Hi guys, I'm going to spend the next year in England and I'm planning to ride a lot there. Can anybody recommend a relatively slow track in the UK? I'm not a pro, and I don't want to set new lap records, I just want to ride for fun. In Hungary I usually ride at Euro-ring. This is a small track (1.7 miles) with 21 turns, 120 mph top speed and 65-75 mph average speed. I'm looking for something similar.
I did my first track day at silverstone quickly followed by another 2 days there. Loved every minute, nice wide track with lots of space -just in case! Was really apprehensive before I went but really got into it quickly with the bike coming alive
Closest you'll find to that lowish speed is Rockingham National layout. But doens't have quite as many corners.
I don't think it's about the speed of the track but more the amount to learn. I would say brands indy is good to start on, then Mallory, then donnington. Places like cadwell and oulton are definitely not so novice friendly because they have blind crests and are narrow, they aren't scary though, but just better when u have already found a little confidence in getting around a track safely. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not many with 21 corners either. Depends on where you base yourself. Mallory and Donington in the midlands Brands London way Bedford is meant to be ok, and Snetteron easy to learn North I'd head to Wales and go to Anglesey. Great weekend venue
Slow? Donnington, in terms of not having long straights (I think I was in 3rd/4th most of the time on mine), but it has some lovely sweeping, fast bends! I would say Oulton is quite a slow track as well, but again only because it doesn't have massive straights. Slow is quite an odd way to try to think of any track! For beginner? Bedford Autodrome (on a Road bike only day if you have a road bike - as this excludes the race nutters, who also generally aren't interested in Bedford because there are no bike races there). It is wide, easy to learn, and because it can be set to about 4 configurations there is a lot of tarmac runoff (gravel traps can be quite daunting if you brake too late or run wide in a bend, but you do not have those worries there). It is the first track I did after 5 years of not having a bike, and it gave me a lot of space to try to remember what I was doing. As a beginner I would steer clear of Cadwell. It is narrow and actually takes longer than most tracks to learn (for me it took 2 sessions before I really knew where I was, whereas most tracks you have figured by the end of the first session - in terms of what bend is next).
I agree about Bedford. Flat, wide, good surfaces, no blind corners, plenty of runoffs, not many nutters. Perfect to start with. Work up to the complications of Brands, Donington, and Cadwell later. Bedford Autodrome Circuit - Official website for the home of PalmerSport
I do think Silverstone is a great starter track, because its so big and wide and loads of runs off especially at the end of long straights. Depends on bike: my old 600 monster wasn't too much fun on the big circuit...also remember they have different layouts. Rockingham isn't too bad for the same reason.
Good point. It is a very smooth, consistent, grippy surface. Some of the more popular tracks have quite a few bumps, patch repairs, and some randomly less grippy sections (certain corners at Cadwell, Oulton, Brands and Silverstone have caught me out in the past, especially if they are not perfectly dry - you learn where they are, but Bedford doesn't seem to suffer as badly).
Agreed. Silverstone isn't bad, although is always heaving on GP days. Bedford is a kind of Smaller, easier Silverstone for beginners (has the same aerodrome feel as Silverstone).
Silverstone National circuit is a nice easy fun layout, only a handful of corners and nice and wide as @bradders said, I did my first trackday there and it was a fun day, the GP circuit is a quick one but so big so you can get time and space, although the corners at the end of the staights tend to bunch up in the novice group where people tend to brake at random times.. I've always found Donnington to have a faster crowd in attendance but maybe I just picked the wrong days.... fab track though :thumbsup:
