Hi all, following on from my previous post -http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f16/1st-time-track-day-1206/. As we all know the weather has been shit lately- rain, rain, rain! As it will be doing my 1st track day on the 7th of May, is it worth doing it in the potential rain? Or should I just cancel it? I normally only ride on sunny Sunday's but have been caught out int the rain before and was very cautious. Drinky- you said you was going to to the td on the 22nd- how was it? Did it rain?
Just go & take it easy....who knows, it might turn out fine & you will have wasted all that money!!!!!!!! Have fun....... Dick...
I did a trackday at a soaking Cadwell Park a few years ago, you will be suprised just how fast you can go, and how hard you can brake, in the wet, with no white lines or overbanding to worry about. it's a great way to learn the limits in safety. and then when you think you are doing OK, an instructor comes round the outside of you, knee down through the water!
Did a day at Oultopn where it was wet as a pond to start then dried out then chucked it down. Well worth going as you get to see (and try) just how good tyres are. The added bonus was watching Jenny Tinmouth dialling in a bike etc. Lots of riders had a set of wet tyres which were changed on and off all day, again a good thing to get your head round.
I did Donington on MOnday and it was forecast rain. 1st session was damp but after that it was dry and a brilliant day. Shame I had to go on my Triumph not the Duc.
I rode Louigi Motos 748 Race Bike (she's called Beryl!!) in the wet at Oulton Park, with full wets - and the grip was astonishing...... way more than you would think there would be.... just take it easy, ride at a pace you are comfortable at and enjoy the experience for what it is.... alternatively... go ride like a T...t, bin it and hurt yourself..! :biggrin:
Was at Castle Combe yesterday - Rich from Louigimoto took Daisy (my 748) out on wets. Part of the day was postponed due to flooding!! Else wise I love riding on wets the amount of grip available far exceeds my ability - I've been known to race a very dry track on them also when I ran out of time to change. They move a lot and wear out quickly but have enough grip to keep up.
Hi Bugz, I would personally go, rain or shine. If its wet, take it easy and be smooth, ride at your own pace. Did my first trackday at Cadwell last year, when I set off it was raining and I thought "this is gonna be grim" when I got there it was a loverly dry evening, I had a total blast. If I`d have stayed at home I would have missed out on this I wasn`t the quickest by a long, long way but who really cares. Go for it.
I'm one of those weird people who prefers wet track days to dry ones! I blame CSS for opening my eyes to the grip road tyres have in the wet. Full wet tyres are nothing short of astonishing for the amount of grip they have
Wet trackdays can be huge fun. There is nothing coming the other way, so all you have to concentrate on his yourself and your bike. On the one properly wet day i have had, i seemed to have far more confidence than most riders, even though i was on Supercorsas for much of the day.
Living in the South of France we don't get as much rain as Blighty but occasionally if does persist down. You can still have great fun in the rain, just ride smoother and don't trail the front brake too much into bends. On a good set of road tyres you can still ride 'much' quicker than you think. If you are lucky and run full wets it mind blowing. Just forget its raining and go for it. Knee down everywhere. Have fun and take some spare socks, gloves and oversuit.
been checking the forecast every day and it looks like its going to rain, but i don't really 100% rely on them, as its a different story when you wake up and see out the window. Does anybody know which pits are used at silverstone? are they the old ones near 'copse' or the new ones near 'farm'?? Thanks.
It depends on Silverstone, sometimes it's the Wing others it's the old pits. The security will let you know when they open the gates at 0700 hrs. Hey Bugz don't worry about the rain mate, I've just arranged to sell my track bike to someone next weekend and I'll be riding it on Monday, no pressure then?
Went to silverstone yesterday and only did about 10 laps in total, because of the BLOODY RAIN! The weather on Sunday was ace, and guess what-?!? Today, it's totally dry and the suns out!!! Thats what you call sods law or just my luck, or maybe like they say everything happens for a reason as it was my 1st ever track day, i might have become a bit too eager and tried to ride above my skill level?!?!?! The first 20 minutes session was dry with very slight drizzle and i thought this is not so bad, but after that it just rained and rained and rained! A few riders went down in the wet and i did a few laps at snails pace in the wet but decided to just come back into the pits- because it was pointless and i don't think i was going to gain anything. I'd love to do another track day at Silverstone or Donington Park, but all of the dates I've seen on the net are during the week- does anybody know of any track days held on Sunday's or bank holidays? As I'm busy during the week with work. p.s. Drinky- it was nice to meet you and thanks for the advice, hope to see you again at a track day.
not too many summer dates at the weekends - expensive and tend to be booked for racing. Shame about the day, but c'est la vie.
Bugz, glad you enjoyed it, the weather gods were taking the piss weren't they? Like you I decided to bail early as like I said I felt slightly apprehensive about dropping he bike seeing as the new owner is due to pick it up this week. nice to meet you, you di look like you were enjoying it. In response to your question there are TD's at weekend but you have to look round. They often fill quickly as well.
thinking about it, Lydden Hill tends to run events at the w/e. It's a tiny track and a loooooong way into Kent, but good fun grass roots stuff!
What about Cadwell Park with No Limits: No Limits Trackdays - Serious Tracktime There are some Sundays. I did a Monday evening one last year, 3x half hour and 1x 20 min session. Was booked in for another evening one but broke my collarbone so couldn`t ride. Lost the £39, wish I`d accepted I wouldn`t be fit enough sooner. Hoping to do a couple of evening ones again soon.
Silverstone was great today, damp in the morning but dry all afternoon And Lydden is a great little track, well worth a visit if you've never been if only to remind you what tracks were like in the 1980's!
