Anyone familiar with Castle Combe?

[wiffers]

Hi guys,

I'm a track day virgin, and also need a lot more confidence in corners. I know the bike is capable of a lot more than what I can do, it's just growing a pair and doing it. My CBR600 had 9mm chichen strips, but my new ZX-9R is more like 20mm, embarrassing.

Anyway, my mate signed up for a track day at Castle Combe, so I thought I'd give it a pop, get used to cornering in a safe environment, knowing how the bike reacts etc, getting confidence up, and hopefully making me a better rider.

My goals for the track day are, in this order:

1. Give the bike some beans, and have fun

2. Get some confidence in cornering, and find out how far the bike can actually go down, rather that worrying about gravel/lorries/pot holes/animals

3. Maybe actually get me knee down

Now, I've been told for 2. and 3. maybe another track like Brands Hatch would be better, but too late now, I've signed up for this one. I'm sure 1. and 2. will be fine on any track.

So my questions:

A. What's Castle Combe like for getting knee down? Is it too fast/straight for a newbie to do that (100MPH corners etc), or slow enough for someone like me to have a fair chance?

B. With a half decent rider, on a road bike (like mine), what short of speed are the corners/straights?

C. Is it true we're in 6 groups, so riding 10 mins per hour only? (doesn't seem much)

Thx

[yorbandit]

First dont take a blind bit of notice of anything said here

LISTEN TO THE MAN AT THE TRACK COS ITS HIS JOB TO KNOW WHAT HE TALKING ABOUT AND TO SHOW YOU THE CORRECT WAY

Oh most of all ENJOY IT

[wiffers]

I will do, and not taking anything here as gospel ... just interested to know if I'll be cornering/riding at 50 or 150

Really want my knee down too, but it'll be fin regardless. And hopefully wheelie day the week after - whooooooooop whoooop

[wiffers]

Had fun

To answer my own questions:

yes it's 10 mins on, 50 mins off ... which isn't ideal. Could really do double that. Seemed well run. Most average people have a 120-140 on the main straight, corners all mainly right hand, seem to be 60-90mph (at a guess). couple of s's which are a bit slower

Didn't get my knee down (felt wrong hanging off of seat, so decided to just get cornering speed up firstly), but got much more confident at cornering

[SuperMe79]

yes it's 10 mins on, 50 mins off

 

That's unusual. How much was the track day? I'd go with someone else in future as you usually get 20 mins on 40 minutes off. At this time of year they might switch to 20 mins on 20 mins off on the day depending on the number of riders.

[Guest]

Hi

I ride at Castle Combe a lot. There are lots of different corners, from heading into the Avon rise at about 120mph to the very slow Bobbys chicane before the start finish straight. I love the track, and am always learning how to ride quicker around it.

The circuit run six groups, max of 12 riders in each group, 10 min sessions. There is an instructor that leads out the group to warm up tyres and stop people crashing at Quarry on cold tyres. After 3/4 of the way around he speeds up or pulls off to allow you past.

There is a very good New to Track programme, and the instructors are experienced and helpful. There is a cafe on site, hot and cold food plus beverages (tea and coffee). There is also a truck parked outside the cafe selling track bits, tyres, and advice. The only thing you need to be careful of is the db level of your bike. Due to very stringent rules put on them, the noise testing is done in a slightly different way to most other circuits. Standard cans are normally fine, except GSXR750K7 and a few other types which fail on standard can. The man int he truck has db killers you can buy if you fail.

Other than that, it is a really friendly circuit. I'll be there on 20th April with a few mates, but won't be on track to start off with as we are running the Bike Experience course for a paralysed motorcyclist.

Cheers

Talan

 

Hi guys,

I'm a track day virgin, and also need a lot more confidence in corners. I know the bike is capable of a lot more than what I can do, it's just growing a pair and doing it. My CBR600 had 9mm chichen strips, but my new ZX-9R is more like 20mm, embarrassing.

Anyway, my mate signed up for a track day at Castle Combe, so I thought I'd give it a pop, get used to cornering in a safe environment, knowing how the bike reacts etc, getting confidence up, and hopefully making me a better rider.

My goals for the track day are, in this order:

1. Give the bike some beans, and have fun

2. Get some confidence in cornering, and find out how far the bike can actually go down, rather that worrying about gravel/lorries/pot holes/animals

3. Maybe actually get me knee down

Now, I've been told for 2. and 3. maybe another track like Brands Hatch would be better, but too late now, I've signed up for this one. I'm sure 1. and 2. will be fine on any track.

So my questions:

A. What's Castle Combe like for getting knee down? Is it too fast/straight for a newbie to do that (100MPH corners etc), or slow enough for someone like me to have a fair chance?

B. With a half decent rider, on a road bike (like mine), what short of speed are the corners/straights?

C. Is it true we're in 6 groups, so riding 10 mins per hour only? (doesn't seem much)

Thx

[Guest]

Ah, just seen the date in the top right corner, guess you have already been there then!! Doh, maybe I should take note of dates before writing replies!!

Feeling a little bit stupid now.

 

Hi

I ride at Castle Combe a lot. There are lots of different corners, from heading into the Avon rise at about 120mph to the very slow Bobbys chicane before the start finish straight. I love the track, and am always learning how to ride quicker around it.

The circuit run six groups, max of 12 riders in each group, 10 min sessions. There is an instructor that leads out the group to warm up tyres and stop people crashing at Quarry on cold tyres. After 3/4 of the way around he speeds up or pulls off to allow you past.

There is a very good New to Track programme, and the instructors are experienced and helpful. There is a cafe on site, hot and cold food plus beverages (tea and coffee). There is also a truck parked outside the cafe selling track bits, tyres, and advice. The only thing you need to be careful of is the db level of your bike. Due to very stringent rules put on them, the noise testing is done in a slightly different way to most other circuits. Standard cans are normally fine, except GSXR750K7 and a few other types which fail on standard can. The man int he truck has db killers you can buy if you fail.

Other than that, it is a really friendly circuit. I'll be there on 20th April with a few mates, but won't be on track to start off with as we are running the Bike Experience course for a paralysed motorcyclist.

Cheers

Talan

 

Hi guys,

I'm a track day virgin, and also need a lot more confidence in corners. I know the bike is capable of a lot more than what I can do, it's just growing a pair and doing it. My CBR600 had 9mm chichen strips, but my new ZX-9R is more like 20mm, embarrassing.

Anyway, my mate signed up for a track day at Castle Combe, so I thought I'd give it a pop, get used to cornering in a safe environment, knowing how the bike reacts etc, getting confidence up, and hopefully making me a better rider.

My goals for the track day are, in this order:

1. Give the bike some beans, and have fun

2. Get some confidence in cornering, and find out how far the bike can actually go down, rather that worrying about gravel/lorries/pot holes/animals

3. Maybe actually get me knee down

Now, I've been told for 2. and 3. maybe another track like Brands Hatch would be better, but too late now, I've signed up for this one. I'm sure 1. and 2. will be fine on any track.

So my questions:

A. What's Castle Combe like for getting knee down? Is it too fast/straight for a newbie to do that (100MPH corners etc), or slow enough for someone like me to have a fair chance?

B. With a half decent rider, on a road bike (like mine), what short of speed are the corners/straights?

C. Is it true we're in 6 groups, so riding 10 mins per hour only? (doesn't seem much)

Thx