My half arsed F400 nc30

[Zippy]

This seems to be the dates for next year. Looks like I'm going to have to get some cover for next year doesn't it.

BMCRC Race School: Brands Hatch Indy 22nd & 23rd February (CTC Course on the Saturday and on-track on the Sunday)

Pre-Season Testday Brands Hatch: 4th April

Brands Hatch Indy: 5-6th April

Snetterton 300: 26-27th April*

Silverstone International: 10-11th May

(Hangar Straight, Stowe, Club, Abbey and the Wing…not been raced by bikes before…there will be a testday Friday)

Oulton Park: 24th May & 26th May

(Full testday Friday, then 2-days racing on Saturday and Bank Hols Monday, sightseeing/relaxing on the Sunday)

Donington GP: 21-22nd June

(Friday Testday under negotiation)

Cadwell Park: 19-20th July

Brands Hatch GP: 9-10th August

(Indy Testday on Friday)

Snetterton 300: 6-7th September

Brands Hatch Indy: 4-5th October

All meetings will have a BMCRC Friday Test day

[28hodge]

Cadwell

Having been to a trackday with practical sportsbike mag the month before the Bemsee round I was looking forward to this. On the trackday to be honest I hadn’t taken to the cadwell circuit that well in the first 2 sessions, though I got happier and more confident as the day wore on, until I had a massive moment heading into the top of the gooseneck.

There are two strips of tarmac here and you cross the join in them cranked over and on the gas, before sitting up to brake and tipping tipping in for the first right for the goose neck. This join between the tarmac was causing a nervous twitch as I crossed it each lap, and one lap this twitch got very out of hand and nearly turned itself into a bit of a massive slapper.

Top of the Gooseneck is no place for a slapper!!

As it turned out I managed to get the bike upright and calmed down a bit before turning it in and ran a bit wide on both parts of the Gooseneck. Still it got my attention.

Determined not to be like I was at Donington I got myself a lot more organised in the week leading up to Cadwell which saw me set off in good time, only to hit bad traffic due to an accident on the M62 which lost me 45 mins on what is already a ball ache of a journey from the lake district to Cadwell.

Cadwell has no garages but there was a couple of F400 marquees set up and I had gotten a spot in one of them (Cheers James), I also had my own 3x2 gala tent to unload my spares and other gear into so that I could sleep in the back of the van.

Biggest drama on Friday was realising I’d forgotten my torch!

Saturday dawned wet and damp but forecast to dry out and stay dry all day so it was looking like a good day was up for grabs. The 400’s were the first group out all weekend thank god as this means I won’t be getting home too late on Sunday (after Donington where we were the 2nd to last group out it was 10.30 by the time I had packed up and driven home) Battery installed (correctly this time!) bike warmed up and away to the collecting area for qualifying.

We are all on wets and the track is wet greasy and cold, basically pretty shitty in terms of grip, I also seem to have put some sort of water attractor onto my visor, as the water isn’t beading up and running off its just smearing to hell and I really can’t see that much at all. There appears to be zero grip and I lose the front into the hairpin and the last left prior to the start finish, my wets aint the best in the world but they are certainly better than this, massively spooked I roll off and decide that I’ll come in and check the pressures rather than push on and risk a crash.

Just as I am cruising round to pull off and head back the red flags come out as I am entering Mansfield I pop my shitted up visor and suddenly see oil everywhere, it becomes clear why I have had zero grip, there is an oil slick the entire length of the circuit.

Somebodies had an oil line burst but with the spray from the damp track the marshalls and the rider haven’t noticed and carried on for 2 laps coating the track. With it being wet the organisers have no choice but to wait for the track to dry and then clean the oil off it. This takes them well over 2 hours and a lot of the riders get their brooms outta their vans and go help. As such with so much time lost they cancel one block of racing from the days schedule.

When they are all sorted again and can resume running we get out for our first look at the track post clean-up, for our qualifying. The track is minging, this isn’t a dig at the organisers or marshalls that did the clean-up, they have had no choice other than cover the track in a continuous line of cement dust, its especially bad round the hairpin and final corner onto the start finish, I take I easy and go a little quicker each lap, but I am definitely not pushing at all, and neither are many others as I out qualify several that are an awful lot faster than me with a 2.06.230 in 28th out 38 f400 bikes.

I know from the trackday that I can do a 1.57 and that’s in trackday traffic. Racechrono showed an optimum of low 1.54’s and this was what I was wanting to aim to start at and then take time off as the weekend progressed.

I come in have a quick look round the bike to make sure all is ok, put the battery on charge (lesson learned from Dono here) and then try to decide what to do about tyres, I’d gone out on the Dunlop KR364’s for quali, mainly as I thought the track was more than likely low on grip thanks to the oil.

The track was 100% dry and normally that would mean a supercorsa without thinking, but the track was cold, covered in the cement dust and probably still had some oil lingering around, based on this I decided the stick with the KR364’s

[Fitty]

What are the super corsas you're using? I was having a squizz at the range and couldn't see anything suitable for an NC30 (I've got an RVF rim).

[ChowderV4]

What are the super corsas you're using? I was having a squizz at the range and couldn't see anything suitable for an NC30 (I've got an RVF rim).

If you've got a 17" rear then the supercorsa's should fit, usually run the sc1 compound on the front and sc2 compound on the rear.

[keithvfr]

Great thread and full of useful info.

Looks like a trip south might be in order for Oulton park next season.7.5HRS drive but could be worth it for the bank holiday meeting.

[Zippy]

One question I do have is with the grids kept to about 40 is there a chance of turning up and not getting a grid slot to race?

[james66]

No theres not a chance of that, it works in a way that you send in your entry + the entry is first come first served basis, you are notified before the weekend if you are a reserve + where on the reserve list you are, if you are a reserve then the choice is yours whether to go or not, may get out but may not as it depends how the weekend goes with crashes + breakdowns etc, get your entry in early + you will be ok, if tickets turn up in the post a week or so before the meeting then you have a grid slot

[bean]

^^ what he said, I misse a whole race weekend due to a late entry, which as I remember it was 10 days before the weekend, got offered to go in the reserves list, but your given no garantee of a place on the grid, that particular weekend had 3 or 4 already on the reserve infront of me.

[Zippy]

How soon can you sign up for a race weekend as I can only realistically do 3 -4 meets a year.

[benny]

This seems to be the dates for next year. Looks like I'm going to have to get some cover for next year doesn't it.

BMCRC Race School: Brands Hatch Indy 22nd & 23rd February (CTC Course on the Saturday and on-track on the Sunday)

Pre-Season Testday Brands Hatch: 4th April

Brands Hatch Indy: 5-6th April

Snetterton 300: 26-27th April*

Silverstone International: 10-11th May

(Hangar Straight, Stowe, Club, Abbey and the Wing…not been raced by bikes before…there will be a testday Friday)

Oulton Park: 24th May & 26th May

(Full testday Friday, then 2-days racing on Saturday and Bank Hols Monday, sightseeing/relaxing on the Sunday)

Donington GP: 21-22nd June

(Friday Testday under negotiation)

Cadwell Park: 19-20th July

Brands Hatch GP: 9-10th August

(Indy Testday on Friday)

Snetterton 300: 6-7th September

Brands Hatch Indy: 4-5th October

All meetings will have a BMCRC Friday Test day

You shouldn't need an on track assessment if you have a full license.