Track days in the wet :(

[Paul the 6th]

Booked on cadwell park for tomorrow but the forecast is absolutely shocking... Camping there tonight but will have my waterproofs/clear visor/quite a few towels/dry changes of clothes with me.. Is there anything else I should consider?

Also, does anyone know if there's usually a tyre man there? My rear is getting towards being reasonably squared off so tempted to stick some wets on for the day and then refit my current tyres to get me home

[the_lone_wolf]

If you're feeling flush a pair of Avon ProExtremes will grip like you wouldn't believe in the wet

But you'll be lucky to get a full day's riding out of the rear

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

Track days in the wet

Are fantastic! Have a good time.

Don't worry about tyres, that's not the thing to obsess about, get fussy over smooth - then it'll all work brilliantly and you'll have a laugh.

I've only ever done trackdays in the wet. It's brilliant as it slows down the rich folk on 1198s so you can get them round the outside! Unless your tyres are near dead, I wouldn't be fussed about switching them. Tyres won't wear so much if its wet.

Entirely up to you though of course, only you know what your tyres are like!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

Also, does anyone know if there's usually a tyre man there? My rear is getting towards being reasonably squared off so tempted to stick some wets on for the day and then refit my current tyres to get me home

Expensive day!

[Drew Carey]

Just looked at Metcheck, only due to be approx 2.8mm of rain in morning. Afternoon is supposed to be better. Also, according to BBC its light showers, clearing by 10amish. What time you on?

Proper wets stick like **** to a blanket but chew up as soon as the track gets a dry line.
RATHER THAN WASTE YOUR MONEY JUST GET NEW ROAD TYRES AND ENJOY YOURSELF.
By doing this you will appreciate just how much grip you have on the public highway.

P.S Have a little play with your tyre pressures dropping 2psi can make a lot of difference

[Paul the 6th]

Just sat at Biketyresleeds.com getting some nu-rubber. Did some sums & worked out I've done around 6,500 on both front & rear michellin pilot roads since the end of march! Decided to treat the bike to pr2's as I do enough mileage to enjoy some decent sticky all weather rubber

Cheers for the forecast drew - two fronts of low pressure closing in from the south east & north west mean that if we do see any dry patches it'll be over north Lincolnshire & humberside in the afternoon. I'll be one of the first booking on at half 7 since my driving licence is still on holiday in Swansea.. All day event as well!

[Binky]

How did it go in the end?

[Paul the 6th]

got up at 7am, soaking wet mist but not raining.. After the first session it started to brighten up a little bit but the track stayed damp til the end of the 2nd session. By mid morning the track was dry and cloud was becoming patchy, even letting a bit of sun through.

By lunchtime it was belting down sunshine and I even had time to take my tent down and let it dry before the first session of the afternoon.

Never had my kneedown till yesterday and once I'd cracked it I couldn't stop - must have had it down about 15 times; hairpin, barn, park, once on chris' curve and about every other lap on the right hander into mountain. Left knee scuffed just the once but I wasn't feeling confident to try and do both knees in one day.

Was probably 2nd or 3rd fastest in the novice group so I'm tempted to give intermediate group a try on my next visit to cadwell.. Got talking to a guy who ended up fitting a bullet camera to my bike - the last session of the day is the only one which turned out well (on the fastest bits of the track it looks like I'm bending the laws of physics as the framerate isn't able to keep up with what's going on). Ended up passing quite a few people on the outside as I got more confident (although they were braking & turning WAAAAAY early so it wasn't exactly difficult but it did make each of my testicles do a little dance).

SRAD with michellin pilot road 2's = mind blowing. Even the Art Editor (simon) from bike magazine came over and gave me a mouthful of "f*** me you were rockin' it out there!" - ...and he was on a harley xr1200 roadster type bike hanging off trying to get his kneedown, absolutely hilarious and amazing in equal measure..

Starting to think someone has fiddled with the suspension on my bike at some point - it's rock solid and handles like a race bike - thinking it's prolly got uprated springs and 1,000,000-w oil but don't wanna look inside incase it's not as good when I put it back together

Absolutely aching in my legs and forearms today. Had a massive attack of cramp in my inner thigh last night (on my right leg). Defo time to start going to the gym again if I wanna do more of these trackdays. Video to follow later