What happend was they didn't account for the instructors bikes being included in the circuit maximum... kinda basic if you ask me... but I'm not complaining too much as they were able to fix me up with a replacement session.

I had a whale of a time leading (wahey!!) the fast inters through the back of the circuit for 4 or 5 laps and would thoroughly recommend Apex to anybody looking for a well organised trackday with plenty of track time and the added bonuses of an included lunch which forces your mind to take a break as well as your body! There were also lectures on track craft if you wanted to attend, no compulsion but it's an added benefit. The instructor for the fast inters decided we all "knew it" and just asked us what we wanted rather than keeping it structured, but it was his first time and, give them all their due, they were easy to talk to and knowledgable.
I thought it was a vast improvement over the few non-club trackdays I've been able to attend lately. Gary and Catherine have got the ingredients about right and just need a little more experience. Well done Whele, hope to see you on your Indy day, I'll be back mate ;)

Just forgot to add my thanks to the suspension chappie, just a few clicks less rebound on Monica's rear end and she's even more manageable in the twisties :devil:

[Edited on 5-7-2005 by psychlist]

late braking..........discuss............


how late is late?

leaving it till the white line on the OUTSIDE of druids?

answers on a postcard please.... :lol::lol::lol:

got to agree with rattlers thoughts on this one prsonaly not impresed

I'm with Psychlist on this one, cos I too had a whale of a time.

I'm sooooooo glad I went for Novices as oppossed to Inters as there were no red flags on any of my sessions and I seemed to get tons of track time. I went for Inters as it was my first time at Brands and it gave plenty of time to read and learn the track.

My mileometer read 67 miles at the end of the day so I reckon I got 25 laps in over four sessions, whats that then :puzzled: 7 quid a lap, or 2.5 quid a mile - bloody good value.

The whole thing was well organised - seeing everyone was great, as usual, the banter etc was all on for.

Only one criticism really - Gary, Catherine -

Pink T Shirts

Noooooooo!

So 1998 !!

:lol:

Can't be bothered to read all of the post, so I don't know if this has been said. But in the briefing it was said that they would ty to continue under a yellow flag nut if peeps persist in speeding whilst under a yellow the marshalls will red flag the session. Who can blame them with some of the idiots out there.

Excuss me Mr Dibble, the Lady punted me:P I just wish I had fallen off so that I could have rolled in the sand with her;)

dickie, i was braking honest, just that I forgot to shut the throttle off:o

[Edited on 5-7-2005 by Jon]

Got to say I enjoyed the day, the ST4S wasn't disgraced-in the fast group-but the TZ would have been lots more fun-for me at least. There were quite a few heroes/racers in the fast group who thought it was an ACU test day(not any of the DesmoDue'rs though) so there was some fairly dodgy close passing-didn't worry me but might of some others. Not really neccessary on a track day, but ho hum that's track riding-it was mainly the same heroes who were throwing themselves into the gravel..................

John

..Mi sono divertito un Casino!!
(I can't translate properly as it probably involves some f word.. but basically means I ENJOYED MYSELF A LOT!!)
the GP is great track , get second place in my favorite UK tracks after Donington...
After reading the post above, I guess I was lucky to be in the novice session..as we almost never got red flags...

Good organization and the rest, but whay I enjoyed the most was be on a track with some people I knew... It was a great turn out of Dukes and duke owners from the DSC.... I am so sad that I will not be able to join most of you in Cadwell as I will be suntanning my a... on a beach in Tuscany.

.. and by the way.. I still have to understand how to approach clearways in the GP circuit!!!!!!!!!!!

[Edited on 5-7-2005 by Brogins]

Don't believe a word of that!!! :lol: you were telling me all day how you were lighting up out of the corners and backing it in at the hairpin! :rolleye:

Good day and great to meet you

:burn::burn::burn:
...well to be honest I was lap after lap searching my Supercorsa black marks on the tarmac.. after leaving the corners every lap Haga style (did you see last WSB race at Misano? Mamma mia..) ... and after I did WAKE UP and was already Tuesday morning!!!!!!

Nice to see you and all the gang, look forward to next track day...

Glad you got something positive out of the last session Rally. I hope it will set you up straight for the next TD, see you at Cadwell mate!

Thanks for looking at my front cylinder coil. Although I think/hope it's the rear cyl coil or spark plug that's the problem, the latest word from the garage is it might be "something mechanical". :puzzled::sniff::barfy:

Cheers eric ya hit the nail on the head,
Muppetboyslim here! (thanks jpm) as i was sliding along the track the very idea that they may stop the session was in my head and like you said as soon as i stopped up i jumped to show i was ok! But as its such a fast corner and i was right in line of fire they flagged it, sorry if i cut the last session short all be it by a lap or two. Thanks to all who came to (take the ****) see if i was ok!:bouncy:

[Edited on 5-7-2005 by matboyslim]

No worries Mat, everyone makes mistakes.

Just looking at your sig .. put img tags around that url for the muppet image, oh and add a .jpg at the end and it will be fine.

Like this:


[Edited on 5-7-2005 by TP]

My muppetry comment was not aimed specifically at all the crashers - people can and will always fall off - god knows I have and will continue to!!!

It was more a general comment on the actions of the "the no-overtaking rule doesn't apply to me brigade" - who do bin their bikes with cold tyres.

My post was also not meant as a derogatory to any "newbies to Brands" riders out there.

Tough break for you Mat - but I'll always appreciate a man who can crash and still smile afterwards - nice one.

Tim:ninja:

You are a racer now and your track time is very precious. I can see how the four groups track day,
even without the normal amount of stoppages, can’t deliver the time you need to get were you want to go. I think that for the (non-racers) three groups there would maybe push rider’s fitness and concentration even further leading to more offs and maybe risk their safety.
The session we were red flagged on after the first lap by a Muppet was inexcusable.
I still think the fast inters were getting on better than the fast group but they got an extra session to make up.

It must be your expectation of a track day now because we were on the same day in the same group and we have total different impressions on the day.

When you going out to the states to start your training anyway?



:lol::lol::lol:

I'd put money on new plugs sorting that right out. Bung a couple in and see if I'm right ;)

BTW, I've got a new (second hand) tank on the way. Trouble is - if I keep repairing the damage I'll run out of excuses not to wash it :D

On behalf of Catherine and myself I would like to thank everybody for the support we received, and for all the positive comment and the constructive criticism, it was fantastic seeing and hearing all the Dukes lining up in the pit lane and it felt a really friendly atmosphere.

We are getting a big pointy hat made with “I am a Tw*t” for all those fast group riders who throw their bike in the kitty litter on the first two laps on cold tyres. I am constantly amazed that this group is the most experienced, yet they make the most basic error in the book. I am really at a loss what can be done. The first lap no overtaking rule is there for a reason and I did boll*ck three riders who flouted the instruction, I spent quite a lot of time in the control room at the start of each session watching the 20 monitors that showed what you were all up to, so we don’t just rely on instructor feedback.

In all 27 riders changed groups throughout the day
Five riders were warned about poor riding standards, one was forcibly moved to the fast group because he was intimidating rider in the novice group
8 people dropped their bikes
0 in the novice group
0 in the slow inters (yellow)
2 in the fast inters (blue)
6 in the fast group (of which 3 were first lap incidents and one was lap2)

Interesting how the groups who receive instruction and classroom session seem to be the groups who crash the least, maybe we should open it up for fast riders too, (yes I am aware the fast group ride nearer their limits so a few offs are expected, but 60% of the novice group had never been on any track before)

Sadly the guy who went down on the last corner on the last lap of the last session, broke his hip which slightly dampened the day for us.

Thanx again to everybody

Well its what a trackday is all about knowing just how far you and your bike can go before one of you lets go, just not on the first two laps! Had a really great day and was so glad i walked away from what could have been a nasty crash!:roll:
PS.JPM hows my new sig looking? (ta TP all sorted now!)

Yeah suits you!! :lol:

At least you didn't do an Alex :rolleye:

I had a few brown trouser moments into Clearways myself, seems to dip slightly just as I was hitting the anchors, had a feet of pegs moment on one lap I'd left it that late, seem to roll off a bit earlier after that though for some reason ;)

Hope you get the bike sorted soon, didn't look too bad though, just get the hammerite out and it'll be fine :frog:

Had a bit of traffic under bridge and an instructor in front on a hornet, followed him and got a bit over on my original line and down went the front! Damage was to the side that was damaged a few weeks back when a trupmet rider knocked it over! Akrapovic can now shaped to fit a K5 gixer dented rad crash bung and oh yes lots of hammerite!:lol:

[Edited on 6-7-2005 by matboyslim]

This guy's a friend of mine. He's broken his femur just below the hip. He's now got 3 big screws holding it all together & is due to leave hospital later today.

Looking on the bright side, at least he didn't cause the loss of anybody's track time ;)

YOUCH!!!

I hope he heals up ok!

Christ when i broke my femur i was in hospital for 3 months ( i did have other injuries as well ) but out in a few days WOW..i still got a pin and screws in the femur and hip.....wish him well for me i know how it feels

Phil

Yep been there done that still have the K-nail through the left Femur to prove it, again 3 months in hospitl to sort it out.

you only spoke to five people about their riding they must have all been in the fast inters then

how did you come to that conclusion Tetol ?? you've lost me ...

Little update: He walked out of hospital yesterday :puzzled: , yes... I did say walked. He says " it's a bit uncomfortable, but not really painful ". He's not in plaster & is walking with a limp (& a crutch), but you'd never guess he'd broken his leg 2 days ago just by looking at him.

as a spectator, I was amazed at some of the antics...standing at the hairpin under a red flag, I saw the DD'ers pass in the fast group hands/feet in the air slowing, then another bunch of racers (numbers on their bikes) who not only kept flat out but also were overtaing...yellow flags meant nothing to some either.

Still wished I had taken my bike after watching you guys fly around tho...well done gary and co, seemed all I spoke to enjoyed it!

Send them home.

Make it very clear right at the beginning of the day, break the rule, and you're going home. Been on a few days that do this, and everyone abides by the rules. It's harsh, but for a reason.

If riders don't spot people slowing down, flags etc, then they're not observant enough to be safe. Or they think they're above the rules. Either way, you don't want them out there.

Only needs a couple of people to get their day cut to one session, and everyone else toes the line.

Thanks Henners (sorry you couldn't be there) and all you guys for the feedback. It was a real pleasure to have so many DSC members there and to hear all those lovely Ducatis. Mm. Point taken for some things we could improve on, and thanks for appreciating our efforts to bring something a bit different to the trackday scene. Catherine

Nobody gets it right in every respect ..
 

... but what I'm hearing is that you really thought about what folk want from a trackday and, to quote Catherine, you worked your sox off to make sure you gave it. Catering for that many people alone must have broken your backs :o Take all of the good feedback and tuck it away, put all the negative stuff in the palm of your hand and blow the chaff away only keeping what is real - and keep doing what you're doing and DSC will keep supporting you if we value a truly customer focussed business.


... not as much as me hun :(

If I may paraphrase my learned friend, dear Henry.....
;)

Big thanks to the peeps at Apex - I had a great day out it was well organised and to include lunch made the cost true vfm - it was superb.

Great inter-session classroom stuff too... wow and that circuit!!! after years of watching behind the fence I finally got to ride round it... truly brilliant.

Once again many thanks

Paul