Trackday novice
 

Oops
 

Sorry did that wrong.

My wife was recently involved in a serious RTA with a bike (gave first aid, not the cause!) and for the time being I am banned from the road.

The upside is I can now do trackdays!!!
Any advice for the trackday novice would be greatly received. Should I attend one of the schools? Should I go to a normal trackday. I just need to build some cofidence as I am not quick and don't want to be intimidated on my first outing.

get on a DSC trackday. snetterton end of june would be a great option. there will be loads of people from the club 100+ to help you out. and its chirpy cheap too.

I agree that even in the novice group on a TD the first time can be a bit intimidating.

Some organisers have pure 'novice only' days but these are few and far between, good list of organisers and events here:

http://www.biketrackdays.co.uk

another school to consider as well:

http://www.boddicedarleytraining.co...._training.html

Good luck - Frank

It's reasonably rare for nutters to be in the Novice group and most companies do what they can to put first timers at their ease. Quite often the first session has a quite a few laps behind an instructor or sometimes even the whole of the first session. The comapnies know you won't be back if some loon carves you to every corner bits.

Not so sure about the schools until you have day or two under your belt. i.e. CSS level one has you riding round the circuit without using the brakes. There is a very good reason for this but there can be enough going on in yer head without that to think about.
With a few days under your belt I would defo recommend a School if you want to learn more.

Try and avoid a a track day at a circuit that has got a bike race day in the following few days as you might find yerself amongst the handful who have ridden to the circuit!!

Just go for it, most get hooked.

Ray.

LOL - good advice Ray but everything is booked up solid about a month in advance for TD's from what I've seen over the last few weeks !!!!

Croft and Cadwell both fully booked from 2 weeks ago :(

Might as well go to Spain :lol::lol::lol:

Frank

Hi,

One good place where racers are unlikely to attend is a Non-noisy day at Donington (or wherever else does it) as especially in the lower groups the bikes tend to be peoples road-going pride & joys.

Another idea I started off with was track evening's. Shorter sessions & not too many you get tired or over eager.

My very first trackday was with Ron Haslam, good starting point as you get instruction & closely monitored.

Andy

Frank,

Weekend trackdays soon get booked up but weekdays are not usually a problem at Croft. With summer?? coming I agree you are taking a chance leaving it to the last minute even for weekdays. A lot can depend on the company and the date.

DSC at Cadwell and it was full months in advance,

Might try selling my place on E-bay:lol::lol:

Ray

Ron Haslam school is a very unthreatening intro to riding on track. You ride their bike (if you bin it, your day is over, so careful on the first lap!) Tuition is a bit hit and miss, depending on who your instructor is - basically they just "pull" you round, showing you the correct lines and give you a bit of advice between sessions, but Donnington is a great track to ride, and the set up is very well geared towards rider-safety and building confidence. It is a bit pricy for three twenty minute sessions, but worth considering as a "toe in the water"

If it were me, get yourself into the Novice group, no bravado etc, and just ride around, don't think you're Rossi etc.

Ultimately it's a looped piece of tarmac without manhole covers, no old women in Volvo's going to pull out on you, and you can use both sides of the track, perfect conditions, go and have fun.

We have been busy trying to encourage novice riders that want to try a trackday, lots of guys (and girls) are very nervous and need lots of attention and nurturing. We do our best to look after them and give them knowledge and information so they can have a safe and enjoyable day

We run classroom sessions throughout the day (5x10min sessions). These classroom sessions do not detract from your tracktime and are attendance optional is optional. We cover topics from a basic introduction to the circuit using photographs, track etiquette, riding within your limits, counter-steering, braking, turning-in and throttle control. The instructors then take riders out on the circuit to give 1:1 assistance on what has been covered.

The great thing is that in the last three trackdays only one novice slid off, all made huge improvements and gained confidence, most have booked again to come back for further development.

So successful has this proved to be, that we are extending it to cover riders in the intermediate group riders who want tuition at a higher level. Might be ideal for new club Desmo racers!

The best comment we received was from a guy who e-mailed us when he got home, “Most companies say they offer tuition and the instructors are racers on a freebee who have no interest in teaching novices. You actually spent the whole day teaching us, doing what others promise, both in the classroom and on circuit. I learnt more today than on all of my previous 5 days put together. Thanks”

Come and give us a try – in fact the first Novice to email me with their DSC membership number (no more than 1 previous trackday) can come free on 10th May at Cadwell to experience our tuition. gary@apextrackdays.co.uk.

Thanks guys all very useful and encouraging stuff.

Well, my advice would be to go on a goodwood track day, as there are only 5 bikes on track at once, so there is almost no chance of someone else intimidatnig you, or of you 'getting in the way' of a more aggressive rider !
See my earlier post.
I can give you a contact number for my friend who acts as a circuit guide at goodwood if you want another opinion, but my wife found it much less intimidating than a 'grid-full' of bikes at brands.

Phil

Not really true in my experience. The lastbank holiday No limits day at Cadwell for example had bikes with race numbers on in the novice group (it was a race weekend).