Drive at night on the highway
A new universe where all your senses are blurred. At speeds over 250 km / h ...
Pitfalls to avoid, automatisms to create, rules of respect ...
Sometimes there are small moments in life that don't owe anyone anything, privileged moments when you live something that shouldn't normally be available to you. One of those little bonuses of existence that allows you to fully enjoy the present moment, or perhaps get out of it with a different perspective.
One of these rare moments, for example, is excursion by tracks in the middle of the night... How do you do that? A circuit in the middle of the night? If you are not an endurance pilot, this is an impossible mission! Not thanks to the joint promotion of Box23 and the Days of Pirelli, which is unique in France (or even in Europe), everyone can have access to the Magni-Cours circuit for 3 night driving sessions from 21:00 to midnight.
Magic night (© Catherine Lara)
21:30. The sun was setting. The straight line of the stands becomes a dark tunnel, swayed by a halo of light on the left side. With 175 horsepower under the right stick, it swallows quickly, punctuated by explosions of the ignition cut caused by the shift lever as the Tuono 4 RR's V1100 hits 12 rpm. It is hardly time to see some of the rare ghostly silhouettes watching motorcycles pass over fences. A fragile and comforting presence at the same time.
Below 4, welcome to the dark. Almost. Some street lights scatter a little light in this part of the chain, enough to see the corner entry, but not too much to guess the braking point. Before entering Estoril, a powerful street lamp illuminates the entrance to this curve on the right, but I found it grabbing my full attention. So, I have to force myself to dive twice and my gaze into the curve. At that point I am in third grade and any discrepancy is paid in cash in the gravel pit. Estoril's problem is that the external vibrator is invisible at night. I force myself to imagine where he is in order to maintain a fluid path that will allow me to walk early enough.
The "straight line" from Estoril to Adelaide is not really a straight line, but a deception. It is not continuous, but consists of three segments. A faint glowing halo extends to the last vibrator. This is where I need to go. 4, 5, 6, the Tuono V4 RR pedals are getting stronger because they don't reach for the latest gears and the acceleration never slackens. At almost 12 rpm, 000 on the counter, Tuono shares the dark with style and determination. After all, Galleluia! The braking area is illuminated and allows you to hit the brakes like in broad daylight with the confidence that it will catch the rope point down to the millimeter. But just before the rope stitch, start a little. They are overtaking me. To my shadow. Weird.
Second scam. The next section is not flat. There are three different levels between Adelaide and the Nurburgring; The 50 cm vertical drop is enough to change the perspective. When the first two passes, Tuono rises and lights up the sky. Not very practical. The third is the entrance to the right of the Nurburgring, which is just below the field of view. So, I open it at the last moment and enter it a little faster than expected ... but it goes away. The next section is more difficult: the 180 ° entrance is a large asphalt strip, as large as the entrance to a supermarket parking lot. Already during the day several trajectories are possible, so at night it will be difficult for me to know exactly where to brake and pass. The powerful street light blurs the landmarks and sparkles in the tape that covers the retro when accelerating, giving me the impression that a flock of pilots has been released behind me. Moreover, with repeated acceleration, the task (fatter?) On the asphalt attracts attention, even if I know that this is not an ideal place to let go of 175 horses from an even slight angle ...
On entering Imola, the punishment is the same as at the Nurburgring: a slight gradient, which is approached by standing on the brakes, masks the entry point. So everything is done to skip the rope stitch. The Lyceum twist gives double the joy of crushing the brakes to the bottom of the fourth and a very temporary return to light. And let's go for a ride again!
Circulate, there's nothing to do!
So similar and so different: the experience of driving on the track upsets your senses. There are no 1000 trajectories on the contour, and you will have to repeat the ones that you learned during the day, but with one of your five senses, slightly (or even seriously!) Changed: the view. This is no small embarrassment, as we know the importance of appearance in mastering a motorcycle!
Each chain has its own characteristics, and Magny-Cours is dimly lit at night. However, outside of the two stagnation zones where we arrive fairly quickly (Adelaide and High School), no other part is properly lit. It's either too much, not enough, or in the wrong place.
Too much usually slows down at the entrance by 180 °. Landmarks are blurry, the asphalt shines, the lights are blinding, you must ignore all of these elements to focus on the essentials. Not enough, it is globally the middle of Estoril where you are at full angle, everything on the ground, not seeing exactly where you should go. Not easy. Elsewhere, this is the eye-catching entrance to Estoril, while we quickly have to decide how the next microseconds will unfold so as not to get caught by the headlights of the car and get caught in the rail. And in all this, the relief, even the smallest, further complicates the situation. Just like the movement of the movement of a motorcycle.
Rules to follow
Equipment of the motorcycle and its rider
Night taxi organizers enforce strict rules for participants. There is already evidence without which you will not enter the track: transparent visor, headlights in front (it may not be an original device, but avoid a flashlight with LR6 batteries)), red light in the back (brake light is not necessary). A neon vest is a must on top of the harvester, rolled up with a hamster style tape (if you don’t know a hamster joke, write to the editors, we will explain) to prevent it from bursting at speed. Appearance is important.
The motorcycle should be operated with full headlights, mirrors (when available) covered with tape to avoid dazzle. if you have switched light, you must also hide it, otherwise it will make the Christmas tree garland in the bubble and it may deconcentrate you or impair your vision. And speaking of vision, we recommend not fixing too much of the light points in the stands at the beginning, because this will delay the moment your student acclimates to the darkness on the track ... and therefore your ability to ride quickly, well and safely.
Go at your own pace
During the briefing, held on a gentle, cloudless evening, the organizers insist on two points: landmarks change, feelings are disturbed, it will be necessary to recreate automatisms. In other words: everyone has to walk at their own pace, and even track taxi patrons and those familiar with Magni-Kur may be disturbed at first. The first sessions should be approached with humility.
Redo markers
Therefore, the first tip: do not overestimate yourself and first try to redo the benchmarks.
Know how to evacuate the track
The second tip, useful in case of non-compliance with the first: in case of a fall, do not forget to evacuate the track quickly, because other drivers will arrive at you without seeing you. A collision is the source of the most serious runway injuries and you will have to think about evacuating your trajectory as soon as possible. “Last year one of our interns applied the instruction so well that we couldn't find it anymore,” jokes Sebastian Normand of Box23 during the briefing. He just hid behind a bunch of tires and the commissioners couldn't find him at night.
A fall is possible because beyond the landmarks that need to be restored and all perception that is disturbed, the conditions of the runway have also changed.
Anticipate the cold
The asphalt is colder, it takes longer to change the grip and heat up the tires. And the white stripe is there, is it slipping or not? Who wants to take the test? Moral of the story: I've taken the anti-slip level of the Tuono V4 a notch higher.
Pilot, this is work!
First of all, don't believe that the night immediately became magical, Ekaterina! I confess that during the first session I suffered. Alarmed by the lighting that caught the eye, slowed down by the lack of brake marks, worried about tasks on the asphalt and the proximity of white lines and the optimal trajectory, confused with the "relief" (I don't even dare to imagine those driving at night in Portimao, Phillip Island or Chyalami !), it was difficult for me to find “rit Fear of interfering with others, the shame of braking too early, the clumsiness of the gesture is always too restrained, I“ was not in this ”, as they say ... From this painful experience I draw even more respect (there was already a lot!) for endurance drivers, not just the best pistols able to ignore everything and maintain a millimeter and frantic rhythm in the dark and cold. When I think that at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016, some people almost reproduced their time of day, at night, at an ambient temperature of 1 ° C, hat off! For leeks, night taxiing on trails is a mixture of charm, glee and terror. Where do we put it, cursor?
This question came up in the next two sessions. When I leave the pit lane and prepare to suffer again, there are only about twenty of us on the track, and I first decide to let go of the furious, to be alone, to focus on the main thing: my feelings. And there magic works. Now it is completely dark, I am calm, I succeed.
I found brake marks, I can guess the rope points at the entrance to the Nürburgring and Imola and only 180 still poses a little problem for me. And again I am almost in the same rhythm as during the day. Knee on the ground, ABS triggered on pressed brakes, full throttle output with external vibrators: the physical sensations are the same, but the psychological sensations are just tenfold. A change in strategy during the last session where I stay at the helm of a group of 5 drivers who haven't faked for a long time: follow this ballet of red lights in the dark that winds along an imaginary ribbon, be fifty centimeters from the athlete who spits bluish flame from her titanium exhaust usually only real endurance drivers live. For a moment, their sensory universe also opens up to leeks.
Appreciation of this new experience: After 30 years of motorcycle, I have rediscovered a new thrill!
Therefore, to relive this moment, you will have to watch the opening of the dates of the Pirelli Days organized by Box23 at the beginning of December 2016.
