Last Sunday was the reopening of the Wildtracks Supermoto circuit at Chippenham near Newmarket, Suffolk. As this new purpose built track is only 45minutes up the road the temptation to break my Supermoto trackday cherry was just too much to miss.
The track is brand spanking new super grippy tarmac with two offroad sections, one comprising of a long shale bend at the end of the main straight and the other being a trickly little section of sandy soil and two small jumps.
My preparation for the day was not good in that i had just completed a full rebuild on the friday and spent most of saturday fitting crash bobbins to the axles and footpegs, and fitting a Db killer in to the exhaust, instead of carefully bedding in the new bearing and rings. Never mind a dozen careful laps had to suffice for the running procedure.
Now i am not a complete track novice, 2 sessions at donnington with Ron Haslam on CBR600's and a Dax Rush Cosworth have learnt me the basics, but none the less the sheer speed of most of the guys out on track was rather daunting when i rolled up into the paddock. Especially the guy on a Katoom 525 backing it Chris Iddon style at every opportunity.
For the first session i took it easy, not least because the bike had not been used in anger since a complete rebuild and needed some bedding in. Although being one of the slowest riders on track without exception the standard of riding and curtesy out on track was exemplary in every respect.
One oil change later and few checks and i was back in the groove and by the end of day i was just as quick on the tarmac sections as the others out there, who were mostly teams from NORA and BEMSEE championships out on test. Most of these were 450's and their was only a handful of open class machines. At one point i managed to tag on behind Crasher Cornish from Supermoto magazine who had the FS450e Long termer on test for a good 10laps or so. The 450 is definitely no slouch and turns in and stops a lot quicker then my 600. Maybe next year a 450 perhaps.?
Apart from a spill on the gravel the day ended with no real drama's and i have defiantly been bitten by the supermoto trackday bug. So much so i am getting my suspension shortened and revalved ready for the next practice day on the 27th June.
For those who are interested and have never been to wildtracks b4 take note :-
- The food and drink is expensive - so take plenty of your own.
- Their is little or no shade from the sun, so take a parasol or something if it is forecast as being a hot day.
- Although they were not checking on sunday Catchtanks for vent hoses, crash bobbins all round including footpegs are required, and a 98dBA noise limit applies.
- The surface is very grippy. My new Avon AV50 Pro extreme supermoto tyre looks decidedly secondhand after about 60laps.
- Wear good quality body armour. If you come off you will be glad you had it. I didn't and after a second gear spill on the gravel i have some quite impressive bruises on my legs and hips even though my race suit had armour fitted. ( I will be investing in a T pro armoured under trousers and vest for next time )
- Try to go with a group of friends or second driver. One chap hurt is arm and disappeared in an ambulance. It is no fun trying to get a 120kg bike on a trailer and driving home with one arm, or god forbid a hurt leg......
- Make sure you keep your car or van windows closed. The MX track is next door and all the dust blowing about has made my car interior a sandy shade or cream.....
Wildtracks is open on sunday 27th june from 10 till 4 for supermoto and depending upon uptake should be open every other sunday for supermoto practice sessions. I thoroughly reccomend this venue to experts and novices a like.
See the following link : - http://www.wildtracksltd.co.uk
Also for photo's of the day ( from 9pm uk time ) : -
http://www.flashharryphotography.com/ph ... 0index.htm
The best ones of me are numbers 325 & 302.
Chris Neeves
FC600 Supermoto
The track is brand spanking new super grippy tarmac with two offroad sections, one comprising of a long shale bend at the end of the main straight and the other being a trickly little section of sandy soil and two small jumps.
My preparation for the day was not good in that i had just completed a full rebuild on the friday and spent most of saturday fitting crash bobbins to the axles and footpegs, and fitting a Db killer in to the exhaust, instead of carefully bedding in the new bearing and rings. Never mind a dozen careful laps had to suffice for the running procedure.
Now i am not a complete track novice, 2 sessions at donnington with Ron Haslam on CBR600's and a Dax Rush Cosworth have learnt me the basics, but none the less the sheer speed of most of the guys out on track was rather daunting when i rolled up into the paddock. Especially the guy on a Katoom 525 backing it Chris Iddon style at every opportunity.
For the first session i took it easy, not least because the bike had not been used in anger since a complete rebuild and needed some bedding in. Although being one of the slowest riders on track without exception the standard of riding and curtesy out on track was exemplary in every respect.
One oil change later and few checks and i was back in the groove and by the end of day i was just as quick on the tarmac sections as the others out there, who were mostly teams from NORA and BEMSEE championships out on test. Most of these were 450's and their was only a handful of open class machines. At one point i managed to tag on behind Crasher Cornish from Supermoto magazine who had the FS450e Long termer on test for a good 10laps or so. The 450 is definitely no slouch and turns in and stops a lot quicker then my 600. Maybe next year a 450 perhaps.?
Apart from a spill on the gravel the day ended with no real drama's and i have defiantly been bitten by the supermoto trackday bug. So much so i am getting my suspension shortened and revalved ready for the next practice day on the 27th June.
For those who are interested and have never been to wildtracks b4 take note :-
- The food and drink is expensive - so take plenty of your own.
- Their is little or no shade from the sun, so take a parasol or something if it is forecast as being a hot day.
- Although they were not checking on sunday Catchtanks for vent hoses, crash bobbins all round including footpegs are required, and a 98dBA noise limit applies.
- The surface is very grippy. My new Avon AV50 Pro extreme supermoto tyre looks decidedly secondhand after about 60laps.
- Wear good quality body armour. If you come off you will be glad you had it. I didn't and after a second gear spill on the gravel i have some quite impressive bruises on my legs and hips even though my race suit had armour fitted. ( I will be investing in a T pro armoured under trousers and vest for next time )
- Try to go with a group of friends or second driver. One chap hurt is arm and disappeared in an ambulance. It is no fun trying to get a 120kg bike on a trailer and driving home with one arm, or god forbid a hurt leg......
- Make sure you keep your car or van windows closed. The MX track is next door and all the dust blowing about has made my car interior a sandy shade or cream.....
Wildtracks is open on sunday 27th june from 10 till 4 for supermoto and depending upon uptake should be open every other sunday for supermoto practice sessions. I thoroughly reccomend this venue to experts and novices a like.
See the following link : - http://www.wildtracksltd.co.uk
Also for photo's of the day ( from 9pm uk time ) : -
http://www.flashharryphotography.com/ph ... 0index.htm
The best ones of me are numbers 325 & 302.
Chris Neeves
FC600 Supermoto
