I don't know how I would of found the paddock without queuing and someone telling me where to go...Why can this be emailed to you? secondly on the email they did send was your group number as above 1,2 or 3... when you went to sign on it said white green or red.... it appeared to me to be a bit quiet really and loads of space amongst the garages!
Was a good day, shame about the rain cutting the day a bit short but was an awesome sight seeing/hearing nothing but ducati's rumbling round the track. Some stunning machines, sadly didnt see any desmo RR's yesterday but some very nice v4's, and a few fellow 959 riders. Fast group was generally ok for flags, thought they were pretty good for the guy on turn 4 as his bike was a long way off so just ran the session under yellow flags for that section (someone still came past me 3 laps in, there is always 1!) Look forward to the pics, and the next one
I think Jay Morton from SAS who dares win fame may have been there panigale SP with a few others He has posted a row of bikes at Silverstone garage on his Insta stories
Nothing changes, the organisation by Silverstone is very amateurish, lovely people but not very switched on. I overheard that the total on the day was 180 riders, not sure if that was equally divided between the 3 groups to start with. I have been on a Ducati day at Silverstone with 80 in a group in the dim, distant past. Behaviours, attitude and discipline on track is something Silverstone have never, in my experience, got their head around. The younger instructors should spend more time policing and less time racing each other, there were certainly enough of them. Andy
I think SS do a better job that some at track marshalling so surprised to hear that. No Limits basically couldn't care less, to the point I dont even go to their track days anymore and MSV can be hit or miss depending on whos on that day The only frustrating thing was loads of us in fast group being shoved into a single garage, while the dealers had been issued with all the others, one garage had like 4 bikes in it so that could of been done a bit better
It’s not the marshalling I find frustrating. As andyb experienced, the communication ranges from poor to inadequate via contradictory. E-mail only, no telephone number and if you reply to one of their e-mails, you are advised that it will take days to get a reply. Why open rider registration at 7am when the main entrance doesn’t open until 7am ? And my biggest frustration, why have one person at the only pit lane entrance they open for everyone, ticking you off a register and directing them to a garage ? It’s an unnecessary bottle neck that leads to queues and as has happened before, the queue backlog meant riders missed registration despite arriving in plenty of time. My dealer let me know the number of the garage they would be in only to message me a couple of hours later to say Silverstone had changed garage allocations. FFS, how difficult can it be putting 180 riders in one of 8, 3 section garages the size of a 5-a-side football pitch ? Apologies, raw nerve. Andy
Jesus You guys do like to whinge. The allocating garages by group thing is odd, but I just went in the same garage as my mates, no one minded about it. I had a great day, staff and instructors we helpful friendly and abundant. The lad who binned it on the first lap at maggots, went down just in front of me, I think we were the only 2 on road tyres and no warmers in that group. He panic braked for Maggots for some reason and folded the front. I'm sure he's far more pissed off about trashing his lovely 1098, than we are having to go even slower than usual through there for a lap or 2. Over all great day, riding a GP circuit. what's not to like.
Nobody wants to crash ,or cause a stoppage, and I don't know how it was at Silverstone, but when it happens every session, especially in advanced group where they should know better, it gets frustrating
Said the bloke who hasn’t been on track let alone a Ducati day in about 20 years… It’s about taking responsibility… so he knew he was on cold road tyres with no warmers went straight out in an advanced group and all of a sudden turn four comes up…
I went once about 8 years ago. It was, expensive oversubscribed poorly run nightmare grouping IMO, you're better diving or riding there, mooching about around the garages and socializing. If you want to ride Silverstone go on one of their own track days, then (probably) only two of the four points above will apply.
I have only done one Ducati day at Donington and would happily do another. But the above post is spot on. Last year, for example, at the Silverstone day I tagged along as a pit bitch. I was watching the inters group and could not believe how slowly one Monster rider was going. He/she was so bloody slow I put a stopwatch on them. Close to 5 minutes (honestly!!) per lap. Bloody dangerous imo.
