Brands Hatch novice racer! Learning the racing line

As spring of 2022 sprung, the Honda CB500 road to race bike build was finished just in time for my first race at Brands Hatch. Being a Novice racer meant I had a lot to learn and this video documents that journey as I learn the racing line!
I had a brilliant weekend sharing the track with more experienced CB500 riders and also classic grand prix bikes such as Yamaha TZ350s. Getting passed by the GP bikes of yesteryear is a memory I'll hold dear
How do you think it went?
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Editing by ‪@fitzaudio8913‬
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[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Rate my first ever race weekend! How do you think I did?

[@MrB1obby]

You were proper quick on the brakes into paddock and graham hill bends...or everyone else was really slow :D Either way, great christening on your race license!

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

@MrB1obby haha they were a couple of strong points but then everyone else were superior on most other corners 😅 cheers! Certainly felt like a good first race weekend 😁

[@rjung_ch]

👍💪✌ That looked like a ton of fun!

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

It really was! It's expensive but one of the best buzzes caused by motorbikes ever

[@TheMagictrx]

I enjoyed that, well done Tom, and you were enjoying it.. keep getting better !

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Cheers! It was great fun, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@ellieparker3737]

This looks like so much fun! Great to see you genuinely buzzing for it too :)

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

It was absolutely brilliant! Thanks, I'm glad you liked the sincerity of the clips

[@blondeminky]

Steady progress is good progress :) . Looks like you had a good time and learned a thing or two. Once you get more track-confident, your times will get better :) .

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Cheers, I definitely felt better as the weekend went on and was pleased with my progress for sure. Definitely had a good time!

[@roguebullet4220]

Very good. You done real well. Would love to do this. Great video.

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Thanks for the kind words! Racing is without doubt one of the best things I've done on a bike, give it a go!

[@tomstc]

Great stuff mate, you can see you have put loads of time money and effort into this. 👌🏻

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Cheers Tom! Yeah its not cheap 😁

[@fastdadd1958]

Great job once you get more comfortable on the bike at this track you can become a little more aggressive about holding the race line. Those guys who are taking advantage of your orange vest and throwing you off that line in the corners will be no longer be a threat. That 58 sec lap was just pucker an this is a Canadian mate saying hang in there cause there is a podium finish just around the next corner. Good luck and keep that right hand cranked.

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Thanks! Yeah I definitely wasn't aggressive enough that's for sure. I got more comfortable as the weekend (and year) progressed. Cheers for the well wishes

[@oliverjones5654]

Awesome video as always mate, enjoyed watching !! Looked like you where growing in confidence with every lap!! Not sure if you sold the bike but hope you didn’t !! 👍 go safe

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Cheers mate! Glad you liked it, yeah definitely grew my confidence with each race and lap, it helped having friendly folk in the paddock giving hints and tips! Cheers 😁

[@grahamsmith8122]

well done mate, it's a stressful track for a novice but you did OK. Need to ride a bit more defensive in places but you rode like a gentleman. That wont last I hope and you'll become committed and aggressive! You need signatures, not DNF's so ignore everything I suggest.....

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Yeah definitely rode too friendly at times and gave plenty of people room when by rights I should have shut the door! I'm not cut out for racing as whilst I'm competitive I always have the bit in the back of my mind saying "falling off hurts" I'll get the Cadwell race weekend edited and up so you can see if I got more committed and aggressive or not...

[@grahamsmith8122]

@@ILikeMotorbikes look forward to that.

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

@@grahamsmith8122 I look forward to getting it out!

[@SquidgyPickle]

I need to do this... on ebay looking at Cb500s...😀

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Yes you do! It's mega fun, my thoughts... Buy a ready built bike off the Facebook groups. It'll save a load of hassle! Also I wrote and article for Bemoto about going CB500 racing if you're interested? Might answer some questions

[@21tresi]

Nice video, would be good to get some commentary over the race footage as well.

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

Cheers! I was thinking about it but opted against it. Might try it for the next video where I rode at Cadwell Park or release one of the Brands Hatch full races with commentary.

[@peterwilkinson2998]

Did you use your wets in race three ? It didn't look wet at all on your footage.

[@ILikeMotorbikes]

No I didnt. I think I could have made it clearer that whilst we planned to use wets, the track dried up very quickly and the 2 races before my 3rd race were dry where as the rest of the morning had been wet