The story starts some time ago, and should reach its conclusion at the beginning of June. This then could be thought of as part one of two (Editor's note: updated to one of three afteranother session) - ooh, the suspense! Suffice it to say I recently decided that my lack of track experience should be remedied - and soon!
So I looked on the good old Internet for a suitable novice track day. I had a strong preference for Brands Hatch, mostly because it is a convenient 30 minute ride away. A bit of searching revealed that the Motorsport Vision company who run events at Brands do their own track days for cars and bikes. The 6th March was the next bike event on the list at a seasonally-adjusted £108. I read the terms and conditions, then booked myself on the novice class and told my boss I wanted the day off.
I spoke to a few club members who offered some sagely advice like: "warm your tyres up for the first couple of laps of each session" and "don't forget to take your driving licence along on the day". This seemed like good stuff but as the date approached other questions of a more mundane nature formed in my mind like "is lunch provided?", "will I have to tape up my lights, indicators and mirrors?", "where to I head for once I'm at the circuit?". I looked again on the website and although it did warn that zip-together two piece leathers were a minimum requirement, these other details were not really explained.
Eventually I 'phoned them up and spoke to a very helpful guy. After a few of my questions he concluded that I had not yet received the joining instructions in the post, something that I could immediately confirm. I had made an incorrect assumption that people who booked on the Internet were supposed to glean everything from the website. Fortunately a couple of days later the paperwork hit my doormat and I was able to read a printed version of what I had been told on the 'phone. There was also a full page indemnity form to sign, with a space for your next of kin. Gulp!
Around the same time I started thinking about the readiness of my Speed Triple. Two years on and 7,000 miles from buying it new, it still had the original tyres and a quick inspection revealed even to my uncritical eye that the front was knackered and the back pretty worn. So it was off to Sidcup Motorcycle Tyres, my current tyre vendor of choice, for a new pair of Bridgestone BT014's (the replacement for the old BT010s apparently).
After that it was just down to watching the weather forecast nervously. The previous week had been clear but cold so on the day I put on as many layers as I could fit under my leathers and topped the ensemble off with my Bexley TOMCC flying jacket over the top. In the event this was the perfect combination for the conditions.
An early start, a trouble-free run down to Brands Hatch and I found my way in and through the tunnel to the pit garages just after the earliest recommended arrival time of 07:30. The serious people were reversing their vans in and unloading bikes, paddock stands and tyre-warmers into the garages. I unclipped my tank bag, ready for action.
Check-in was a simple matter of presenting the pre-filled indemnity form and my driving licence. Then I had a chance to appraise the refreshment facilities, in the shape of a pit-side coffee and burger bar, before the safety briefing at 08:30. The briefing was rather general and didn't go into as much depth for the novices as I'd hoped. There was a quick explanation about the cones around the track edge that showed where the turning-in and apex points were on the bends, but other than that the finer points of braking and gear changes were more or less left for us to find out by trial and error.
However, before long we had the opportinity to follow an instructor out on the track for three laps as he showed us the best line. That was OK if you were right behind him but ten bikes back it was like chinese whispers - you were more following the line of the guy in front which may or may not have been close to the line of the guy in front of him, etc.
At least this was a chance to see the all-important cones close up, before we were back in the pits to let the more advanced groups have a go. As they were screaming around with impressive pace and verve we enjoyed another cup of coffee and I made the acquaintance of the two chaps on Triumphs - Clive with a very similar Speed Triple to mine and Douglas on a T595. Finally it was our turn to take to the track.
Everyone had the same thought in mind: take it easy to begin with. Conscious of my inexperience and new-ish tyres I did just that but gradually got the feel of the bends and inclines so that by the end of the first session even my tyres were showing signs of track stress and I was starting to see what all the fuss is about. Douglas had the interesting experience of being black-flagged but it was nothing more than a rather slack and noisy chain. This he was able to remedy promptly as his daughter (who had booked the track day for him as a birthday present) had followed him to the track with a car containing paddock stand and some tools.
The other two morning sessions followed the same pattern, interspersed with more cups of coffee and a surprise bonus of complimentary bacon rolls. The third session was cut short as one of our number ran wide into the sand at Paddock Hill bend and we were red-flagged back to the pits with not enough time left for a restart. The chap in question, who was on a modest Yamaha Thundercat 600, took a bit of a dent to his confidence despite having kept it upright, and was noticeably more tentative for the following sessions.
Shortly after parking up I was most pleasantly surprised to spy the figure of one Chris Biggs who was taking advantage of his local resident's free pass to Brands Hatch and a quiet day work-wise to drop in and see how I was getting on. I had plenty of time to bring him up to date as there was one more session for the Intermediates, then the lunch break, followed by an Advanced session, effectively giving we novices nearly two hours to scoff a burger and wait before out turn came round again.
We got three more sessions in during the afternoon with no off-putting incidents and I found myself getting the bike over far enough on the bends to scrape my toe slider, if not actually get my knee down (just as well as my leathers didn't have knee sliders anyway). Following Douglas round the last few laps of the last session, my impression was that I was giving it slightly more on the bends but I was sub-consciously reluctant to hammer up through the gears on the Brabham straight so the gap widened at that point.
On the last couple of laps before the chequered flag called us in, there were a few spots of rain but luckily it held off until we were back in the pits and in fact many people had started to head off for home. I collected my tank bag from the briefing room (otherwise known as garage 2) and followed suit.
So what was my overall impression? In two words: very good. I had a great time as did my fellow Triumph riders Clive and Douglas. We were greatly assisted by the weather - it would have been much less rewarding trying to navigate round safely in the wet. The facilities were adequate rather than stunning, but you don't go for the cuisine or sumptous seating. There was much less instruction than I was expecting but in some way I could see how too much "target setting" might encourage novice riders to try and exceed their natural capabilities and thereby reduce the enjoyment factor. The message (for novices at least) was a sensible "go at your own pace". If you want a race school, I guess you go to Ron Haslam's establishment or similar.
That said, there were so many aspects of my riding that I could easily identify as needing improvement, and one which probably applied to most of the others too was the best use of engine revs. I really wasn't getting into the main power band often, but I have to say when I did, that Triumph 955i motor did the business and I never once felt that the bike was failing to respond where needed. Me, I'm looking forward to taking it out for another track opportunity soon.