Day one went pretty smoothly. I got into the track quite quickly because it isn't particularly technical and was enjoying riding something as different as the banking. Apart from that, the rest of the track is quite tight, twisty and basic - almost everything that a GP track isn't - but still very good fun. The most important corners are the first and the last. On my first lap out in the morning, I went about three-quarters of the way up and thought 'that wasn't too bad' so, on the second lap, I decided to go the whole hog and get on the top side of the dashed white line which runs parallel with the wall. I ran over the first dashed white line on the way up to get close to the wall and it spun up on me as the track was pretty cold and the lines were a bit greasy. This time I thought "whoa, I think I'll wait until tomorrow before I start messing about up
there!".
The knack of it is to get good drive out of the fast chicane before the banking starts, because it's so important as you are flat out on the tank for so long. After getting good drive, you have to head right to the top of the banking immediately, because it is no good trying to get higher up the banking once you are already on it - it just kills your speed. When you are up on the banking, you have to get over the top side of the white line and then get tight against the wall. The really experienced guys are good at getting very close to the wall and it's very important when it comes to slipstreaming in a race situation.
About three-quarters of the way around the banking, it's time to start to come down from against the wall and drop down the bank, which, because the gradient gives you a sudden increase in speed, you stay flat-out on the gas then and keep turning until the track flattens out and the engine then dies down a bit when you get onto the fatter part of the tyre. You stay flat-out all the way down towards the first corner, which then becomes a bit more banked again just before you get on the brakes for turn one. It's seriously fast at the end of the straight as you're flat-out on the tank for about 30 seconds from the point where you exit the chicane to when you back off for turn one!
