Silverstone GP circuit - March 31st 2008, the org's trackday
Copse corner on my 1998 CBR600 FW. I'd finally managed to get Copse right and that same session I'd managed to go under a crowd of bigger bikes moving way faster than I'd ever dared before and outbraked them all into the corner. Still going much faster than I felt comfortable I decided to just hang off a bit more and keep going... until the Akrapovic can started grinding out - I got through and realised I could do Copse much faster than I ever had previously. I know this photo was taken on the same session after that incident because I moved the can back to where it should be before the next session; you can see where it was shunted back in the strap against the holding springs in the photo
Next one was taken at Mallory Park's hairpin on my old Bandit 600 - 27/7/2006. I paid £200 for that bike and ran it for 18 months as a commuter, work hack, regular transport for the 260 mile round trip to see my then girlfriend and also did two trackdays on it.
I turned up for the Mallory trackday fully loaded with camping kit as I was off racing at Brands with my mate Danny that evening. I was intending to hire a bike there, but took my own out instead and had a whale of a time embarrassing much bigger bikes by going round the outside of them round Gerards and diving underneath them at the hairpin. All this on Avon AV45/46ST sports touring tyres wth tread like a tractor's. A fantastic day that was.
Coppice corner at Donington Park in August 2005 on my GSX-R 1000 K1. It's not a good photo, I'm not hanging off and I was riding really badly. I put this in because it reminds me of the struggle I had learning to ride a bike again after illness. This was the first trackday I ever did, and it was a spur of the moment thing about 6 months after I had a mild stroke and I scared myself silly all day long, but the addiction was there. This photo makes me feel proud of myself for overcoming something that could have stopped me riding altogether
