[BooBoo]

Ok so BooBoo went racing. Now I am not the greatest letter writer but I will give it a go.

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 125’s and 500’s.

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 wasn’t 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 8’s, 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 Bruce’s 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

[gipi]

Great write-up Tania, and it sounds as if you all had a blast! Well done!

Saw the pics over on FB and you all looked great!!

So, you've done ROSPA and a track day this summer - what's next ?!

[YogiBear]

Booboo (Tania) has already given you all a fair run down on our day out at Silverstone this week and it pretty much sums up what was a great day had by all.

However, in light of my first visit to Silverstone last year and the somewhat perplexing responses to a thread I posted about my experience, I thought it might be an idea to follow up with my latest experience.

As I have mentioned in more recent posts, the Ron Haslam Race School can be a fantastic day out and while not cheap it does offer one the peace of mind that the worst you can do is bin someone else’s bike at no further expense to yourself. Add to this if you have no track experience it is a safe and controlled way to be introduced to track riding and some basic racing techniques.

That all said, once having done the Premier course and being able to do the Elite course things step up quite a few notches and the following will give insight to my experience on the Elite course I did this past Wednesday.

One arrival you are introduced to your instructor who will be with you for the following 3 hours. This does not sound like much but trust me when you read on you will see that it can be quite intense and 3 hours is plenty for the average Joe like me.

The great thing about the Elite set up is that there is no time table. Once introduced, you and your instructor decide when you go onto the track and for how long. You are not under and obligation to come in on the checked flag and can stay out for as long or as short as you want. Typically you get 4 x 15 minute sessions, but in my case we did 20 minutes to start followed by a 15 minute and two more 20 minute sessions.

Trust me when I say that fitting 70 minutes on the track out of the 3 hours allocated to you is plenty and in my case I was completely finished at the end with my legs almost buckling out from under me, not to mention my shoulder sockets felt like they had be battered with a battering ram.

You are allocated a CBR1000RR which like the 600s had been stripped of all non-essentials and besides a side stand is almost in full race trim. The difference of course is the 1000s also have data logging which adds to the fun and excitement of seeing how fast you are not.

On the pace front, things are completely different.

Last year on the 600s I always felt that, while we were hammering along at quite a pace, we were never quite at the edge and could have gone a little quicker. This was most likely down to the instructor who sets the pace and not me being at the limit of the 600. On the 1000 I felt like I was always at my limit and at no stage, no matter how fast I went could I come close to catching my instructor. This includes doing 162mph down hanger straight, flying through Stowe corner in 3rd with exit speeds of just on 110mph, getting knee down on many corners and frightening the sihte out of me when a good few times my right hand foot peg scraped the tarmac (Not good according to my instructor, that what your knee is for apparently)

Now I am sure there are the sceptics that might not rate that as quick and by comparison to my instructor it certainly was not, but it was as fast as I could go and I was no-where near the limit of what the bike was capable of.

To personalise the experience and the machines the riding of the 600s was more akin to getting into a boxing ring with a boxer that had instructions not to hurt you no matter how much you taunted or pished him off. The 1000 on the other hand was like being in the ring with a psychopath that was under instructions not to hurt you unless you said or did something wrong and then he could have his way with you. I.e. the 1000 always appeared to be masking a beast that could get you into a whole lot of trouble and that without even trying too hard.

This was borne out a few times flying up the pit straight up to Abbey where I thought I would be brave and try and extra gear and hang onto the throttle for an extra second or two. The net result was simple. Panic followed by braking that almost dislocated my shoulders each time and peeling into Abby hoping and praying that the bike knew more about cornering at that speed than I did.

Fortunately every time it did the job, but if the truth were known I was not in full control and this was simply caused by taunting the bike to go faster down the straight for what seemed like a fraction of a second. This was a typical Robert de Niro like moment where the bike was looking back squinty eyed at me saying, “you talk’n to me, you talk’n to me”, and bam without time to yes, no or apologize, I am in trouble.

Other than the feeling I was on a machine whose limit was always way out of my reach, I had an absolute blast and would highly recommend to those that have done the Premier course to give the Elite a go.

While costing £ 100 more you get quite a bit more track time, one to one instruction, no fixed time table during your 3 hours, and for those that feel that they are budding Rossi’s you and go a damn side quicker. Finally you also get a print out of your laps, including sector breakdown with gears, revs, throttle use and corner entry and exit speeds.

And no, I don’t get commission for saying this. It is simple borne of me having a whale of a time and if affordable is in my most humble of opinions highly recommendable.

gipi, on 12 August 2011 - 12:45 PM, said:

Great write-up Tania, and it sounds as if you all had a blast! Well done!

Saw the pics over on FB and you all looked great!!

So, you've done ROSPA and a track day this summer - what's next ?!

Another track day of course

[sp1v]

Well done to Bruce Nice birthday pressie !
Looks like you all had a sunny day .
600 s look awesome but the 1000s ....

[CBR 46]

Fair play to you all..you never fail to excite and delight

[delooney]

Well done you guys, a wonderful experience for you all and thanks for sharing!

[Playtime]

well done the Bears

sounds loike a great day thanks for sharing

im sooooo jealous want to do it someday

[Zanussi]

Excellent stuff you's.Inspiring stuff and thanks for sharing.

[asa]

Glad you all had a great time, especially well done to Bruce. How cool to be 15 again and tell all your mates at school you were around Silverstone! Did this myself last month (600's) and agree with all that's been said. While not cheap, it's a lot cheaper that smashing your own pride'n'joy if you stack it.