Moving off-line to pass on a bike
means being about one metre off the ideal trajectory, whereas in a car you’re looking at about a two-and-a-half metre deviation. Cars also kick up more dust and throw more rubber towards the edge of the track, causing a slippery concoc- tion known as “marbles”. Part of both driving courses’ curricula
was having instructors lap with students. With Turn 2, this meant being followed by Millson on another bike and getting briefed between riding sessions. With AISA it meant the instructor rode shot- gun and gave live scrutiny. The instructor, who owns a two-car
race team and competes in the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship
hopped into the Genesis’ passenger seat during one of my early AISA track ses- sions. After about a lap and a half, the in-
structor, in a stern voice, began blurting out commands. “You need to get on the brakes later
and harder,” he said. “Release the brakes – I didn’t tell you start turning yet!” It seemed that the instructor countered
every manoeuvre I made with a correc- tion. Was I that far out of my element? The advice he offered stuck, however, and my speed increased immediately in following sessions. One major difference between control-
ling a car and a motorcycle at speed is that the latter requires much higher
physical effort. A rider’s body is a pro- portionally greater part of a bike’s total weight and is therefore a major compo- nent of the chassis and contributes greatly to handling. A rider shifts his body – left to right,
fore and aft – to alter the centre of grav- ity for improved cornering, all while fighting acceleration, braking and turn- ing forces. It’s no wonder professional motorcycle racers rarely remain competi- tive once they are past their 30s. In a car, aside from being used to con-
nect the steering wheel to the pedals and applying the appropriate driving inputs, a body is a passive device that does little to aid with weight transfer. Precision aside, a car will steer equally as well
38 HOLIDAY BUYER’S GUIDE 2010
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