K3_600
31-03-2008, 14:13
My personal report from the GJ's track day. Sorry it is so long.
I'd really been looking forward to this since Lee (LDJUK) very kindly offered me his place. Like all other UK tracks, I'd not ridden Donington for nearly 20 years and had some very fond memories of great days there so was really looking forward to a return. The anticipation was heightened by the fact that I'd be meeting more of the people off this site, all fellow track day junkies. Having already done 4 track days this year I felt confident in both my own riding and the capabilities of the GSXR600. Sure it was outpaced by the bigger capacity machines but that only adds to the challenge. Every track day I had done so far this year had a weather forecast that would have had Noah scouring e-bay for exotic animals but on the day the inclement weather had always held off and had been dry for the majority of the day. The wets had yet to turn a wheel in 2008. So when the weather forecast for Donington forecast rain I held onto the belief that it would be dry on the day and left the dry rubber on. How wrong a decision would that turn out to be, yet it only added to a superb experience in my opinion.
And so, with the second hand of every clock I looked at seemingly on a go slow, the week leading up to Donington dragged by so begrudgingly yet it served to only feed the excitement that was growing inside. Sleep became brief, previous races at Donington were re-run in my mind as I lay in bed wide awake night after night, accidents and incidents blocked out and the perfect lap rehearsed over and over again. Preparation of the bike was completed the weekend before and the obligatory list of things to do was checked and rechecked like Santa with an OCD. Finally the van was collected and meticulously loaded on the Thursday evening, leathers and helmet cleaned, cameras all charged and it was time for more clock watching as evening turned to night and bed served as nothing more than a comfortable place to watch the alarm clock from.
With no chance of any sleep I gave up the pretence at about 2.30am, got up and got dressed into my undersuit and leathers (hey all racers have a superstition right, and just because I have stopped racing doesn't mean I have lost the pre-requisite ritual drive to the circuit in my leathers, despite how uncomfortable middle-aged spread has made the experience) and went and checked the weather report for the 1000th time. Still the same - rain in the morning possibly clearing pm depending on which weather report was read. Into the van, creep as quietly out of the drive as a 1.9 deisel will allow and off on the way at last with a huge grin. I love the drive to Donington - the A50 is always quiet and it's a good time to focus the mind on the day ahead. 'Don't screw it up, Don't screw it up' was the mantra - the fear of making a fool of myself in front of new found forum friends at the forefront of my mind. But I was seriously buzzing.
I arrived outside garages 21 and 22 at a little before 5.30am. Not the first time I've arrived at a circuit at that time and the peace and quiet always seems to be totally at odds with the forthcoming noise and mayhem of a race/track day in a way that is almost tangible. There were a few vans and cars already parked outside garages and a couple of tents pitched on the tarmac outside garages further down but it was surreally quiet. Obviously people got here the day before to savour the atmosphere. I wished to myself that I had. Weather was pretty much as forecast - wet and windy so I settled down in the van and prepared to wait for the TDR crew to arrive. Sparodically another van would roll quietly into the paddock, pull up behind a garage, switch off its engine and wait like excited kids waiting their go on the thrilling ride of a lifetime.
Around 6am things started to stir, the frequency of vehicles coming into the paddock became greater and the buzz of activity started. I decided to get out and start unloading my van. None else from our garages seemed to be making as early start as me so I thought I bag a front row spot in the garage. As I climbed out of the van there was a cough from somewhere inside one of the garages and all of a sudden the door handle is rattling and finally flies open and out pops a bleary eyed TDR member and behind him can clearly be seen 2 vans. As the roller door is raised it is evident that a forward party had set up the night before in the garage and as people start to wake the 2 vans are moved, greetings and introduction are made and it's time to unload and get set up as others start to arrive and the garage really starts to buzz.
Despite my blind faith in past good fortune with incorrect weather forecasts it is pretty obvious that wets will be the order of the day, at least initially, so they are wheeled out of the van, pressures checked and adjusted and the dry set up taken out. Rear goes in no problem, front goes in with a bit of effort (really need a block or something similar to get the wheel up off the floor while the spindle goes back in) but just as I'm tightening up the caliper bolts one snaps. Oh fook. I wasn't even being heavy handed. A few more 'oh fooks' later and a mad search through the tool box fails to locate a replacement. As the signing on announcement comes over the tannoy it's time to get the blagging head on as panic starts to grow. After a couple of futile searches in the garage by fellow garagemates Dan Moss comes to the rescue, well MadMatt actually provides the bolt but Dan runs around to get one. A few minutes later and wets are fitted and secured and thanks to Matt and Dan panic is over and it's off to sign on. Top guys, day saved before it had even begun.
The café where sign on takes place is packed. A queue loops from one end to the other and back half way down to the entrance. Hmmmm, at the rate it is going down the briefing will be called before I even get to sign on. The banter in there is in full flow, there's a real friendly buzz and friends old and new create a heartwarming atmosphere. Finally I get to the front and sign on with 5 minutes to spare before the briefing starts. We will skip the briefing. Less said the better, just a quick mention of the irony of the tanoy stating that the yellow (novice) group are 'wasting their own track time' and should get straight to the holding area. Just where did he think they all were?
And so briefing over it's quickly back to the garage as the yellow group have now only got half their session left so the blue group (Inters) will follow them shortly. Quick double check of fuel (really don't want to run out first time out), the usual push/pull/twist/turn anything in sight to make sure it's tight/loose, camera mounted, helmet and gloves on and I'm ready. I love the anticipation of the first lap/session. Nervous excitement builds to a pitch whereby your senses are heightened to a level where you become totally tuned in, oblivious to what's around you, focused. Bike fires up first time and barks it's intent to no-one in particular but my adrenalin hears it and I can feel it pulsing through my veins. THIS is why I am addicted to tracks. THIS is why at 44 years of age I am still like a kid at christmas about to rip open the wrapping on another perfect present. It NEVER fades. Reassuring clunk into first and roll down towards the holding area and I am sat at the front of the queue, not even thinking that I am sat at the front of the queue. The FRONT of the queue. HOLD ON, I am sat at the front of the queue having not ridden in the rain on wets for nearly 20 years, not having ridden in the rain on the road for 3 years, not having ridden this circuit for 20 years and it is soaking out on track, the recovery vehicle is out picking people up from around the circuit so it's obviously slippy and I AM GOING TO BE THE GUNIEA ***. Ermmm time to move out of the queue and let someone else take that 'honour'. So I pull to the side and wait, and wait, and wait. Glad I decided not to fit warmers - tyres would be stone cold. I prefer to let the tyres heat up slowly, especially as we had been briefed no overtaking on the first 3 sighting laps. And then we are away. I hook up with the group towards the back. Bad move - no chance of getting any heat in the tyres as the procession slowly and tentatively winds its way around the circuit. My visor mists, then rain falls inside when I lift it and it's a black visor, so by the time 3 laps are up I can barely see where I am going despite frantic wiping. People are being quite rightly cautious. The track is soaked and there is a mixture of experience in the group but it's good to be out on track and the grip from the tyres starts to build allowing me to move slowly forward. And just as I start to feel really comfortable the chequered flag comes out. Damn that was quick, but in a really slow way.
continued below
I'd really been looking forward to this since Lee (LDJUK) very kindly offered me his place. Like all other UK tracks, I'd not ridden Donington for nearly 20 years and had some very fond memories of great days there so was really looking forward to a return. The anticipation was heightened by the fact that I'd be meeting more of the people off this site, all fellow track day junkies. Having already done 4 track days this year I felt confident in both my own riding and the capabilities of the GSXR600. Sure it was outpaced by the bigger capacity machines but that only adds to the challenge. Every track day I had done so far this year had a weather forecast that would have had Noah scouring e-bay for exotic animals but on the day the inclement weather had always held off and had been dry for the majority of the day. The wets had yet to turn a wheel in 2008. So when the weather forecast for Donington forecast rain I held onto the belief that it would be dry on the day and left the dry rubber on. How wrong a decision would that turn out to be, yet it only added to a superb experience in my opinion.
And so, with the second hand of every clock I looked at seemingly on a go slow, the week leading up to Donington dragged by so begrudgingly yet it served to only feed the excitement that was growing inside. Sleep became brief, previous races at Donington were re-run in my mind as I lay in bed wide awake night after night, accidents and incidents blocked out and the perfect lap rehearsed over and over again. Preparation of the bike was completed the weekend before and the obligatory list of things to do was checked and rechecked like Santa with an OCD. Finally the van was collected and meticulously loaded on the Thursday evening, leathers and helmet cleaned, cameras all charged and it was time for more clock watching as evening turned to night and bed served as nothing more than a comfortable place to watch the alarm clock from.
With no chance of any sleep I gave up the pretence at about 2.30am, got up and got dressed into my undersuit and leathers (hey all racers have a superstition right, and just because I have stopped racing doesn't mean I have lost the pre-requisite ritual drive to the circuit in my leathers, despite how uncomfortable middle-aged spread has made the experience) and went and checked the weather report for the 1000th time. Still the same - rain in the morning possibly clearing pm depending on which weather report was read. Into the van, creep as quietly out of the drive as a 1.9 deisel will allow and off on the way at last with a huge grin. I love the drive to Donington - the A50 is always quiet and it's a good time to focus the mind on the day ahead. 'Don't screw it up, Don't screw it up' was the mantra - the fear of making a fool of myself in front of new found forum friends at the forefront of my mind. But I was seriously buzzing.
I arrived outside garages 21 and 22 at a little before 5.30am. Not the first time I've arrived at a circuit at that time and the peace and quiet always seems to be totally at odds with the forthcoming noise and mayhem of a race/track day in a way that is almost tangible. There were a few vans and cars already parked outside garages and a couple of tents pitched on the tarmac outside garages further down but it was surreally quiet. Obviously people got here the day before to savour the atmosphere. I wished to myself that I had. Weather was pretty much as forecast - wet and windy so I settled down in the van and prepared to wait for the TDR crew to arrive. Sparodically another van would roll quietly into the paddock, pull up behind a garage, switch off its engine and wait like excited kids waiting their go on the thrilling ride of a lifetime.
Around 6am things started to stir, the frequency of vehicles coming into the paddock became greater and the buzz of activity started. I decided to get out and start unloading my van. None else from our garages seemed to be making as early start as me so I thought I bag a front row spot in the garage. As I climbed out of the van there was a cough from somewhere inside one of the garages and all of a sudden the door handle is rattling and finally flies open and out pops a bleary eyed TDR member and behind him can clearly be seen 2 vans. As the roller door is raised it is evident that a forward party had set up the night before in the garage and as people start to wake the 2 vans are moved, greetings and introduction are made and it's time to unload and get set up as others start to arrive and the garage really starts to buzz.
Despite my blind faith in past good fortune with incorrect weather forecasts it is pretty obvious that wets will be the order of the day, at least initially, so they are wheeled out of the van, pressures checked and adjusted and the dry set up taken out. Rear goes in no problem, front goes in with a bit of effort (really need a block or something similar to get the wheel up off the floor while the spindle goes back in) but just as I'm tightening up the caliper bolts one snaps. Oh fook. I wasn't even being heavy handed. A few more 'oh fooks' later and a mad search through the tool box fails to locate a replacement. As the signing on announcement comes over the tannoy it's time to get the blagging head on as panic starts to grow. After a couple of futile searches in the garage by fellow garagemates Dan Moss comes to the rescue, well MadMatt actually provides the bolt but Dan runs around to get one. A few minutes later and wets are fitted and secured and thanks to Matt and Dan panic is over and it's off to sign on. Top guys, day saved before it had even begun.
The café where sign on takes place is packed. A queue loops from one end to the other and back half way down to the entrance. Hmmmm, at the rate it is going down the briefing will be called before I even get to sign on. The banter in there is in full flow, there's a real friendly buzz and friends old and new create a heartwarming atmosphere. Finally I get to the front and sign on with 5 minutes to spare before the briefing starts. We will skip the briefing. Less said the better, just a quick mention of the irony of the tanoy stating that the yellow (novice) group are 'wasting their own track time' and should get straight to the holding area. Just where did he think they all were?
And so briefing over it's quickly back to the garage as the yellow group have now only got half their session left so the blue group (Inters) will follow them shortly. Quick double check of fuel (really don't want to run out first time out), the usual push/pull/twist/turn anything in sight to make sure it's tight/loose, camera mounted, helmet and gloves on and I'm ready. I love the anticipation of the first lap/session. Nervous excitement builds to a pitch whereby your senses are heightened to a level where you become totally tuned in, oblivious to what's around you, focused. Bike fires up first time and barks it's intent to no-one in particular but my adrenalin hears it and I can feel it pulsing through my veins. THIS is why I am addicted to tracks. THIS is why at 44 years of age I am still like a kid at christmas about to rip open the wrapping on another perfect present. It NEVER fades. Reassuring clunk into first and roll down towards the holding area and I am sat at the front of the queue, not even thinking that I am sat at the front of the queue. The FRONT of the queue. HOLD ON, I am sat at the front of the queue having not ridden in the rain on wets for nearly 20 years, not having ridden in the rain on the road for 3 years, not having ridden this circuit for 20 years and it is soaking out on track, the recovery vehicle is out picking people up from around the circuit so it's obviously slippy and I AM GOING TO BE THE GUNIEA ***. Ermmm time to move out of the queue and let someone else take that 'honour'. So I pull to the side and wait, and wait, and wait. Glad I decided not to fit warmers - tyres would be stone cold. I prefer to let the tyres heat up slowly, especially as we had been briefed no overtaking on the first 3 sighting laps. And then we are away. I hook up with the group towards the back. Bad move - no chance of getting any heat in the tyres as the procession slowly and tentatively winds its way around the circuit. My visor mists, then rain falls inside when I lift it and it's a black visor, so by the time 3 laps are up I can barely see where I am going despite frantic wiping. People are being quite rightly cautious. The track is soaked and there is a mixture of experience in the group but it's good to be out on track and the grip from the tyres starts to build allowing me to move slowly forward. And just as I start to feel really comfortable the chequered flag comes out. Damn that was quick, but in a really slow way.
continued below