Track days are great fun way of discovering what you and your bike are capable of in a safe fashion and meeting lots of people with a similar passion without worrying about breaking the law, killing yourself, someone else etc. However, a bit of preparation goes a long way toward ensuring that you have a safe, rewarding day. When I first went to the track, I was really nervous. There was no-one I knew, I didn’t know how good I was compared to these “Track demons”, whether I would be laughed at because of my gear/bike etc. As it turned out most of these fears were unfounded. The guys there were great and supportive and although many were faster than me- the difference in speed to me appeared attainable with enough time and practise. However, I could have got up to speed a lot quicker if some things had been pointed out to me.

Before you come please make sure:

1. Your bike is serviceable:
Tires: tread, pressures correct, compound not too hard (from months of disuse). Many riders often drop down a couple of p.s.i. of pressure for track use to increase grip, since tires run much hotter on the track and bumps are not a problem- I normally use 30psi front and back for the track. Make sure you measure with an accurate pressure gauge (no, not the one at petrol service stations which can be off as much as 25%).
Brakes: They work! They don’t leak (ie brake fluid level is alright), pads don’t need replacing, discs not warped
Chain: Correctly tensioned and oiled.
Engine: in good running order (for your own riding pleasure- nothing worse than getting all excited and having to watch everyone else cause your engine is overheating). NO OIL LEAKS!! Having an oil leak will ruin your day (and anybody else’s who hits it- you will not be popular). Make sure that you have petrol.
Controls and Instrumentation: Not too much free play in your controls (brakes, clutch, steering head bearings, gears and especially throttle control) or this will seriously impair your riding. RPM meter works– over-revving your engine and not knowing it could be a problem- imagine where the piston will go if it flies off.

2. You have the right gear:
• Full-face helmet and visor you can actually see through (clean, no cracks, crazing etc.)
• Leather gloves and boots
• Ideally: full leather suit with body armour (either 2-piece or 1-piece)

OR

• Cordura jacket and jeans with full body armour. Cordura is nowhere near as good as leather in resistance to abrasion, but acceptable for safety purposes to Sepang track officials- if you can, get leather, you’ll never regret it, your increased confidence will help you ride better.

3. You have the right frame of mind: No drugs, no alcohol or any other mind altering substances or bad attitudes and ego issues. Bikes are totally safe, riders aren’t. The point of this session is to improve the riders; let’s not make it more difficult.

NOTE: The above and a little prayer is my personal checklist- others may have a slightly different one, but it will be your responsibility to ensure you and your bike are safe. By getting on to the track you acknowledge that you are responsible for yourself. There is no legal recourse in the event of an accident on the track, no insurance for your bike to claim from. Biking can be dangerous and nobody will be held responsible in the event of something untoward. Having said that it’s many times safer on the track than on the road even if you can be insured- what’s the point of insurance if you get hit by a lorry?

If you are unsure about any of the bike parts, advise your mechanic that you are going on a track day so that he can prepare the bike. Sepang is an F1 track and can make all but the most powerful bikes feel out of breath. This will place a lot more demand on your bike than the road.

Essential Reading: “A Twist of the Wrist Vol. 2” – Keith Code
Keith Code is a world famous motorcycle figure- not for riding (which he’s obviously pretty good at), but for taking the myth out of how anyone can learn to ride better, with practical and evident (once you know it) approaches on how to go round corners faster (anyone can go fast in a straight line). Keith Code is the founder of the California Superbike School which in turn has spawned Superbike Schools in Britain and Australia. This (hard to find - order from Amazon.com) book explains in very simple terms how to go around corners faster and safer. It is highly recommended.

The Pit Lane:
This is a busy area with riders coming in and out and people walking around. Stay within the speed limit (85kmh for bikes, 60kmh for cars) or risk being asked to leave the track by the officials. Wheelies, stoppies and burnouts don’t tend to go down too well with them either.

Pit Lane Exit: Just before you leave the pits, a marshal will stop you to make sure that:
• you have paid (there will be a paper band to be attached to your triple clamp or wrist),
• you are properly attired and that zips, straps and helmet are all properly fastened. Once he is satisfied, you will be allowed to enter the track.

When exiting from the pits, make sure that you do not cross the yellow line separating the Pit-lane exit from the racing line (see diagram below). Riders are coming down the straight anywhere between 200-250kmh (290kmh if you believe the Hayabusa boys) and you do not want them going up your rear or you’ll be constipated for a week. Once the yellow line ends, your speed should be synchronized with those already on the track- you will immediately be taking a right hairpin known as TURN 1.

TURN 1
This is a very tight right hand hairpin turn which requires heavy braking before you negotiate it to scrub off the speed you will have built up during the straight. There are markers here from 300m to 100m to help you determine your braking point.

TURN 2
Another tight turn to the left, but this time you will be accelerating hard for the exit and for Turn 3.

TURN 3
This right-hander ideally requires you to accelerate all the way through it likely possibly with a gearchange through the corner. Be careful though- it tightens slightly on the exit. Taking the right line is critical for getting through this corner quickly.

TURN 4
A sharp right-hander, going slightly uphill, requiring good timing as the track is narrower here and it is easy to run off.

TURN 5
A long sweeping left hander, one of the easier parts of the track to get your knee down. This section of the track is very wide and allows a number of lines to negotiate it. Better not to run too wide on the exit or you won’t be well positioned to take turn 6.

TURN 6
Taking this turn well requires you to flip the bike from full lean left from Turn 5 to full lean right for Turn 6. The faster you can do this, the faster you can take this corner.

TURN 7 & 8
These are two right-handers, which if taken together, can be treated as one long right-hand sweeper. It’s important to get a good drive out of Turn 8 to get good speed for the short straight after.

TURN 9
This very sharp, uphill left-hander seems to cause the most problems, even for the MotoGP boys, but mastering it gives good overtaking opportunities. After the previous corners which are relatively fast, its easy to overcook this corner and run off into the gravel. Go in slower than you think necessary and hug the apex very tight accelerating with your knee over the kerb, hard once you have the bike getting upright.

TURN 10
A sweeping right hander going uphill which will probably need a gearchange whilst you are banked over.

TURN 11
A sharpish right-hander which often fools me into turning too early and ruining my drive out for the next turn.

TURN 12
A downhill turn to the left which requires commitment, the faster guys don’t back off the throttle from 12 going into 13

TURN 13
Again you will have to flop the bike from full lean left to full lean right and prepare for a very awkward Turn 14

TURN 14
This turn is awkward because you need to brake and turn at the same time. I watched the GP riders treat Turn 13 and 14 as two separate turns rather than the decreasing radius turn it appears to be. Getting on the gas early for this turn will help you build up speed quickly for the long straight ahead, critical if you don’t have a super-powerful bike. You are now on the Back Straight.

TURN 15
Hard braking from the back straight will be necessary before you negotiate this left hand hairpin. Make sure your braking is done in time before you turn the bike. This turn is probably the easiest turn to get that most coveted of biker status symbols- a scratched kneepad. You are now on the front straight with your head down in the canopy to reduce aerodynamic drag and put more weight on the front wheel to help keep it down as you blast your way down one of the longest straights in the world 920m (only Mugello is longer), ready to tackle Turn 1 again!

Pit Lane Entry
The Pit lane Entry is at the outside (on the right) of Turn 15. To approach it you need to plan this as you are coming down the back straight and to stay wide (to the right) at turn 15. Indicate that you are exiting so that nobody tries to overtake you on the outside. It seems fashionable to indicate by straightening you right leg, (race bikes have no indicators) although indicators and turn signals are fine (if not so cool). When you enter the pit lane, a buzzer will sound in the pits indicating to those in the pits that a rider is entering. Please be aware of this when you are in the pits.

General Tips:
A common question is “What is the correct racing line through Turn X?” The answer is there isn’t. It depends on a number of factors. A more powerful bike will be able to take a corner more abruptly, going for the corner slow, banking over quickly and accelerating hard out of it. This is known as “Point and Squirt”. Less powerful bikes normally have to do more sweeping lines, maintaining a higher corner speed made possible by their lighter weight.

If in a race situation, there is a rider behind you waiting to overtake (which there often is), taking a sweeping line may give the other rider the opportunity to cut inside by late-breaking thus forcing you off your line. Taking a sweeping line feels faster but is a trade-off between higher corner speed and greater distance to cover. On the slow corners (like Turn 1 & 2) it’s often better to get as tight as possible slowly rather than sweeping wide quickly.

Going quickly means maintaining control of your bike. Going into corners too quickly is the most common error which causes riders to run-off. Go in slow and accelerate through the corner. This acceleration will transfer weight to the back and give you grip through the tire that has the most- the rear tire. You should not put any weight onto the handlebars or clip-ons. Be constantly aware of this, especially after heavy braking, as holding on to the bars too tight will restrict the front suspension, not allowing it to move in the manner it was designed but more importantly, reducing the amount of feedback which you get through the handlebars which tell you what the front wheel is doing.

What to do if you come off:
Very unlikely if you follow our tips ;-). Relax, don’t tense– try to follow the fall. This is easier said than done but you are far less likely to be injured if you don’t try to stop yourself. Whatever you do, don’t try to hang on to the bike- LET IT GO. Once you have stopped sliding, DO NOT WALK/RUN BACK TO THE TRACK. Look for a marshal and make sure that the Yellow flag goes up to warn other riders. You may be injured and not know it. Take it easy and wait for a marshal.

If you see someone else going down- DO NOT WATCH THEM. This goes against all instinct. You will go where you look so you don’t want to be looking anywhere except the track ahead. Your job is to make sure you don’t go down as well and give the marshals/medics double the work and make a bigger spectacle to attract other riders attention and potentially create an even more massive accident. Slow down, avoid them and if there are no marshals in the immediate area you may try to get their attention to alert them to the accident. DO NOT STOP TO HELP! Gravel traps are meant to provide a safe run-off in the event you overcook it in the corner. When someone goes off, the marshals will try to get the rider and bike out of it as quickly as possible to make sure that if someone else goes off, they don’t crash into the original rider. This is the marshals job, not yours. Stopping to help only doubles the chances of someone else hitting something if they too go off. Under no circumstances should you park your bike by the side of the track.

Flags:

On a track day you will most likely only see the yellow flag, telling you to look out for the incident ahead (someone has probably ridden into the gravel trap) no overtaking, or the red flag indicating that the session has come to a stop, proceed back to the pits.

Track Etiquette
Track days are not races. Having said this, it is fun to duel with someone at a similar skill level to you and if you are comfortable to do so, by all means go ahead. If someone is obviously hounding you from behind, the chances are that he is faster than you. It is often wise to let him pass (without slowing yourself too much) and see if you can follow him- see where he gains time, etc. This is a good learning opportunity if you wish. The temptation is to try not to let them pass. This is up to you, but if the guy following you is riding a less powerful bike, his only opportunity to overtake will probably be to outbrake you coming into a corner. Be prepared for this and hope that you can brake as well as he can…

Keep an Eye on Your Bike or Others
It’s a good idea to watch your bike for signs of malfunction, e.g. engine temperature gauge within limits, brakes not smoking, no oil leaking, tyres still within limits etc. Make sure you pay attention to your fuel situation too- it’s very embarrassing to stop on the track with no fuel.

If you see someone else’s bike obviously in distress, try to let them know. Riding at the track can place heavy demands on bikes and preventing a breakdown is cheaper than fixing one. Also from a safety perspective, the rider in front of you may not realize he’s dropping oil or fuel all over the track- If you see this, make sure the marshals get up the flag to warn other riders. Most of these situations don’t happen often; this is intended to let you know what to do if it does.

Conclusion:
The above will probably seem like an insurmountable amount to remember for someone who’s never been to the track. You don’t have to memorise it. Just read it a few times and hopefully you will be able to learn the track more quickly when you get on it and hopefully have an idea of what you should and shouldn’t be doing. No real mention has been made about riding techniques either- this is covered in a separate section. The aim of this document is to help familiarize you with the Do’s and Don’ts of the track with a focus on Sepang. I hope it helps.

Johan Mansur
msportbike.com