Issue # 237 Heading Into Turn Two | Track, Day, One, I’m, Experience

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Issue # 237 Heading Into Turn Two

Written by Nancy Irwin
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Twenty-seven years of motorcycle riding didn’t prepare me for a session at Mosport International Raceway. Or maybe it did. Yesterday, I rode Mosport, leaning around corners further than the GSX-R 600 I was on, hanging my knee out and sliding my butt off the seat. To say this was an amazing experience is an understatement. Actually, anything is an understatement compared to the experience itself. It’s now the morning after and I’m too tired to read Harry Potter, which has been my obsession of the last week. They’re hunting the Deathly Hollows but I picked up Canadian Biker instead. My brain is still in its own action packed fantasy, and I can’t focus on anything but bikes. My track time came via the Advanced Rider Course, offered by Turn 2 Sportbike Rentals Inc. (www.Track2.ca), the first and only company in Canada to rent modern 600cc sportbikes for track use. Operating out of various tracks in southern Ontario, the company also sells performance products and offers training sessions, such as the Advanced Rider Course—which may not have much of a ring to it, but the name is an understatement. My feeling is that the course should be called something like “Extreme Fun At The Track.” But I suppose that would have too many parents and spouses concerned. Okay, Rider Training sounds more sensible and civilized. I wonder how much fun the company’s Rider Development Program is though. Track days are definitely growing in popularity and much of that has to do with the new laws that seem targeted to sportbike owners. Imagine a $10,000 fine as per the new Bill 203, plus having your bike confiscated and your licence suspended for seven days for going 50 kilometres over the speed limit—which on the 401 over Toronto is just slightly above the average speed. Then, of course, there’s the skyrocketing, often prohibitive cost of insurance for Ontario’s sportbike riders. So, what do you do if you own a fast bike, but don’t want to stretch its legs on the street? Well, you just might be one of those people who find themselves doing all sorts of insane things—such as getting up at 5:30 in the morning and paying hundreds of dollars for a day of safe, legal thrills on the track. Track days are a trend that’s gaining momentum, and everyone who plans to go has to start somewhere. Turn 2’s Advanced Rider Training was an excellent starting point for me, and they have options beyond lesson one. Needless to say, I was not prepared. You want me to do what? Hang my butt off the seat like I’m sliding off the bike—on the inside of a curve? No way. Not me. Uh-uh. Nope. In class we discussed our experience levels and our goals. Turn 2 associates taught us about the 600cc GSX-Rs we would be riding (for those who didn’t bring their own bikes) and were told things such as never use the rear brake, and why. We looked at a map of the track, learned the names of the corners, discussed lines through the curves and how we would follow the leader who would take us around the track and personally show us the lines that we were to follow. We learned about breaking points, entry points, apexes, exit points, riding etiquette, position and technique. Then we divided into groups according to our experience. The school has as an instructor/student ratio of 1:5 and we could tell the instructors really wanted to be there! We went out for 20 minutes at a time, and then waited for 40 minutes while two other groups took their turns. Rather than get us antsy, it gave us a chance to recover and prepare for the next opportunity. Tires stayed warm as we passed the bikes from student to student—which is to say we never needed to use the electric tire warmers—and it seemed the person handing over the bike was always grinning. I’ve always thought race tracks were dull: going around the same corners with no fascinating scenery didn’t sound all that thrilling to me. Was I ever wrong! Going around the same corners without traffic, gravel, dogs or police means you can concentrate on getting it right, taking it faster, leaning harder, blasting out and really pushing your limits. I found myself pushing mine all day long, going faster and faster. There was one corner that ended with a straightaway where I could really twist the throttle and find my personal top speed, which I then increased. I ended up with butterflies in my stomach over that one, but that didn’t stop me from going faster. The combination of fear and adrenaline is intoxicating. This was stuff I could never do on the road, where other vehicles, animals and goodness knows what else may suddenly appear in my way. The beauty of the track is its lack of anything else, mobile or immobile. You look only at the track and go only as fast as you dare. The instructors are there to watch, offer pointers, and make sure you’re doing things correctly. That day at Mosport changed my perception of all bikes dressed in race rubber, as well as how I will take corners in the future. It’s an experience I’d recommend to anyone who is not an absolute beginner. I even went over the Labour Day weekend, when almost no one wants to go to school. Yet I learned incredibly valuable lessons, such as sliding your body weight track-side on the inside of a curve means more rubber on the track because the bike itself can stay in a somewhat more upright position and still make the corner. This was among the scariest things I’ve ever done. Though I’d been initially reluctant about getting into the big lean angles where my knee was actually touching down, I was told later in the day that my corners and speed had improved incredibly. It felt like the thrill of a lifetime. Strangely though, the day did not end too soon. Both my concentration and my muscles were giving out on me toward the end. THE WHOLE TRACK DAY THING WAS AN EXPERIENCE I’D REPEAT AGAIN in a heartbeat. But be warned: this type of activity could get expensive. One thing leads to another, and some of my classmates were back for their third session this year, returning monthly, some with their own machines. One rode in. Two of them brought their track bikes in on a trailer. Once on the track, the desire for a track bike becomes ... well, this is the morning after and I’m ready to go again! Did I mention I’m exhausted? My muscles ache, and I’m hungry because I was too tired to make dinner last night. I realized this morning that I had only one cup of tea yesterday. I must be suffering from withdrawal. After all, I had to get up at 5:30 in order to make it to Mosport by 8 a.m. I’m cooking a full breakfast now but, really, I wish someone else was making it for me. And then I think, here I am telling others to try this and I’m such a wreck? It’s Holiday Monday as I write this and am I ever glad I took the class on Labour Day Sunday so that I have a day off before and after to relax, then recover. It was definitely the ride of the month, if not the summer. Yeah, okay, it was the ride of the summer. I can’t deny it. What a thrill! Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.