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TWO Track school at Madras International Circuit with Aprilia RSV4 RF

13th September 2024, 09:55 by Kanad Kalasur

I really did not have much time to chase my personal best this time, and most of the two days went in listening to people, chasing them and giving feedback for improvements.

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Aug 2024 TWO Track school

We had another track school at the Madras International Circuit towards last week of August. It was just for two days with a mix of Level 1 and Open sessions. There was a fair bit of cloud cover, so we were shielded from the scorching sun for two days. The rains in the late night also made it a bit more cooler and pleasant to ride on the track.

This time it was a full house on both the L1 and Open side, and it was nice to catchup and meet with many old timers at the track. As always, we had a mix of people with varying age groups and a mix of bikes from the quintessential KTM's to fire breathing litre class machines. We also had multiple times national champ Rajini Krishnan and his son Kabilesh come over for practice. It was a treat to watch them ride, felt as if the throttle was never closed and the engine was always kept on full song. Sagar was there testing the RS457 with the accessories like quick shifter and he was having a great time as well.

I really did not have much time to chase my personal best this time, and most of the two days went in listening to people, chasing them and giving feedback for improvements. However, we did finally identify the issue with the secondary injectors not getting activated. So, initially we thought it was due to the injector color codes getting mixed up when the airbox was put back. The actual issue was due to the injectors actually gumming up. I've been using HP 99/100 octane fuel for the most part and looks like whatever blending/additives have caused this. I suppose if the bike was ridden on a daily basis, this wouldn't have been an issue. Anand helped to clean up the injectors this time and I was eager to try it out. She was back to her angry self, with the power coming on very strongly after 7k rpms and after 9k rpms she just flies. It was just a magical feeling to be accelerating hard out of the last turn to the start finish straight in 2nd gear, with the front wheel few inches off the ground, and staying that way after clicking to 3rd and 4th. I did notice a new high terminal speed on the back straights so that's the testament to Gabro's tune coming into full effect. The Metzeler TD slicks have been very predictable in terms of grip and haven't tapered off. I can do another track weekend with these tyres before the rear gives up. I would heartily suggest these for any track day riders vs. the full on slicks like Pirelli SC2/SC1s. There is some movement in the rear on hard acceleration but that is expected with any tyre on a litre bike.

I also got a chance to ride Anand's Panigale V4 - this is a 2021 year model. The ergonomics felt a bit different compared to the Aprilia. You sit more inside the bike on a Ducati vs. on the bike on an Aprilia. Powerwise, yes, the Ducati punches through given the extra 100cc and the crazy 15k redline. Brakes were on par I'd say. The handling was where I got the surprise - with the Ducati needing a lot more muscle to force the bike to turn vs. the Aprilia's telepathic steering. I'm sure a more experienced rider would be able to ride the Panigale well, but I was feeling puzzled. And then I realized the riding style needs to change for the Ducati. The front end doesn't give you much in terms of feel, but you just need to learn to trust it and chuck it into the corners.

The next track weekend is coming up towards end of October and hoping to make some incremental improvements in terms of personal best laptimes then.

Catching up to a student