Zoe Turner attends the Ron Haslam Race School
Visordown speaks with Zoe Turner after her Ron Haslam Race School Experience.
Famous Instagram rider and all round top gal Zoe Turner took to Donington Race Circuit last week, but not on her Kawasaki ZX10R! Instead, opting to piloting a 2018 Honda Fireblade at the Ron Haslam Race School Experience. On her quest to ride faster around the historic circuit, Zoe employed the expert help of the instructor Brad Howell, and with his guidance, plus Zoe’s willingness to step out of her comfort zone, a grand total of four seconds was knocked off her lap time by the final session!
As to find out her secrets to better lap times, I had a quick chat with Zoe after the track day to find out exactly how she improved so much, and so quickly.
Post-track day chat
Firstly what’s clear about Zoe is her passion for motorcycles, and besides it being one of her biggest hobbies, it’s the thrill and freedom that it provides that inspires her to keep riding. And it’s having this mental desire to ride, reflect, and improve which helps most when riding on track, plus a bit of friendly guidance from the instructors.
At the start of the day, Brad (the instructor) asked Zoe what her goals were, and being the adrenaline junky that she is the answer was simple - quicker lap times. Having tutored Zoe before, Brad knew that track position, correct lines, and consistency was the way forward. Sounds tame, doesn’t it? But, this is where most seconds are knocked off lap times, proven as Zoe came back and analysed her telemetry throughout the day.
Check out her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe2104/
With her lines consistent and confidence growing, next on the agenda was corner exit speed/throttle control, which on a 1000cc superbike is friggin hard (and a little scary). But Zoe is fearless, even inducing the Fireblade into a slide around double-blind right-hander Copice corner! With a brown trousers moment being avoided by riding skill and Honda traction control. Pretty dope aye?
The final ingredient to Zoe’s drastically reduced lap times is a simple one, practice… you know what they say “practice makes perfect”. And with this being the 6th time Zoe had razzed around Donington, she’s no noob, but having a stable foundation to build upon was certainly a key to her huge improvement.
If you fancy improving your track day riding this summer, the Ron Haslam Race School caters for newbies right the way to rockets like Zoe.
Check them out here:
https://www.haslamraceschool.com/
