Silverstone Arena GP Circuit - A review

Fast

 

**** me yes, it is mental, i found one corner hard, but Gav after watching
said everyone takes it slow, I'm uploading a few pics to FB

Never had so much kneedown, one part of the track you can keep it down for
what seems like miles

--


Nige,

'That's shot the fox'

Eunos Roadster (for summer)
Grand Cherokee (for winter)

 

Not to mention fun.

If they were running another one tomorrow, I'd book it off and be back
there like a shot.

Silverstone is absolutely awesome, especially the Abbey/Farm combo -
everyone seemed to be cocking that up and going in too slowly, so I had
the pleasure of nipping past people on the inside for the first and
sailing past them on the outside for the second. And then braking like a
**** for Village.

Litre sports bikes are also absolutely awesome, especially if everyone
around you seems to be on a 600, 750 or old Fireblade. Or just not know
which way to turn the loud handle. Particularly people in fancy leathers
with their name on, riding track bikes, and a special mention goes to
the bloke on a Rossi Fiat rep R6 and wearing full-on Rossi rep leathers,
who seemed scared to go more than five degrees off the vertical. Sad.

Sunny bank holidays are absolutely awesome. Especially if you get to
spend them belting round one of the finest racetracks this country has
to offer.

Maxxis Supermaxx Sports tyres and Bendix MRR brake pads are absolutely
awesome, especially when used together. Mental levels of grip (which I
failed to test to the limit, but there's always another day) and
ludicrous stopping power. All of which led me to make use of Mick
Grant's services for a bit.

And special mentions go to the people who came along to say hello (DanL,
Brownz, Gavsta and Adie) and V for doing a sterling job of driving the
official support vehicle.

Again again? Definitely.

 

It really was fucking awesome, just nuts.

Nice to see all of you i already know& meet V.

What a fucking laugh, my last session was just full on balls out, but you
really should have come in the inters, it was a good group with only a few
wankers. I thought i was in thrid & gunned it, only to find a rather
disconcerting amount of slide, hamfisted **** that i am.

My tyres are now back on profile

Gonna need to do another UKRM trackday soon...

--


Nige,

'That's shot the fox'

ZX12R

 

I was at the Brooklands stand with Aide and V and I thought initially
that everyone was being very slow in that first left coming in of the
straight.

But being up high gives a false perspective, the corner seems to keep on
getting tighter, so what was *actually* going on is that the spped was
correct for the apex, and then the drive out for the looooong right hander.

It just looks (from a spectators point of view) **** slow.


--
Gavin.

For the fast road: Suzuki GSXR600K1
For the slow road: Moto Guzzi California Aquila Nera
For the track: <gone>
For everything else: Citroën Berlingo

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gavin_wilby
Blog: http://eekafreek.com

 

Im gutted I didnt do it now. Next time there is one on, im there!

It was nice to meet up with new faces (for me (Adie know how to ride
alright)), and Nige never called me a ****, V seems to be the (nicer)
polar opposite of Ogden too

Which was nice.

--
Gavin.

For the fast road: Suzuki GSXR600K1
For the slow road: Moto Guzzi California Aquila Nera
For the track: <gone>
For everything else: Citroën Berlingo

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gavin_wilby
Blog: http://eekafreek.com

 

Indeedy, tricky fucker that one. You have to sacrifice Brooklands to
get Luffield (& therefore the straight) right.

 

It's a massive circuit, with mega width, it looks slow & to be fair, i was
slow through there, but you are lining up some serious fun just after

Sweet day out


--


Nige,

'That's shot the fox'

Eunos Roadster (for summer)
Grand Cherokee (for winter)

 

Probably doesnt help that its a major left hander on a track with 17 or
so right handers. That part of the tyre will be cool, but more
importantly, you wont be used to attacking a corner in the wrong direction.

Bens tyre was nice and fucked on the right, but just scrubbed on the
left when I looked.

Ogdens looked like he'd just pulled off the A43

--
Gavin.

For the fast road: Suzuki GSXR600K1
For the slow road: Moto Guzzi California Aquila Nera
For the track: <gone>
For everything else: Citroën Berlingo

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gavin_wilby
Blog: http://eekafreek.com

 

Except the two previous corners are both left handers...

 

Apart from that...

--
Gavin.

For the fast road: Suzuki GSXR600K1
For the slow road: Moto Guzzi California Aquila Nera
For the track: <gone>
For everything else: Citroën Berlingo

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gavin_wilby
Blog: http://eekafreek.com

 

Awesome, loud handle.

Are you a teenager or mentally deficient?

 

My problem with track days (based on one in 30 something years of riding
bikes...) was I was simply too slow.

On the road I don't get overtaken often. Actually, apart from when I'm
riding with people from this NG it's rare a bike goes past unless it's
on an empty motorway (or outfiltering in london when I'm on the K1100)
but on a track (Silverstone) I felt like a complete newbie.

I couldn't work out which way the track was going and didn't have any
cues based on road furniture. Apparently this is common.

However for 150 quid I can get six days of (about) four twenty minute
sessions on a local MX track or almost a whole day at the Yamaha ORE in
Wales. I find this much more fun than a track day.

If you haven't done a day at the Yamaha Off Road Experience (or similar)
you really should. I spent five days there last year. About time I
book another day or two really...

 

I wasn't that worried about binning my bike but hired one anyway on the
basis that 150 quid was less than a simple low-side.

However... despite the bodywork being duffed up I was told if I dropped
it and did any damage that I would be charged 500 quid.

I figure 650 quid would repair a lot of damage. If I did another track
day I'd use the GSXR rather than hiring.

 

<sigh> No Nige...that's Gerards at Mallory

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

Is the air thinner up there?

 

Ben needs to get his suspension set up then

Ogden rides like a gurl, but it sounds like his set-up is right.

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

Not massively.

 

Luffield. Just seems to go on for ever.

 

I also have a psychological problem with left-handers, so tend to go a
lot slower than rights.