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Category: Automotive
Oulton Park 13/10/09: Not As Fast As I Thought I Was!
I'd been planning on doing Silverstone before it changes, but the choice in the end was do that on the very tatty and not-very-race prepared Focused Events bikes, or follow Lady Snoots (who I used for my first trackday and was chuffed to bits with) to a surprisingly unbooked slot at Oulton Park. It will most likely be my last this year, so it was no contest, and I went for the great track and the finest ZXR636 from LS Supersport Hire!
After the usual restless nights sleep, my alarm went off ready for the 90 mile 90 minute treck up the M6. Freezing fog brought out the best carb icing I've had on my ZX9R, and panic set in as signs told me J.18 was closed! With no map this would have been me fkd, but luckily it was still open. I can't believe I was seconds away from getting on the motorway without glove inserts! My hands would have dropped off - COLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD!!!
So my first session ever in Intermediates, and I was feeling pretty confident as I seem to be easily in the fastest in the Novice Groups, and I was at Oulton about a month ago and did well! I kept my thermal top on for the first session and it was pretty slippery out there - no problem because I had to ease back into it and get the feel of the hire bike. First impression was the new pads were so good my eyeballs were nearly popping out every time I touched the lever, and secondly the track was still the same, but I'd lost something. My beloved Cascades and Island didn't seem to be catapulting me past everyone else on track, and I was more scared going into Druids than a Jew walking into a German shower block.
The second session I felt much better, but a lot more people were passing me than being overtaken by me. Herr... maybe I'm not as fast as I thought! I don't think I was holding anybody up, but this really was a whole new experience for me and I wasn't liking it much. The ones flying past me were gone in seconds, and I was questioning whether I belonged in Inters or whether a drop back down to Novice was in order...
I had a walk around to find a few of the people from various forums and as usual met a load of pretty cool people! It always amazes me that trackdays seem to attract the decent, honest and friendly people! The usual arrogant rub-tuggers you find at any local bike meet just don't seem to exist at trackdays! Thanks to you all for making me feel welcome!
My riding was coming on, but so was everyone elses, so to my mind I was slipping back a bit. I couldn't get the first chicane right even though I knew what I should be doing, and Druids still wasn't happening, so I got an instructor on an FZR400 to take me out.
After following him for a few laps something clicked in my head, and suddenly when he let me pass I was riding better than ever! A few stupidly fast people were still coming past, but I was overtaking a hell of a lot more people than were getting me!
And from there on all was good! When I heard talk about a few from the Fast Group getting their knees down around Druids I decided that was for me, and bugger me if it didn't happen in front of the instructor! That corner is so much faster than I could get my head around. From that point on I saw it as a backwards Cascades and went steaming into it.
I was also braking massively later than usual. That's usually my safety zone, because I figure if you're going to come a cropper it will almost certainly be from cocking up your braking - I go for 'slow in, fast out', usually. By the end of the day my left wrist felt like it had been snapped - which made for an interesting ride home! Another thing that I quite liked from being in Inters was that you have a lot more track space to yourself, because most people are keeping a good pace up so you don't get the massive bunches of Novices that can be really frustrating.
And the one place I thought I'd never touch my knee down was the banked Shell hairpin - well I don't think that any more!
So yet another great trackday for me in the end, and I seem to be improving a lot on right-handers. In fact from the pics I look like I'm carrying more lean angle all over - and I know there's a lot more to come! If that's the last of the year for me then it's a damn fine place to end.
And now for the pic whoring:
8:34 PM
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