Novice track sessions

Ive only been riding a couple of months but my mind keeps wandering to thoughts of doing a track session and i know that you are the guys to ask. Obviously i'm a novice - i've never been above 90mph (cos i'm yellow )and still a bit slow around the bends, but everyone keeps telling me that it would improve my riding skills and give me more confidence to find out what both the bike and i are capable of.
So i was wondering, can anyone recommend a good novice circuit/session/event where i wont feel completely overwhelmed and also where some training could be given first. I often look at the days you guys are having but feel they would probably be well out of my league, after all, theres novice and theres my kinda novice
Thank-yoooo!!!

MSV have a novice only day start of september at Snetterton. i did one not long ago there after only riding for a few months and thought it was great fun, I was nervous as hell when i got there but once out on track felt fine, you'll be surprised how well your SV holds it own against 'quicker' bikes. even thinking about doing it again myself and dragging along a few track day virgins from work

I would be worried about binning the bike on a trackday, thats what would put me off.
Or...do you not get even close to the limit of the sv for that to be a problem?

[yorkie_chris]

There is no obligation to ride absolutely balls out and fall off.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

There is no obligation to ride absolutely balls out and fall off.

Wouldnt you look a bit boring and out of place?

Ride for you'reself, always.
Won't have a problem that way.

When you try to keep up with more experienced riders, that's when accidents happen.

[yorkie_chris]

I've no track experience, but on the road you get some nuggets going "flat out" to them, then other people taking it in their own time.

Go along for a laugh and don't worry how you look!

[Dave20046]

I tried my best and couldn't drop it, lot of back end skids which I got used to and a very near highside. Others are a concern though, aslong as you stay in control yourself-if not, that's your main priority right there. I had crash bungs (for the road anyway) on and removed my lowers just incase.

Kellyjo - I think you'd benefit massively. you don't have to go fast - I didn't. it was the cornering I was there for. Technique, finding limits etc.
Take it slow and progress through day, I went at snails pace learning the track/bike/tyres/meself then went for it a fair bit on the last session (risky but it was fun).

Find a track near you and do it as soon as you can. You'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner. Some circuits offer evening sessions if you want to try it without the big financial outlay. If you want to, treat it as a day on some brilliantly surfaced roads, with everyone going in the same direction on bikes, so no cars buses and the like, and some lovely helpful people there to wave flags at you if the road gets a bit slippery. This means that if you want to (and you probably won't) you can ride at the pace you normally do on the road and just use it as a chance to practice a variety of corners

Ride at your own pace, don't worry how you look, and all track days that I know of offer instruction on the day. Novice track sessions and track days are just that: they are for novices. This includes you even if you've only just passed your test the day before and get your new bike what you have never ridden delivered to the track!

Alternatively there are a few people offering circuit based training, such as... erm... Circuit Based Training and the California Superbike School. They tend to be pricier though. There's also the Ron Haslam Race School, but having done it I'd say do a few track days first, then decide if you want to do something that focused on going quick, coz it's £300 or so.

Hope that helps.

I did the Craig Jones Bike Skills Academy at Silverstone last Monday with a couple of others from this forum.

The day was focussed on confidence and included slaloms etc which built my tyre confidence. The day also included sessions on the Grand Prix circuit which was in the form of a few sighting laps and then 2x 20min 'do what you want' sessions.

We were mixed in with the novice group on track who were doing a Focused Events track day which was running parallel to the academy. The on-track pace wasn't really dictated to you as the track is so wide if anyone is quicker they can easily go round you. I actually found myself being quicker than others who were on the actual track day and from what I experienced the novice pace is really quite slow overall. We didn't really have any on-track instruction other than following Micheal Rutter around...! Personally though, you can feel where you need to go for each corner, and with Silverstone being so wide it doesn't matter if you go off line, there is still yards of tarmac!

This was my first ever experience of track riding and must say that the confidence I had through the corners was very good after the intial shock of going out on track for the first time. The amount of grip and the uniform surface is brilliant to experience!

I'd recommend doing this course as it involves a bit of everything and was only £100. It only runs a handfull of times per year though!

http://www.bikeskillsacademy.com/

EDIT: FYI...it says you need to be over 25 but as long as you email them before booking you can be any age. I'm only 20.