Cadwell Park Track Day

We've been experiencing a heat wave for quite a while now so we set off to Cadwell knowing we were in for a hot, dry day. Over the last couple of years the weather hasn't inspired much confidence.

After signing on and sitting through the riders meeting I got ready for the first session. On the sighting lap a bike near the front was smoking badly, my visor was covered in an oily mist, so the track was getting its fair share of oil. The session was red flagged, after a short break we managed to get back out on track, only for me to find out that my bike was running on two cylinders.

l headed back to the paddock to try and sort it out. Initially it looked like the electronics had fried, part of the wiring loom had melted and the loom was a bit of a mess. We chopped out the problem wires and I went out in the second session only to find that we hadn't cured the problem, one slow lap and back to the paddock. We were a bit flummoxed, I asked around for advice, we swapped the coils and the problem didn't change still the back two cylinders. I started to trace all the electric connectors and found a couple that were partly undone. I reseated the connectors and the engine sounded better. By this time I'd missed the 3rd session so I was glad that out on track the bike was back to normal.

So l took it easy making sure the bike was all okay, looking forward to the 3 afternoon sessions.

In the break we helped a young guy with a CBR600 who was having mechanical trouble, he'd petty much gave up on getting his bike working, several people were giving him advice, but no one was rolling their sleeves up an helping. It was good to get stuck in and we soon found a fuelling problem. It was nice to get him running again.

In the afternoon I pushed hard and had 3 really good session. I think I know Cadwell pretty well now and I'm happy to "have a go" overtaking wherever a gap appears. In One session I nearly got shoved onto the grass going into Charlies 2, but it didn't bother me and l just kept on going.

I really enjoyed the afternoon, I must of been trying hard as I ached all week!

On the Way home I got pulled by the police, they had seen me in the outside lane with a trailer on! I was given the option of a''Driver awareness course" better than 3 points on my license.

Snetterton Track Day

Snetterton is a long way from West Yorkshire so it made senses to drive down the day before. The kids were on holiday so Andrea and the kids came along. We stopped for tea at The Angel pub which is very close to the circuit. We got to the circuit at 6:30pm, cars had been using the track all day and me and Jack had a look around at the last few cars that were packing up. We parked the motorhome right next to the garages and I took the bike off the trailer and put it in garage seven. Jack and Finley got their skateboards out and practised on the smooth floor, surprisingly a guy came in and asked us to stop as we were making too much noise!

Got to bed early as I knew it was going to be a long day. Woke early and signed on straight away, got the bike noise tested and sat through the obligatory riders meeting. I've never been to Snetterton before and didn't have a clue about the track layout. Out for the first session and I took it very easy. I worked out very quickly that the track had several bends with wide entrances which would suite cars better than bikes with long straights that suited big bikes, pity I was on the 400.

It didn't take me long to get into my stride and before long I was circulating at speed. As usual I quickly got my head around the slower bends and took my time with the fast stuff. The first bend (Riches) at the end of the straight was the first challenge, although the circuit is flat it is still difficult to see the apex and exits of many bends, at least the first bend had tonnes of runoff, but I didn't want to head of into the field at 70mph plus.

Palmer is a long left hander where the curb always jumped out at me on the exit, I sorted this out by the end of the day but I'm sure there was much more speed here. Hamilton is another left hander, I didn't get this right all day, I wasn't using all the track on the exit, if I'd have been racing I wouldn't have been happy about this, but thankfully I'm only doing this for fun so I'm not beating myself up.

The right hander, Williams was important as this leads onto the back straight, I was okay with this and managed to do okay here. The Bomb hole is the only bend which features any type of height change, the bend does  appear to go through a bomb hole, it dips on the way in and there is a bit of a rise on the way out. 

Coram is a very frustrating bend, you've got to spend a huge amount of time on part throttle and then slow down for the final flick left back onto the straight.

To be fair I didn't push really hard all day, looking back I have thought about the day. The weather has been terrible and cold when I've been riding to work and there hasn't been any grip, I think that I didn't have a great feeling with how much grip there was and how far I could lean the bike over. The big wide open entrances to several of the bends meant that I was a bit lost finding the best lines and speeds, I'd need to spend a couple more days getting my head around all this. Finally the long straights don't suit the little 400 especially when predominantly people are using modern 600 or 1000's.

At the end of the day we set of back home, stopped for tea on the A1 and got home for 9:30pm.

I'd enjoyed the experience of Snetterton but I won't be hurrying back, It's a long way to go and the whole feel of the place is angled towards cars.

Oulton Park - Track Day

Ready to Go!

At the end of the season there are one or two track days on Saturday. It was an opportunity for Andrea and the kids to come along and have a day out at Oulton Park. It was also pretty cheap £80! there however is only. 6 sessions because it comes dark so early.

Getting everyone out of bet at 6am was a bit of a challenge, but the kids were soon settled in the van. The weather was pretty poor, I just hoped hat things would improve and hoped to see a dry track at some point in the day.

The riders meeting went off without a hitch, there's been a bit of a change, the Intermediate group is now out on track first, good news later in the day as I'd be finished early and cold pack up and head home without having to wait until he very end.

Everything was still pretty wet and it didn't look like it would change any time soon. In the first session I did the two sighting laps and pulled in. It didn't help that everyone in the group had wet tyres on their bikes, this made me a little nervous, as I don't have fancy tyres for the wet. To be honest wobbling round when it's raining isn't my idea of fun. When I used to race I always enjoyed the wet, I could push hard and wasn't bothered about accidents, however on a track day I just don't get it.

I sat out all the morning sessions with my fingers crossed that the track would dry out.

After lunch things did improve. There as a dry line so I started to enjoy myself. At first taking it easy but going faster as I figured out the conditions. Under the trees at Druids I was a little uncertain weather it was wet or not but there seemed to be grip!

Two Up.

About half way through this session a bloke came blasting past me on lakeside, normal routine big fast bike that I can't live with. However as he approached island bend he went straight on into the gravel trap, he probably went off the track at 80-90mph. I tried to ignore his random manoeuvre, I certainly didn't want to follow him onto the grass at that speed! I guess he missed his braking marker, went off the dry line and panicked.

The track dried out as the sessions rolled by. Andrea and the kids watched from the bridge on clay hill and I had to be careful not to get distracted.

On the last session I had the hammer down and was really enjoying myself. I knew it was the last chance this year on a track so I was pushing pretty hard. Half way through the session I had a real moment at Druids. I guess there were still damp patches, the back end stepped out near the second apex, it felt like a huge slide, but in reality it was probably something and nothing. It's made me slow down and be more careful, but it did get the adrenalin flowing!

I'd had an okay day, the weather had spoilt things but at least Things improved in the afternoon, roll on next year!

Oulton Park Track Day

Cascades

Booked this track day 6 weeks ago, Oulton is always popular and it usually gets booked up early. Sometimes you can find a place, but in the wrong group. These days I prefer to be in the Intermediate group, not too slow but not too fast! The trouble with booking so early is the weather, and it's been a really wet and horrible July so far.

Set off at 6am. It was raining hard and the weather forecast didn't look promising. heading over onto the M62 past Manchester and onto the M6, and still no improvements. I thought I was wasting my time, I'm not that enthusiastic to go wobbling around in the wet, so it did look like I'd be sat in the van hoping for better weather. As we left the motorway we got out of the rain and unbelievably by the time we got to the circuit everything was dry. It was cloudy, but didn't look bad.

Heading onto Lakeside

Normal routine, sign in, riders meeting and noise test. Kept my fingers crossed for the weather, there was one or two pretty dark clouds. Headed out for my first session and took it nice and easy. Went a little bit faster in the second session. My goal was to sort out Island Bend, and stop the front end pushing in some of the off camber exits. By the third session I was getting my knee down through Island bend, near 100mph so I was happy with this. The front was much better at Cascades and Druids so all in all I was happy with the bike.

Knickerbrook

Just before lunch there was some spots of rain and I took is easy in the 4th session. At lunch time I had a quick look around the bike and found the front brake pads were within a couple of millimetres of the metal, this played on my mind for the afternoon sessions and I didn't do my normal late hard braking, something you have to do on such a small bike. I still enjoyed the afternoon and got into good rhythms during the sessions.  All safe at the end of the day and no dramas!

So I was happy with how the bike felt on the off camber sections of the track. Island Bend and Clay Hill didn't concern me, and I was happy with both these areas. I need to work on Hall Bend, it's funny that you can't see the curb on the exit until you're past the apex, at this point you realise that you can hit the bend faster. I also struggled with Cascades and just need to be braver on the way in. Stuff to work on next time!!

Cadwell Park Track Day

Charlies

Booked a cheap deal a couple of weeks ago, so it was pot luck with the weather! Showers were the order of the day and after 4 laps in the opening session the heavens opened and it stayed wet until after lunch. We did get two dry sessions at the end of the day, so it wasn't a total waste of time.


It was one of those days when as soon as the track dried it started raining (or hailing) wetting the track again. A little bit frustrating! The first dry session in the morning was cut short due to an accident in the Expert group, ambulance carting someone off the hospital at 9:30am. I didn't bother going out in the wet, I don't want to crash and I can't get any enjoyment out of wobbling around.

Charlies onto the straight

Once it did dry out for the last couple of sessions it was fun in the Intermediate group, usual routine of getting blitzed down the straights and catching back up in the bends.


I'm getting more confident in the faster bends, I was getting my knee down going up through Coppice, pretty good for me.


I didn't really get into the grove and I was just happy to blast the cobwebs away. It was an okay day but the weather did screw things up. Four seasons in one day. Better luck next time!!

Cadwell Park Track Day

Barn

It was nice to get back to Cadwell and have another day on the little NC30. Last year I came to Cadwell and had never ridden the bike, so it was interesting to come back and see if I've got more comfortable on the bike.



Set off really early 5:45am, on Friday morning to get to the track for 8am. Usual routine Sign in, Riders meeting and sound test before the first session. Signed up for the intermediate group so I was expecting to be blown away down the straights!


First session and a bit of a disaster, after one lap the bike was losing power and I ground to a halt after the chicane, the bike restarted and I headed back to the pits. It felt like fuel starvation, I checked the tank and thought that I might be running out of fuel so I put a gallon into the tank. I wasn't confident that this was going to fix it so I had a word with the guys at No Limits who were very helpful and let me go out for a lap with the Novices to test the bike. There was still a problem, it did the same again.

The mountain

Scratching my head in the pits I took the tank off the bike and removed the fuel tap, blowing through it I realised that something was causing a part blockage in the tap. Last year I'd had the fuel tap in bits and siliconed it back together, a ring of silicon had come loose and was floating around in the fuel tap, I managed to get this out without having to strip it further. Put everything back together and thankfully the rest of the day went without a hitch!

Bottom of Mountain

I had a fun day building on my knowledge from last year. I ended up going into Coppice in 5th gear, dropping to 4th for the first part of Charlies, briefly into 3rd before the straight, much quicker than last year, but there's still more speed here!


I was much more aggressive through the Mountain and Hall Bends. It was good fun in the intermediate group and I had to work really hard to make any progress, hope I wasn't in anyone's way!


Our group was pretty good and there wasn't any disruption to the sessions, no red flags!


Had a great day, no accidents but I was stiff on Saturday, I'm getting too old!

Donington - No Limits Track Day

Booked myself into the intermediate group, the weather looked to be picking up by Friday so I thought it might be my last opportunity this year to have a day out on the NC30.

Coppice

Early start to get down to Donington by 7:30am for sign in and riders meeting. Although the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the track was very wet. The first two sessions were wet, everyone was being very careful and not taking any risks.

In the third session a dry line started to appear and with it some grip. As speeds increased so did the incidents, I think most of the dry sessions were red flagged! By the fourth session the track was pretty dry and I was starting to ride faster.

Melbourne

All afternoon the weather stayed fine and I got more and more confident. Getting Redgate right and keeping low on the bike heading through Hollywood, dropping down the hill through Craner Curves is a great feeling. The Old Hairpin is a faster bend than it's name suggests. Starkeys is very fast and I had to be careful at Schwantz Curve, making sure I could get rid of speed for Macleans.

Goddards

I enjoyed the up hill blind entry to Coppice, although unsighted I was quickly confident about hitting this fast. Some of the blind places at Oulton Park are more difficult to get right. I enjoyed exiting Coppice onto the straight. Braking for the Esses was a challenge, and I never got the left, right flick perfect, this is somewhere that I need to work on for next time.

I was comfortable with Melburne, but I didn't feel confident at Goddards, another area that I need to work on.

I had a great day and continued to improve on the bike. The first few sessions were a disappointment, but as the day improved the poor start was soon forgotten. I didn't touch any suspension setting today, leaving the bike as it was the last time out at Oulton, to be honest everything felt pretty good so why mess around! I was struggling at the slower left handers so I need to think about this for next time.

Oulton Park - No Limits Track Day

Set off at 6:00am and the weather was terrible! As we got nearer to Chester the weather improved, and by the time we arrived everything had dramatically improved.

Knickerbrook.

Had a great day, first time at Oulton so took it easy to start with. The NC30 was great as always and I soon found my feet.
Last time out at Cadwell I didn't have a clue about the suspension setup, so I left it well alone. Today I started playing around a bit more. I made some changes to the front suspension, increasing the amount of rebound, this started to give me better feel.

Got down to 2min 10secs by the end of the day. Tyres look like they are working really hard, big blobs of rubber running off the edge of the tyres. I do need to think about my riding style a bit more, started to get the foot pegs down going through the chicanes.

Old Hall

The day went off without a hitch for me, however there was several incidents, with red flags and delayed sessions.

The faster bends are a bit scary, I need to get my head around Island bend, anything faster than 80mph and I'm a bit wiery. I spend too much time on the road where I'm not cornering that fast, and my timing just isn't there.

Clay Hill is blind and fast, but on the 400 I could go through flat out, just being carefull to keep left and not letting the bike drift over to the right edge.

Some people believe that the second chicane has spoilt Knickerbrook, but I really enjoyed throwing the bike through these sections. I would have probably been much more careful through the original layout.

Druids

Cascades was interesting, the front started pushing on the exist which didn't fill me with confidence. I need to look for a better line to help with this.

Druids was another place where the front causes concerns, however this was due to the camber changing and the front going light! A better line through this double apex right hander needs considering.

There is allot to take in for a first time out. Many bends are blind or unsighted, best to enjoy my day, think about it later and come back again for another go at improving things!

So for next time I need to think about the faster bends, look for braking markers and be braver. Consider my line through Cascades and Druids..... and have fun!!!

Cadwell Park - No Limits Track Day




Old Hairpin

Set off for Cadwell on Sunday afternoon, we planned to spend the evening at the track and be ready for a full day out on track. Staying at Cadwell is straight forward, pull up pay £10 per person and use the facilities....

Monday morning, signing on and getting noise tested ready for the first session. It now dawned on me that I had never actually ridden the NC30, I had no idea what to expect. At least I knew Cadwell Park, back in the early 90's I'd proddy raced a Yam 250 LC and Cadwell was one of the tracks that New Era and Auto 66 used to frequent!


First session in the Novice group taught me that there many ways to describe 'Novice'. Some riders are being very careful, others are pretty scary to follow, best I use my own judgment and leave tonnes of space! Taking it very easy I soon got the hang of the speed again and heading towards lunch time was was back in the groove!

Hall Bends

By mid afternoon the weather was deteriorating, and halfway through the 6th session it started to rain, I ran round carefully, and at the end of the session called it a day. No point in going out in the wet, I'm not trying to prove anything, just there for enjoyment! Best time for the day was 2min 3sec, how do the top guys get around the track in under 1min 30secs?

So what do I make of Cadwell in 2011, I'm not sure about the chicane, it's tidgy! more to do with slowing you down than enjoying a cool set of corners.

First time out on bike, and 20 years since I rode at these sort of speeds meant I was being careful. I used to hate Mansfield, but it doesn't seem so bad now. On the LC I hated how much the front pushed, but the NC30 gave me tonnes of confidence.

Barn

I always liked the gooseneck, so I quickly got back into the swing of the tightening right hander and the flick left down the hill.

I'll need to have a think about Charlies, more speed going into the bend, but care on the way out due to front pushing.

Coppice is scary. More thought needed here. I should be able to hit this much faster, but for now I'm happy enough with the buzz of going fast....

I really enjoyed Barn and was on the gas early. The Little 400 goes a treat through the bends and is quite surprising down the straights. I had a great day, no accidents and started to learn about going fast again, after some 20 years off!!

Hope I'll get a couple more days on the little VFR before the end of the year.....