[align=center]RIDEDAY / TRACKDAYS FAQ...[/align]
Interested in going to the track? Read on...
The Tracks...
Broadford Raceway (BR)
Located near Benalla in North East Victoria, ~1hr drive north of CBD
http://www.motorcyclingvic.com.au/
Eastern Creek Raceway (EC)
Located 40km west of Sydney CBD
www.eastern-creek-raceway.com
Lakeside Raceway (LR)
Located in Brisbane, QLD - approx 40mins north of CBD
http://www.qldraceways.com.au/lakeside/
Marulan (MDTC)
Just north of Goulburn in NSW...
http://www.mdtc.com.au/
Morgan Park Raceway (MPR)
Located SE QLD - Near Warwick, approx 2 hours from Brisbane
Ride Day Company
http://www.motorcyclesportsmen.com.au/
Organises ride days at Warwick
Phillip Island Circuit (PI)
Located in Melbourne, ~2.5hr drive south of CBD
www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au
Queensland Raceway (QR)
Located in Ipswitch
www.queenslandraceway.com.au
Wakefield Park (WP)
Located near Goulburn, 2 hours from Sydney and an hour from Canberra.
www.wakefieldpark.com.au
Winton Raceway (WR)
Located in Melbourne, ~2.5hr drive north of CBD
www.wintonraceway.com.au
The Rideday Companies
Champion Ridedays
www.championsridedays.com.au
Eastern Creek Ridedays
www.easterncreekridedays.com.au
Phillip Island Ridedays
www.phillipislandridedays.com.au
Rider Protection
You must have protective gear! If you don't have the right gear, you won't be let out on the track.
- Helmet
- Motorbike gloves
- Motorbike boots
- Full leathers. If its a two piece suit they must zip together.
I believe you can wear Dri-rider apparal, but they must zip together. Otherwise if you fall, your jacket can ride up your back or pants are going to find themselves at your ankles :blush:
Some ride day organisers have full gear hire (leather suit, glove, helmet, boots). But pre-book to make sure you have your size available.
Bike Mechanical Condition / Scrutineering
If your bike passes a roadworthy, you can get it on track.
GP bikes are not permitted during a Ride Day. The ruling is that the bike does not need to be registered, but must be registerable... meaning it has an ADR compliance plate fitted.
The basic items that can and do get checked during scrutineering are...
- It must be safe, nothing sharp, nothing loose.
- Brake pads must not be worn out (both front and rear).
- Throttle shouldn't stick and should snap back easily.
- Fork seals shouldn't be leaking.
- Chain must be lubed, correctly tensioned and have no tight spots.
- Tyres must not be worn to or below the wear indicators.
- Foot pegs aren't loose.
- Nothing leaking (radiator fluid, oil etc...)
Otherwise... its good to remove the mirrors (only get you in trouble they will). You can remove things like the indicators and headlights too if you want, otherwise just leave stock.
Rider Qualification...
From the circuit hire agreement...
1. Riders must be 18 years of age or above
2. Riders must be licensed for the motorcycle they are riding. That license can either be a road license or a race license. (there is no skill test by the track at all...that's why they insist on licensed riders...)
Its the place to learn... plenty of people to talk with about riding science. If you haven't been before, you'll most likely start in the slow group where you won't be intimidated by people hammering past you. I can understand newbie hesitation, and the whole, oh crap, am I going to bin it syndrome, but thats for the people that push harder than they can consistently ride. As a starting point, stick to straight line braking and give yourself a margin in case you run a little wide. You'll have heaps of fun, and it's safer than riding the twisties on a public road!
Ride Day Discounts...
Anyone from the JDM club can organise a rideday discount booking. Champions usually provide discounts for bookings of 6 or more riders. PI / EC ridedays requires you to buy a GPStar package (14 or 15 tickets) which the organiser then controls the bookings. If you have more riders than tickets, then they usually will sell you extra at the same rate, without buying another full package. If you don't sell them all, then use them for the next trackday
So What Happens at a Ride Day?...
This is just a general description of a typical ride day meet, along with typical times things happen. Go by the time schedule the organisers advise. Normally bikes get out on the track at 9am. You need to get there earlier though, aim for before 8am. First thing to do when you get there is to sign in at the registeration desk. They will give you a wrist band, which will also designate which group your riding in. Then take the bike straight to scruitneering, as if you need to change anything you want to know earlier than later. Some tracks you'll register twice and get two wrist bands. One for the track and one for the ride day organisers. Park your bike in the pitts areas, but don't block anyone or they may get grumpy haha...
To prepare your bike, its good to remove the mirrors (you really don't want to look in them), license plate (your photo will be taken) and indicators if you feel the need. If you want to go the extra, take the headlights off too and tape over the holes. But make sure you've done it before, otherwise you could be suck half way while your session is on the track! Those bolts can be thread locked.
Typically for the CBR250, you'll want around 30psi in both the front and back tyres (measured when cold). If its a hot day, 29 psi in both.
That is just a general rule, and best to ask the people at the track <disclaimered :shy:>. Until you've played with the pressures, its a good starting point.
Around 8:30am to 8:45am a riders briefing will be called, where they take you through how the day runs, the flags used and safety related info. After this, you can always approach them on your own for any other questions. First up is usually the slow group, so have the leathers on prior to the briefing if your in this group.
Give the body a bit of a stretch and don't get stressed. It's just like going for a ride, but in a faster and safer environment. Being the first time on the track, you'll probably be asking yourself "what am I doing here" and "do I really want to risk dropping my bike" yadda yadda. These are just natural instincts, which your expected to have. If you start tensing up, just tell yourself your at least going out for the first session to just safely cruise around, no one is expecting you to be hammering off the starting blocks... and you can always come into the pitts.
Your group will be called (but keep in mind the time, in case you don't hear the call), and you will rock up to the track marshal to wait. They might check your wrist bands, to make sure you've paid and are in the right group. You will be sent out 1 at a time, with ~50m between you and the next rider.
Mornings are usually a bit colder, so always allow time for your tyres to warm up. You do need to warm up both sides of your tyres too, so it might take an extra lap before "both" have some heat into them. GPR70's will heat up in 1 to 2 laps if your running a good pace. Arrowmax tyres never "heat up", they just get a little warm and take their time getting there, so take it easy
Don't worry about anyone else... nobody is actually watching. Other riders will just be keen to pass if they can. The first thing your going to notice is the adrenalin, oh the adrenalin hmm....:drool: Big open track, sound of the engine, all those thoughts you previously had a now gone.
If its your first time, stick to straight line braking. By that I mean ride so you only need to brake in a straight line and don't trail your brake going into a corner. Go into a corner slower than you need to, and practice getting on the throttle and accelerating out of the corner. With this approach, your far less likely to over cook the corner or lose the front.
If you've absolutely mis-judged your speed... in some cases you can run off the track. If your going to push yourself, pick the corners where you can do it safely to practise. If running off the track, pick the bike up vertical, wash off as much speed as you can, and run off into the grass. Brake lightly. The grass will give you a bumpy ride [nod] If you enter a gravel trap, its going to pull you up really really quickly :-/ as you sink into it, so expect it!
They will cover in detail what happens if you come off, but essentially you look back to make sure you don't need to dodge another rider :lol:, and then get safety off the track. They'll come pick you up.
The important thing is to recognise your limitations. If you have ridden fast before, don't expect to get on a track and go fast until closing time. You'll start losing some of your concentration and your body will get fatigued. If you go around a corner 'really fast' (according to yourself), thats great, but did you have a margin of track left over? Ride with a bit of margin, so its there if you need to use it. When you get more confident with subsequent track days, you'll start getting the hang of tightening your line. Until then, you might run a little wider later in the day.
When you come back to the pitts, you'll most likely be looking at your tyres. You'll probably favour one side than the other, but you will see have far the bike is leaning over by the wear. As you pick up the pace, the tyre start showing meltage and possibly balling. If it looks like it is tearing, then your not warming your tyres up before stressing them. As your tyres get higher temperatures, you'll probably start picking up loose rubber too. Don't expect to get to the edges on your first day, and its the rear tyre you will get to the edge first. The front usually has more edge than can be used.
During the day, you'll find a lot of riders happy to give tips or talk about riding a particular corner with a certain line etc... Best to talk with the organisers, as some riders are just posers :newspaper:
You normally get around 20mins per session with 5 to 6 sessions per day. There is usually 3 or 4 groups, ranging from fast through to slow. Depending on how full they are, you can swap groups during the day. 20mins doesn't sound like much, but a lot of people pike on the last session due to fatigue... (or should I say due to poor fitness [
]). If there have been a few accidents, then you might only get 4 sessions, but normally you get at least 5. If its a smaller group, they may reduce to 3 groups and extend it to 25min sessions.
If your riding a CBR250 and a fast rider, normally getting around 240km before hitting reserve, you will need to bring extra fuel. Particularly for the larger circuits. Larger capacity bikes... bring extra fuel :nod:
Everything usually wraps up at around 5pm. If you've ridden down, take a bit of a break or even take a 10 minute power nap. Someone will lend you a comfy seat in their car to doze off in. Don't forget to put a bit more air in the tyres before leaving, and try to keep your license. The grip on the road is also a lot less, and no doubt, the first intersection you get to your going to go too fast! So keep in mind the need to re-adjust back to reality hehe... If you've got a long ride home, stop off at a servo and have a can of V or Redbull to perk you up a little :headbang: That stuff does it for me :dance:
When you get home, wet a cloth and put it on the front of your bike to soften the bugs before trying to wipe them off... then post up your pictures and plan for the next ride day
CHECKLIST...
- Helmet
- Gloves
- Leathers
- Both boots!
- Back/Spine Protector
- Fuel (funnel if needed), Oil, Chain lube
- Tools, cable ties, duct tape, oldrags etc...
- Spare parts
- BIKE KEYS - seen that forgotten before!
- Jumper cables
- Front/Rear Stands
- Tyre Warmers
- Any Paperwork (Trackday Booking Ref, Rideday Registration Papers, Track Indemnity Forms, Permission etc...)
- Make sure anything that needs to be witness signed, is done.
- Drivers Licence
- Book trailer hire.
- If unsure on trailer electrics, test your car... most places will be fine to give you a cable and do a quick check to a trailer still chained up.
- Tiedowns and rags if needed.
- Water... very important.
- Snacks, but nothing too heavy that you'll verp it up under hard brakes :lol:
- Chair
- Adrenalin & Stick mandatory :headbang:
Expanding on the FAQ...
Comments would be appreciated, particularly if you have something to add to this FAQ/Guide.
