Trackday Addict (cont)

A Year In The Life Of A Trackday Addict (cont)
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3.2 Donington Park (GP)

Donington Park, opened in 1931, is one of Britain's most popular racing circuits and home of many exciting and prestigious events, including the British Motorcycle Grand Prix, The British Touring Car Championships and World Superbikes. Grand Prix Circuit - 2.50 miles
National Circuit 1.96 miles

Donington Park
Castle Donington
Derby
DE74 2RP

www.donington-park.co.uk
Also home of the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition, the largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars in the world.

I've been here seven times before - all with the Ron Haslam Race School. Initially on a CBR600, then on Fireblades. 1:1 tuition with a bike datalogger. Fastest lap 1'56.06".

Every time I go out (at any trackday), I draw up a strategy for the circuit. This shows my guesstimate of speed at each corner and straight and allows me to predict what gearing would be most suitable. Then, immediately after the event, I draw up a similar log of the tactics I've used during the day, so that I have a head start next time I'm there. My Donington strategy is the most refined, as I have a better idea of my speeds from the datalogger used by the Haslam school (on a Fireblade). My lap times for the Aprilia are the same as those of my best Blade outing, so I'll guess my corner speeds are slightly higher and my speed down the straights a bit lower. 'Fraid the tactics diagram does not reproduce very well, but you can make out the up-changes (green) and the down-changes (red).

Donnington Tactics

I arrived here this year with new dry and rain tyres, so I was a bit anxious to get them scrubbed in before getting down to it. A heavy downpour after sign-on meant that we had to put the rains on first, but I was less than confident at the prospect of scrubbing them in in the wet. All went well, and after 3 or 4 laps, I was beginning to get the feel of them and get a good degree of lean. For the next session, the track started drying, and I could feel them moving under power quite a lot. Time to scrub the dry tyres in! The drys are Metzeler Racetec - soft front and medium rear. Same make as the Pirelli Diablo SuperCorsa, but cheaper. Excellent. I've not managed to slide them all year, even under the hardest provocation. (This is not necessarily good, as the skill of going fast is knowing where the limits are and then riding close to them.)


Jolly start to the day!	Rain tyres fitted

By the middle of the day, I was down to my PB of 1'56" set on the Blade, which I was mighty impressed with - considering the way I used to fling the Blade around.


Early session rain tyres	Rain tyres dry line	Fitted dry tyres testing brakes	Same speed lean in/out	Hairpin in company	Hairpin

I find the fourth of these (the one with the Kwak rider leaning outwards) to be the most amazing! We were travelling with the same corner speed, but he's nearly on the limit, whereas I'd lots in reserve...

3.3 Oulton Park

Widely acknowledged as the most picturesque race circuit in the country, voted the best UK circuit by British Superbike fans in 2007, Oulton Park features rapidly changing gradients and blind crests, and presents a supreme challenge to riders and drivers.

International Circuit - Length: 2.692 miles (4.3072 km)
Island Circuit - Length: 2.260 miles (3.616 km)
Fosters Circuit - Length: 1.660 miles (2.656 km)

Oulton Park Circuit
Little Budworth,
Tarporley,
Cheshire CW6 9BW
Tel: +44 (0)1829 760301
http://oultonpark.co.uk

This, my first visit to Oulton, was in part homage to my late father, who used to take me there as a nipper. I must admit to becoming quite emotional at the thought of how proud (envious?) he would have been. (When things get a bit exciting on track, I think how my pa would have scolded me to get my act back together and it usually sobers me up a treat.)

The full ('International') circuit has a very noticeable rise and fall. I soon found Nibelung getting his front wheel in the air at several points in the lap: Hill Top, Clay Hill, Druids exit and Deer Leap. I don't know about you, but I much prefer to keep both wheels on the deck, and had to temper the throttle or short shift to keep things under control, and altered my line in a couple of places to get the bike more upright.

Despite the airborne tendency, I found Oulton a delight to ride - possibly one of the best tracks I've been on. It's one of the few circuits I've been to where there are as many left-handers as right-handers. Although the straights aren't as long as other circuits, they're long enough to get some good drive down them. They do demand that your gearing's right - which I'm afraid mine wasn't. I was geared too high, which meant that I was either coming out of corners too slowly in too high a gear, or taking the corner in a low gear and having to change when leant over - not something I find at all easy. The upshot was that I stayed in third for: The Avenue, Hill Top and Bridge, and only got into fourth for Start, Lakeside and Clay Hill. A lower gear would have given me a better run all round. The only place I felt I didn't get the line right was Druids. I perpetually came into the first apex wide before hitting the second apex correctly. I'm sure there's a lot more speed to be gained through here once I get it sorted.


Lodge	Clay Hill	Knickerbrook	Clay Hill	Knickerbrook	Clay Hill

I took the opportunity to hire a couple of videocams; one pointing forward (apparentlytrack regs forbid them to be be pointing through the screen and capturing the clocks) and one of a mug-shot (frame in frame). I find the 'footage' fascinating, and frequently relive my laps there. Strange, but I keep goading myself to go quicker. In retrospect, I seem ever so pedestrian. Here's a short extract (2 laps, ca. 4 mins) of me 'sparring' with a Ducati 1098-S. Enjoy.


Camera mounts		Example Video see below

BRG Oulton Park Race Circuit Motorcycle Trackday Video

Yes I do know about the missed gear!

UK Car and Bike Race Circuits

3.4 Costs

I'm fed up with sites that won't lay it on the line about costs, so let's have a quick review of the costs I incurred this year for a trackday at each circuit. I'm not saying I'm particularly proud of shelling out all this dosh for a hobby, but this is the plain fact of the matter!

Item	Castle Combe 1 Session	Castle Combe 2 Sessions	Donington	Oulton	Notes
Track Fee	£126.00	£251.00	£159.00	£159.00
Track miles	88	176	123	113
Fuel lit (approx)	15	30	22	20
Track fuel	£18.00	£36.00	£26.40	£24.00	95 RON
Track insurance	£137.60	£137.60	£137.60	£137.60
Track tyres	£70.50	£70.50	£70.50	£70.50	4 meetings/pair
Transport fuel	£7.91	£7.91	£36.92	£44.19	40mpg, £1.20/lit
Accommodation	£0.00	£0.00	£75.00	£180.00	2 people
Meals	£0.00	£0.00	£40.00	£80.00	2 people
Track food & drink	£20.00	£20.00	£20.00	£20.00	2 people
Leave from work	1 day (min)	1 day (min)	1.5 days (min)	2 days (min)
Total	£383.30	£529.60	£568.69	£718.63

I've never looked at the costs in the cold light of day before. Quite sobering! Just as well I've given up on stimulants.

I would have to admit, though, that Mrs BRG and I are not ones for skimping on the accommodation and victuals, and we like to afford a bit of comfort.

4 - Miscellaneous observations

4.1 Brake and throttle

I seems that a lot of people have a problem using the throttle and the front brake at the same time (i.e. when changing down during braking). It's not something I ever think about, as I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. The strange thing is that I do it differently to everyone else I know. Whereas most riders hold the twist-grip with thumb, third and fourth and brake with index and middle, I hold the grip with thumb and index and brake with middle, third and fourth. (I blame my parents!)

What I've not yet tried, and plan to have a go at next season, is using the OEM slipper clutch. The Aprilia has what they market as a 'Power Pneumatic Clutch' (PPC), which is supposed to slightly disengage when there's a vacuum in the throttle bodies, i.e. it disengages the clutch when you shut the throttle. If this is to be believed, then it should be sufficient to hold the throttle closed (and simultaneously braking) and declutch whilst changing down through the gears. Let's just say that the theory sounds convincing, but the jury's out pending some real-world experience.

4.2 Hanging off

There are two schools of thought regarding hanging off. One says that the more you lean your body, the less you need to lean the bike. The other view is that if you lean the bike to its maximum, hanging off will give you extra speed round the corner and I've proved this for myself. When I hang off by 10 degrees (measured), it gives me a 9% increase in cornering speed. Now that's significant!

If you've any doubts about this, have a look at the fourth track picture in the Donington set (Section 3.2) - me and the Kwak.

As for scraping the knees, at 1.88m tall, I find it hard not to. Frankly, it's ceased to be an issue to me; it's more a case of how much life I can get out of my knee sliders. My intention is to skim the track with my knees, as this gives me a good feel of where I am. The reality is that I'm a bit heavier than that, and scrape them quite a bit.

It's instructive to note that being heeled over at the maximum lean is not always the quickest way to corner. One of my earlier instructors at Haslam, Paul Young, got me into the habit of taking a late apex and 'squaring' the exit to a corner to allow me to put more power on earlier. That was with a 'Blade, and so far, I've not had enough power to need to do that with the Aprilia. But there're are a few changes in the pipe-line, which may make such a strategy necessary in 2009!

4.3 Back brake

All of my track tutors taught me not to bother with the back brake. Firstly, it consumes a lot of attention (cf. Keith Code's $5 bill); secondly to get it right, as you increase pressure on the front brake so you should be releasing pressure on the back - to the point where you let the brake off completely when the rear wheel comes off the ground.

Of course, this assumes you're not trying to back it into the corner - way beyond my skill/risk level.

4.4 Trailing brakes into AX

As my track-craft increased, I was taught to trail the front brake into the apex of a curve. It takes a bit of doing to get confidence, but it does seem to enable you to go faster round the corners. Not a strategy I would recommend for the wet though!

4.5 Tyres & pressures

I started the year with the OEM Pirelli Dragon SuperCorsa Pro and pair of Pirelli Diablo Rain. On my first outing, I managed to lock the front SuperCorsa on a few occasions - particularly coming into the braking zone for Avon Rise at Castle Combe. During my second outing, again at CC, this proved again to be the case and I lost the front whilst maximum braking at the turning point to Avon Rise.

After this, I decided to switch to something a degree more sticky, and James Holland of JHS Racing, Keynsham recommended the Metzeler Racetec K1 (soft-front) & K2 (medium - rear) that he uses on his Triumph Daytona race bikes. These have been excellent, though to qualify that statement, I've not yet managed to get any slide out of them yet, so they're still under observation.

The Metzelers are the same tyre as the Pirelli Diablo SuperCorsa (Metzeler and Pirelli are the same company) - the Metzelers are just a few bob cheaper.

I use the Pirelli recommended tyre pressures (cold) of:

Tyre	Front [bar]	Rear [bar]
Racetec:	2.1	1.8-1.9
Rain:	2.2-2.4	2.0

The manufacturers quote a hot pressure as a more reliable measure, but I haven't got the facilities to do this soon enough after being out on track.

4.6 Lap times - digital photography

Mrs BRG likes to take photos of me going round the track. (She says this diverts her attention from worrying about me!) In days of old, she'd reel off two or three films per venue (with the bulk of one meeting being obliterated courtesy of London Camera Exchange).

I bought her a digital camera a couple of years ago (Canon EOS-350D), and now, with the advent of huge memory cards, she manages to reel off three or four hundred pikkies per meeting. Not only are the pics excellent, but she takes continuous frames as I pass through a corner (1 pic/s or 3 pics/s). These are fantastic for understanding your line. Here's a series of 9 frames at one per second (Quarry at Castle Combe):

She's selected a fairly light-weight Tamron 28-300mm zoom, which gives her the best compromise between closeness and ease of use (so she doesn't have to carry a tri- or mono-pod around with her). Not particularly fast at f:6.3@300mm, but fast enough on a fine day. The main bug-bear is getting a descent vantage point. Castle Combe is particularly photographer-friendly, though one's still quite a distance from the action. Oulton is 'medium' and Donington, with its wall-to-wall safety fencing, the worst. In fact, at Donington, there's only really the Melbourne Hairpin where you can shoot from. Mrs BRG once tried to get access to McLeans, but it was all closed off. She has a particular dislike for Pembrey, but that may be because it was the day after a deluge and she got a shoe-full of water early in the day (or maybe it was a result of the culinary sabotage practised in the canteen!)

The other benefit to a digital camera is that it time-stamps each photo to a resolution of one second. This gives me a good chance of being able to calculate my lap time to an accuracy of plus or minus one second. Good and bad! It shows when I'm improving (and will ultimately show when I'm past it), but also highlights the gulf between me and the racers. If you consider I'm nearly 30s slower than Rossi round Donington - that's about a third of his lap!

4.7 Gearing

There's a lot of mis-information on the subject of gearing.

Just a word to the wise: gearing does not alter the power or torque produced by the engine. Nor does it (magically) improve the bike's maximum acceleration. Broadly speaking, maximum acceleration is achieved by changing gear at maximum power in each gear. Acceleration in a single gear may be altered by changing the gearing, but why would you not want to be accelerating at maximum on a trackday? The cadence chart on the left shows the tractive effort in each of the gears with standard gearing. The black line shows the (theoretical) tractive effort at maximum power. (This is a bigger topic than can be addressed here...)

What gearing will do for you is to alter the revs that you use for a particular corner. It also alters the top speed potential of the bike, but given that the most the bike will run to is about 145 (Castle Combe and Donington), gearing for top speed alone (standard = 169 mph) is a waste of time.

My bike has a very pronounced power dip at 6.5k (due, I believe, to noise regulations). Therefore, it's imperative to change the gearing to ensure I'm cornering at 7k+. Therefore, I can change rear sprockets to achieve a higher or lower range (changing the front sprocket is too fiddly). I've had some success and some failure in my choices this year.

Castle Combe - I started with high gearing (15/40), changed to low (15/42) for the second meeting - which left me revving too high or too low in the corners, so changed back to high gearing for the final meeting, which was much better.

Donington was hard to judge because of the changes in weather. I started with low gearing and ran this for the day. Not a bad choice, but I think I might experiment with high gearing next time.

Oulton - I ran high gearing, which was a definite mistake. The corners were okay, but I was exiting onto the straights with too few revs and consequently didn't get onto the power early enough and didn't get the opportunity to change up.

4.8 Trackday lines vs. race lines

Trackdays have an etiquette quite different from races. For a start, the organisers' insurance doesn't cover them if you get competitive - which is why they're very keen to stop you racing! in addition, they have rules for how you may overtake.

There are two basic moves for passing other riders:

Dive up the inside during braking.
Turn in later and wider and come up the inside after apex.

Diving up the inside is intended to screw up the line of the person being undertaken. This is perfectly legitimate for racers who expect this kind of move all the time. Less so for a trackday punter who may not have enough skill/experience to be able to handle the line change and consequent lack of road. Basically it puts the other rider at risk, so it's banned.

An altogether more civilised approach is to brake to a wider and later turning point, then to exit at a shallower angle with more speed, enabling you to out-drag the other rider out of the bend.

5 - The future

There's no such thing as enough. I want more!

Terrible thing this addiction! I want more performance, but there are several potential routes to this (and a limited pot of dosh):

More cubes - an easy road to more power. There are two hikes available for the Rotax RSV engine. One is to 1060 (100mm pistons), and the other is to 1103 (102mm). So why go for half measures? Indications are that a 10% hike in maximum power is on the cards and a hefty wedge of torque through the mid range (something to flatten the dip at 6k - put there to to overcome noise regulations).

The value of an overbore is increased by having the long-stroke motor, which gives a greater capacity increase per piston size increase than would a short-stroke motor (cf. section 2.4).

Tune the engine - not only does this present a poorer cost/gain ratio than an overbore, but inevitably increases the stress on more components reducing the longevity of the engine. Having said that there are some relatively simple gains to be had: the air flow can be smoothed to get more air into the engine to good effect.
Another favoured modification is to remap the ECU to overcome the substantial power-drop engineered in to reduce the power at the EC noise point of 6-6.5k. There is an alternative map available in the stock ECU, which will cover the standard engine with a race exhaust, but as I need to retain the standard silencers to get through CC scrutineering, the only alternative would appear to be a Dynojet Power Commander.
Lose weight. At 103kg I'm a tad heavier than Casey Stoner (at 56kg). I calculate that shedding 10kg would gain me 0.2s on a 60-120mph sprint, whereas the engine mods (keeping my current weight) would gain me 0.5s; so I lack the dedication!

Thus far the Prilly has the edge over most 600s running in the intermediate group. My expectation is that increasing the size to 1103 should bring me in line with the back end of the 1000cc 'inline-4' brigade. Bring it on!

6 - Relevance to IAM

So, an article on an IAM site wouldn't be worth its salt without a cautionary tale, now would it? My views are as follows:

Riding a dedicated track bike on the track bears little resemblance to riding a road bike on the road. Okay, some of the techniques are the same as those used on the road, but, for example, I don't see the relevance of:
- maximum braking (front only). I see this as hugely different from emergency braking on the road, since it is a premeditated action - rather than a reaction.
- trailing the front brake into apex.
- knee dragging.
- maximum cornering.
to road riding. IMHO all of the above should be avoided on the road if at all possible.
Maximum - really maximum - acceleration (I couldn't do this legally on the Prilly in any gear other than first). If you do this on the road, then you take so many risks on board that being accused of having a death-wish is a bit of an understatement. Your life will be short and the chance of ending someone else's life in the process of your demise will rise from possible to probable. R.I.P.
The lines used round bends on track don't give enough visibility when used on the road. On the track, you've generally got very good visibility through a bend (and a marshal to warn you of any constraints on this). In a similar category to maximum acceleration, using track lines on the road will lead you to take risks normally associated with the partially or fully brain-dead.

IMHO, track riding is so intense that anything you do on the road is small beer by comparison! Since I've been riding on track, I no longer feel the need to play with speed on the road, and am quite happy to pootle along at legal speeds. My awareness of the machine is increased, and I'm much better practised in what to do in the event of th unexpected.

Bugger that - riding on track is FUN.

20Jan2009

P.S. Once I have my new calendar booked, I'll post it on the CVAM Forum. If any of you would like to join me at any of these meetings, please send me a PM (->BRG) and let me know you're coming. The more the merrier...

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