My first track day
14-11-09 by db Contributor
http://www.superbikeschool.com.au/
Motorcycling is a major passion of mine. It took me a long time to convince my parents that I’d be alright on a bike and ever since setting my sights on a learner legal Honda CBR 250 RR I’ve been captivated by just how much fun riding a bike can be. I’ve met lots of fellow riders along the way and ride regularly with them up and down some of the great bike routes of NSW. For me the best aspects of riding a motorbike are the community and the friends I’ve made as well as the satisfying feeling I get from a day of carving up snakelike roads. Whoever came up with the slogan of “Life’s pretty straight without Twisties” definitely rode a bike.
After 3 years of city riding and jumping from the trusty 250cc to a 1000cc 2005 Yamaha R1 I decided it was time to enter a new chapter and find out for myself just what the fuss is about riding on a racetrack. I knew it would be a lot of fun, but I wasn’t prepared for just how much fun I was going to have.
I enlisted another trackday virgin to keep me company and we booked our spots in the slowpoke group online. As the day arrived we woke up early and rode down to Eastern Creek Raceway where we were met with a line of bikes and trailers with bikes waiting to get in. Seeing all the bikes in raceglass was an early reminder that I better not stack it on the track as my bike was in road trim. After checking in and suiting up with rented gear from Eastern Creek it was time to head into the pits for a quick talk from the day organisers. They explained the flags and that there was a course available for first timers with a Superbike School instructor which would help us out. First timers would be out on the track first and would follow the Superbike School instructor for a lap around the track which would help teach us the line to take.
“…I had a quick micro-second to peak at the dash and saw that I was already doing in excess of 230km/h.”
The anticipation of riding on the track was building up to a crescendo and the sounds of the bikes in the pit warming up had started to make my nerves tingle with excitement. I borrowed a tool to remove my mirrors from a fellow in the garage who promptly reminded me that his tool was “a boomerang” and better come back to him. I was ready to go. The announcement was made for us newbies to line up and get ready to follow the Superbike School instructor for the first lap around the track.
One by one we were let out. Although the pace was brisk I felt familiar with the speed we were traveling while following the instructor. I knew that as soon as he peeled off after the first lap we would be on our own and we would be able to pursue the dream of anyone with a need for speed – the ability to go as fast as we wanted without fear of persecution from the law. However although there was not a single highway patrol car in sight I would learn very quickly that even the racetrack has a level of respect that a rider must adhere to and how important it is to ride to my limits.
Tags: Eastern Creek, Jeremy Kinstlinger, R1, Superbike School, track day
