Super Bikes

The Too Fast crew haven't yet managed to get our hands on a a factory Ducati racing Super Bike, but we have done the next best thing, two track days on the fabulous Ducati 996 v twin.

And not just any track we went to Thruxton, Hampshire, the fastest race track in the country.

After the usual briefing I put my name down for the advanced group and joined the queue in pit lane for the first session.

I looked around to check out the opposition expecting to see the usual R1's, Blades etc but was surprised to see some very trick bikes with mechanics & laptops changing settings and removing tyre warmers in pit lane.

Apparently it was only a few weeks before a round of the British Production Championships and some of the leading protagonists were in need of a little more practice.

As usual one of the organisers acting as a traveling marshal lead us onto the track at a sensible pace, which lasted until the first corner, when the whole group overtook him and all hell broke loose, I tucked in behind a Blade and passed him on the brakes into the hairpin, as I tipped into the corner an out of control bike passed me on the inside and promptly went straight on, missing my front wheel by inches, I pressed on to the faster corners and with the knee slider firmly on the track at around 100 mph, I became aware of a very fast guy going around me, only for him to almost high side and take to the grass for a wild ride across the infield. Next lap I passed the traveling marshal who had fallen trying to keep up with the frantic pace.

A lap later the session was "Red Flagged" and everyone had to report to the organisers. He was not amused at everyone's conduct and promised if it continued we would be thrown out.

The next session we all calmed down a little and I could concentrate on putting in some fast and smooth laps, taking advantage of the legendary Ducati's strong mid range power and superior handling allowing me to make up lots of time through the complex against the Yamaha R1's and Suzuki 1000's. At the end of a very good day The Ducati behaved faultlessly with plenty of feed back letting me know when I was asking too much of the standard road tyres, which despite being completely shagged out after a hard day, were still providing very good grip.

Too Fast For You.com Rating
Adrenalin Factor: 75% - riding on the road is OK, track day is much more fun

Injury Factor: 40% - safer than going quickly on the roads, but you can hurt yourself and your bike.

Expense Factor: 70% - the faster you wanna go the more it will cost

If you are serious about going fast on a road bike then get along to a track day