Bedford Autodrome Bike Track Day - Fast Group July 2026 - "Trading Places" with Sam

Second track day of the year (July 13th 2026). This is my first and, as explained later, probably only visit to Bedford Autodrome. This video is of the last session of the day in Fast Group. It's a slightly extended session of just over 20 minutes as we lost some time in the previous session after a red flag. Most of this session was spent trading places with a blue Suzuki GSX-R ridden, as I find out in the pits later, by a really pleasant guy called Sam. It's great fun when you inadvertently find someone on track who's running at a similar pace to yourself and you can - carefully - line up and overtake, but then you suffer the same back again. And so it repeats... Front and rear cameras hopefully help to share the experience! The day was overcast until lunchtime which helped to keep the temperature down to around 26 degrees C: ideal as the rest of the country was creeping into the 30s. Still pretty sweaty though. Using a home-built data logger and software to render a GPS overlay. Speedo is optimistic partly due to gearing. Still need to try to find a better lean angle sensor... The fastest lap time in this session is logged at 2m09.8s. The circuit is unusual in that it runs anti-clockwise but that helps even out the tyre wear for the next track day given that there's still plenty of life in the was-new rear Metzeler TD slick afterwards. The problem with this circuit, for me anyway, is the noise limit. The bike passes the static noise test easily enough but letting it rip around the first few corners is not a wise move as it triggers the drive-by sensors and I get a warning from the organisers at the end of the fourth session. To circumvent the noise issue I'm having to short shift somewhat and not use too much of the banshee sound past 12,000rpm. This root cause is the neighbours in next village and a strict council enforcing tougher than usual noise limits. My bike is definitely not the loudest and I'm not a particular fan of noise for noise sake. But it you can't use a race bike on a race track it spoils the experience, so I can't see myself returning here sadly. The other downside is that the pit area is a bit small which means you can't keep any vehicles nearby. Other than that it is a good circuit and the day was well organised, just let down by the neighbours. Bike: Yamaha R1 2007 model, ex-BSB 2008 superstock series: race kit, power commander, traction control & quick shifter; 175 Bhp at the rear wheel. Tyres: Metzeler TD slicks Gearing: 16:45 (vs 17:45 standard, reading +6% on mph!) Group: Fast Organisers: MSV