by Damon Spencer, 26th August 2006
 So, what is the deal with trackdays? They've been around for years and yet at every day there seems to be more than a couple of people who are on their first one. Some people do one or two (to see what the hype is about), get it out of their system and then never do another. Others will rattle through as many as possible over the course of the summer months, desperate for the buzz. I find myself somewhere between the two; in 2005 I did nine trackdays, and this year I even managed a three day jaunt over to Jerez in the south of Spain for some time on the MotoGP circuit. Yet, even though they seem widely popular I am still asked questions by people (not always bikers) when I mention that I'm doing one. Questions like "how fast did you go?" are not always relevant as that's not the point (after all, most straights are less than a kilometre long). If I wanted to go flat out I have a massive, deserted track (well, it is at 3am) called the M40 about twenty minutes from my house...
I jest. The point of trackdays (for me at least) is to experience some of the fun to be had on my sports bike without the external worries that invariably come with road riding. I'm not just talking about speed, although it is a consideration. Hold the throttle open for any more that a few seconds on my GSX-R750 and I'll be very much in illegal speed territory. Any longer than that and I could be looking at a prison sentence. No, the real fun to be had on a bike is in the corners and this is where trackdays excel. Make no mistake, riding a fully race prepared track is not the same as endlessly lapping the local roundabout whilst grinding your knee into the deck to impress the local chavs with your titanium sliders. Being able to tip into a smooth, flowing corner with relative impunity is a glorious feeling. Get it right and you'll be hooked. You'll also find few of the problems transferred from road riding. Firstly, there is no traffic coming the other way. Pretty obvious one, but it's comforting to know that if you stuff up a corner slightly and run wide there won't be a five ton truck coming the other way. There is also little chance of running across the ubiquitous "Sunday driver". Who hasn't reached their favourite stretch of road, only to be confronted with an endless stream of cars driving ten miles per hour below the speed limit and making a very effective rolling roadblock? That's if you're lucky and they haven't pulled out in front of you at a junction in a classic case of, what is known around biker fraternities as, SMIDSY (Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You).
Then you have distinct the lack of all the other hazards that one has to be alert for on public roads; diesel spills? No. Suicide pets? No. Potholed road surface, slippery painted lines, cat's eyes and badly positioned manhole covers? Not likely.
One of the very best reasons to use a track, of course, is not always the most obvious; it was designed for it. Everyone has their favourite stretch of road, but there's always a 30mph village stuck smack bang in the middle, or a dodgy set of crossroads on a blind bend, or many of the points listed above. It sounds simple, but a track is designed to be raced on. It's designed to be interesting, with a variety of corners and it's designed to be testing (if you want it to be).
To crash or not to crash
There is one other very important, possibly the most important, reason to use a track for your hooning; crashing. No-one wants to crash, that's obvious enough, but most bikers (especially sports bike riders) accept that it's an occupational hazard and sooner or later it will happen. Now, a crash on a Sunday morning blast through some local B-roads is a completely different proposition from crashing on the track. I'm talking about a crash with no other vehicles involved here, obviously, as we've already established that you won't find a Tesco's delivery lorry making its way down Craner Curves at Donington Park. If you crash on a track you will normally slide (maybe bounce a bit), and slide, and slide... You may have gone over the grass, you may still be sliding up the track, or maybe you're in the gravel, but generally speaking you'll have to cover some considerable distance before hitting anything immovable, and even then it'll probably be some tyres. Do the same thing on a road and you'll be doing very well to not hit a car, a lamp post, the curb, a ditch, a letter box, a wall etc. I think you know where I'm coming from.
 There is also the point of medical attention. Last year I high-sided at Rockingham, hard enough to give me amnesia (still can't remember the day at all) and an injured shoulder and ankle that still play up now, almost exactly a year on. Now, I don't know what the average response time is of an ambulance when you're out on the road. Let's face it, any time you have to wait for medical attention is too long, and the chances are you'll be on the quieter country roads and you won't have crashed conveniently outside A&E. All trackdays have an ambulance, medical staff and (possibly) a doctor onsite; they have to by law. When I threw myself up in the air at Rockingham I had a camera on the bike. Curiously enough, when the bike stopped spinning down the track the camera was facing my position, crumpled in the middle of the track. This gave me the ideal opportunity (afterwards obviously) to time the response. Bear in mind that I was on the far side of the circuit, about as far away as you can get from the medical centre. Response time? Ninety seconds. A minute and a half from when my bike stopped spinning there was an ambulance next to me. Comforting? You bet, and I'm forever grateful for that response time.
Moving on, before it gets too morbid, many people have many different reasons for doing trackdays. For some it's Ego, and for many (myself included) it's fun. You get the straight line heroes on brand new litre bikes with their shiny sliders who blast past you on the straights and then wobble round the corners. That's fine, in the same way as it's fine for the fifty year old dad of four to be taking his time during his first trackday on a ten year old BMW. Everyone looks for a different thrill. Mine are the corners, to the point that when I bought a track-only bike I went for a 600cc bike rather than anything bigger. Don't let other people's ideas (including mine) put you off, and do what you want.
The costs
 A common complaint is that trackdays are expensive. Well, depending on where you go and the time of the year, you can expect to pay between £80 and £170 for the day (discounting the exceptionally expensive Brands Hatch GP circuit). Seems expensive? Maybe at first, but consider the following points; as a trackday organiser it would cost you something in the region of £21,000 to hire Donington Park for the day. Add all your own costs to that and you'll very quickly find that you need a lot of bikes to pay for the day, let alone make you any money. Now take into account that last year alone two or three Trackday Organisers went out of business, leaving really only three main players (contact info at the end of the article). Whatever your preconceptions are, they don't make a fortune and on some events they actually lose money. The only people making real money here are the circuits. The organisers work long hours for something they're passionate about and that's before they get some moron try and sue them because they crashed! American legal system here we come...
Before I move on to some questions and answers I guess I should state that the biggest testament to my trackday 'habit' is that it has vastly reduced the number of road miles I do for my own personal enjoyment. Gone are the days when I'd wake up, see a sunny day and decide to go for a blast on my own. Going out with a group of friends is a different matter, but now, one trackday a month keeps my adrenaline requirement filled and makes me all the less likely to have an altercation with a lamp post.
Do you need a full licence or is 33bhp okay?
This varies from trackday company to trackday company. Some specify yes and others not. I've been on trackdays where I haven't even been asked to produce my licence at all. Others have checked it very thoroughly. Don't assume you will be okay; check, because you won't get your money back if you get it wrong.
What do I need on the day?
A bike (pretty obvious this one), a helmet (which must bear the British Standards kitemark), gloves, boots, and one or two-piece (zipped) leathers. Hire bikes can be had from a few places like Lady Snoots, or Focused Events. Oh, and you'll need a licence too.
If you're riding to the track and you know someone taking a car then a tool kit is also a good idea, and spares like levers and such if you have them.
What can I expect on the day?
 Expect sign-on to take place from around 7:30am. This will involve you showing that you're there, signing disclaimers and liability forms and collecting your wrist band (which gets checked before heading onto the track). Generally speaking there will then be a briefing at around 8:30ish. Here, someone from the organiser will talk about the track, about track etiquette, the timetable for the day etc. He will also run through the different flags and what they mean. The briefing is compulsory, no matter if you are Valentino Rossi.
Normally you have three groups; novice, intermediate and fast. If you're making notes on this then it'll be your first trackday and you should really have booked into novice. Generally speaking you'll be last out on track. Don't worry, if you do turn out to be a track-god you will get moved into a faster group. Vice versa if you think that lapping the local roundabout makes you Kevin Schwantz but in the real world you hold up five bikes on every corner in the fast group. You'll soon get moved.
There will be 'sighting laps' on your first session, which are slow laps, led by an instructor, with strictly no overtaking. These are so that you get a chance to gain an idea of where the corners go and what is around the next one. You won't learn the track on these three laps (that will take until the afternoon) but you'll have a better idea of what's going on.
The groups are announced normally over a PA system and will go out for 15-20 minute sessions. This means that you'll get 30-40 minutes break in between your sessions out on track. Save for an hours break for lunch this will continue until about 5pm (or failing light, depending on time of year). Expect to get somewhere in the region of five sessions during a day. It may not sound a lot, but you will be tired when you leave. On a day last year at Donington I managed 160 miles on track, although that was exceptional. It's not unusual for people to sit out sessions because they're tired, so don't be afraid of doing it. Don't forget, it's not just your body that tiredness effects, it's also the mind, and you want your reactions to be in full working order.
Normally there will be instructors on hand for free advice. If you're quick enough (I mean running, not on the track) you can grab one for some free tuition. He'll follow you round, watch your lines and offer advice where you can improve. You can then follow him and learn the lines. There will normally be a tyre guy on site, offering a tyre fitting service and sometimes a suspension bloke offering customised adjustments for you. Finally (aside from the medics and marshalls) there will be a photographer so that when you get your knee down you can email the picture to everyone you've ever met with infinite smugness.
My biggest advice on the day? Relax and enjoy yourself. You won't break any lap records and you won't be the fastest person there, so don't try. If you do you'll either end up frustrated or in A&E. If someone passes you, let them go, they're faster. If you give chase you run the severe risk of outstretching your ability and crashing.
Will there be fuel available onsite?
Tricky one and something you should check. Some tracks have onsite petrol stations (which are not always open) and some don't. Someone will be able to direct you to the nearest petrol station should you need some during the day and there isn't any on site. Bear in mind it can be a pain to reattach mirrors, number plates etc. If you can, fill up as close to the track as possible in the morning. The other option (if you have a car-driving friend going) is to fill a jerry can or two.
Will there be refreshments?
Undoubtedly. The scale will vary from a burger van to a full canteen setup, but there will be something. Don't eat so much that you're lethargic and bloated (especially at lunch) but do keep yourself hydrated, especially on a warm day as you will be working hard.
Do I need to "track-prep" my bike?
 You don't need to do anything. However, I would advise that firstly you remove or tape up your mirrors; you don't need them. There is absolutely no need for you to be looking behind you. If someone wants to overtake it is their responsibility to do so safely and without impeding, or unsettling you - this is not racing. Looking behind you will only draw your attention from what is in front of you, which cannot be a good thing. Removing the mirrors (rather than taping them) means one less thing to replace should you stack it!
Some people remove or tape up their number plates. Why? Well, maybe they want to be in a position to claim from insurance should they crash and don't need evidence popping up at a later date showing that they actually crashed on a trackday and therefore the claim is fraudulent. There are also rumours that people from insurance companies visit trackdays, for this very reason, and make notes on bikes. It could be that you could have an entirely legitimate claim turned down if the company saw you on a trackday a couple of days before your real accident. It's unlikely, but why risk it?
The other favourite it to tape up lights and indicators. This stops glass/plastic showering the track should you come off. The real reason, however, is that it makes you look like a racer!
Check, and drop the tyre pressures. Normally there will be a tyre van at the track and you can generally ask them (or an instructor) for some free advice. Expect to drop the tyre pressures to about 31 psi when cold (it will vary between bikes), the reason being that the tyres will be working a lot harder and getting a lot warmer than they ever do on the road. As they get warm the pressure will increase, and you don't want over inflated tyres. Someone will have a pressure gauge if you don't. Don't be afraid to ask around, other bikers will be only too happy to help.
It goes without saying that you should have checked your oil levels, tyre wear, chain etc before the day.
What happens if it rains?
You'll get wet. It takes a lot for the entire day to be cancelled (I've only known it when there was snow and ice on the track) so the chances are you'll be allowed on track. Whether you go out is up to you, many people don't. If it gets really bad during the day they might stop letting people out until it clears (this will vary greatly between organisers and tracks). If the day goes ahead that's the end of it; no refund, no rebooking.
Will I get laughed at for being slow?
There will always be someone slower than you. If you are that guy, I'm sorry, what can I say? I have seen people at trackdays on bikes never designed to go anywhere near a track and riding with three inch chicken strips. Are they slow? Yes. Do they hold people up? Of course not. It's a race track, there is so much room in most places you won't believe. Donington Park is 10m wide. If someone can't get past you it's not your problem and you shouldn't worry about it; do your own thing and let others do theirs.
Where can I find out about upcoming trackdays?
|