We had planned this adventure months ago as a Birthday present for our 15 year old son Bruce. It was his dream to be able to ride a real motorbike and cannot wait till he is 16 so he can get his provisional and get started on his IBT. So with this in mind we decided to book a family day at the Ron Haslam Race School as they have an On Track experience for 12 year olds and up, as long as they have basic gear change experience, riding 125s and 500s.
We had to be at Silverstone at 7:45am on Wednesday morning so flew into Birmingham on Tuesday evening, hired a car and headed to the Premier Inn just around the corner from the Silverstone track, enjoyed a late dinner before hitting the sack for a nights rest before our bike adventure the next morning. Bearing in mind that this was also my very first experience of a track day which I was told was going to be loads of fun.
When we woke up the weather was clear and the rain that was due to hit the north was nowhere to be seen, so we sighed with relief as a wet track day wasnt going to be much fun (in my opinion). When we arrived at the Silverstone experience centre all the staff we fantastically helpful and friendly and made me feel completely at ease and relaxed. Up until then the butterflies were doing summersaults in my stomach.
Bruce went to get geared up and we were then escorted by bus down to the pits so we could watch our son out on the track. He was paired up with an older fella and after establishing what sort of riding experience they had they were giving their bikes (CB500N) and made their way onto the track. There was a mixed ability amongst the young lads with some quicker and some slower than our Bruce, but what was great was that I felt so proud of him that he managed to ride around a race track with little or no experience of any road craft. After 40 mins and with a huge smile on his face they were then informed that their day was not over but they were then taken to an area where they were taught how to do U turns, emergency braking, swerving, figure of 8s, shalom, then some fun stuff like stoppies, slow control knee down, standing and balancing on the bike. I had to leave him and catch the bus back to get myself ready for my session. Value for money he did very well as they spend almost 4 hours on the bike and the smile on Bruces face will stay with me forever.
After squeezing myself into what felt like a cow suit I was geared up and ready to go. After a quick briefing session we were then taken down to the pits again and paired up with our instructor and 2nd rider. At first I felt a bit intimidated with all these men who looked like this was there day job and took it all in their stride, but soon realised that no one cares and were all there for the same reason, to have FUN. Although there was another lady on our session we were not paired up together, blessing in disguise I suppose because after the first session out on the track the instructor felt we would be better off split up (probably because I was too slow) and we were given one to one instruction. This turned out to be great as he was able to really help me with my lines and speed. At first I was very hesitant but by the time my third session came I was flying along and taking corners as speeds far greater than I have ever experienced before. It was such a thrill to take some of the fast bends, throwing the bike this way and that and feeling completely in control. Getting my knee down was not in my agenda and to be honest I really struggled in my cow suit (probably to tight) to bend the leg out so hence no knee down, but did eventually manage to move my body on the bike so was able to stabilise the bike in the corners and decrease my overall lap time and increase my speed. My top speed coming down the straight was apparently 220kph so I was well pleased with that followed by an amazing right hander that seems to go on forever (Stowe corner).
Greg then headed for his Elite session on a Fireblade with data logging so he was able to read his lap history after each session and showed him where he could improve. He did in fact get his knee down as evidence shows on the new sliders scrapped but no pictures sadly. All in all we had the most amazing day out and once we were all done, headed back for the airport and home.
Bruce was so grateful and kept thanking us for the most amazing birthday present ever and wants to know if he could book again for next year.
I learnt so much about high speed riding and the thrill of taking a corner without worrying what was behind you, coming towards you and enjoying the most amazing road surface, was a thrill and am definitely planning another trip and will consider using the CBR600RR with the data logging so I can get a print out of my lap history.
The worst thing is now I keep seeing these amazing corners and you keep reliving the whole experience, so I suppose I had better just get on line and see if there are any more spots available. Lord Help us!!
A few photos taken with my camera and a few of the proffessional ones.
My linky
This post has been edited by BooBoo: 12 August 2011 - 11:57 AM
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