Five Reasons Why Going To The Racetrack Is Important

A brief explainer on how a racetrack helps you ride better on the road

Every motorcycle enthusiast dreams of riding on the racetrack. And why not? After all, it’s essentially a stretch of one-way road without traffic, pedestrians, animals, and even potholes. Hence, the racetrack is also the perfect place to hone one’s riding skills, precisely why your correspondent took his KTM 390 Duke to the Madras International Circuit, Chennai. 

But before even stepping out of my house, I needed to get my gear up to spec. Why, you ask? Well, on the street, a textile jacket and riding pants, ankle-length boots, and abrasion resistant semi-gauntlet gloves – along with a full-face helmet, of course – are usually adequate. But on the track, you need a full-length one-piece leather riding suit, full-gauntlet leather gloves, and full-length riding boots that cover the shin. Besides, your helmet needs to have a double-D closure. 

Moving now to your bike, you need to remove the mirrors and tape up the indicators, headlight and taillight to minimises chances of sharp glass (or plastic) debris becoming a hazard on track.

With all that sorted, here’s a quick walkthrough on all I learnt over the weekend, under the guidance of the riding coaches at Throttle Wide Open’s Level 1 programme. 

1. Where you see is where you go

Ever hit a pothole or speed bump despite trying to avoid it? Well, it happened because you were looking at it far longer than you needed to. And this is amplified on the racetrack as you’re going much faster than your usual pace, which means you need to anticipate further ahead. But there’s a hack to this: and it’s about how the bike responds to your inputs. Keep an eye on where you want to be, and you’ll find the bike pointed towards it (or at least poised for it). This helps forecast where the bike will be placed, so your mind is relaxed, and you have a chance to go faster.

2. Braking is a state of mind

When you see a sharp turn coming up on the open road, you’re usually accustomed to squeezing the brakes till the pace goes down to what seems ‘natural’ before taking the turn. During our drills, though, we were instructed to stay in only a single gear and not use the brakes. This prompted us to get off the throttle a bit more in advance than we usually would. But then, instead of closing the throttle completely, you should feather it till your eyes have charted out the path. That done, get back on the throttle “smoothly, evenly and constantly” and voila: corner dealt with!

3. ‘Racing lines’ are mostly overrated

A ‘racing line’ is the perfect sequence of points around a racetrack that allow you to stay ‘throttle wide open’ for the longest time possible. However, this varies massively: on the bike and the speeds it’s at, and on the rider’s skill and the amount of risk they’re willing to take. Suffice to say, though, if you’re able to take a corner without undue changes to your accelerator and handlebar input, it’s good enough. Try to go faster, or brake later, or turn into a corner a bit later next time. Rinse and repeat, and make your own “racing line.”

4. When in doubt, throttle it out

Remember how you need to ‘feather’ the throttle? Well, that’s actually something that needs to become second nature out on the road too. That’s because if your bike is “coasting” or moving only under its own intertia, its suspension is slack, making it even more susceptible to tip over when changing direction or applying the brakes. A little throttle goes a long way in making the bike feel more settled. 

5. Even the best fall down sometimes

Crashes hurt. They damage your bike, your body, and of course, your ego. And though it seems rude to say this, they’re inevitable. That said, they’re the best way to test your limits. And the racetrack is the perfect place to do so, as you're under the guidance of trained professionals, experienced enought to know even at a glance what you’re doing wrong, and give you corrective measures. 

Summing up, racetracks are to riders what mock test paper series are to competitive exam aspirants. They weed out mistakes you may get accustomed to on your daily commute, and also give you the self confidence to know what every kind of input does while on the bike, depending on various riding conditions. And if you’re calculated, unruffled and focused while riding, you’ll automatically get better!