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Cadwell - Ride like a GIRL!

Ducati Pete

Ducati Pete

2011-06-16 02:44:00 UTC

Not any old girl, Sarah Jordan, MRO and occasional British Supersport rider wrote this guide for Weeksy's TRC lot.

Start finish straight, easy enough for most fairly narrow and be aware of bikes that have a faster top speed comming down the right hand side of you by the pit wall, alot of people move over early to get their line correct for the first turn and can easily move into the path of a faster bike here.

1st Corner Coppice, A fast left hander that requires commitment and what I call positive confidence to ride fast. Comming down the start finish straight up through the gears start to move over to the right hand side of the track just before you pass the medical centre/pit lane exit on your right. There are a fair number of brake markers that can be used here, I used the circuit crossing point as a marker, going down one gear into 5th, id recommend going down two gears into 4th if your not on a quick lap. The turn point here needs to be accurate and firm as once you hit the apex the track rises steeply with a very positive camber but because you have a right hander straight after you dont want to run too wide on the exit as getting turned back for the right will be hard work. Also the bike will load heavily and thus make the steering heavy to change direction quickly. I tend to hit and hold the first section of kerbing and as soon as the kerbing ends power hard allowing the bike to only run half way out into the middle of the track. Your going steeply uphill here so throttle and lots of it is fairly safe, hardly anyone looses the rear here.

Turn 2 Charlies 1 and 2,
This is one part of the circuit where you need to be precise and confident of your line before you push on as when you are exiting turn one and preparing to bring the bike over to the right there are very few markers and the second part of the turn is out of view. Id treat the part between the exit of turn 1 and turn 2 as a big sweeping S bend. Your accelerating out of the first turn uphill and having only drifted out to the middle of the track you need to allow the bike to come over to the left slightly before applying the brakes to turn into Charlies 1. I find applying some brake to turn helps the bike to turn as the bike will load the front slightly shortening the wheelbase slightly. This does depend on pace though, you may also need to go down a gear here before turning in. Your vision needs to be forwards and up at this point as on the turn in you cant still see the middle of the corner. There is a small bit of kerbing on the right which you need to aim for and then allow the bike to drift over to the left of the track over the crest. You need to stay left aslong as possible as the track drops downwards allowing a late turn into Charlies 2. This allows you to turn and hold as straight an exit as possible holding the kerbs on the right hand side onto the back straight and under acceleration drifting out to the left hand kerbs clipping them as they end on the exit onto the straight. There are some ripples on the insider in this corner.

Park Straight, isnt straight!!. Be careful down here to hold your line and dont weave across the track as faster bikes can come either side and as the track kinks slightly left in the dip its easy to cut across someones path.

Park Corner, Towards the end of Park Straight the circuit rises into the braking area, there is a change in tarmac as you crest the hill which some use as a braking marker and there are also 3 boards down the left hand side. The tarmac change is the safest point to aim for. The 300 board is a fast lap marker and the 2nd one...scarey!. The tarmac here is very grippy and there is a slight dip on the apex making a positive camber. Find the most suitable brake marker for yourself, if you have done into top down the straight come down 3 gears into 3rd. I tend to prefer to run in deep and square off this corner which gives a fast exit. On the exit you can run out to the kerbs on the left and stay left accelerating and shifting up a gear for the next turn.

Chris Curve, If you have gone up a gear the bike will be nice and settled. This is a tricky section to get right. Turn in right with very little brake (depending on your entry speed) clipping the right hand kerbs and accelerate allowing the bike to start to drift across the track around the turn towards the left of the track. There is all the way around this right hand turn a tarmac change seemline which can as you are leaned over make the bike "tramline" slightly. Be aware of this tarmac change in the wet too as the grip levels are different. You do have to cross it though to get the right line for the next corner. Accelerate hard here and you may want to change up mid turn depending on your bike and gearing. This long sweeping corner will setup your line for the Gooseneck which is important to get right.

The Gooseneck, This corner needs to be treated with respect, going too fast here too soon or on the first few laps can result in a big accident. Not trying to scare anyone here but ensure you know where your going before trying to go fast. Its common here to loose the front especially on cold tyres.
If you have exited Chris Curve correctly you will start this corner from the left hand side of the track. Alot of people dont come over left far enough and therefore end up struggling with the Gooseneck. As soon as the track starts to tighten to the right you need to drop down a gear and to be looking for your turn point which will vary slightly with speed. Ideally you need to turn so you can hold the right hand kerbs as long as possible before crossing the track and turning hard left across the left hand kerbs and then running out on the exit down the hill. The camber changes and the track drops away mid turn so some throttle will help the bike to remain stable and not overloading the front tyre.

Mansfield, Stay on the right hand side running down the hill into this lefthander which unless you use stomp grips will load your arms and upper body when hard on the brakes. Even though its steep downhill you can brake hard and late here but apply a little brake first to steady the bike as its easy to overload the front end and also your body needs to be fixed so you dont tip forwards too much also. You may need to come down another gear here. There are no brake markers here so find what feels comfortable. As soon as your braking is done its important to come off the brakes and feed in a little throttle so the front isnt overloaded at the apex. This corner can be taken wide, clipping the apex and allowing the bike to drift out on the throttle to the kerbings on the right hand side of the track which are a fair way down the circuit. Camber is positive.

Chicane, As soon as you have passed the kerbs on the right you need to accelerate down a short straight aiming diagnonally across the track to the left towards the start of the green/white barriers so that you are on the extreme left of the circuit when you start to setup for the Chicane. This is tricky and best taken slower to go faster. The first part needs firm braking and maybe a gear change turn in sharp for the right kerb and then a quick flick left to accelerate ideally across the left kerb and down the straight into the bottom of the mountain. Its easy to loose the rear on the exit so steady on the throttle until your upright and how you tackle this section will vary depending on how responsive your bike is on changing direction.

cont...

Ducati Pete

Ducati Pete

2011-06-16 02:45:00 UTC

Mountain Section, Accelerating up a short straight keeping down the right hand side of the track you will come up a gear and almost straight away be on the brakes hard and may want to come back a gear again. There is lots of positive camber here and your climbing steep up hill all through the left and right. Be aware of your lean angle here if your bike has clearance issues as its easy to deck out a rear brake lever here in the left as the bike will load hard. Again slow into here is best as you need to stay over to the left along the kerbs to get your position correct to turn across the kerbs (watch they are fairly high) and run up the mountain as upright and as straight as possible. Aim to crest the top about 1m in from the left as its less steep here. There is a small hump before the top. Ideally you need the bike to be in a stable gear, not revving its head off yet not onto peak torque and drive up the hill. If the front lifts dont snap the throttle shut as by now its probaly wheelied anyway and shutting the throttle will induce the front coming down hard or first..not good for clean pants!. Just nice and steady unless you like big wheelies. Dont try and wheelie until your confident as its not unknown for people to flip here!

Hall Bends, Hairpin, my favorite section of which really is all one section. Needs a precise line. Stay left exiting the mountain, you may change up a gear if needed. The right is taken as a little flick right, nudging the short kerb and straight away turning left accelerating around the kerbing, up over the crest again nudging the right of the track, the bike may become unloaded at this point. Be careful of running out of track on the left as the track does come out to meet you slightly to the left after the rise. You then need to come over left and brake down a gear into the hairpin right hander which dips downhill on the entry and flattens on the apex and exit. Ensure you let the brake off and trust the front through here, accelerating out towards the kerbs on the left on the exit, shifting up a gear for Barn.

Barn, Alot better now the exit run off has been pushed back. Needs respect as it is a downhill corner. I find a bit of brakes and a late entry here a good line holding the kerbs on the right longer than you think and then pushing the bike upwards to get onto the throttle allowing the bike to naturally drift outwards on the exit..hard throttle onto the straight.

Cadwell is exciting, needs respect and can bite. Take time to learn the track, keep your vision up and if needs be work a section at a time as all the corners are pretty much linked together, one exit sets you up for the next corner.

Superdan

Superdan

2011-06-16 07:57:00 UTC

A few of pointers for me to remember there, especially the braking markers. Cheers

Sabre

Sabre

2011-06-16 17:10:00 UTC

Post missing.

Twisted Jester

Twisted Jester

2011-06-22 00:46:00 UTC

I'll have forgotten it all by the second corner