What is everyone's fav circuit or corner? I find sometimes i hate a corner but love the rest of the circuit or exactly the opposite!! My fav corner is Debni bend (3 lefts in 1 great at speed if you get it right) at Pembrey but dislike the rest of the place because its flat and un-interesting. I hate slow corners so I don't like harpins and Shaws at Mallory regularly has me on the deck! Last year when Phil T-boned me and yesterday in testing when my clip-on snapped and i had to jump ship to avoid a tyre wall.... I'll post the photo if someone tells me how? Back to the repairs..

i suppose it is a love hate relationship but it has to be the hairpin on woodlands on cadwell. never get it right and if i break right and settled to take it at speed there is always somebody in front of me with different ideas of how to go round it. my first and only fall was on this bend .. or shortly after!!

ray

Favorite circuit (no contest) Three sisters, more corners than you can shake a stick at (see 2008 reults). I agree with Mike, a good circuit has to have elivetion change. I hate all hairpin bends and most chicanes (chicanes are always designed by car drivers). Ted gave me some advise way back in the mists of time when I first started racing, go through a fast corner 0.5 a click faster than the next guy and you will be 5mt in front. Go through a hairpin 0.5 click faster and you will be in front by didly squat.
I cant say that there is a corner I hate but Barn corner at Cadwell is one that I cant say I have ever got right.

Mick

I hated Park corner at Cadwell for years! I never felt right going round this one until last year, then suddenly and for no obvious reason it clicked and felt good!
I like Mallory the least as it seems to be a fairly bland sort of circuit. Three Sisters is tons of fun with so much happening all the time! the left hand hairpin there is hard to get right as you are virtually stood still and you have to get the clutch work spot on!
Alan

Probably my favourite corners are left corners...........dunno why that is!

Tim! You were probably meant to be an Eastern Centre grass track racer or a speedway star because they were always left handed cicuits. On grass we had ( as do the speedway bikes) our right footrest down low and usually spring-loaded and swinging free because of East Midland and other centres having right handed tracks. There were also kidney shaped tracks where a swinging right footrest was essential.
My first bash with the Bantam on the road definitely felt all wrong going so often right handed and it was not until second season that I got to feel confident on right handers. On Park I felt great when winning my first NOVICE race and Mansfield*** I loved because it was a fast left hander where I often gained a place only to lose it on the hill up to Charlies´....
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***that´s the pic here, taken at Mansfield during that race in 1968 -- I think it was -- or 1969 on `Icarus One´ which cooked several clutches at Cadwell during the race day. ... Cadwell was beautiful.
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Enough nostalgia -- Go for it Tim!
Cheers!
JayBee...

Tim! You were probably meant to be an Eastern Centre grass track racer or a speedway star because they were always left handed cicuits. On grass we had ( as do the speedway bikes) our right footrest down low and usually spring-loaded and swinging free because of East Midland and other centres having right handed tracks. There were also kidney shaped tracks where a swinging right footrest was essential.
My first bash with the Bantam on the road definitely felt all wrong going so often right handed and it was not until second season that I got to feel confident on right handers. On Park I felt great when winning my first NOVICE race and Mansfield*** I loved because it was a fast left hander where I often gained a place only to lose it on the hill up to Charlies´....
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***that´s the pic here, taken at Mansfield during that race in 1968 -- I think it was -- or 1969 on `Icarus One´ which cooked several clutches at Cadwell during the race day. ... Cadwell was beautiful.
...
Enough nostalgia -- Go for it Tim!
Cheers!
JayBee...

Must agree about hairpin bends. My great mentor -- he never raced but was always telling me how to... said that very little is gained by trying to go FAST thro´ hairpin bends. My best ever Bantam race at Brands was where I finished 4th -- after my best lap in practice was 14th. Every time into Druids I´d make one or even two places in and out of Druids only to lose it along Bottom Straight and in Clearways. Wonderful feeling to have gained a place and stay in front rushing down from Druids but with 8400 rpm at maximum on Icarus One I´d no chance of staying there ... That 4th place was a wonderful race to remember. Third place was taken away by a wheel -- Dave Coombs on his water-cooled Bantam -- I wonder if he reads this?
If he does -- then all the best Dave...
...My right elbow has a bump on it which is the result of grounding it at both Duids and at Llandow´s Bottom Bend several times... Maybe my turor was right about "not trying to race thro´hairpins" -- can be lastingly painful!
Cheers!

JayBee.

Watch out for the Force Of Gravity.

i am with tim on left handers. I think it is true for riders who are right hand dominant. those little adjustments on the steering and subtle weight shifts feature more with the right hand side on left handers (i think). if you have a clumsy left hand it doesn't feel quite so comfortable on right handers. Unfortunately there are more right handers on clockwise circuits so I think ambidextrous or riders have good coordination on both sides are at an advantage.

Ray

Favourite circuit, has to be the old Anglesey circuit it just seemed to have everything, and never a dull moment.

Worst corner the Hairpin on the club ciruit at Cadwell, the change in elevation the change in surface the quality of the surface the fact you turn off just as you are getting to my second favourite circuit (woodlands) the lead into the hill, it just didnt add anything for me.

James

Favourite circuit Lydden because the butty van opens at about 6 am

You cannot whack a bacon butty first thing in the morning

and the bbq of course ... betty and sprosen doing a turn! lydden is probably my favourite circuit the right hander into the straight a make or break turn .. wimp out and you lose momentum .. at the end of the straight you can throw the bike in and it seems to have a lot of forgiveness. the hairpin is great cos you are going uphill and i disagree cos getting round this quick can make a difference. out and out sprint ... i like!

Ray

with left handers, you can throttle as much as you want but cannot touch the surface.

My favourite circuit was Brands, I loved it there, the squigly bit, left right before clearways was a great place to gain places and momentum for the pits straight. I loved Lydden too, that last right hander was a winner for me, i got my first 250 proddy win there in 79, rode round the outside of the guy who thought he'd won it before the flag, lol. The end of the Revettes straight at Snetterton was a fave with me too, that left right kink was a massive winner with me and i nearly always gained places or wins there, late break, flick left and hard on through the right. Bloody dangerous at times but the F1 Kwacka loved it, back wheel in the air and everyone getting out of my way. Webby was right, i was an accident looking for a place to happen but i'm not in bad shape after all that....oooh, me back.

I agree with Mick´s choice for Bantam: Brands...-- It would be Cadwell as the best if the hill after the hairpin wasn´t there on the Club circuit. Just thinking of going up to Charlies has me smelling burning clutches... LLandow was the fun circuit -- in the rain. Thruxton was too flat and there´s a long right hander that a Bantam can enter Balls-out and then it feels like leaning on the edge of a gramophone record -- forever going round -- throttle on the stop and both wheels drifting and forever and ever going round --- as it were! Practice at Brands was great fun. !0/- a half hour. Many memorable rides. One was when leaning on a Dommy Norton through the squiggle before Clearways Icarus-One seized. I got the clutch in quick enough but the rapid locking of the back wheel had been transmitted to the Dommy rider and he bit the dust whilst I freewheeled thro´Clearways and paddle footed back to the pits. Dommy rider found an official from somewhere (normally there was only a bloke in a flat cap smoking a home rolled wet and brown ciggy who was very easy going about everything...) and brought Officialdom over to me. By then, Icarus One´s nadgered piston was free to see and the Official concluded I had not been at fault.
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On Andy´s 250 all circuits were OK -- Cadwell topping it ... Brands second although I only practiced with the 250. Best 250 ride was battling for 3rd with John Senior on his Silverstone Greeves at Llandow. Two Japaness bikes not far ahead. Each time into Pits Bend I could get by but on the final lap John Senior squeezed through and I was 4th by a wheel.
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Such are the good memories -- there were the others of bikes not firing up, technical failures and tactical disasters -- Oh! and crashes -- not to be bothered with... Worst circuit: Snetterton. I have a cup that says I was third there but I just don´t rem,ember that one. Must have been a race where I was riding with concussion -- or something! Perhaps the
Trophy Sec got it wrong?
Cheers!
JayBee.


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