[visordown.com] - Review: Silverstone Bike Trackdays

[Ninjette Newsbot]

THEY tell you not to look in your mirrors on track but I can’t help myself. I’m pushing on, hitting apexes, driving hard out of corners and feeling like I haven’t ridden Silverstone any better but I still can’t shake the headlight beam that’s filling up my right-hand mirror. After a lap it disappears and split-seconds later, double World Superbike champion Troy Corser moves alongside me and a second later, he’s already two bike lengths ahead. He takes his left hand off the bar, turns around to look at me and taps the back of his seat.

Welcome to a trackday with Silverstone.

I signed-up to the Ultimate Sport group, with Troy Corser as the chief instructor, riding the International circuit. The day started well; a simple signing on session and a briefing where I was made to feel like a responsible adult and not a naughty school boy. It started raining, which given our glorious summer weather, was out of the blue and uncalled for. After a few sighting laps behind one of the instructors, it was down to business and after session one, the track was completely dry.

The day was split into three groups with seven sessions per group. The Ultimate Sport group sessions are down for 20-minutes per session the other groups run 15-minute sessions. In our garage, alongside Troy Corser were Silverstone’s regular instructors who are mostly experienced racers and all good guys, easy to talk to and they know the circuit well.

As if he needed any help, Troy brought with him a BMW HP4 and on each session he circulated behind different riders, squirting off into the distance to go and find someone else after a good half of a lap. What amazed me was the fact that after each session, Troy went and found the guys he’d been observing and gave them a few tips to help them improve their skills and, perhaps, their laptime.

As part of the package, Silverstone give you a £10 lunch voucher to spend in their canteen. My usual banana and coffee went out of the window and was replaced with sausage and mash. Good for the soul, not great for my laptimes.

After lunch, heading out for session five, Troy gave me a nod as I left the pit garage. “Oh ****” I thought to myself. "I’m on my scratch-free ZX-10R on Metzeler Z8 sport-touring tyres with no warmers. I’ve been having a nice run around and now I’ve got to resist the temptation of showing a double world champion a few tricks." Alas, I couldn’t shake him, try as hard as I might and in the process I realised just how good Metzeler’s Z8s are.

Once Troy came past, I had one of the most memorable laps of my life, sitting a few feet behind this guy I used to watch lining up on the World Superbike grid every Sunday. As he pulled away from me, he looked effortless, he was effortless!

Effortless isn’t a word I’d use to describe my riding. Troy picked up on it when he caught up with me after the session. I was braking too late, compressing the suspension too much meaning I was wrestling an unwilling bike into each corner. Old habits die hard.

The Ultimate Sport group at £195 was £66 more than the other groups on the same Silverstone trackday but each session was 20-minutes not 15, we had less people in our group making for a cleaner lap and with no red flags to worry about, it appeared to work well.

Clinging onto Troy Corser for a few corners? That alone is worth the asking price.

What: Silverstone Bike Trackdays

Where: Silverstone Circuit

Price: from £129

Contact: Silverstone.co.uk / 0844 3750 740



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