View Full Version : Rizla Track day!
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 06:35 PM
Just thought i'd let you guys know about the track day I did with Rizla Suzuki at Mallory a few weeks ago.
It was a full corparate event and all the Rizla boys were there.....JR,Shakey,Haydon,MacKenzie and some ex TT winner whose name I can't remember!
It was similar to a normal track day,three groups (I was in the inters) but you had the Rizla boys leading the groups.
I had JR leading my group and after the first session he came over for a chat.
I asked him about a few things and then asked if he would take me out for some 'one on one' tution which he agreed to........
Sufficent to say that after doing one session with JR my times improved by 2 seconds a lap straight away!!
After the session,JR came over and suggested that I move up to the advanced goup as he could see that the inters were holding me up.......Well chuffed!
The advanced group was being led by Niall McKensie who was very pleasant when JR intoduced me to him and said that I should fit into the group no probs.
Out with the fast boys,I improved my time by another second a lap.......!
All in all,it was a great day and at the end of It had improved my lap time by 6 seconds which was not bad as I had the whole Inters group beat in the first session!
With thanks to Mac who came along and took the pictures and video.
GB.
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 06:38 PM
100mph knee down at Gerrards!
Scott_W
03-11-06, 07:41 PM
Sounds like a good day out. I saw the Rizla event was advertised, but I couldn't justify the money for it which is a shame.
So what did JR tell you then that helped drop your times?
Sounds like it was a top day out...
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 07:56 PM
Was more like what I learned from following him Scott........He took a much tighter line around Gerrards than I'd been taking plus was running wider coming out of Devils Elbow than me.......
I did talk to him about gear choice around Gerrards......I was taking it in 3rd and felt that it was revving to high and that the slightest movement of the throttle would have me off!
We talked about taking it in 4th which meant not changing down into 3rd at the end of the start finish straight (just before the entry to Gerrards) so no engine braking!!
Took a bit of getting used too,braking then just throwing it in but by the end of the 3rd session,felt comfortable doing it and the lap times came down as a result! :)
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 07:59 PM
Sounds like it was a top day out...
Yeah it was,learned lots and JR is such a nice guy to talk to!
think the ex tt racer was probably trevor nation used to race the rotary nortons
think the ex tt racer was probably trevor nation used to race the rotary nortons
I remember seeing him race them! Stirring stuff at the time!
BB
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 09:28 PM
Aha,yes it was jj,thanks! :)
late 80s early 90s amazingly fast and maybe the best sounding bike ever.. plus a local lad
I remember seeing him race them! Stirring stuff at the time!
BB[/quote]
Yes, the crowd reaction was absolutly amazing whenever the boys on the Norton's got in front!
BB
same reaction in every country they raced in just a shame the teams money run out
Perhaps you'll recognise this then.....
http://h1.ripway.com/b1rd/tnation.jpg
anyway....
Nice one GB, why don't you start racing proper then? Thats not a dig before anyone jumps on it, genuine question.
Sounds like a fantastic day. JR is indeed an extreamly approachable guy. Met him in the summer after Desmojen organised a visit to our work place.
Nice pics too
GixerBoy
03-11-06, 11:12 PM
Mate,i'd love too and i know I could do well but its all about the dosh.......About 15K a year of it!! :(
19 is the bike steve hislop won the 92 tt on 5 is the 1990 tt superbike winning machine both bikes are at birmingham..... i think
Correct jj, both are in the Motorcycle museum, with a bunch more from the team.
Isn't money a bitch. I know what you mean GB. Stops too many people doing good things.
desmojen
04-11-06, 09:48 AM
Mate,i'd love too and i know I could do well but its all about the dosh.......About 15K a year of it!! :(
Not sure where you've got that from mate??
You can race EMRA roadstocks on your normal road machine for very very little, around £800 in entries, then tyres, which have to be road legal, are up to you.
I expect you could do a season for a couple of thou at worst. As long as you don't fall off that is.
The pace you were on at that trackday would see you running around mid pack ish, but I expect you'd pick it up a bit being out there with the real lunatics!
There are other cheap racing options out there too, DesmoDue, CB500's and Hornet cup spring to mind.
Since you are too much of a pussy to ride my crosser though........... ;D
Jen.
But to what avail....
Anyone over the age of 20 will never go anywhere from racing apart from gain a couple of shiny things maybe to stick on the mantle piece...
If you spend time on track cus you love riding you will get far more track time on track days than racing.
looks like a cool day :D in the advanced group...wouldn't expect anything less hehe
But to what avail....
Anyone over the age of 20 will never go anywhere from racing apart from gain a couple of shiny things maybe to stick on the mantle piece...
If you spend time on track cus you love riding you will get far more track time on track days than racing.
call me Mr.Obvious Gav..............but maybe people enjoy racing as much as simply riding on the track.
so what if people aren't going to get anywhere with it, if they enjoy doing something then whats wrong with that? i'm not going to be the next alan shearer (although hair styles are similar ::) ), but that doesn't put me off playing football.
if everyone didn't bother playing sports or doing other hobbies just because it was obvious they weren't going to be world champions, then it would be a pretty boring world.
desmojen
04-11-06, 04:55 PM
There is another aspect too.
Regardless of the amount of track time involved, racing is to track daying what track daying is to road biking.
There really is no contest.
Jen.
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 05:08 PM
Pussy......Huh,You have no respec for your betters Jen!! (You got your own crosser then,may be tempted if you have!)
The 15k was just what i'd read in a recent article in Superbike.....Seems like that was a conservative amount according to the people interviewed!
Too be honest,i Haven't got any spare cash to go racing or i'd already be doing it! :'(
As for the racing/track day analogy,totally agree mate!
and just think mate..........this trackday would have never have happened without a tip off from some eagle-eyed geordie type bloke!!
re: 15k...........what race series was that for?
But to what avail....
Anyone over the age of 20 will never go anywhere from racing apart from gain a couple of shiny things maybe to stick on the mantle piece...
If you spend time on track cus you love riding you will get far more track time on track days than racing.
call me Mr.Obvious Gav..............but maybe people enjoy racing as much as simply riding on the track.
so what if people aren't going to get anywhere with it, if they enjoy doing something then whats wrong with that? i'm not going to be the next alan shearer (although hair styles are similar ::) ), but that doesn't put me off playing football.
if everyone didn't bother playing sports or doing other hobbies just because it was obvious they weren't going to be world champions, then it would be a pretty boring world.
Does playing football cost you about 5k a year, or risk gettin shunted big style for position???
The point i was trying to make is if its for love of riding a bike on track then more track time, in a safer enviroment can be had by track daying...
If its for the Addrenalin rush from sitting on a start line with 20 other bikes heading for the same bit of tarmac at the same time then thats cool too.
But 5k + pushing to the linit for position + higher chance of having a off which could result in time off work = sometimes its better to just track day.
If it was a simple eqasion then we would all be racing every weekend dont ya think?
ok mate, i see what you are getting at. point taken. but at the end of the day, if we all had the money to be racing well i'm damn sure most of us would be doing exactly that every weekend..........if we wanted to.
i would love to do racing. bikes, karts, rallying.......or anything to do with speed and petrol fumes.
if i had the money i would, but i don't, so i can't.
but like anything life there is a risk. and like everyone else in the world they have a choice whether to take that risk or not.
agreed football wouldn't have the same severity of injuries as motorbike racing 'potentially has', but i still get hurt, kicked about the pitch by some fat, half pissed up neanderthal defender. i've seen people get knocked out, fractured skulls, broken legs etc etc playing football. who would have thought that of such a slow speed game? point being is............its a choice!
anyway...........i was initially replying to your earlier post before your second point came into play ;)............but i'll say this........ if i got to the stage where i could afford to go racing and managed to win a couple of cheap shiney things to put on my mantelpiece then i would be well happy.
pm Foo for more details 8-)
rex_the_sprocket
04-11-06, 07:10 PM
Hopefully Foo will see this thread and give some proper insight into racing.........................trackdays are great fun but are not really that competitive.
If I had the cash, and Mrs Sprocket let me, then I would be racing without a shadow of doubt................it wouldn't be about winning the tin cup but seeing just what I was truly capable of when it comes to riding a bike and beating every fecker out there that I could. I will not go to that limit on a track day cos I don't want to bin my road bike.
ok mate, i see what you are getting at. point taken. but at the end of the day, if we all had the money to be racing well i'm damn sure most of us would be doing exactly that every weekend..........if we wanted to.
i would love to do racing. bikes, karts, rallying.......or anything to do with speed and petrol fumes.
if i had the money i would, but i don't, so i can't.
but like anything life there is a risk. and like everyone else in the world they have a choice whether to take that risk or not.
agreed football wouldn't have the same severity of injuries as motorbike racing 'potentially has', but i still get hurt, kicked about the pitch by some fat, half pissed up neanderthal defender. i've seen people get knocked out, fractured skulls, broken legs etc etc playing football. who would have thought that of such a slow speed game? point being is............its a choice!
anyway...........i was initially replying to your earlier post before your second point came into play ;)............but i'll say this........ if i got to the stage where i could afford to go racing and managed to win a couple of cheap shiney things to put on my mantelpiece then i would be well happy.
pm Foo for more details 8-)
Thats ok fella, i dont think the 1st reply very well at all, so my bad!!!!
If it came to it and we all had the cash we would all be raceing....but in the real world its alot of money and risk that can be avoided really.
Having said that i would love to have a go, just to say yeah iv done that...
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 07:36 PM
Ditto Rex!
Plus,I think I would miss riding on the road if I turned mine in a full time race bike......Wouldn't know untill I tried I spose'!
Dunno what race series it was mate and the mag has hit the bin now!
The article was all about club racing tho',nothing fancy.......Some guy had spent 47k on racing for the year!!
:o
Thats the unfotunate thing with most of the club level racing now, its the guys with money that get good results, not talent...
Have you been to some of the North wilts and Glos meetings, some of the guys there have fully sponcered rides and pit crews and motor homes.....how can Joe average compete with that......erm....no
Serious money can be spent for the top guys, new bike each season, new tyrez for each meeting, and bike development through the season.... 15k could very easily come and go...
i haven't been to any of the NG road racing series meets, but i'm good friends with a bloke who has been racing there for sometime.
he's raced 250's, 400's and 600's. reckons the 250's and the 400's are the best series to go for. more competitive........less cost. the 600 series however is where all the money is thrown at. too much money in fact!! ten kate bling here and there.
but racing is racing. i would be more than happy to be able afford 250's or 400's.
competitive spirit is the same for any racing i imagine. even on those poxy indoor kart tracks or the old bmx'ing days or anything really. if you have that competitive edge, you do whatever you can for get that winning high
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 09:37 PM
To be honest,I don't think that I could step down to a 600,let alone a 400......Thou power is the only way for this GixerBoy! :o :D
Having fun on a bike is not all about cc's!! :-*
BB
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 09:48 PM
You won't be saying that when you get round to twisting the throttle on the FZ all the way round to the stop BB!! :o ;D :D
OK here's my input, but please bear in mind, it's my opinion and like arseholes, everyone's got one :D
Yes racing's expensive, this year was my first year in racing and I reckon it's cost me around the 10k mark. That said i could sell everything I've bought and regain around half of that.
The race entry fee's are around the same price as a track day but for a lot less track time. Around 4 races per weekend and there's around 8 laps per race and 10 minutes practice.
I've done all 9 meets with Derby Phoenix which equates to 36 races (give or take a few) but raced at tracks such as Donny, Snetterton, Mallory, Cadwell, Croft and Oulton.
Racing is a whole different ball game to track days. I love my track day's but after racing it seems such a chilled day.
The adrenilin rush is like no other I've experienced before, the high's of doing well are fantastic but as a result a bad day can be terrible and at worst life threatening.
I've come away with improving my riding by a huge amount, memories that most will never have and 2 plastic trophies - i wouldn't have done it any other way.
Track dayers are always digging at me at track day's and i've now found myself a target and often overheard people saying 'she ain't all that and she races' 'my lap times were faster than her and she races' what you have to remember is that i'm only playing on a track day. On race day i have a very different head on. Every lap counts, no one gives a **** what excuse you have for having a bad race, and i'm taking my end result over all the laps i've done and not just my best one lap of the entire day.
As someone once said 'when the flag drops the bull**** stops' :D
I started racing because i wanted to see how i stacked up against people in a competitive environment.
I race in 400's which i feel is one of the most competitive classes mainly because there's only so many bhp you can squeeze out of the machine. I really don't think in club racing that money gives you good results. I've seen people win races on standard machines. DP have an open class where any level of rider is against any size of machine and at Donny we had a 250 win the race!!!
I've written a piece about my year which I'll post in here in a minute so you can get an idea of what it's been like. Hope you enjoy reading it.
I'm not saying you can't have fun on big bikes, just that you can have a lot of fun on smaller bikes too. :)
BB
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 10:03 PM
l will have to take your word for that BB! :)
GixerBoy
04-11-06, 10:04 PM
Thanks for that Foo! :)
I'm not saying you can't have fun on big bikes, just that you can have a lot of fun on smaller bikes too. :)
BB
i agree BB, i used to ride a 750 on the track last year and i actually think my 400 is more fun. I've done a trackday at donny this year, was in the fast group and the only time people ever came past me was on the straights :D i can deal with that and i did chuckle slightly passing them on the corners ;D
Thanks for that Foo! :)
ok so i've had a couple of glasses of wine and now i'm prattling on ::) you aint seen my other thread yet lol
http://www.wiltshirebikers.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1162677795/0#0
I just pinched this off another site, but I had read it in the M/C press anyway...
Quote
Did You Know…………..
That ‘Rocket’ Ron Haslam recently lapped the Donnington Park GP circuit in 2m 30.1s on a standard Honda CBR125R,just over 3 secs slower than one of his race school CBR600RRs. Who needs 1000cc’s? Unquote
BB
desmojen
05-11-06, 10:43 AM
Pussy......Huh,You have no respec for your betters Jen!! (You got your own crosser then,may be tempted if you have!)
The 15k was just what i'd read in a recent article in Superbike.....Seems like that was a conservative amount according to the people interviewed!
Too be honest,i Haven't got any spare cash to go racing or i'd already be doing it! :'(
As for the racing/track day analogy,totally agree mate!
Glad you agree with something I say dude ;D And you're right, I do struggle with respect ;D
You mustn't automatically assume that you are better than me just because you can beat me on the road though sweety, after all, you are a racing wannabe and I am not ;)
I did half a season on my Ducati before cash stopped play, with a best postion of 11th and I came 17th in the championship out of 30 odd.
I could have done better on a 400 simply because there are more novices to play with in that class (there were only 3 or 4 in my class at the time), but I used the bike I already had rather than spending out getting another.
That is the thing, racing only needs to cost what you want it to, there's no need to spend thousands, especially in a novice season.
You already have tyre warmers, and probably a genny, all you really need on top of that is a van (to sleep in ) The rest of it is just icing on the cake.
Nothing I have ever done since (apart from maybe hanging off the ramp of a Hercules in flight or wingwalking) has had the same buzz as waiting on that grid had! :o
And yes, I will have my own crosser soon so being a pussy will not be an option :D
Jen.
GixerBoy
05-11-06, 05:16 PM
Ooh,you are sooooo gonna get it when we get to do a track day together........Respect won't be the half of it baby!! :o
Oh,and give me a shout when you get your 'crosser'.......Should be a laugh...For you! :-[ :o ;)
GixerBoy
05-11-06, 05:18 PM
[quote author=BB link=1162578956/30#39 date=1162722911]I just pinched this off another site, but I had read it in the M/C press anyway...
Quote
Did You Know…………..
That ‘Rocket’ Ron Haslam recently lapped the Donnington Park GP circuit in 2m 30.1s on a standard Honda CBR125R,just over 3 secs slower than one of his race school CBR600RRs. Who needs 1000cc’s? Unquote
I'll tell you who,us mere mortals thats who!!
:P :D ;)
Yes yes we all know in the real world a 600 will do and offer everything we can handle, but there really is no comprimise for CC's....
Yes yes we all know in the real world a 600 will do and offer everything we can handle, but there really is no comprimise for CC's....
Apart from the skill of the idiot in the saddle!! ;D ;D
BB
desmojen
05-11-06, 10:31 PM
Ooh,you are sooooo gonna get it when we get to do a track day together........Respect won't be the half of it baby!! :o
Oh,and give me a shout when you get your 'crosser'.......Should be a laugh...For you! :-[ :o ;)
That's ok, I've got big shoulders. I'm well past the point where I have anything to prove, to anyone, other than myself. It's Lee you need to beat, not me 8-)
I have a theory ref. engine size too, but I'm too tired to bore you all with it just now.
Nighty night :)
Jen.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.