I did the Ron Haslam race school

trinituner

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Good morning,

As I am up fairly early and still doing my daily search for a R1100RS or S that I can afford in the forsale section I thought I would give my experience of the Ronny Haslam race school at Donington that I just completed.


My own riding experience is 17 years with a few trackdays on sports bikes in the early mid 2000's, then kinda progressed over to the adventure side of things when road riding was getting boring on a sports bike also I guess getting older and wiser had something to do with it, as such I have been riding a GS for the last 5 years.

The cost of the day was £269, that is for everything and there is no excess if you crash, it will just mean that is the end of your day!!!. The day is broken down into 5 stages, you have 3 on track sessions and two debriefs with your instructor. The ratio is 2 students to 1 instructor. They ask you at the time of booking about experience etc so they can best match you with someone of a similar ability. The guy I was with was a regular and this was his forth time at the school!!!, obviously my resume sounded far better than what my riding skill would suggest :comfort

I had my own old soggy kit plus a new Shoei lid that I got from a pal who runs a dealership and wore it once on the road and decided to go back to Arai, at this stage I can say the X spirit is a bloody awesome lid.. If you need kit they have everything there you will need, Spada provide leathers etc and Arai provide helmets this is all included in the price.

The bikes are CBR600RR 2017 models if you are doing the Premier 600 course and the thing I learned quickly was just how different these newer breed of 600s are from the bikes I had ridden in the early 2000s, they rev like buggery and there is fuck all power below 7-8k. They have a servo braking system and the brakes are awesome. Tyres are Dunlop Roadsmart 3 which are actually classed as a sports touring tyre, we was unaware of this until the end and had I not have been told I would have thought we was on far sportier rubber, tyre tech like everything else has moved on in massive leaps. They where as good to ride on as the older Metzeler Rennsport I use to use and they had way more grip than I would ever need.

Once you are introduced to your instructor you can discuss what you want from the day and he will make sure that the advice given covers that.

So there are a few different groups running through the day so the bikes are in a rotation, one group will head out then as they are coming in from their session you will be walking into pit lane to collect your allocated bike. The good thing with this is the everything is warm and ready to go, so no pissing about with tyre warmers etc etc..

You take it in turns to be the lead rider behind your instructor and they have a few hand signals to get you to do certain things like turn in etc, after half session you will swap over and your partner will then become lead rider. sessions last from 15-17 minutes.

For me I had never been to Donington before so in the first session I was just learning the line, also how to fucking ride a sports bike again after nearly 10 years. bottom line after first session was I was using far to much body movement and it was upsetting the bike, I also have to try and brake then move my body into the cornering position in one smooth motion.

After two sessions the pace was increased and I would guess we would be mid to upper pack of the inters group of a regular track day which was where I was riding previous all those years ago.

At the end you have a debrief and presentation where you are then told your riding was being scored, I got 90% as did a few others and one gentleman got a 97, not sure it all means much but hey :nenau:blagblah

For me it was a quantum leap back into riding and within 3 session I could feel the cobwebs where flying off, I could head to Donington tomorrow now knowing the correct the line, brake and turning markers. I have a firm understanding of what I am doing wrong and would have a firm base to build on if I decided to start doing track days again..


So is it worth it???????.......

In a nutshell yes it is, BUT if I had a sports bike already I "could" in theory get the same level of instruction during a regular track day at any circuit, just arrive early grab a instructor and go from there, granted the quality can be iffy.

For someone new to track days I would say 1000% it is worth it if you are a bit nervous of heading out on track, or if you just want a track blast on a good bike at a decent track then for the outlay everything is taken care of.

I was extremely lucky with weather it was high 20's and sunny but as we was heading into the final awards it started to shower, they do still run the day in the wet but honestly I can say I would not be that interested in riding a track on regular road tyres in the wet..

If anyone wants to ask anything about the day then please ask or if you have questions regarding the instruction I will see if I can give you a heads up...



Regards
 
Been a few times. Did the 600s and my first instructor in 2009 was Peter Hickman ! When I did the elite on the blade , had a one to one with John Reynolds. Lots of the BSB guys and TT riders have worked there. Saw Guy Martin instructing once.

Highlight of the day is getting a pillion ride on the blade with Ron . Unbelievable . Not too sure about using a 2017 blade with the throttle issues though.
 
Indeed it is a bit of a whos whos,


I saw Michael Rutter and Neil Tuxworth there with some Jap Honda bods (I would guess), Glen Richards, Steve Parrish, and a whole host of others where instructing..

Can't comment on the Blade as I also did the 600s, maybe would look at it if I decide to get back on track...
 
doing my first one later on this year and another mid next year looking forward to it
 
They have a servo braking system and the brakes are awesome.
Regards

They might feel powerful, they might have big discs and sintered pads, but the CBR600RR brakes do not have a flipping servo!

I agree with the rest !

Great value for money. The only snag is ; Ron has sold out for the rest of 2017 ( Fireblade Elite courses)

PS , it's not easy to get 90% ! You must have listened well to your instructor ! Well done. A great report of an amazing day.
 
I did it a few years ago and quickly realised I don't belong on a track.

My instructor was Mick Wilcox, former British 125 champion. I was on a CBR600, he on a CB500. He was quicker. His 74% mark for me was generous in the extreme.

The experience of having ridden Donington was great, but I never managed to relax and found the experience as a whole daunting. I will only ever go back to a circuit as a spectator. I am aware that I am in a minority in not enjoying it but that's how it was for me.
 
I enjoyed an IAM skills day at Knockhill yesterday. Luckily it stayed dry against the odds.

Although not a traditional track session, of which I've enjoyed (endured) a few, it was good to be in a small group with a dedicated coach where the focus was simply practising "road riding" techniques on a nice clear track.

I was impressed with the way my RT mounted tutor could stick to either side of my rear wheel whenever he wanted to "observe", while happily letting us open it up if desired when riding in the leading position.

I'll never be a racer - on track or road - as I struggle to get over the fear of grinding something out on the big fat beemer and ending in the kitty litter (as one did).

But I'm happy that so far I've returned home safely and smoothly from every ride by treating every other road user and hazard as the enemy to be avoided :)
 
Just rehashing what we was told???,

"These bikes have a servo system, they will feel a fair bit sharper than what you rode previous"...


Regards
 


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