BUT, that was a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, far away.
In fact, the last time I rode around Oran Park was 1984.
So, after a lot of thought, I decided it was time to get out there again and see what changes had taken place in the intervening years.
On April 29 2007 I sneaked into the first “D” grade session, determined to either succeed or look very foolish. I also sneaked so that the guys on my forum wouldn’t know I was there in case I made a God-awful fool of myself and they’d have enough ammo to plaster me with for the next 5 years.
2 laps into the session someone binned a bike in Turn 1/2 and the session was red-flagged while the oil spill was cleaned up.
Back on track again and I fell in with a guy on a GSX-R of some sort. He would HOSE me down the straights, but I caught up with him in the twisty bits.
The track was just as I remembered (only rougher). I soon found that the flow had returned and it was all just so smooth. Amazing. Amazing, that is, until the guy on the Zook looked behind him in Turn 5 and saw me there, gassed it up and high-sided straight in front of me. Oh crap.
Rider and bike were skidding up the track towards the bridge while track day novice me was burying the bike on brakes and aiming for the ever-decreasing gap between him, his bike and the edge of the track. I missed his helmet, but only by a Maxwell Smart distance.
Session red-flagged again, this time for good.
I went out in two more sessions and called it quits. I could have gone out for the last 2, but figured I’d had my fun and I’d proved my point. I COULD ride the track, and do it pretty effectively too. By the last session I was feeling very comfortable and was starting to worry less about the people behind me and more about what was in front.
It was a hoot. I rode my pace and concentrated on line and smoothness, as I like to do on the road, and it worked.
When I get a bike again, I’ll certainly be lining up for more.
Oh, I should add. I’m 58 years old!