There were quite a few Aprilia RS457s out on track along with few ADVs like the Ducati DesertX and BMW Motorrad R 1250 GS. This was a 3-day event, giving us ample time at the track
BHPian vignesh.cv recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Just got back from another fantastic track weekend hosted by the folks at IndiMotard. With summer just starting to roll in, the weather was still quite bearable — enough to push hard without cooking in your leathers.
This was a 3-day event, giving us ample time at the track.
Day 1
Day 1 was all open sessions, which gave us ample time to dial in — familiarize ourselves with the track, the bike, and the heat
We went with our usual setup: Metzeler TD slicks, banking on their quicker warm-up times and consistent grip across their lifespan — and they did not disappoint. The tyres came up to working temperature quickly and gripped beautifully all through the sessions. The front wheel came up easily in the first three gears, and I relied on the brilliant aPRC suite to keep things in check. Even under very hard braking, the front end was solid and ABS never kicked in. The bike fell into corners telepathically and the solid torque from the V4 motor allowed me to settle quite comfortably into a decent pace.
Data logging
The team from @ddrs.moto were present, helping out fellow riders with data acquisition via AiM Solo laptimers, and the difference was visible. We saw lap times drop significantly from morning to afternoon sessions. Mithesh who is the brains behind this, is a trained and qualified analyst; he can analyze your AiM data log and tell you what you are doing and what corrections need to be made. He gave me some feedback around braking. I wanted to try that out immediately, but with the heat peaking post-lunch, I decided to hold off and save it for later.
Days 2 & 3
The next two days were a nice mix of Level 1 coaching and open track sessions. We had a smaller batch this time, which meant more focused attention for each rider. There were quite a few Aprilia RS457s out on track, and it was awesome to see them being pushed properly. A few ADV bikes also made it out – a Desert X and a R1250GS. Full respect to those riders for stepping out of their comfort zones and investing in skill development.
What was really heartening was watching the students grow more confident across the two days of riding. The open session riders had their fair share of excitement and fun, with some of the kids from national championship also coming in for their practice sessions. Watching them push their bikes with no fear was something to be experienced first hand.
A dear friend took my bike for a few laps and came back pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to ride in terms of handling, power delivery and braking.
Final Day
I got a couple of sessions on the final day to implement the feedback from Mithesh around braking. Focussed on the fast entries into C1 & C4 primarily. C4 in particular was a revelation. Another good friend had suggested a different approach through this corner many moons ago, but I never quite got around to trying it. I then had a chance to follow Varun (another RSV4 owner & gifted rider) for half a lap, and suddenly, it all clicked.
I was able to trail the brakes deeper into C4 and reduced the coasting time by doing that. The ideal state is you are either on the throttle or on the brakes. I realized I was over-braking here, leading me to get back on the throttle as soon as I entered C4 earlier. I also tried a similar approach with C1, over here just touched the brake enough and got back on the throttle earlier. How did I know this was right, the motor was bang in the power band when I picked up the throttle again allowing me to hit my personal best exit speeds coming out of C1. Still lots to learn, but it felt incredible to have everything come together.
The bike is incredible, the feel from the front end under braking and corner entry is a strength I need to learn to use better. Only thing is she chews up rear tyres in no time when you start pushing. I need to learn to transfer a bit of that to the front end and make that balance.
L1 batch
With the students
Some fast laps
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