track day tips

[The#Doctor#]

bought a cbr600f4i not so long ago and am about 2 do my first track day! Any tips ?? any recommendations of good courses ie knee down??

[Silver]

In my five track day limited experience:

Warm your tyres.
Learn the track.
Take your time, it's not a race.
As above; ride at a speed your confident with.
If you get tired, come in. That's when you'll start making mistakes.
Enjoy yourself!

Kneedown? Any of them, although Donington Park is my favourite so far.

[The#Doctor#]

yeah nice one was thinking on going 2 donnington on the beginner days do the instructors show u the lines etc ir is that up 2 me ?

[Silver]

You can ask them. They'll follow you round and give you tips on where you can improve.

[Andy99]

Just a couple of other things.

Don't dehydrate yourself,drink quite a bit as you don't notice it happening until you start to lose concentration.
Go at your own pace,if someone is faster than you let them go.
Don't put all your focus into getting your knee down,yeah it's nice when you start to do it,but it will come in time.Concentrate on getting the lines right then the speed will come and the knee will scrape

As Silver has already said,make sure your tyres are warm before upping the pace. Every track day i've been to someone has crashed on cold tyres on an out or second lap spoiling everybodys session
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Nothing gets the point across quite like a raised middle digit.

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[Korn]

Make sure your bike is up to it, check the tyres, lube the chain, make sure the brakes are good. If you've spent the whole winter riding through crap weather give it a wash to remove the filth & slime. And make sure your tyre pressures are in order, around 35psi when hot is a good mark to aim for.

Don't be over-confident, take everything at your own pace and above all try to be smooth. If you finish a session out of breath with eyes wide & high as a kite on adrenaline chances are you didn't learn anything, and probably scared yourself in the process.

Remember that unless your surname is Rossi there is always going to be somebody quicker than you; so beware of red mist and don't try to ride 110% trying to catch somebody who just came past you, concentrate on your own routine getting your braking markers and turn points down so they become instinctive and eventually the speed will come.

You don't need to know what's going on behind you, just do your own thing. If somebody is going to come past it's up to them to find the space to do it safely and cleanly so don't panic if you hear another bike right up your chuff and certainly don't try to move out of the way. If you've got mirrors the best idea is to take them off, or tape them up / fold them in.

Don't be afraid to make use of the instructors. They're not just there to lead the first 3 laps, you can grab them for some 1-on-1 and get feedback on your riding and usually pick up a few tips. You could also read Twist by Keith Code for a few good ideas on how you should be riding the bike.
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