The thrill of the track, thanks to Bennetts! |
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 A foggy and damp Snetterton circuit
It was on a very foggy, damp Tuesday morning on the 27th September that I arrived early at the new Snetteron 300 circuit along with 80 delighted Bennetts Ultimate Track day competition winners,to experience the sheer thrill of riding round the new Snetterton 300 circuit.Earlier in the year, Bennetts Insurance had run a competition on the Bennetts Facebook page to give all bikers , whether they were a Bennetts customer or not, the chance to enter a free draw to “Ride with the stars at Snetterton - Bennetts hosts the Ultimate Track Day with the ‘Best of British’”. So who was the 'Best of British'? 
Posing with Cal Crutchlow
Well currently they don’t come any better than recently retired and former World Superbike Champion James Toseland and current MotoGP and Moto2 stars Cal Crutchlow and Scott Redding.Yes you did read correctly, all bikers whether they are a Bennetts customer or not! We believe Bennetts is the only motorcycle insurance intermediary in the UK market that currently does this; giving away a full track day to any biker who enters their free competition and is lucky enough to be a winner. It’s no ordinary track day, from the racing stars on hand, to a free English breakfast, a full lunch as well as track day instructors to help with your riding . The track day was provided for Bennetts by track day experts ‘Focused Events’. Focused Events is the number one motorcycle track day operator for the UK and Europe. 
Waiting to get your bike's exhaust noise level checked
Registration was feverish with 80 people, plus invited media and other VIP guests all trying to get registered before the registration ‘window’ closed, whilst trying to find time to get to the restaurant and enjoy the great breakfast that had been laid on and get their bike’s exhaust noise level checked. There was a real buzz of excitement and anticipation from all the winners, all hoping the early morning fog would lift so that no track time would be lost! Before anyone got near the track, Focused Events held a full and thorough safety briefing, emphasising that whilst the idea of the day was to have fun, safety was paramount and that all the track day rules must be followed without question. A quick show of hands amongst the assembled winners and guest revealed that well over half were track day virgins! So the need to follow the rules and ride safely seemed to have even more emphasis with so many riders on track never having done a track day before. Whilst everyone was inside the Snetteron restaurant enjoying their breakfast and safety briefing, the great British weather duly obliged and the fog lifted revealing a gloriously hot, dry, sunny and windless “Indian” summers day, perfect conditions for a track day. Mindful of many riders inexperience, Focussed Events mandatorily set everyone’s bike tyres to the lower pressures required for racing round a track, obviously saving many from an early spill due to over inflated tyres. Riders at registration were divided into groups based on experience of beginners, intermediate and advanced.  Assembled in two lines of bikes in the pit lane
In no time our group was called and we all assembled in two lines of bikes in the pit lane, slowly being let out on track in pairs to follow the track day instructors bikes round the track for one of three sighting laps before we would be allowed to open our bikes up. 
The Bennetts babes were on hand to help
The Bennett’s babes were on hand to help, reminding everybody to warm their tyres’ up on track before “giving it some”!Then it’s the start of lap four and your were on your own, it all seemed so easy when you were dawdling round on your sighting laps, but thereafter you’ve got to remember the layout of the track, the optimum braking points, the corner apex’s, the best line etc., All whilst remembering for me anyway, I had to ride home what I'd brought and couldn’t afford to “bin it”, as was the case for many who turned up on the track day on the bike they ridden there. Then in what seemed like the blink of an eye, even though you’d been out on track for 20 minutes plus your track session was over and the chequered flag was being waved on the stop start straight, telling you it was time to return to the pit’s. Immediately I returned to the pit garage, all the returning riders were a buzz with talk of how exciting their laps had been. The sheer thrill and enjoyment of the adrenaline filled track session was written on everybody’s face. Whether you took it steady or pushed near to your limit, everyone obviously had a fantastic time. Many now walked to the pit wall to watch other groups enjoy their session out on track. Other stayed in the pit garages eagerly taking their opportunity to chat to James Toseland (who was not riding due to his wrist injury) and to Cal Crutchlow and Scott Redding when they weren’t out on track.  James Toseland and James Whitham held a rider’s clinic
Mid morning James Toseland and James Whitham (who was also at the event) held a rider’s clinic in one of the pit garages and answered many questions on track day techniques, sharing their considerable racing and riding experience freely with us all. During the morning our group got another couple of sessions out on track and each time I think the excitement and the thrill got greater. As you learnt the new Snetteron 300 track, you were able to enjoy it and relax more and as a result and improve your lap time and cornering. Even daring to overtake and pass other riders in your group!! Each time I and other riders returned to the pit garages literally brimming with excitement from the experience. A track day truly is a great environment in which to be able to more safely experience what you and your bike can do, free from the hazards of the road and speed cameras. All to soon it was time to enjoy the great free lunch Bennett’s had laid on and for me I was lucky enough to get an interview with James Toseland to discuss his recent retirement. Over lunch everybody I spoke to was eager to tell me what a great time they were having, how they’d never won a competition before and how great it was that Bennett’s did thing’s like this.  A pillion ride with Scott Redding
Just when you thought the day couldn’t get any better, Bennetts then laid on some lunch time thrills for a lucky few more who were invited to ride pillion around the track with Cal Crutchlow or Scott Redding. I say lucky, that depends on whether you’d brought a change of underwear with you, cus riding pillion on the back of one these two stars, could have had you seeing your lunch again earlier than expected! However everyone who was lucky enough to get a pillion ride, came back in one piece, excited, thrilled and if not just a little bit scared. Chesca Miles, the UK's first female stunt rider
But the thrills just came coming, next we had a stunt rider display on the home straight. But this was not just any stunt rider, but none other than Chesca Miles, the UK’s first female stunt rider. Looking like a young Lara Croft look alike, Chesca thrilled the assembled guests with a display of thrilling stunts out on track, to excited and rapturous applause from the onlookers on the pit wall.In the afternoon several more track sessions followed, each one seeming to be better and better than the one before as confidence increased. There is something truly thrilling bouncing a 170bhp superbike off the rev limiter down the Senna straight, before you haul the bike rapidly up for the Riches corner, or as you scrape your toe slider into the ground going round the tight Montreal hairpin or press on again down the Bentley straight. The Snetteron 300 is a truly fast track and if you were on a bike that could exploit it, seriously high 3 figure speeds were easily achieved! Sadly at 5.00 pm the end of what proved to be a thrilling track day arrived all to soon. Hot happy and exhausted the invited competition winners, other guests and media slowly and reluctantly left the Snetterton circuit, with the tales of laps ridden and thrills had, still ringing in their ears. However all will have left having experienced the thrill of the track, thanks to Bennetts! Article and pictures by Jon Booth – www.inter-bike.co.uk Thanks to Bennetts Insurance for the “Ultimate Track Day”
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