jetboy
25th July 2009, 20:24
MotoTT Trackday - Friday 24th July 2009 -Taupo
Well well well! Who knew a trackday could be this fun!!
This was my first trackday so I didn't quite know what to expect, but after attending one I can tell you it was a bloody great day - I all but forgot about the rain and had a blast.
Took me wee 250 down, rode from Auckland to Cambridge for the night on Thursday, then straight to Taupo at 6am with no dramas (*coughspeedingticketcough*:whistle:), getting a bit of drizzle on the way. I had my first experience with wet, very loose gravel on SH1 just before Tirau :eek5: so was a bit worried about the rain.
Sure enough by the time I got there it had packed in, but that didn't phase me - I wanted to hit the track!
After getting the bike scrutineered and attending the informative rider briefing I watched the first 3 groups to see if I could pick up anything useful. To be honest I was too excited to get much - watching those guys made me want to ride even more!
The first time I went out I was a tad nervous, not knowing what to expect, but after a few laps I started to get the hang of it. The second round went better, improved a few lines and began to push my limits. It was raining most for the morning, leaving the track (and especially those bloody repair patches) slightly slippery.
After being told how to place your weight on the bike I decided to try and keep up with some of the bigger capacity bikes (which was almost all of them!) on my third session, so after the warm-up lap I picked a target and attempted to follow as best as I could. The first two laps were awful, but after I got my grove on I found that I could lean the bike more and more which in turn gave me a faster corner speed. This was getting very, very fun! I kept to my lines as best I could and smoothed things out a tad, and found that I could - in fact keep up with some of the others through the turns...but on the straights I had no chance!
I had the biggest grin on my face after the chequered flag came out, having had so much fun and knowing that I learnt something.
I actually grin now just thinking about that session - it was fantastic!
The fourth session was very much the same, I pushed more and more and got better and better, even getting a knee down (ever so slightly) on the corner leading up to the back straight! What a blast! This was my last time out - such a shame I had to ride back to Auckland that evening.
I had so much fun I booked in for the next day run by MotoTT, and I can't wait!
For those of you wondering whether or not to attend one of these days - you should! Not only did I learn skills which I took with me and used on the ride home (cornering skills - not the knee down!) I had a great time doing it and highly recommend attending a MotoTT track-day...do it!
Thanks to Sue and Allan for the advice and getting me out there :yes:
Well well well! Who knew a trackday could be this fun!!
This was my first trackday so I didn't quite know what to expect, but after attending one I can tell you it was a bloody great day - I all but forgot about the rain and had a blast.
Took me wee 250 down, rode from Auckland to Cambridge for the night on Thursday, then straight to Taupo at 6am with no dramas (*coughspeedingticketcough*:whistle:), getting a bit of drizzle on the way. I had my first experience with wet, very loose gravel on SH1 just before Tirau :eek5: so was a bit worried about the rain.
Sure enough by the time I got there it had packed in, but that didn't phase me - I wanted to hit the track!
After getting the bike scrutineered and attending the informative rider briefing I watched the first 3 groups to see if I could pick up anything useful. To be honest I was too excited to get much - watching those guys made me want to ride even more!
The first time I went out I was a tad nervous, not knowing what to expect, but after a few laps I started to get the hang of it. The second round went better, improved a few lines and began to push my limits. It was raining most for the morning, leaving the track (and especially those bloody repair patches) slightly slippery.
After being told how to place your weight on the bike I decided to try and keep up with some of the bigger capacity bikes (which was almost all of them!) on my third session, so after the warm-up lap I picked a target and attempted to follow as best as I could. The first two laps were awful, but after I got my grove on I found that I could lean the bike more and more which in turn gave me a faster corner speed. This was getting very, very fun! I kept to my lines as best I could and smoothed things out a tad, and found that I could - in fact keep up with some of the others through the turns...but on the straights I had no chance!
I had the biggest grin on my face after the chequered flag came out, having had so much fun and knowing that I learnt something.
I actually grin now just thinking about that session - it was fantastic!
The fourth session was very much the same, I pushed more and more and got better and better, even getting a knee down (ever so slightly) on the corner leading up to the back straight! What a blast! This was my last time out - such a shame I had to ride back to Auckland that evening.
I had so much fun I booked in for the next day run by MotoTT, and I can't wait!
For those of you wondering whether or not to attend one of these days - you should! Not only did I learn skills which I took with me and used on the ride home (cornering skills - not the knee down!) I had a great time doing it and highly recommend attending a MotoTT track-day...do it!
Thanks to Sue and Allan for the advice and getting me out there :yes: