BCF @ Snetterton - Trackday report

[Bendy]

Wanting a change from Cadwell, a bunch of us did a trackday at Snetterton yesterday.

After some interesting logistics involving a Passat gearbox held together by 2 small bolts, a bunch of jump starts and a bit of vehicle swapping, we arrived at Snetterton early on Sunday evening, only to find that they've brought in a new rule that you can no longer camp in the pit garages. So we set up camp on a small piece of grass outside the circuit gates.

I was a bit more nervous than I've been on the previous couple of outings, largely because Snett is a new circuit to me and thus removes my 'comfort zone' of knowing where all the corners go! But it's a fairly simple circuit so after a few laps you get the hang of that bit at least. There was a big novice group of about 42 riders which meant a broad spread of abilities - there were some very slow people obviously on their first trackday ever but as they had all chosen to wear the optional orange vests it was easy to spot them and to hang back until there was a chance to pass in a 'nice' manner. Well, I do that anyway, cos I remember not liking having someone stuff it up the inside round a corner when I was a complete newbie.

I found Snett to be very different to Cadwell. Maybe it's cos I've done Cadders a few times now, but my whole thing there is to be smooth - I don't actually brake all that much, more just flow from one corner to another. Snetterton I found to be a much more 'aggressive' ride - lots of speed down the long straights then hard braking for a corner, then accelleration, then braking. I found it to be much harder work, physically and mentally. Though that probably means I was just trying harder than I tried at Cadwell. Certainly I had made a conscious decision to take G's advice and work on my 'hanging off'. I was getting my right peg down loads of times on 2 different corners which means the bike really can't lean any further and if I want to go faster then I've got to start getting my arse off the side of it. I'm still not great at it, but I was experimenting a bit and found a position that I was fairly comfortable with - not off very much but it was helping a bit. Need practice.

There was only myself, Jay12329 and R6Stu in novices so wasn't much BCF fighting. Well except me and Jay's little battle where he outbraked me at the chicane at the beginning of the start/finish straight and I thought 'I'm not having this' and got past him on the power along the straight (he's derestricted now!) only to remember there's a BIG FUCKING CORNER at the end. Never braked so hard in me life All fun though.

There was much bike swapping going on later in the day as Alex blagged a few free sessions - I lent him my bike for one and apparently he and Korn had a bit of a ding dong battle. It was probably best that I didn't see it. G's R6 fell apart and got put back together again using a big hammer and a hacksaw, then later he went out on Korn's R1 and did some times which were... not slow.

Oh yes, Keith had come down on the UberBandit and dangled the keys in front of my. Well it would be rude not to, wouldn't it.
I'd like to point out that it's my birthday in 4 weeks and if I don't get a big 155bhp Bandit-shaped parcel from you BCF lot then I'll be very disappointed. It rocks. Big lazy power at low revs, then you open it up and at 7000rpm it decides to rip your arms out of their sockets. Fun.

Check out a Snetterton pics in https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=30024 as I'm sure other people will add them during the day.

Not my best write up but I'm suffering the effects of a long hot day yesterday. </excuse>

[bennyb24]

Did you have an official BCF lap timer there ? I want to see if im catching Alex up..... someone dropped a load of oil on Saturday right underneath the bridge on the back straight so I gave the last 3 sessions a miss

anyway my steady lap times were :

1.30 ish - in the first session
1.25.9 - before lunch
low 1.25's in the first session after lunch

I didn't manage to break 1.24 But with the extra sessions I sure it would have happened (honest guv !)

[jay12329]

My day stated with being at work for 8am, but I won’t go into that. I left the house at about 3:30 for my nice leisurely ride down to snetterton. So leisurely that I managed to take the wrong road out of Lincoln so I had a nice ride through loads of villages to Sleaford then I got back on route.
I saw loads of bikes on the way done, got nods waves and flashed lights. Even got a flash off of a guy 4 lanes away on a duel carriageway!!!!
I got to the circuit and noticed a small village starting to appear just outside of the main gates. So I pulled up and started to unload. It want long before kev started to hassle me again. So the seat came off the hornet, then the tank, airbox and carbs.I handy pillow was placed in the seat area to cove the alarm which beeps extremely loudly every 20seconds!
Soon I was dragging a full power hornet down a nice long smooth road which runs to the entrance of the track. I hit 100 without trying.
People slowly arrived throughout the afternoon/evening.
It was getting cold so we decided to burn something! We found some fence panels added some shell Optimax and a lighter. The rest you can imagine , but it involved a large scorch mark hidden under a fence panel!
The track day started for me at about 5:20 when I was lying awake in my tent so I decided to get up. I went for a walk .When I got back to camp people started to move.
When the guy came to open up we managed to get the first available pit garage.
My first session didn’t go well. I wasn’t at all happy with me the bike and the circuit. The second session was better and the third was great.
After lunch I asked an instructor to follow me out. He said my lines were spot on, speed was good. The things I should work on were trying to increase my speed slowly as I felt comfortable and to try to move my arse a bit more.
Day went well, a little bit of fun with bendy in the last session, I missed a gear near the start finish line, and dropped back from her I was trying so hard to catch her on the forst corner I was lent well over hanging off like a monkey and felt something move past my knee, felt like I was getting well close to kd. I was pushing way to hard so decided to call it a day before I killed myself or more importantly damaged my bike.

Fastest time lap was 1.39 I think. Which was in the session after lunch. In the second session I only managed a 2.01 so I got a lot better as I got used to the track and my bike.
When’s the next track day guys?
J

[Korn]

Some times for our lot :-

Bendy: 1.41
Kev: 1.39
R6Stu: 1.43
Jay: 1.47
Luke: 1.34
G: 1.21 (r6) 1.19 (r1)
Me: 1.23

I had more but unfortunately lost the page of Kev's porn mag with them written on

Anyway; my first time at Snetterton, and I liked it a lot. It's fast and suits my bike a bit more than Cadwell. Luckily the promised "hottest day of 2004" weather didn't happen, and we had nice warm but tolerable temperatures all day (oh, and an air-conditioned pit garage ). Started off slow with a small slide in the first session which put me off Russels' for a bit but then got faster as I got the hang of the track a bit more. Had a fun session trying to chase Alex when he blagged his way onto the track with G's R6, then an even funner session when he borrwed Bendy's CBR and proceeded to annihilate me on all the corners - bastard

Fun day, I'm shattered, bring on the next one

[edit] Nearly forgot, Frankie Chilli was riding in the fast group "taking it easy" on a TT600 - that was fun to watch [/edit]
____________________
3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Kickstart]

Hi

To add to the above I got there quite late, as some bugger had put a race track in the middle of nowhere in Norfolk, miles from where I live. I arrived during the lunch time lull.

Bendy had mentioned that she fancied a go on the Bandit so I let her have the keys and sent her on her way. Think she quite liked it.

I took loads of pictures, but to be honest Snetterton is not great for pics as you cannot get anywhere near what would be the 2 best corners.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[G]

What do you mean by two best corners keith?

[R1stu]

I had great Fun and didnt crash!! I wanna see some piccys of me!

In the last session I managed to get the missis to time me, and got down to 1:32:01 I think I did faster during the day bit cant confirm!

I think next time I will go into the Iters group, as I found myself lapping withing the 1st two laps and unable to pass, as the other novices were taking it easy along the lines!

Managed to scare myself a couple of times at the esses, once I went straight across them outbreaking myself. And the other a some one on a hornet gave me follow the leader syndrome and I followed him across the grass!

The big right hander after the bomb hole I was loving 100mph knee down almost and then the esses!

Managed a few Kneedowns as well!

Bring on Snetterton take two.
____________________
Carbon closet tart! https://www.bikepics.com/members/r6stuk/02r6/
Stolen bike. 2000 R1: https://www.bikepics.com/members/r6stuk/00r1/
Current bike 1991 Honda ST1100 Pan European, 1986 Honda cb350sg (Finished)

[Kickstart]

[G]

The long right hander is Corams.
Is a fair bit of hassle to get decent pics there admittadley. Riches and Sears at the other end of the track can both be got fairly close to. However it's a bit of a trek as you have to go around various offical buildings etc.
Some of the pics alex got were from Riches at least.

[kev]

Next time if I come hopefully I will have a new shock on my bike.
____________________
20:02:36 Jammy-R6: any holes a goal
20:02:48 kev: even if its a hairy mans arse
20:02:56 Jammy-R6: hell yes

[Kickstart]

[G]

Ah, thought you could go along that bank and get closer, or see from a bit further up revvets straight.



For my usual concise track day report:
Overheating Vehicles,
meh.

[Bendy]

[R1stu]

Well as I was going to overtake they were chopping right inside !

I was passing on the outside of the big right hander from the bomb hole! At least in Inters I Wont catch them as fast!
____________________
Carbon closet tart! https://www.bikepics.com/members/r6stuk/02r6/
Stolen bike. 2000 R1: https://www.bikepics.com/members/r6stuk/00r1/
Current bike 1991 Honda ST1100 Pan European, 1986 Honda cb350sg (Finished)

[G]

As I believe I've mentioned elsewere, I tend to try to overtake on the inside when coming out of corners.

Providing you can get a decent amount more corner speed you turn in later and take a tighter line. Providing you go past while they are still leant over coming out of the corner they are very unlikely to turn significantly faster.
This way you shouldn't 'scare' anyone too much and should be safe what ever the other rider does.

Also your lines should only coincide at one point, so make sure they are ahead there and you're cool.
Using this technique I have managed to beat litre bikes on revvets straight at snetterton before!
You are also more upright earlier, so can get on the power much sooner.

[Dusty]

[Luke_Retrofly]

Hi

My Report

Snetterton was my first tracakday since the ill mated one over a year ago. I was itching to go as it had been such a long time and I never really got into the groove last time.

Anyway up at 5:45 I was by the prospect of racing the fact I was freezing cold in my damp tent . We finally managed to move all our stuff to the pit gaages by 7:30 where we prepared for the day ahead, as usual theres was breakfast and the briefing but there was no time to rest as my group (intermediates) was up first at 9 o'clock.

I was quite nervous for a number of reasons, it was my 1st track day in a while, I was on someone elses bike, I was in intermediates so there I was probably going to have to go a bit faster than I would have.

Anyway the day progressed and I found myself getting faster and faster, my corner speed was good but I was always in the wrong gear and my lines wernt purfect, korn was in my group I tried my best to keep up with him and I reckon we were about even in the corners but when you've got an R1 Verses a Thundercat on a mile straigh he would be gone before I got to the corner .

Luch came and gave us a few moments to relax have a chat on refelct on the morning events.

In the afternoon I felt my self getting progressively faster, going round the outside of a few people in corams was pretty thrilling too . By now I was only being overtaken by the litre bikes and its cool to overtake a kawasaki 636 on an old thunder cat (sorry cat owners). There was a crash in the second to last session so we all had to peel into the pits, I had a chat with a bloke on a GSXR who had managed to smuggle some timing equipment abord, he informed me he was doing 1:28 laps yet said I was quicker than him, I was thrilled .

https://dusty.my-site.me.uk/asite/snet/snet020804/mid/060.JPG

I had an instructor follow me for the last session he said my lines were fine and my corner speed was pretty good he said Id be fine rookie racing 400’s or 600’s. Hmmm 600’s are kinda nice on the track

The afternoon sessions were brilliant though I did have a few hairy moments . Letting off the throttle while going round corams

I found myself getting gradually quicker but there were defiantly parts of the circuit I could have been much faster, so I reckon I need another trip to sort them out.

In whole a great day, really must do more track days, everyone should cause they roxxor.

Hopefully I’ll be there for Anglesey, one way or another .

Luke

[McJamweasel]

Stu - get the current TWO mag - its got an article about how to overtake on trackdays.
____________________
BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[R1stu]