I attended my first ever track day at Okos Racing, Hyderabad recently. The instructors are from Motorsports Academy India and they’re about as hardcore as one can be in this field. I’ve been riding a two wheeler for years now but I only got my own motorcycle recently. And lately I’ve been having this itch to ride better and know more about the machines that I love. As a mechanical engineer, I understand these machines and how they work but I never had the chance to experience them to the fullest. But now with these guys, I can.
The day started with warm-up exercises, a track walk and few safety instructions. The motorcycles were fueled up, pressure checked and race ready in no time. For the first few laps I was asked to just take it slow and assess the grip as the track was a little damp as it rained the night before. Conditions got better after a while and we were allowed to push. I got feedback on my posture, braking and many other things that I had to change. It rained after a while and I made the mistake of testing my limits while leaning too much without maintaining the speed and lost the rear. It wasn’t a serious crash but that was the indication that I was doing too much. For the next few laps I took it slow, tried to learn as much possible instead of showing what I know. I know it isn’t much but its a first step towards riding better. I couldn’t get my knee down but I know I’ll get there soon. And huge thanks to MAI guys for conducting these events.