I've never been to shannonville and was told the surface is not in good shape.
Just wondering how does the surface in shannonville compare to TMP? are there any nasty bumps that I should be aware of?
Personally I think the worst surfaced corner in TMP is the turn 6 left hander.
Thanks in advance.
Oh boy, where to start. TMP has its issues (off line through corner one ...) but Shannonville has deteriorated to the point that the surface is quite a bit worse. Shannonville has a better layout (by far) but the surface ... ! ! !
My race bike is 23 years old and has damper-rod forks (although with "emulators" installed and I have a steering damper). If you have something newer with better suspension that can soak up the little irregularities then maybe it won't be this bad. But here goes ...
Corner 1 long track has lots of cracked pavement that go all the way across the track for the first half-ish of the corner, you can't avoid them. Somewhere near 1/3 of the way through the corner, there is something that sends both wheels sliding sideways. I haven't been able to visually pick out what it is in order to avoid it, I just know when I hit it. Exit of corner 1 is OK.
Corners 2 and 3 long track are OK up to the exit of 3. But, you'll have plenty of brake markers to choose from going into 2 - the cracks that go all the way across. They don't bother my bike too much. But at the exit of 3, you will see a white patch in the middle of the track. Try not to hit that. It's a big dip.
Corner 4 long track is mostly okay on the right line. There is some rough pavement in the second part of it but it's easy to see and easy to stay inside it. I've never liked this corner. In the old days when you came out of corner 3 you aimed for the "Y" in the Yamaha sign ... but it isn't there any more.
Corner 5 long track (fast left sweeper) is mostly OK, there are some ripples.
Corner 6 (double apex left) on my bike is a mess. In the entrance to the corner is some rippled pavement that I have not found a way to avoid on any reasonable line into the corner. I'm on the brakes at this point and the bike chatters heavily. I really do not like going hard through this corner, there is too much suspension movement. At the exit of 6 (just passing the 2nd inside apex) I have to stay tight to avoid some more nastiness in the middle of the track.
Corners 7, 8, 9, and 10 (hairpin) are mostly OK by comparison and this is my favorite part of the track but there are still some cracks to avoid.
Corner 11 (off the end of the back straight) is basically OK but the chicane that follows is another mess on my bike and I haven't found a way through it that avoids a lot of slamming and banging.
Allen's (hard left before exit from the track) is OK but if you run wide on the exit, there is a huge dip. You will see a long section of different coloured pavement mid-track exiting that corner ... I try to be on top of that, certainly not to the right of it because that's where the dip is.
Corner coming onto the front straight is actually good - the ONLY corner on that track that in my opinion qualifies as being good pavement.
I've had the same bike for years and my times now are about 2 seconds off what they were once upon a time. How much of that is me being an olde phart, and how much of it is the track getting worse, is open to debate. I can plant a knee on the ground at any right-hand corner at TMP or Grand Bend (except the kink coming onto the front straight) but at Shannonville, I can only do it consistently coming onto the front straight and occasionally in 2 or the hairpin. My left hip is messed up and won't let that leg bend out, so I can't plant the left knee anywhere ...
Shannonville desperately needs a re-paving job. In the absence of the money for that ... at least do corners 1, 6, and the chicane. I'm very close to a decision to not go back there until it's fixed.
