Trackday
More time on track this week albeit in very changeable conditions. Track temperature was a warm 25?C however weather conditions were constantly changing from wet to dry, and vice versa, prompting numerous wheel changes throughout the day. My race fairings, albeit unfinished, were collected from my painter and rapidly fitted the night before. Fortunately all the mounting points are fitted with Dzus quick release fasteners. The only time consuming part was refitting the screen and tapping in the expanding plastic rivets. They have since been removed again and are now being finished off.
I started the day on full Metzeler wets which proved absolutely essential for the first session as whilst it wasn't raining heavily there was a constant drizzle which meant that track conditions remained wet. Given the conditions it also meant that many chose to return to the pits after the initial sightings laps which made for a relatively empty track.
I really enjoy riding in wet conditions on track and with the Metzeler Racetec Rain tyres you can quite happily push and achieve knee down lean angles in the wet. Rain mode and adjustable DTC really do help matters as they just temper heavy throttle input by lessening the effect of the rear tyre spinning up. Instead of going sideways you simply maintain traction and forward momentum. As you find more grip, and get the wets up to full operating temperature, you can simply dial back the DTC intervention and push on.
The second session was a little more problematic for tyre choice as despite the track drying out there were still significant wet patches on the racing line and pools of water around the circuit. Given that I was running a K1 soft compound wet front, and more importantly a harder K2 medium compound wet rear, it meant that I could still go out and not run the risk of overheating and destroying my rear Metzeler rain tyre in the drying, but still damp, conditions. By the third session track surface had clearly changed again with a distinct dry line appearing which could be taken advantage off. This necessitated a wheel change and I swopped my HP wheels over to my Metzeler Racetec RR shod BST wheels.
By the afternoon the conditions had changed yet again with light rain and I only managed a handful of laps after deciding not to change wheels for a third time. My decision not to change tyres again was rewarded as the next session was dry allowing the pace to finally increase. The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion and was simply a case of trying to make the most of the dry parts of the circuit. That said I only had one small moment in the damp conditions where I trail braked a little too far towards the apex of T12 momentarily losing the front forcing me to pick the bike up and run across the rumble strip. Having crashed there before in the past that was my signal to return to the paddock.
I find riding on a damp track much more challenging than riding in either full wet or dry conditions as you are constantly feeling for grip especially when using treaded race tyres. That and the psychological effect of seeing a watery mist appear on your screen and visor but knowing that your tyres are still warm enough to work properly. The signal to back off and consider a tyre change is generally when you can see water being picked up by another rider's tyres creating a damp line on the track and spray being thrown up. Snetterton can be a bit bizarre as it can rain at one end of the circuit but be completely dry at the other.
Tyre wear was once again consistent on both my Metzeler Racetec RR and Rain tyres especially given that I was continuously monitoring hot pressures to suit the conditions. As for electronic changes I didn't make any adjustments to the DDC as my previous RAIN and SLICK settings were already stored in the bike's memory and no changes were required. I did spend most of the day switching between SLICK and RAIN modes and frequently altering the DTC settings in each as grip either improved or reduced.
Constant wheel changes and varying conditions were generally the theme of the day but overall it wasn't a bad trackday.
