Hello from down undah - where the water drains counter-clockwise in the toilet, the men seem to be at work all the time, and everyone is hanging on for dear life so they don't fall off the bottom of the planet!
We're here for a track day at the world-famous Phillip Island Circuit. Located about an hour and a half south of Melbourne, it's a purpose-built track specifically for motorcycles (even though cars do race there) and is the only circuit located on a wildlife reserve. Very special place and favorite for a lot of racers due to its fast-flowing nature.
The pits open at 7AM for a first session start at 9AM. Everyone slowly filters in through the narrow tunnel that leads from the outside of the track to the infield. Locals and visitors, first timers and pro-racers, all fill up the garages that lead out to pit lane.
These are the same garages that the MotoGP and WSBK teams use! It's pretty cheap to rent out, you can reserve a single spot for your bike for $20 AUD ($17 CDN) in a 6-bike shared garage, or rent the entire garage for $100 AUD ($85 CDN). This club above rented a double garage for $200 AUD. The garages come with electricity for fans and tire warmers and gets you out of the beating sun. So worth it if you split the cost 5 or 6 ways!
The calm before the storm...
Since we're not bringing our own bikes down to Oz, we are renting bikes from the track day organizers. You can also rent gear as well, so you can basically show up with nothing but maybe a pair of base layers and socks and be good to go for the entire day!
The organizer has brought a whole motorcycle gear store's worth of helmets, one-piece leather racing suits, boots and gloves in all sizes.
If you're a normal sized person, you might get gear that's been previously enjoyed many, many times, as the scuffs on the leathers attest to their heavy rotation.
I just happen to be sized like an elf, so my extra-small suit is pretty much brand spankin' new - the knee pucks have never seen the asphalt!
Let's change that today, shall we?!?
There are four groups running 20 minute sessions, but everyone in red group has their own bike
White is beginner, Yellow is Medium-Slow, Green is Medium-Fast and Red is Fast.
Neda exits onto pit lane on the #30, I'm on the #29 on the right. So excited!!!
The bikes we're renting are current model BMW S1000RRs. They're pretty much stock, except for track bodywork, some crash bungs on the side and they're shod with Dunlop Sportmax DOT tires. The bikes are set for "Road" mode at the beginning of the day, but we're allowed to cycle through the modes, "Rain" for less power, "Dynamic" for full power and less electronic aids. "Race" mode is disabled as we're not running racing slicks... and it's a recreational track day...
All the first-timers to Phillip Island are given a van tour of the track, where the turn-in, apex and exit points for each corner are pointed out. Honestly, it was information-overload. By the time we got to Turn 3, all details went in one ear and out the other...
Nervous energy and adrenaline coursing beneath our leathers as we line up for our first lap
In addition to the van tour, all the first-timers are also given a guided lap behind a riding coach who will show us the racing line. Everyone rushes to get behind the coach so they get the best view of the line.
Unfortunately, my last track day was over 12 years ago - June 2011 - and that was also the last time I sat on a sportbike. I've been on dirt bikes and adventure bikes ever since, so while everyone got a front row seat behind the track coach, I was busy trying to find the rearsets on the S1000RR... OMG, they're so far back!!! Why are my heels touching my butt?!?!
I line up at the end of pit lane and we're so far behind I can't even see the coach. As we're let out on the track single file, the third guy behind the coach is already taking a wide line along the outside of the track, so nobody behind him learns anything... I just use the first couple of laps to get used to riding a sportbike again.
It feels good. Really good...
Neda is 100% focus. So Fierce!!!
I can't believe I'm riding the same track that I've watched on so many MotoGP and WSBK races on TV.
We tip our bikes at street-pace through the turns and in my head, I chant out: "Doohan Corner" "Southern Loop", "Stoner Corner", "Honda Corner (now Miller Corner)", "Siberia", "The Hayshed" "Lukey Heights", "MG". From memory, I can hear the names of these legendary turns being yelled out by energetic announcers shouting out play-by-plays of the most exciting, daring passes by the fastest riders on two wheels ever made...!
So. Very. Coooool!!!!!
After two laps of a dozen Phillip Island newbs in front of me all taking a dozen different lines, the coach pulls into the pits and we're let out on our own for our first flying lap.
It's a f*cking disaster.
Most of the newbs (including me) have no idea where the next corner is. You can't even follow the rider in front of you. It's like the blind leading the blind out there.
A very quick 20 minutes later, the checkered flag is waved and we all file back into the pits. That went by so quick, I wanted to stay out for at least a couple more laps!!!
We made friends with our fellow bike renters. This is David, he's a local and it's his very first track day ever so he's in White group
We also befriended a Swede from Stockholm who was a track day afficiondo. This was his second day at PI and he was in green group, eager to give us tips and help us with our lines around the track.
There's an hour between sessions as each of the three other groups take their 20-minute turns. In that time, we put our heads together and talk excitedly, all the while trying to digest what just happened.
The hour goes by fast, and they call us out for the second session in no time. Holy crap, we're out again?!?!
Turn 2 aka Southern Loop, looking out towards the South Pacific Ocean
The second session is much better. I'm used to the bike. Also, I'm now aiming for the turtles and slowly learning the order of the turns. By mid-session, I know which turn is coming up. But I still don't have a grasp on the proper racing line.
Again, 20 minutes comes up waaaay too fast, and just as I get comfortable with the track layout, the checkered flag calls us in again.
I now have a plan for the next session and I'm super eager to get out again!
At the break, all our new riding buddies huddle around the track map and we formulate a plan. I jot down some notes:
Each one of us has a favorite corner and a nemesis. Tommy the Swede is having problems with Southern Loop. Neda is having problems with the 8-9-10 complex.
I'm having problems with Turns 1 through 12...
Turn 2 is problematic for a lot of people. It's a double apex corner, but you have to commit and run the correct line. Turning in too early or running wide will put you out in the grass at the exit of the corner, as Tommy found out - he went all the way past the grass to to the gravel and gently kissed the tire wall. Holy crap, I didn't want to hear that!
Myself, I spent all of the last session trying to find that double apex line and failing each time, having to always course-correct or adjust my speed in the middle of the turn. I was determined to get Turn 2 right on the next session!
On the warm-up lap, that plan gets thrown out the window.
Leading the group, or holding it up...?
I saw the track photographer camped out at Turn 2 and all of a sudden, my immediate goal was not to master that corner.
I wanted to get a cool picture instead.
F*ck the double apex. On my first flying lap, I stayed all the way to the outside of Turn 2 and made the double apex a single one, diving to the exit full throttle just to get a knee-down pic at the second apex:
LOL. It worked. Such a poser...
With my photo opp out of the way, I went back to learning the lines.
Turn 3 is a fast left hand kink, the track coach told us the proper way to take this corner is WOT and that there are two lines here: the knee-dragging line that clips the apex, and the elbow-dragging line two meters beside it. LOL!
However the wind was picking up as the morning went on and the south-westerly gusts were pushing me away from the apex of Turn 3. It was very hard to hang off on that corner so I ended up leaning the bike more and gripping the tank with my knees.
Turn 4 is the slowest corner on the track and one of the three real right-handers. By this time, the right side of your tire has probably cooled down significantly so grip might be an issue. The trick here is to get a late apex out so you get a straight run up the middle of Turn 6.
From here on, it's a gradual uphill WOT as Turn 7 becomes as extension of Turn 6, then a high-speed right-hand kink, still on the throttle and then through Turn 9 AKA the famous Lukey Heights which leads you a super-scary steep, blind uphill.
You have to trust that there is a little bit of room to crest the top before you tip into Turn 10 otherwise you lose a lot of speed rolling off the throttle on that uphill. It's scary because you're basically WOT up a launching ramp.
"and then I pooosh very 'arrrd..."
A good exit out of Turn 10 is critical, because you're building speed through Turns 11 and 12. My max speed exiting onto the straightaway was about 180 km/h and by the end of the Gardner Straight, I'm around 260-270 km/h. The top speed held by MotoGP racer Jorge Martin is 350 km/h! FAAAAK!
You're going the fastest you've ever gone on two wheels when you cross the start/finish line and as you go over the blind crest, the first thing you see are the blue waters of the South Pacific Ocean. Tommy says it's like you're getting ready to fly to Tasmania! LOL!
Your first instinct is to pull on the coward lever as soon and as hard as you can to tip into the fast right hander of Doohan Corner - just to realize you didn't really have to brake that hard and you totally could have taken Turn 1 a lot more quicker. Okay fine, next time then. Except next time it's the same story - you could have braked less and carried more speed.
This happens Every. Single. Time. until you get it right.
Then back to Turn 2 where you can decide whether to do the double apex of Turn 2 correctly, or turn it into a single apex to get another cool knee-down shot...
2024 is the Year of the Dragon... The Knee Dragon!!!
So much fun!
I'm toast by the fourth session as I'm starting to get too confident and I outbrake myself into Turn 1 and sh!t my leathers. I'm about to pit in when the checkered flag gets waved and I'm thankful that it's come so early.
During Red Group's run, thunder clouds roll in and most of the riders pit in because they're all on slicks. Us bike renters debate whether to go out in our sessions or not. Tommy's on his second day here and he's already had an off-track excursion on Turn 2, so he calls it a day. Thankfully, our rental bikes have DOT tires with treads, so White group goes out again with very reduced numbers because it's a wet track. We keep an eye out on the dark skies above us. The winds look like it could blow the clouds away from the track. Maybe....
By the time it's our turn to head out, the rain clouds have drifted away from the track. We decide to just go for a "cruise" session and just learn the racing line, especially Turn 2. I follow Neda for a couple of laps. If you ever want to learn how to ride on the track properly, get her to teach you. She actually cares more about riding the proper line and building speed gradually rather than the rest of us knuckle-draggers who just want to go fast right off the bat, taking totally random lines and missing apexes left, right and... left...
Because most riders have packed up for the day, they combine White and Yellow groups for the last session. Neda and Dave sit out this one and I decide to go out for another "cruise" session. However, after my warm-up lap, a familiar bike passes me on the Gardner Straight heading for Turn 1. It's a girl I met in the pits and she's riding a very distinctive Panigale V2 which I was admiring in the garage.
I slot in behind her and find that I'm only running a second slower in each corner but I catch up to her by the next corner due to my extra 50 hp. She's really fast so I decide to follow her as a reference and learn some good lines and braking markers.
After a couple of laps, she brakes hard for Turn 4 but carries too much speed and blows the corner. I get sucked right in and thankfully the long lap penalty loop is just behind Turn 4 and everything is completely paved - no grass.
This spooks me as this is the second mistake I've made in two sessions, and I'm obviously suffering from fatigue and my judgment is no longer reliable. I get off the racing line and slow all the way down with my left hand in the air to signal I'm heading back to the pits.
I'm done for the day.
Only skipped the last half of the last session. Not bad.
A podium finish!
As we all pack up to leave, we say goodbye to all of our new friends, exchange numbers and get pictures of each other before we all go our separate ways.
Good bye, Swedish Tommy!
Farewell, Aussie Dave!
I'll miss you most of all, Phillip Island!
What an awesome day, can't wait to do it again!!!!
We're here for a track day at the world-famous Phillip Island Circuit. Located about an hour and a half south of Melbourne, it's a purpose-built track specifically for motorcycles (even though cars do race there) and is the only circuit located on a wildlife reserve. Very special place and favorite for a lot of racers due to its fast-flowing nature.
The pits open at 7AM for a first session start at 9AM. Everyone slowly filters in through the narrow tunnel that leads from the outside of the track to the infield. Locals and visitors, first timers and pro-racers, all fill up the garages that lead out to pit lane.
These are the same garages that the MotoGP and WSBK teams use! It's pretty cheap to rent out, you can reserve a single spot for your bike for $20 AUD ($17 CDN) in a 6-bike shared garage, or rent the entire garage for $100 AUD ($85 CDN). This club above rented a double garage for $200 AUD. The garages come with electricity for fans and tire warmers and gets you out of the beating sun. So worth it if you split the cost 5 or 6 ways!
The calm before the storm...
Since we're not bringing our own bikes down to Oz, we are renting bikes from the track day organizers. You can also rent gear as well, so you can basically show up with nothing but maybe a pair of base layers and socks and be good to go for the entire day!
The organizer has brought a whole motorcycle gear store's worth of helmets, one-piece leather racing suits, boots and gloves in all sizes.
If you're a normal sized person, you might get gear that's been previously enjoyed many, many times, as the scuffs on the leathers attest to their heavy rotation.
I just happen to be sized like an elf, so my extra-small suit is pretty much brand spankin' new - the knee pucks have never seen the asphalt!
Let's change that today, shall we?!?
There are four groups running 20 minute sessions, but everyone in red group has their own bike
White is beginner, Yellow is Medium-Slow, Green is Medium-Fast and Red is Fast.
Neda exits onto pit lane on the #30, I'm on the #29 on the right. So excited!!!
The bikes we're renting are current model BMW S1000RRs. They're pretty much stock, except for track bodywork, some crash bungs on the side and they're shod with Dunlop Sportmax DOT tires. The bikes are set for "Road" mode at the beginning of the day, but we're allowed to cycle through the modes, "Rain" for less power, "Dynamic" for full power and less electronic aids. "Race" mode is disabled as we're not running racing slicks... and it's a recreational track day...
All the first-timers to Phillip Island are given a van tour of the track, where the turn-in, apex and exit points for each corner are pointed out. Honestly, it was information-overload. By the time we got to Turn 3, all details went in one ear and out the other...
Nervous energy and adrenaline coursing beneath our leathers as we line up for our first lap
In addition to the van tour, all the first-timers are also given a guided lap behind a riding coach who will show us the racing line. Everyone rushes to get behind the coach so they get the best view of the line.
Unfortunately, my last track day was over 12 years ago - June 2011 - and that was also the last time I sat on a sportbike. I've been on dirt bikes and adventure bikes ever since, so while everyone got a front row seat behind the track coach, I was busy trying to find the rearsets on the S1000RR... OMG, they're so far back!!! Why are my heels touching my butt?!?!
I line up at the end of pit lane and we're so far behind I can't even see the coach. As we're let out on the track single file, the third guy behind the coach is already taking a wide line along the outside of the track, so nobody behind him learns anything... I just use the first couple of laps to get used to riding a sportbike again.
It feels good. Really good...
Neda is 100% focus. So Fierce!!!
I can't believe I'm riding the same track that I've watched on so many MotoGP and WSBK races on TV.
We tip our bikes at street-pace through the turns and in my head, I chant out: "Doohan Corner" "Southern Loop", "Stoner Corner", "Honda Corner (now Miller Corner)", "Siberia", "The Hayshed" "Lukey Heights", "MG". From memory, I can hear the names of these legendary turns being yelled out by energetic announcers shouting out play-by-plays of the most exciting, daring passes by the fastest riders on two wheels ever made...!
So. Very. Coooool!!!!!
After two laps of a dozen Phillip Island newbs in front of me all taking a dozen different lines, the coach pulls into the pits and we're let out on our own for our first flying lap.
It's a f*cking disaster.
Most of the newbs (including me) have no idea where the next corner is. You can't even follow the rider in front of you. It's like the blind leading the blind out there.
A very quick 20 minutes later, the checkered flag is waved and we all file back into the pits. That went by so quick, I wanted to stay out for at least a couple more laps!!!
We made friends with our fellow bike renters. This is David, he's a local and it's his very first track day ever so he's in White group
We also befriended a Swede from Stockholm who was a track day afficiondo. This was his second day at PI and he was in green group, eager to give us tips and help us with our lines around the track.
There's an hour between sessions as each of the three other groups take their 20-minute turns. In that time, we put our heads together and talk excitedly, all the while trying to digest what just happened.
The hour goes by fast, and they call us out for the second session in no time. Holy crap, we're out again?!?!
Turn 2 aka Southern Loop, looking out towards the South Pacific Ocean
The second session is much better. I'm used to the bike. Also, I'm now aiming for the turtles and slowly learning the order of the turns. By mid-session, I know which turn is coming up. But I still don't have a grasp on the proper racing line.
Again, 20 minutes comes up waaaay too fast, and just as I get comfortable with the track layout, the checkered flag calls us in again.
I now have a plan for the next session and I'm super eager to get out again!
At the break, all our new riding buddies huddle around the track map and we formulate a plan. I jot down some notes:
Each one of us has a favorite corner and a nemesis. Tommy the Swede is having problems with Southern Loop. Neda is having problems with the 8-9-10 complex.
I'm having problems with Turns 1 through 12...
Turn 2 is problematic for a lot of people. It's a double apex corner, but you have to commit and run the correct line. Turning in too early or running wide will put you out in the grass at the exit of the corner, as Tommy found out - he went all the way past the grass to to the gravel and gently kissed the tire wall. Holy crap, I didn't want to hear that!
Myself, I spent all of the last session trying to find that double apex line and failing each time, having to always course-correct or adjust my speed in the middle of the turn. I was determined to get Turn 2 right on the next session!
On the warm-up lap, that plan gets thrown out the window.
Leading the group, or holding it up...?
I saw the track photographer camped out at Turn 2 and all of a sudden, my immediate goal was not to master that corner.
I wanted to get a cool picture instead.
F*ck the double apex. On my first flying lap, I stayed all the way to the outside of Turn 2 and made the double apex a single one, diving to the exit full throttle just to get a knee-down pic at the second apex:
LOL. It worked. Such a poser...
With my photo opp out of the way, I went back to learning the lines.
Turn 3 is a fast left hand kink, the track coach told us the proper way to take this corner is WOT and that there are two lines here: the knee-dragging line that clips the apex, and the elbow-dragging line two meters beside it. LOL!
However the wind was picking up as the morning went on and the south-westerly gusts were pushing me away from the apex of Turn 3. It was very hard to hang off on that corner so I ended up leaning the bike more and gripping the tank with my knees.
Turn 4 is the slowest corner on the track and one of the three real right-handers. By this time, the right side of your tire has probably cooled down significantly so grip might be an issue. The trick here is to get a late apex out so you get a straight run up the middle of Turn 6.
From here on, it's a gradual uphill WOT as Turn 7 becomes as extension of Turn 6, then a high-speed right-hand kink, still on the throttle and then through Turn 9 AKA the famous Lukey Heights which leads you a super-scary steep, blind uphill.
You have to trust that there is a little bit of room to crest the top before you tip into Turn 10 otherwise you lose a lot of speed rolling off the throttle on that uphill. It's scary because you're basically WOT up a launching ramp.
"and then I pooosh very 'arrrd..."
A good exit out of Turn 10 is critical, because you're building speed through Turns 11 and 12. My max speed exiting onto the straightaway was about 180 km/h and by the end of the Gardner Straight, I'm around 260-270 km/h. The top speed held by MotoGP racer Jorge Martin is 350 km/h! FAAAAK!
You're going the fastest you've ever gone on two wheels when you cross the start/finish line and as you go over the blind crest, the first thing you see are the blue waters of the South Pacific Ocean. Tommy says it's like you're getting ready to fly to Tasmania! LOL!
Your first instinct is to pull on the coward lever as soon and as hard as you can to tip into the fast right hander of Doohan Corner - just to realize you didn't really have to brake that hard and you totally could have taken Turn 1 a lot more quicker. Okay fine, next time then. Except next time it's the same story - you could have braked less and carried more speed.
This happens Every. Single. Time. until you get it right.
Then back to Turn 2 where you can decide whether to do the double apex of Turn 2 correctly, or turn it into a single apex to get another cool knee-down shot...
2024 is the Year of the Dragon... The Knee Dragon!!!
So much fun!
I'm toast by the fourth session as I'm starting to get too confident and I outbrake myself into Turn 1 and sh!t my leathers. I'm about to pit in when the checkered flag gets waved and I'm thankful that it's come so early.
During Red Group's run, thunder clouds roll in and most of the riders pit in because they're all on slicks. Us bike renters debate whether to go out in our sessions or not. Tommy's on his second day here and he's already had an off-track excursion on Turn 2, so he calls it a day. Thankfully, our rental bikes have DOT tires with treads, so White group goes out again with very reduced numbers because it's a wet track. We keep an eye out on the dark skies above us. The winds look like it could blow the clouds away from the track. Maybe....
By the time it's our turn to head out, the rain clouds have drifted away from the track. We decide to just go for a "cruise" session and just learn the racing line, especially Turn 2. I follow Neda for a couple of laps. If you ever want to learn how to ride on the track properly, get her to teach you. She actually cares more about riding the proper line and building speed gradually rather than the rest of us knuckle-draggers who just want to go fast right off the bat, taking totally random lines and missing apexes left, right and... left...
Because most riders have packed up for the day, they combine White and Yellow groups for the last session. Neda and Dave sit out this one and I decide to go out for another "cruise" session. However, after my warm-up lap, a familiar bike passes me on the Gardner Straight heading for Turn 1. It's a girl I met in the pits and she's riding a very distinctive Panigale V2 which I was admiring in the garage.
I slot in behind her and find that I'm only running a second slower in each corner but I catch up to her by the next corner due to my extra 50 hp. She's really fast so I decide to follow her as a reference and learn some good lines and braking markers.
After a couple of laps, she brakes hard for Turn 4 but carries too much speed and blows the corner. I get sucked right in and thankfully the long lap penalty loop is just behind Turn 4 and everything is completely paved - no grass.
This spooks me as this is the second mistake I've made in two sessions, and I'm obviously suffering from fatigue and my judgment is no longer reliable. I get off the racing line and slow all the way down with my left hand in the air to signal I'm heading back to the pits.
I'm done for the day.
Only skipped the last half of the last session. Not bad.
A podium finish!
As we all pack up to leave, we say goodbye to all of our new friends, exchange numbers and get pictures of each other before we all go our separate ways.
Good bye, Swedish Tommy!
Farewell, Aussie Dave!
I'll miss you most of all, Phillip Island!
What an awesome day, can't wait to do it again!!!!
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