IAM Skills Day - Mallory Park 17.09.2024

Kenneth Kwok, Sunday, 3 November 2024

I recently participated in one of the IAM Skills Days at Mallory Park – specifically on 17th September and thought I would do something of a review/reflection on the event. They are not cheap admittedly at £235 for the day, but I think it is fairly easy to see why when you consider there are the aspects of track hire and instructors leading you around. Even with that in mind, my reason for signing up to one of these was for the opportunity for feedback on my riding as I have aspirations to eventually take my bike to the track. I can “get a pedal” on as you might say, but could I be doing it better?

Preparation

As you might expect, the event suggests some checks on the bike before arriving on the day which includes the usual POWDER, but also things such as your exhaust due to noise restrictions. Who would have thought locals choosing to live near a race track would raise complaints due to the noise? Food and drinks wise you can bring your own or you can buy from the track’s restaurant. Indeed, the instructions do suggest you bring your own refillable water bottle – once the day starts it does come fairly thick and fast between the classroom sessions before hitting the track (more on that later on). I opted to bring along my 3L Hydrapak reservoir since trying to carry the equivalent in water bottles would have been impractical for me and it can be easily stored in my Kriega Trail 18 backpack. Due to my background in engineering, I couldn’t help, but perform some other checks on the bike myself – minimise risk. I checked, cleaned and lubricated my chain, gave the bike a clean to get rid of the usual road spray and checked the torque of some key bolts where I could such as the yokes, lower fork pinch bolts and body panels. To be fair, the cleaning probably was not as necessary, but there is the thought that if something looks presentable then it is less likely to raise questions or closer prodding so I wanted everything to look the best it could as part of my preparation for the day. Clothing wise, one-piece suits were not necessary, though 360o zipped ones were the minimum and textiles were acceptable.

Heading to the Track

As I set off on the morning to arrive at the track it was a very gloomy outset with lots of fog hanging around – worryingly it actually felt somewhat cold. I pinned my hopes on the weather forecast being correct with it clearing up later on for temperatures above the mid-teens. Upon arrival at the track, being the first time at Mallory, I did not realise to access the paddock area actually required crossing over the pit-straight! Just a little bit different to other circuits I have been to where you cross over bridges or under tunnels and you pop into the paddock area. After parking up, I had the pleasure of then bumping into fellow CWAM riders Tess and Neville, before signing-in and receiving my wrist band for the day.

Briefing and Groups

The initial briefing went through some typical safety notices such as what the flags meant (for those who have not followed any motorsport) and about being honest with yourself for deciding how confident and capable you were. The event’s instructions recommended that if you are new to the Skills Day format or not as confident, to go into C Group. B Group formed then the intermediates with reasonable confidence and A Group were for the most confident and had participated in similar events before or otherwise “experts”. I had a discussion with Tess and Neville before the briefing, noting that John recommended B Group for those who have completed their Advanced license. For me personally; having had various sim-racing experience, some track experience and karting, I felt reasonably confident in putting myself into B Group. Despite this, my primary approach was still to keep some reigns in place – last thing I wanted to do was get a bit too excited on my first track outing on two wheels and raise the eyebrows for the wrong reasons! Sure enough the instructors advised about stability and safety first before speed during the briefing. With the first two securely in place, speed would come naturally, although bearing in mind an on-track speed limit of 90mph.

As advertised, the day is a mixture of classroom session before going onto the track which turned out to be fairly busy with the exception of the lunch break. Classroom sessions were usually short in the order of 5-10 minutes with then only a few minutes turnaround before being called to get ready for the track. Each track session was ~20 minutes each so when you factor in that there are 3 groups, the circuit was basically in constant use for the day. The sessions essentially run through each part of IPSGA in turn, though obviously in an easier format than we are used to on the road since we are all travelling in the same direction and not having to worry about pot holes or oil spillages!

After the main information and logistics were explained, we all stood in a line like good school children on how confident we felt and therefore whether we would end up in A, B or C Group. After that, we were further divided into groups of 4 to then be led by 1 instructor/marshal. Marshals wore different coloured bibs with the letter M on their backs so we could pick them out more easily. Sure enough, we also had to wear coloured and numbered bibs in other reminiscent school activities with them matching the marshals so that they could figure out who was who as well. After that, our bikes were checked for any questionable items with luggage being removed i.e. top boxes and panniers before having our exhausts assessed. Upon passing, we were provided with a lovely sticker memento (yes it will be staying on my bike for a while).

Running through IPSGA

Information

Fortunately, by the time B Group got going which was about 10:30am, the mist had long cleared and we had the sun warming things up very nicely. Most of the sessions ran with us heading onto the track staggered within our groups i.e. one marshal would head off with their riders, then the next marshal would leave a gap before setting off, etc. From there, we would stick to our marshal and within our own groups of 4. In only this first session, we all took turns following the marshal whilst swapping over second position on the pit straight within our groups. In the changeovers, whoever was in the “lead” dropped to the back so you had an opportunity to be in different places of the group. The riding started with a gradual pace as the objective here was simply obtaining track information whilst following the marshal. Fairly obviously; which direction the circuit went, which turns were which and the “training line”. I suspect they could not legally use “racing line” as that could be difficult to navigate risk assessments whilst running what is going to be called a skills day. That and the skills being taught are meant to be road biased as opposed to the track. As evident by their promotional pictures and videos, cones were placed around various points of the track as markers for where to position the bike and turn – if I am going to be honest and to the surprise of no one probably, these were all lined in a way that replicated a racing line since it obviously offers the best position to negotiate the corners. What you do in between is a little up to yourself as the marshals did not seem to be absolutely stringent on where you placed the bike though I imagine if you were a bit lax in taking the ideal lines into corners they may have provided some feedback. Even when the pace picked up in the latter sessions, we definitely were not going fast enough to be warranting use of all the track space though – again being a skills day as opposed to a track day thrash around.

For reference, a circuit map is here: https:/www.malloryparkcircuit.com/circuit-map/. Starting from the pit straight, we followed through all of Gerrards i.e. we did not run through Charlie’s chicane before heading up Stebbe Straight into the Edwina’s chicane, up the John Cooper Esses, around Shaw’s hairpin, through the Bus Stop and finally into Devil’s Elbow which drops us back onto the pit straight. At the end of each session, we would return into the paddock area via the oval track layout at the exit of Edwina’s.

Position

The second session was intended to focus on our positioning of the bikes throughout the lap and from here on with the group riding: one of you is always leading ahead of the marshal i.e. the marshal is rider number two. In addition to this, the session also wanted you to consider your own position on the bike from where and how your feet are placed on the pegs and “anchoring” yourself to the bike to best control it. One advice they provided regarding this was to pinch both knees to the tank whilst in the corners. This sounded like the old school riding style from the 60s and 70s where tyre grip and throttle response were both not particularly refined. Nonetheless, not to be seen like I was ignoring the advice and being a day of learning I thought I would try something different to my normal riding style. To be frank, I was not a fan of it. Maybe because I have a modern sports bike (it is only 12 years old), it felt very uncomfortable and in pinching the tank in the corners, it meant I could not really lean past the bike’s centreline as I would like. This is not to say that I attempt to be Marc Marquez on the road, but I do generally let my inside knee gently hang should the corner allow it. I reminded myself though, that this advice is tailored more for road riding and for those on more adventure (road biased or not) style bikes and possibly for those who do not follow bike racing. Leaning on an adventure bike is generally less confidence inspiring than that of a sports bike due to the taller ergonomics. For the same amount of lean angle between an adventure bike and a sports bike, you drop more height with the adventure one so it feels like you are really leant over in comparison to the sports one. Indeed, the instructors advised that to help you feel stable was to keep your head level with the horizon to “trick” your brain into thinking you are not tipping over. I suspect most people probably naturally do this anyways provided you are looking in the right direction and at the right places for where you want to go, though worth a reminder. Useless fact: the car/van (or otherwise any other 4 or more wheeled vehicle) are the only vehicles that lean out in a corner. Every other vehicle leans in – bicycles, bikes, boats and planes all lean or bank and yet despite this, if you are pushing the pace of your car it feels the most natural. The joys of physics with the human body!

Speed

The third session before lunch focused on speed in different areas of the corner i.e. entry, middle and exit. During the classroom session, the lead marshal jokingly noted to those with IAM licenses to “fight their instinct” and “attack” the corners with using the brakes. Of course this is keeping in line with the day’s intentions: to explore the limits and braking is of course very important in our day-to-day riding and blindingly obviously is the first part of a corner! There was a discussion about what speed we “should” be at through a corner ranging from what is appropriate with the given conditions to the engine speed, namely targeting for somewhere in the middle of the range available to you so that the bike is responsive. In my case this is somewhere around 6000-7000rpm. In the back of my mind, I did wonder if the Speed and Gear sessions could have been combined into the one since anyone with reasonable progress through their Advanced training and those who have passed and beyond know they are intrinsically linked together along with Acceleration.

With the pace picking up further, my fellow riders were definitely demonstrating ourselves as the confident ones within B Group. In the previous two sessions and particularly in this one, we would regularly catch up to the group ahead. If I was catching up to the group ahead whilst “leading” my own group, I would try to control the pace and build the gap from the exit of the Edwina’s chicane on the run up through Cooper S and into Shaw’s hairpin. My thought process here was to facilitate the changeovers lest we all tripped over each into Gerrards since the pit straight at Mallory Park is not especially long! I would say, though, we were all quite respectful of the earlier noted on-track speed limit as well so I can only suppose we were stronger with both our braking in attacking the corners and picking up the throttle, thus allowing us to catch up that way. As is often noted in racing: it is the slower areas where you making up the most time and I am sure be familiar with the phrase: “Slow in, fast out”. Anyone who follows Formula 1 or the World Endurance Championship will also know how important pit stops are and that is when the cars are stationary, but seconds can be gained or lost that take several laps on track to build. With the session over, it was time for lunch and to enjoy some of the fantastic weather!

Gear

After the lunch-break, we had to be a little mindful of the “adrenaline rush” subsiding along with the slight slump with taking onboard food. I noted earlier that I wondered if Gear might be been better combined with Speed. My thought process here was that by this session, you would have surely figured out the gears for the corners that worked for your bike or at least within reason. Indeed, the lead marshal suggested to try using a gear higher than before and then possibly a gear lower than in the previous sessions to explore how the bike’s behaviour may change. In retrospect, heading into the Edwina’s chicane, I could have possibly dropped another gear to second so the bike was a little punchier on the exit up the Cooper S hill, but third still worked quite well and minimised the number of gear changes required too. Had it been more of a track day thrash, then second gear would have been used without much hesitation. Beyond that, maybe staying in fourth for Gerrard’s though that would have been pushing the bike for a harder lap.

Acceleration

The Acceleration session was the first of two “independent riding with supervision” sessions – so we were allowed to make our own progress. Though, alternatively if we wanted to retain some instruction and guidance with our marshal we could do so. All the riders in my group were keen to take full advantage of the independent riding as it also meant we could overtake people. As is often the case out on the road, we can take advantage of our bike’s performance to out-accelerate cars, trucks, etc. and make progress on the exit of corners which was the key aspect of this session. Our marshals would still be on track though to help the track marshals with looking after the session i.e. forming the supervision aspect. There were some restrictions on understandable safety grounds, such as not taking someone’s line into Gerrards. In addition, in a similar way endurance racing such as the World Endurance Championship, it is up to the overtaking person to move off the normal line to complete the overtake i.e. moving to the inside line. So far example, if you were making better progress than someone exiting Gerrards and along the back straight into Edwina’s you would have to move to the left, making your line a little deeper. Overtaking was also allowed on the exit of Edwina’s albeit advised only if you were making really good progress compared to the rider ahead. If, however, you felt there was too much traffic, you were allowed to duck into the pits and then you would hopefully be dropped back out into a gap. Towards the end of the session, the yellow flags were out in full and for a while I thought it was because someone had an off(!) Somewhat thankfully, it turned out it was due to them not being pleased with the standard of overtaking.

Another (rider) marshal actually came to speak to me, though I think there was a case of mistaken identity since he tried to explain the incident being the exit of Edwina’s – I explained that never overtook anyone on the exit of Edwina’s in the session given my bike’s available performance. I could tell he was stumbling and was rattling his mind to figure what next to say to me. He later described me being very close to the track limit on the exit of Gerrards because he “saw” me at the exit of Devil’s Elbow, then moved across in front (so technically cutting someone’s line) and then I was suddenly passed on the right side. It was only later upon looking at my footage along with one of the other riders in my group that he mistook them for me, though sadly by the time I could review the footage it was long after the day. Slightly miffed for being told off for a crime that one did not commit(!) Never mind, to err is to be human. Even my own marshal noted the difficulty in the track’s lines switching across from side to side and that the other marshal should have tried to communicate better where they were going in order to pass them.

Final Session

The final session of the day was about bringing the whole system together and as such the classroom session highlighted the pace of the previous Acceleration session, though wind it back approximately 5% to try and make it everyone’s best session. In light of some of the overtaking that the marshal riders were cautioning about, we were also strongly advised not to split up other riders wanting to run the session with their marshal. For the most part this was fine, though this did mean their overall pace was lower. Rather than creating more fuss, I kept my pace in check in the end and in hindsight, I should have tried ducking through the pit lane though I had lost track of time and was not sure if I was towards the last few minutes in which case I would have missed out on being let back out onto track. Otherwise the session ran with the same rules as before.

Conclusions

So what would I take away from this session? From a bike specific perspective: my CBR600F felt very comfortable and natural on track. As noted earlier, I was not pushing outright, but it was encouraging to experience the bike feeding back so much that it was providing bags of confidence with room to spare. Similarly, I did not have any niggles with my wrists or shoulders that may typically plague me on a long ride or if I am stuck at city speeds for prolonged periods of time.

From a personal perspective, I did not receive as much feedback as I was anticipating which is partially attributed to the busy schedule of the day. Nonetheless, going into the day, I probably gave myself less credit for my own abilities. As Mike used to say frequently during my training to the Advanced license: I am a thinking rider though perhaps too much(!) The marshal rider I had complimented everyone in my group and was quite happy that we were willing to make progress around the lap. This is not to say I will then be riding on the road in a completely different way though possibly with a slightly larger comfort zone than before which can only be a good thing.

Would I participate in such a session again? Yes and probably push myself into the fastest group too – maybe then some of my habits can be interrogated a bit more. Would I also recommend this to anyone else? Yeah I would say so. It was a very enjoyable day out and a great opportunity to push your bike on track where you have a lot more space to do so and of course it helps when you do not have to worry about the other usual road hazards! Some of the other riders in my group also noted that to some extent they preferred the skills day over a track day because you were less likely to lose a session due to someone else going off track and the red flags coming out. Though remember: as it is a skills day, keep some of the pace in check.

If you like, you can also look at the footage I recorded from the sessions…