday I'm not in the fast group so didn't get a chance to ride with him but watching him braking in to turn one on one wheel was pretty cool. He did bring out a red flag when his BMW blew up in to said turn however

[graeme4130]

GreaseNipple said:

Got back from portimao yesterday, my first 3 day euro trackday. I thought I might reach saturation after 3 days but I could do it all again tomorrow. The first day was learning the track really as there's blind corners and cambers to get used to; after the first day I wasn't really feeling it but got well in to it by the last day. Weather was mostly good, a few showers that passed quickly but full sun on the last day, not many red flags either. Some BSB riders were there, Kyle Ryde, tom neeve and storm Stacey. On the last day a couple of wsbk teams setup for their test, BMW among them and Toprak rode in the afternoon sessions on Sunday I'm not in the fast group so didn't get a chance to ride with him but watching him braking in to turn one on one wheel was pretty cool. He did bring out a red flag when his BMW blew up in to said turn however

Portimao’s an unreal track and what a way to do your first euro

[Biker's Nemesis]

Looking through an old memory card. Donington 2009.

[Birky_41]

GreaseNipple said:

Got back from portimao yesterday, my first 3 day euro trackday. I thought I might reach saturation after 3 days but I could do it all again tomorrow. The first day was learning the track really as there's blind corners and cambers to get used to; after the first day I wasn't really feeling it but got well in to it by the last day. Weather was mostly good, a few showers that passed quickly but full sun on the last day, not many red flags either. Some BSB riders were there, Kyle Ryde, tom neeve and storm Stacey. On the last day a couple of wsbk teams setup for their test, BMW among them and Toprak rode in the afternoon sessions on Sunday I'm not in the fast group so didn't get a chance to ride with him but watching him braking in to turn one on one wheel was pretty cool. He did bring out a red flag when his BMW blew up in to said turn however

What a track to do as your first Euro! I went there first time in September this year, same weather except third day after first sesh it hammered down and everyone called it a day

I'd say thats my fav euro but weather was iffy vs Almeria

[graeme4130]

Birky_41 said:

GreaseNipple said:

Got back from portimao yesterday, my first 3 day euro trackday. I thought I might reach saturation after 3 days but I could do it all again tomorrow. The first day was learning the track really as there's blind corners and cambers to get used to; after the first day I wasn't really feeling it but got well in to it by the last day. Weather was mostly good, a few showers that passed quickly but full sun on the last day, not many red flags either. Some BSB riders were there, Kyle Ryde, tom neeve and storm Stacey. On the last day a couple of wsbk teams setup for their test, BMW among them and Toprak rode in the afternoon sessions on Sunday I'm not in the fast group so didn't get a chance to ride with him but watching him braking in to turn one on one wheel was pretty cool. He did bring out a red flag when his BMW blew up in to said turn however

What a track to do as your first Euro! I went there first time in September this year, same weather except third day after first sesh it hammered down and everyone called it a day

I'd say thats my fav euro but weather was iffy vs Almeria

It supposedly rains there quite a lot compared to other parts of Southern Portugal/Spain
Something to do with it being in the first mountains off the Atlantic, and the subsequent pressure as the wind comes in and goes straight up (or something more technical than that)
Mega track though

[Zarco]

Just seen that Silverstone aren't running any bike days in 2024. Rather annoying as it's the easiest track for me to get to.

[ArnageWRC]

Zarco said:

Just seen that Silverstone aren't running any bike days in 2024. Rather annoying as it's the easiest track for me to get to.

A regular on here keeps saying it, but people don't believe him - and here we are; Silverstone aren't really for bikers....

[Zarco]

ArnageWRC said:

Zarco said:

Just seen that Silverstone aren't running any bike days in 2024. Rather annoying as it's the easiest track for me to get to.

A regular on here keeps saying it, but people don't believe him - and here we are; Silverstone aren't really for bikers....

FWIW the Ducati Riding Experience is still running next year I believe. Hopefully regular track days back in 2025.