We leave you a series of tips for all those who are going to enter the circuit for the first time or have already entered a few times. Even for those of you who ride regularly, remembering some of these tips can come in handy.
YOUR FIRST TIME IN CIRCUIT
If you have a friend who has already ridden on the circuit, if you have seen that there are organizers and events to ride on the circuit, if they have told you that riding on the circuit is one of the most fun experiences on the motorcycle.
If you finally decide to enter the circuit and ride with your motorcycle, with a friend's motorcycle or with a rental motorbike, you should take into account some factors and a series of tips.
Many of them already received from fellow travelers, friends, acquaintances who have already been shooting on another occasion. They are good to hear and stay with most of them.
Sometimes they are a hodgepodge of ideas: that if the flags depending on the type of color mean one thing or another (when you arrive at the circuit for the first time, you are so worried about yourself and your bike that you don't even see the flags), that if you have to raise your hand when you want to go out on the track (the most advanced ones only raise their feet), don't go for a bag if you have cold tires, don't go for a bag if you've just changed the tires and they still have paraffin , etc.
All those little things that you have been told, but when you get on the bike and enter the circuit for the first time, you have completely forgotten.
Your first time on the circuit must be one of the greatest experiences you have on your motorcycle and these are our tips for it.
YOUR MOTORCYCLE
As a general rule, it is your own motorcycle that you are going to use to ride for the first time. It's the best idea, because you already know it, you know how it works, and you know what you can and can't do with it. Our first advice is to try to ride with your own motorcycle.
Your motorcycle must be in good condition. Before going to roll, review everything you are going to use to a greater extent: tires, fluid levels and condition (oil, coolant, brake fluid), brake pads, brake discs, etc.
A motorcycle that is in good condition will help you to ride better, it will help you feel more comfortable on the bike and it will help you to be safer, for yourself and for your teammates on the track. A motorcycle in poor condition can cause a serious fall on the track and be able to drag a partner with you. So before going to ride, even at home, in the garage, in the parking lot, do a general review of the motorcycle, that everything works properly and that you don't run out of wheels, for example, wearing super worn tires.
If you come with your street motorcycle, try to remove the mirrors and the license plate. If you can't remove them, at least cover them with duct tape, so that in the event of a fall, you don't cut yourself or a teammate on the glass that falls onto the track.
It is essential to have a bottle of gasoline to refuel. Fill it up in the morning at a gas station before arriving at the circuit and fill the motorcycle's tank. This way you will have both to have a good day of batches.
A toolbox, something also more than essential. To tighten a loose screw, to disassemble a part, such as warning lights, etc.
WHAT KIND OF MOTORCYCLE
Motorcycle of any type and displacement. It is obvious that riding a sports bike is a great experience. These bikes are created by and for the track. But riding on the circuit is no longer exclusive to sports bikes. We have clients who train with scooters for the Spanish Championship. Customers who roll with maxi-scooters and go like a shot. The naked and especially the super naked are in fashion and are luxurious on the circuit. The type of motorcycle does not determine whether it rides better or worse on the circuit, although it is true that the sportier it is, the better it is to ride on a circuit specifically designed for this type of motorcycle.
Equipment
Essential and as a rule, you have to enter the circuit with this equipement: Leather suit, full face helmet, high boots and long gloves.
The leather suit can be a one-piece suit, usual for the circuit, or two-piece. The latter is less advisable because if it opens in the fall, you can be dragged by the hip area, not pleasant. So always better a one-piece suit if you are going to ride regularly. If you are going to ride only from time to time and your two-piece suit is the one you use often, try to do a good inspection before going to shoot and check that the zipper and velcro are in good condition.
Integral helmet, yes or yes. Jet helmets, or similar, are not allowed. On the circuit you literally risk your head. A good full-face helmet, approved, if possible in your size (there are those who start shooting with two more sizes and the helmet dances, then they are not able to see the curve) and if possible they are not very old. The helmets have a useful life, recommended by the manufacturers, between 5 and 8 years depending on whether they are made of fiberglass or carbon. The latter are more durable. If you have a helmet older than that, try to change it as soon as possible.
High boots, that cover your jumpsuit inside. That of the monkey on the outside, like Valentino Rossi, we will leave it only to the pros. To ride on the circuit, high boots with a zipper are essential and if you can have protections, much better.
High gloves, the same idea as the boots. That you can put the monkey inside and that you are comfortable giving gas. Also long in case you have a fall, so that your hand does not slip out. That between the overalls and the glove they make a good wall. Of course, the better the glove (better material, better stitching, better protection), the fewer problems you'll have in a drag.
Advisable: Back support, it will relieve some back pain, it will protect your spine and you will feel more secure. It's a bit uncomfortable, we know, but they're already manufactured by completely adapting to the back and it looks like you're not wearing anything.
Sotomono, essential especially for summer days. Yes, yes, for the summer. People think that it is for winter, as if it were a thermal or a second garment and also, but the undersuit is better designed to insulate the overalls from your body, taking away all the sweat.
Thermal clothing in winter. On very cold days, putting on thermal clothing under the overalls will help you keep the temperature and not get cold. Recommended 100%.
Sanity clothing = NO. Until not very recently, you could enter the circuit (at least where we do events) with the suit of sanity. We have them strictly prohibited from 2023. A sanity suit, it is not a leather jumpsuit, it is not capable of saving your body from certain falls at a certain speed, it is impossible. If you want to ride the circuit for the first time, come with the leather suit, either yours or a friend's. That's what friends are for.
TAKE THE MOTORCYCLE TO THE CIRCUIT
This is one of the big doubts when you start shooting. We have all asked ourselves the same question: How do I go to the circuit, with my own motorcycle, do I take it on a trailer, in a van, does someone take it for me?
Advice: NEVER take your motorcycle to the circuit, if it is with it that you are going to drive back home on the road.
Because? Well, because you don't know in what conditions you are going to return, you and your motorcycle. It would not be the first time it has been done and in a fall, even if it is not serious, let's imagine in a small fall, a drag without more and you lose the gear lever. Not that you lose it because of the circuit, which is found, but that the piece breaks and cannot be placed again.
How do you get back home? Of course, that's what your insurance is for, it will take the motorcycle to the workshop and you to your house. With the consequent loss of time, having to leave the motorcycle in the workshop and it's a weekend, the workshop is closed. Come on, a mess.
Much better to rent a trailer, ask a friend (yes, the same one who gave you the monkey) or as we have all started, inside a van, the best and most comfortable solution.
There are also the companies that take the motorcycle to the circuit, in our case, we have the service of motorcycle transport to the circuit you are going to ride, but we use it only if you leave the motorcycle in our workshop in Fuengirola, Málaga. But you can find any other company in your area that can take it to you and bring it to you. You dedicate yourself only to what is important that day, which is riding on the circuit.
So our advice is: Never go to and from the circuit, with the same motorcycle with which you are going to ride, just in case.
REGISTRATION
We are already in the circuit, it is already 08:00 in the morning, we have already had breakfast properly, we have slept through the night and we are going to sign up for the ride. You have the reservation made online, you go to the registration table to sign, they put on the identification bracelet of the batch and the group in which you are going to shoot.
If it's your first time, yours is that you ride in the group of initiates, even if your level of riding on the street is higher, the circuit is not the street. You must adapt, the best solution is to ride and learn at the same time with a speed that you can control.
You are already registered, take the opportunity to check the pressure that your tires should have. At all our events, in the mechanics area, you always have a printed sheet with the pressures by brand, model and size. Even so, check with the mechanics and if you need them to put the right pressures on you, they will be attentive to help you as soon as you request it, it is part of our track service.
BRIEFING
For some the most boring. For the regulars, for those of us who ride every weekend, the most important part of the day, taking into account that all those who have never been to that circuit, pay attention to everything that is explained in it.
Attending the briefing is MANDATORY. Not all the circuits count the same, because it depends on the state of the track, it depends on the circuit directors, it depends on the weather and it depends a lot on what happened the day before, that same morning, etc.
The briefing is a meeting of all the participants with the monitors and the director of the event, who will explain step by step what we should do on the track, how we should behave, what we should take into account and above all, he will hit us. the first review of the day.
Sometimes a fall occurs and the batches must be stopped for a while. The director of the event will organize a quick briefing to tell what has happened and what solution he will have shortly.
When attending the briefing, the bracelet that was given to you in registration will be stamped and will confirm that you have attended said briefing. Without the sealed bracelet, you will not be able to go out on the track. The starting commissioners check all the bracelets and check if it is sealed or not.
DEPARTURE ON TRACK
Well, you already have the bike ready, you have done a good inspection and everything that we have asked you to be able to go out on the track.
You have registered, you have your bracelet placed and sealed with your batch. Now you can start the bike and warm it up a bit. You have the overalls, the gloves, the boots, the helmet, all placed, closed and in good condition.
You know in what batch you should leave and at what time (in the event information, on the web, we always post the schedule, which you can download and print or send to your mobile).
You are on the motorcycle, it is your turn to go out on the track, the marshals give you a visual review, that you are well equipped, that the motorcycle is in good condition, that you wear the correct and sealed identification bracelet. Hala, you can now enter the track to enjoy.
Tip: The first two laps, do it with all the peace of mind in the world, let your tires start to warm up. From the third lap, you can go faster progressively. By the way, it helps you learn the circuit, memorize it and go more safely.
BASIC BEHAVIOR
Going out to ride for the first time on the track, even going out to ride for the fourth or fifth time, even going out to ride every weekend because you are dedicated to competing, you have to take into account a series of written and other unwritten rules about the behavior that we must have on track.
If it's your first time on the track, if you also don't have much experience on the road and you're on the track precisely to learn to drive better, you should keep in mind that you have limits. So we have to try to drive within our limits. Just because it's a circuit and you can go at the highest possible speed for your bike, doesn't mean you're capable of controlling that speed.
What should we consider? Even though we are in a group, in this case Initiated, there are riders who are faster than others, without reaching speeds to be in the top group. So try to be as attentive as possible to those who can pass you and not make any stranger that can take you both to the ground.
Pay special attention to progress, whether it's yours or that of other colleagues. You are not a professional driver, it is not the speed world championship. Go ahead when you have space, do it with the best visibility possible and don't think of closing a teammate's line, don't cross, or zigzag. The hacks in these groups are expensive.
The most important thing is that we behave appropriately, that we don't lose our heads, that it's not a competition, that we all come to enjoy the moment and we all want to go home happily. Respect above all, on and off the track.
FLAGS AND SIGNS
We have a post about meaning of the flags in the circuit that will be very useful for you to know each of the flags and their use.
In addition to paying attention to your motorcycle, to your teammates on the track, you must also pay attention to the marshals and the flags. It is something essential and that you must learn as soon as possible. Always obey the instructions of the marshals.
Whenever you are going to leave the track, whether due to fatigue, a mechanical problem or because the session has finished, you will do so by raising your left hand, signaling that you are slowing down and that you are going to enter the pitlane and go directly to your box. .
The pitlane must be cleared as soon as possible and it is prohibited to drive in the opposite direction on it.
TIMING
A good piece of advice is that the first time you ride on a circuit, don't be aware of the times. At all our events, we give you an adhesive to place on the fairing. It serves as a transponder, it will mark the time per lap. You can check that time through the web. Do it when you get home, when you are calm, when you are relaxed and check what times you have achieved.
That the first time you go to the circuit, it does not condition you and forces you to do a time that you cannot reach. It's classic to meet someone and have them tell you: I film in Almería in times like Tito Rabat. Then you go to shoot for the first time and you see that after 2 minutes you don't go down. You get frustrated, you break down or what is worse, you exceed yourself in that effort to try to ride like your friend and the only thing you are going to find is a plot of stones with your name on it.
Relax the first time you enter, forget about the times, just remember to know the circuit, to know where to brake, where to accelerate, to go through the curbs well, to be attentive to the other bikes, in short, to be attentive to having fun the best possible.
BOXES
In addition to being a place where you will have your motorcycle while you are not rolling. It is a place shared with other colleagues and you must respect that space. Make sure that it does not look like a lion den and that it is as well organized as possible.
The box is the place where you will rest between batches, where you will chat with your colleagues about your experience, where you will meet people who will help you when you need it. Where we, the organizers, will have us for whatever you need and if we can lend you a hand, we will. But especially, the box is that place where you can hydrate, eat something if you need it and rest for your next batch.
END OF THE ROUND
You have done all or almost all of your batches. The first day is exhausting. You realize that riding on a circuit is not going with the compis to have breakfast at the beach bar on duty. You have to be in minimal shape and you have to be mentally prepared to be on the circuit all day. It is only time to collect everything, leave the boxes as they were.
Get the motorcycle onto the trailer, van or truck that brought it to you. Say goodbye to our colleagues, the organization and get back in the vehicle. If someone else can drive, much better. Especially if the return trip is long.
Try to make a stop along the way, get hydrated again, it's time for a good sandwich, a good dinner before you get home, to throw yourself into bed and dream of your first track ride. You sure sleep like a little kid.
RULES
Some standards which are always good to remember:
- You should never stop on the track. You can endanger yourself and your trail mates.
- If you have a breakdown on the track, try to leave it as soon as possible, wait for the commissioners and the assistance. It tries to be as far away from the track as possible so that the operators can do their job.
- In case of a fall of a colleague, do not stop to help, that is what professional assistance is for.
- When going out on the track, check that no pilot is coming and if one does come, you must give them way.
- Totally forbidden to do wheelies or inverts on the track.
- Hydrate well, especially if they are very hot days. Feed yourself properly. With the ride you have drinks and energy bars at your disposal. We will give you one ticket that you can exchange in the refreshment area.
TO END
Enjoy the day, enjoy your motorcycle, enjoy the company, the circuit and have pleasant memories of your first day on the track.
If after your first time on the circuit, you feel that you need more, that you need to learn and that you need a monitor for it, we offer you the driving courses, where you will learn everything you need to continue enjoying your motorcycle.
