Sunday Axel, Bobby, Wayne and myself and off course about 100 other people we don’t know attended the Boland Bikes Advanced Riding School at Killarney. We did roughly 30 laps for the day….
The sharp ones amongst you will remember Bobby and I clubbed together and gave Axel a paid up track day as a birthday present in August last year after his accident. A couple of minor obstacles got in the way (ranging from little Matthew making an appearance to an aaaalmost overlooked wedding anniversary that was smack-bang on a track Sunday) so it was postponed a couple of times. Until Sunday, that was.
Well, we were at the track about nine o’clock. It was a fresh wintry day and the forecast looked OK, no rain and hardly any wind. Maybe a bit chilly if I have to complain about something. We were in the slow/beginners/ladies group (which we quickly dubbed the Wobblers) because it was our first time on Killarney. Axel attempted to give himself a promotion by sneaking into the medium group to save himself the humiliation of a pink sticker on his headlight but was quickly cut down to size and send back by Bobby and Wayne to go and fetch the sticker matching his assumed skill level. O the shame…
Just after 9 we were told by Ian Abrahams to goto a pit garage with some chairs and a flip chart where we were told to sit down and shut up while the fast guys went out on the track. If you’re fast (not think you’re fast) you don’t have to sit through the boring classroom sessions but can go out and play right after the safety meeting which took about 15 minutes. Gets their 20 minute session under the belt while we soak up the knowledge bestowed upon us like the sponges that we are.
Our lecturer was a guy called Roland (I think). He sounded like a Frenchman or something - totally weird accent but funny in a dry kind of way. He waffled on for about 30 minutes about what we should do and what we shouldn’t, putting great emphasis on the purpose of the event (apparently we were there to learn something). From his choice of phrases I got the impression most people get a bit red misted when they’re let loose on the track for the first time and the organisers understood this and the potential havoc it could cause. I suppose they’ve seen it all by now. We’ll we weren’t going to disappoint them. The amount of fun we’re having is always directly related to the number of broken bones.
We were told how to counter steer, where the slippery bits on the track are and where and when not to try and pass. They showed us what flags we might see, what they mean and what’s expected of us when we see them. All into one ear and out the other - I hardly remembered to check the marshals when I passed the pits and more than one lap was spend wondering if there was a flag out because I forgot to check. Having the throttle wide open down the pit straight with a terrifying corner rushing at you and trying to remember when to start braking without someone running into the back of you or ending up embedded in a tyre wall somehow took priority above a silly little man who may or may not be waving a flag that’s suppose to tell me something I can’t remember because I wasn’t paying attention in the classroom. But more on that later.
The lecturer struggled to make himself heard above the noise the fast group were making when passing within 10m of us. Then he went to tell us we must be smooth (or smooooet as he pronounced it). Giving some examples of how to let the clutch go (you guessed it - smooooet). He told us we’ll have 3 sessions. The first is with an instructor (4 bikes to an instructor) and we weren’t allowed to pass anyone. We must just follow him around the track for 3 laps, look at the lines he rides and try not to fall off, hit anybody or run off the track. The classroom part of the training was finished none to soon and we were send out to wait our turn.
During this time we were handed some heavy duty duct tape and expected to tape up all lights, indicators, mirrors and other stuff that could break and end up on the track when you lob your bike at a tyre wall. Some guys brought insulation tape, masking tape etc and were taping up with gay abandon. My bike was so covered in sea spray the tape wouldn’t stick.
For the rest of the time we watched the fast group fly past us. When they came in the medium guys went out and we could watch them for their 20 minute session.
When the medium group were called in we all hopped on our bikes and elbowed our way towards the front, trying to stay together. The thinking was that if we get out first we will have the most time on the track - I don’t know if that worked out the way we planned and there are certainly no evidence that would confirm it - so just in case we all tried to sneak in an extra lap after the flag came out. But we were split up and Axel ended up with another instructor. Our instructor called us out and led us onto the track. The track was a bit intimidating first time around, it looked bumpy and repaired in places. I tried to remember the lines he rode so I could do the same. Well we wobbled around like that for 3 laps, then went into the pits, them showing us the correct procedure to signal and pull into the pits. We looked at each other, this wasn’t as much fun as we expected - a bit like riding with the cruiser boys, all organised, slow with no passing or having fun. We wondered if we’ll be allowed to have a full go like the other groups. Some long faces.
The fast boys simply went out on the track and rode balls to the wall. Same for the medium guys but there were a lot more of them and some of them should probably have gone into the fast group. It’s something to aspire to if only to dodge the classroom session. But they’re FAST so a beginner will have no business mixing it up with them, probably make it unsafe. Maybe better to sit in the classroom sending SMS’es? I’m still undecided but I think I’d try the medium group next time.
So we stood around for 40 minutes, eating boerewors rolls and wondering what the next session will be like. We were told in the class we could pass people on the outside only, so that was a good sign, at least you didn’t have to sit behind anyone if you didn’t have to. We stood next to the pit wall and gaped at the bikes flashing past. Once again I thought there were some frightfully fast riders out there and the beginners group looked rather more inviting. Axel tried to console me by saying I would probably be surprised if I see myself flashing down the pit straight and I replied dryly, yes I will probably be surprised…
Then they called in the medium guys and we hopped on our bikes. An instructor led us. I was the 5th or so bike out of the pits, just behind Axel. I remembered what they said about cold tires that’ll have you on your ear if you get over-eager to soon - I think 2 or three easy laps were mentioned. O, and about not passing people on the inside because if you can’t get around the corner you’ll take them out too and that, well, is frowned upon.
The first corner came and we were still spread out. I didn’t really know what we were supposed to do, just follow the instructor, not pass, what the inside what’s the outside… Then I saw Axel overtaking the guy in front of him on what looked to me like the inside and I thought “Now your in trouble, you’re going to be called off and given a bollocking.” Nothing happened. Then someone came past me and all of a sudden all hell broke loose - people were having a go everywhere, passing and cornering and hanging off seats and the like. OK, I thought, so that’s the way it was going to be. I passed some people, ended up behind the instructor and he moved over and waved me past. I set off to catch Axel who was disappearing around the next corner and apparently under the impression he’s leading the race because make no mistake - this session has turned into a race at the drop of a hat.
Well, to the IUB boys at least…
I put my head down and went as fast as I could. The back straight is rather daunting, you get silly speeds down there (230 plus)and then have to brake hard for a banked hairpin. The hairpin has a glorious positive camber and is a lot of fun, but if you get it wrong you’ll be airborne for a long-long time before you plonk into the harbour and disappear in a bubble cloud.
I tried to go as wide as possible on most corners, made it easier to pass people (the track was very crowded and you’d often pass 3-4 people in one corner) and not run off the track on the exit. Before long I got into the hang of things and started enjoying myself, immensely. No more bikes came past me and we were starting to lap people. Hopefully scaring them witless as we yeeeehhhhaaaa’ed in our helmets, with visor popping wide smiles
The pit straight have a repaired section of tar just as you come out of the hairpin and my bike was very nervous over this section threatening to go into a full on tankslapper on more than one occasion. Then I tried using a better part of the track but that put me close to the pit wall and I didn’t really like that. I decided I’ll take my chances with the slappers and stuck to the outside.
I used the Goodyear sign as a brake marker for the corner at the end of the pit straight. This corner has some run-off should you out-brake yourself and have to go straight but it ends up t-boning a tire wall so I wanted to avoid that and usually braked way to early. This session was a lot of fun and clearly what we were there for. All to soon they hung out the checkered flag and we had to go in. This time there were smiles all around. Some trembling hands lit some trembling cigarettes.
Again we had to wait for 40 minutes before we got a chance to go out. This time I took the first lap easy and then went all out as fast as I could, trying to keep up with Axel and the instructors and getting the better on other bikes while cornering and down the straights. I got the double apex at the entry to the back straight wrong once and almost ended up on my ear while trying to hang with an instructor - there’s no run off here so that would have left a mark. That’s a tricky corner and also the most exciting part of the circuit.
I locked my rear tyre a couple of times while down shifting (obviously not smooooet enough) but otherwise had a ball. I felt I was doing great and then I went around the last corner entering the pit straight and people were going mad along the wall. They were screaming and shouting and waving their arms and while I was wondering what the hell that was all about I saw a bike in the middle of the straight and a motionless body in a red racing suit laying next to the pit wall. The flags were out and I completed the lap, went into the pits and walked over to the hapless rider who was now receiving medical attention. I couldn’t see much but he looked alive and medics were on hand.
Well, that put a damper on things. Some people couldn’t quite stomach a crash and went home giving us a lot more room in the pit area and at the boerewors stand. Bobby came back from the petrol garage as he ran out of fuel and had to go and fill up halfway through the session. We got hungry and went looking for food.
Then we started worrying whether they’d let us finish our session because we were called in. The ambulances and medics took a long time fixing the guy up, I’m not certain whether he was taken to the hospital or broke something or what happened. We went to ask about our session and they told us yes we’ll be let out soon as they can.
Then the whistle blew and we were told we have 10 minutes. I tried to make the most of it. We were some of the first guys out on the circuit and there were a lot less riders out. Soon there were no-one to pass - the guys that were in front stayed in front and I didn’t see myself catching up with anyone. I was behind Axel and we rode as hard as we could. While I was barreling down the pit straight I guy on a Repsol Blade pulled out of the pits in front of me. I recognised him as a regular racer. I have no idea what he was doing in the beginners group (maybe because he organises the event he gets to ride whenever he feels like it?). Anyway I barely hung with him on his warm up lap and then he put the hammer down and passed us and was gone.
It felt like I’ve barely done 3 laps when all to soon it was over and we were flagged. We rode in and parked the bikes. Then hung around for a while. It seemed like the day was over but some of us didn’t feel like leaving. While we were collecting our certificates we heard a screeching sound and saw smoke coming from the track. The woman writing up our certificates groaned “Oh no not another one”. We ran to the pit wall and there was a yellow race bike laying in the middle of the pit straight. The marshals were running around waving flags and one went after the bike with a fire extinguisher. The rider were sitting on his arse in the middle of the straight. It was the fast group and more bikes came around the corner. Most saw the flags and slowed down but one guy on a blue r1 didn’t and had to find a gap through those that almost stopped - he did but I think it was very close.
Well, we watched this spectacle for a while but everyone seemed Ok although the bike was in a bad state. The medics helped the rider up and he limped off the track and then buggered off home.
Tags: Trip reports
Leave a Reply