Well today, I decided to go off to Ordos.
Even booked my tickets.
Where is Ordos I hear you asking?
And more importantly what is there?
Ordos is a city in Inner Mongolia.
And this is what is at Ordos:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordos_International_Circuit
Race track!
I’m going to be joining a group organized by Blackbridge Racing, with Adrien (see the post about fixing the Suzuki Smash) as the instructor, and do a full 2-3 track weekend.
This will happen on the 9th to the 11th of June, which here is the Dragon boat festival, for which we get time off for work. So I won’t have to take any holidays.
I am flying out Wednesday evening, and flying back Saturday evening, and then going back to work on the Sunday.
(yep in China, you have to make up for the work you missed by having a holiday, so sure you get 3 days off in a row, but its followed by 6 working days afterwards)
Flights there & back were around 1000rmb, not bad. And the cost of the training and track sessions…well that’s another story, but know that I’ve got it for slightly cheaper because Adrien will be provided me the clothing gear rental for free.
Still have to find myself a pair of racing gloves though.
The package is actually 2 days, so training and then 3 sessions on the 1st day (Thursday), followed by 4 sessions the 2nd day (Friday). And then we have an option of participating on the 3rd day or not.
Although seeing that we’ve already come that way, and we’re not completely scared then we’ll probably do the 3rd day.
You notice that I’m saying we?
Well as soon as I notified my close friends that I’m doing it, my good friend Louis decided that he will do it as well.
So he’s on the same flight there and back as me, so that will be really good.
And I guess you also noticed that I said ‘provided that we’re not completely scared’ yes scared.
As soon as I booked the flights, and Adrien slotted me into the group he shared a video of someone going around the track flat-out, I have an inclination its him actually.
Check it out:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzQxMDg1Nzk2.html?from=s7.8-1.2&x
Anyway….yep that scared me a bit.
For the mini-biking I was only 1 of only 2 people out of 10 that had a crash.
The bike slid out from under me when I was going through a hair-pin corner and obviously leaned over too much. (technically called a low-side. don’t check out what a high-side is)
I was pushing it too much I guess, but Adrien said it was good because I was testing the limits of the bike.
Luckily on that occasion the bike just slides out…you …by which I mean I, slid across the surface of the track and we both end of in the grass.
That day I was keeping up with the guys that had done track-days before, even though that was my first time- because I was pushing it. I was listening to everything that Adrien (the instructor) was saying / showing me, and was trying my best to imitate/ replicate it and bring it into my understanding of driving. I was going around that track FAST. And that’s the reason I came off.
But of course there’s higher consequences here when I’m on a 600cc or a 1 litre bike designed for the track, ie. No headlights, no indicators, no wing mirrors; this is actually a track machine.
Getting up to 300km/ hr on the straights, and then taking corners at above 100km/hr.
Yeah this is going to be a lot of fun, but its also going to be scary as shit.
I’ve already started getting my camera ready so I can take some decent video of the weekend, and Louis as started to get his GoPro ready too. So either way we’re going to have some decent footage.
Because of wind resistance I don’t think I can simply plonk my camera on the top of my head as I normally do… I might have to plonk it behind me on the bike, so there’s a chance you will see some serious bum movements going on there.
I say bum movements because don’t forget when you’re on a racing bike the way that you go through corners is to lean. And the best way to lean is to essentially hang off the bike; that means knee out nearly grazing the road, head out and facing the direction you’re going, and of course bum off the seat.
In fact you’re constantly shifting your weight around the bike.
I think that’s one of the reasons why I came off the mini-bike. Because the bike was leant over but I wasn’t. I should have lent myself over rather than just the bike.
Anyway, this is certainly something to really look forward to.
This coming weekend I’ll be trying to get this actual website up and running so that we’ve got the experience captured in real time or close enough real time for the event.
Tootles for now
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