27th June 2001 - Snetterton

After the disappointment of doing the various race schools at Rockingham only to find that the race was canceled due to problems preparing the circuit in time it was quickly time for another Motorcycle Folly track day. Headed off to Norfolk the night before for a bit of a social gathering and the odd drink before getting to the circuit at some unearthly hour the following day.

Just my luck to be woken up several times during the night by driving rain and thunder so it was some relief to find that although the circuit was very wet the sky was starting to clear. The first session out was, er, interesting to say the least. Half of the circuit was just damp whilst the latter half had large puddles of standing water right on the racing line. Had a bit of a slide coming out of the Bomb Hole but managed to get back in the seat and carry on.

The first session was curtailed by red flags in both the Advanced and Intermediate groups as people dived off in to the scenery due to the difficult conditions. By the time the second session came round a vague dry line was starting to appear although some parts of the circuit still looked fairly treacherous. Eventually worked out that the dark patches on some corners weren't due to the damp but were merely large amounts of rubber that had been laid down by the cars racing there the previous weekend ;-)

Gradually picked up the pace but was still getting my lines all wrong around a few of the corners. Had a fantastic session before lunch with a friend on a 2001 model GSXR750 track bike. Over the past couple of years my pace has gradually got closer to his and we spent a great deal of time dicing with each other around the circuit. It's amazing the power of these things compared to my little 600 - It only had an end can and a Power Commander, used to remap the fuel injection to cope with the exhaust. It would pull away on every straight and I would get back with it on every sweeping corner.

Pointed out a few places where the GSXR750 was slower than me which made the session after lunch even more difficult as he started chucking it about even harder. Could just about keep up but I really need to work on my speeds through the slower corners as this is where the bigger bike has the advantage of the at least and extra 25 bhp. managed to get my times down in to the 1:22s bracket on occasions which equals my best race times the last time I was here. Couldn't do them as consistently as I managed before and spent most of the time in the 1:24s area.

Went out with another friend in the intermediate session to show him some lines and pootled around in the 1:30s for most of it before getting bored at the end and chucking in a couple of 1:22s for good measure. Tagged on to the back of Tim Jones who was doing a bit of instructing and he picked up the pace for me so we could have some fun. Arranged to go out with him in the next Advanced session as I just couldn't bring myself to enter some of the corners as fast as I know the bike is capable of.

Had a great blast with Tim flying past me on the entrance, and exit on some occasions, to the Esses and on the way in to Coram Curve. Scared myself silly going in to Riches too hot but still managed to get round as it is quite a wide corner. Even had time to wave mid corner at the two bikes I had just gone underneath rather rapidly to apologise. I find that when I am nervous I hang on to the bars rather too much which makes the front end of the bike feel very shaky. Need to work on my riding position to stop this happening - I managed to get most of it dialled out at Rockingham with the California SuperBike School but seem to have reverted to my old style of riding.

The final session, for me anyway as I don't generally do the last session of the day, saw me back with Simon on the GSXR750. By this time I was far too tired and only manage 1:23s whilst he managed to get down to 1:21s dead. Big respect to the guy as the last two or three times we've been out on the track together I've caught him, pointed out where he's slower than me and he's then gone on and learnt from it. If only I could do the same ;-)

Off to Oulton Park in a couple of days to practice for the race weekend. Will probably need to work on my fitness levels now that the weather is getting warmer and I'm getting faster.