What are the novice only days like? I've only done 1 track day, it was a Ron Haslam trackday I won 15 years ago. I'm only 10mins from Oulton and ashamedly I've never been round. Any opinions? Was meant to be going to Scotland next week but that's been cancelled so I'm thinking of doing this instead.
I don't know what the Novice only days are like, but I suspect they're more Novice than the Road Bike only days. As for booking, forget Trackdays.co.uk, they're the same price as direct at best. General rule is - If it's an MSV track then book direct and use the online code TDRBIKE20. Or if it's not an MSV track or you can't do MSV's dates then book through NoLimits.
Thanks very much for that! How much back tyre do you normally get through on a trackday? Mine has approx 2.5-3mm left, still a decent shape and I would hope to get atleast another 500-1000miles out of it on the road. It's a Bridgestone S21.
If you're not that close to the limit in the centre on road bikes rear tyre then you'l easily do a day in Novice. I'm not that hard on tyres, so I'll get a few days out of a rear. If in doubt you can buy tyres and get them fitted on the day. Unless you're towing the bike there, in which case you can chuck a spare in the boot and get it fitted on site.
Doesnt matter, trackdays.co.uk is just an aggregator, same as skyscanner. I believe prices are exactly the same.
All depends on how hard you push. Don't worry about the tires, you can always buy one on-site or bring with you. Don't forget to set track tire pressure !
Enjoy mate! I think they put cones on the apex's and some other additional tuition factors involved on the novice only days.
MSVT are great for novice days, they really look after you at Bedford where I've been. I think the novice only days have cars there too, in different sessions. The tuition is worth doing.
Yes I read that about novice cars being there at the same time. That doesn't bother me really, something different to look at when not riding, guess they would dry the track quicker too if there were any showers!
I've done track days through No Limits at Oulton before, I like the way they run things. However there is always riders who go in the novice group who really Should be in intermediate. It's no big deal but if its novice only track day there's probably still a bunch of guys who are quick (ie not novices) ..... so if someone comes round the outside of you at Cascades with their knee down, brace yourself
Yea to be fair I don't expect myself to be wobbling round getting in people's way, I'm confident enough on a bike. Preservation of my beloved will keep it sensible though
I was more referring to the fact that some people dishonestly put them selves in a novice or slow group.......when really they should be in a faster group! I have no doubts about your capabilities @CharlieR85
For newbies it's hard to fathom out which group you should be in before you start though. I'd like to dip my toe in the water and start doing trackdays but I'm a bit apprehensive, knowing which group is just one of the issues. Only ever been on track twice, both at Donington via Ron Haslam. Second time I got down to 1:59 laptimes, which I thought was decent and then read in PB where Michael Rutter did 1:38, also on a 2017 Blade, after which I decided I was not so decent Oulton is the track nearest to me but having never ridden it and being on my own bike I'd definitely go for a novice group.
if I was that close to a track, especially Oulton I'd go alot more often. My closest are Bedford and Snetterton which I've been to a few times but they are a massive trek. Have to be honest though my first track day at Snetterton almost put me off, probably in the middle ability of the group but one or two in the group ruined it for me with some really dodgy over takes, my mates encouraged me to do another and the second experience go me addicted! Sadly haven't done any for a while though road bike only day seem to have an appeal.
Oulton is a brill track, done loads of miles around it on Track Days. It is however a very technical track and takes some learning to get the best out of you and ya bike. Trashed a ZX10R there back in 2014 at Island bend and broke 4 ribs! Recommend No Limits!
@Muffking how strict are the kit inspections before a trackday? One of the wrist velcro straps has just broken off on my RST tractech gloves. It's the little one I've circled in the picture. Will replace them if I need to but was going to carry on with them for a bit longer if I could. I presume the inspections are going to be done at a safe 2 metre distance anyway.
