The content of the course was:
Reference Points
After about 30 mins in the classroom refreshing/reviewing level 1 we headed out on track to look for some reference points. Third gear only and no brakes kept the pace quite moderate. I was very surprised to discover that there were small 50mm x 50mm white squares of tape on the track where the guys would go out later and mark the turn points for the level 1 course. Suffice to say there was no way I'd have noticed then during the level 1 course, but this time I saw all of them - I guess I'm going in roughly the right direction.
Changing Lines
This was a bit of a surreal experience - ride around the track (slowly) on the very left side, the very right side and then the middle. Interestingly, there was no discussion about 'what you should learn from this exercise' before we went out. What I learned was that the track is 12 metres wide for it's entire length (wider on the straight), even the areas like turn 7 where you would swear the track is no more than 6 metres wide. I also discovered that there's astro turf at turn 8 and 12, and that there's another road running along outside turn 1 that I didn't know existed. Judging by the tyre marks, I also discovered that cars crash in unusual places! After the three laps the rest of the session was spent practising the 2 step turn from level 1. The other thing this session pointed out is that there is plenty of usable tarmac off your 'usual' line that can still be used if you need to get around a slower rider, avoid an accident or have run wide and need to turn from an unusual position.
Three-step Turn
This is where the day started to really come together for me. Whenever I actively practised the 2 step turn I found myself uncomfortable and cocking up corners. If I rode normally I was fine, and doing this exercise I realised that when I tried the 2 step turn I then continued to focus on the mid-corner point rather than continuing to look through the corner. The 3 steps are:
- Look for the mid-corner reference point as you approach the turning point; then
Turn the bike; then, once the bike is turned and on the correct line (and you're on the gas)
Look for the corner exit reference point (or the vanishing point)
Wide Screen View
This is really about peripheral vision and recognising that we tend to focus too much on small points (reference points) and less on the big picture. The analogy here was that if you draw a dot-to-dot diagram without an understanding of what the big picture looks like you get a collection of sharp straight lines, whereas if you can see the big picture you'll get a smoother flowing line between the points. This really worked for me too, and has been helpful (combined with the changing lines drill) in getting around slower traffic - I'm less focused on the bike in front of me and better able to see a way around. Another thing that really struck a chord with me was when Steve said that every time you make 'rider input' error (such as braking too hard) it's because of some sort of visual problem (such as looking too closely). I had a think about the mistakes I'd made that day and could account for every one of them through vision problems.
Picking the Bike Up
This exercise leads into the level 3 course, being focused on body positioning rather than vision, and is essentially about standing the bike up earlier on the exit of a corner by keeping yourself off it while it stands up. Essentially you just straighten up your outside arm on the corner exit so the bike stands up while you stay off the side. Casey Stoner is a good example of this type of cornering.
All in all I got a lot out of the day - it obviously didn't result in such dramatic lap-time improvements as the level 1 course did - but I feel a lot smoother and safer getting around at the same pace I was a few weeks earlier, and probably went faster on occasions at the subsequent trackday. I know for a fact that I was getting much better drive out of turn 12, and was hitting 6th gear about 100 metres earlier. Unfortunately this meant I found the limits of the front suspension going through turn 1, and very nearly shat myself as it chattered away and I started to run wide. I kept winding on the gas and pulled back to the apex and made it through alive, but thought it was touch and go for a few seconds there
. If you've done the level 1 course and are thinking about doing level 2 I'd certainly encourage you to do so. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll endeavour to answer them,
