For Fast Bikes 300th edition, they decided to put themselves through a very different kind of test, aiming to complete 300 miles on track in a day.
To help them take on the challenge, they roped in Gary Hartshorne of Bridgestone, and a single set of Battlax R10 Racing tyres to be fitted to their 899 Panigale.
Without the budget to hire out Silverstone or Donington for the day, Fast Bikes called in a favour from Llandow circuit in Wales. At 0.9 miles long, they would need to put in a total of 334 laps to hit their target.
Starting off with Llandow novice Gary on the bike first of all in the late morning, he was soon down to the 49-second lap times on a partially wet circuit, but after 20 laps he pulled in, already feeling the physical effects. One of the Fast Bikes team took up the challenge, blazing around the circuit at first, before realising they were part of a marathon and not a sprint.
After a similar number of laps, they pulled in too, feeling shattered. By lunch time the tyre had been worked hard, and they still needed to cover another 250 laps in the afternoon session. Things started well, but as the sun was starting to go down in the sky, the team still needed to put in over 100 laps to meet their target. With that in mind, and a better knowledge of the circuit than he had in the morning session, Gary upped the pace and really pushed the bike and the well worn tyres.
One of the Fast Bikes riders then had a funny turn on the bike, which saw his lunch return inside his helmet as he pulled in to dash to the nearest wheelie bin. Gary got back on the bike, with plenty still to do, and continued lapping quickly on the worn Bridgestone’s, clocking just over 300 miles as the flag went down to mark the closure of the circuit of the day.
Fast Bikes commented:
“I was amazed that the Bridgestones were still going strong after such a hammering, and that the 899’s brakes didn’t fade at all even though the red front wheel was almost black with brake dust. I was more impressed that my unfit body hadn’t (entirely) given in either, because we’d all be feeling the strain come the next morning.”
“What a bike, what a pair of tyres, and what a team. Here’s to the 400th issue!” was the conclusion.
Find out more about the Battlax R10 Racing here.
