What a great day Wed 11th March at the Dave Thorpe MX Experience at Littlehempston MX track.
A mate had put a calling out towards the end of 2025 to get some biking events planned in the calendar for 2026. There was a selection of events ranging from rallies to pit biking and this MX experience. At the time of the receiving the message I wasn't in a position to commit but as the date of this MX experience approached, and with a lack of opportunity to get out on any bike of late mainly due to the constant rain we've had, I got my name down as a last-minute entrant opting for the slightly cheaper option by using my own bike ...... and why not. The location of the event would allow for a few green lanes to be ridden on the way there and the way home and it wouldn't be the first time my trusty KTM has rolled a tyre onto an MX track.
As I departed home it was raining - a light, but bright shower - but I wasn't fazed trusting that the forecast of clear skies would prevail, and I was in good spirits cos midweek riding certainly beats working!!
A few green lanes at Lee Mill, South Brent then a zig zag around Redpost and Tally-Ho saw me arrive at the track in perfect time for sign-on at 9am. All our gang were there plus a few other small groups, a few solo riders and an MX race team with a pair of very snazzy looking, spanking new Triumph MX bikes who were there for practice .... and who obviously knew Dave Thorpe quite well as they were assisting the event.
The weather was now bright and dry and sunny and the track looked in tip-top condition ..... but we'll come to that in a bit.
After sign-on we had a safety briefing as well as a short overview of the bikes - spanking, 2 week old Honda CRF 250RX's - then we were split into two groups of 10, the divide being those who had a level of experience on a track and those who either had less experience or no experience......and as the sessions ran I would say they were perfectly split, aside one seemingly experienced guy who seemed a cut above the rest in the less experienced group, but to be fair to him his two other mates were in that group too so understandable that he wanted to stay with them.
The more experienced Group A were out first and the whole track was at our disposal. We rolled out of the pit area onto the track and OMG, looks can be deceiving. The track was sooooo slippery with a top crust that the tyres sunk into which on the bends gave for an immensely washed-out, 'lack of grip', feel which certainly took some getting used to.
At the low points of the circuit and as the bottom of each jump/ table-top there were multiple, deep, puddle filled rutts which were a bit daunting as you approached - which rutt to choose? How deep was the puddle going to be? How hard were the rutt edges? I think we all muddled around for the first few laps before settling into a bit more of a comfortable flow having gotten to grips with the feel of the bike on the track surface. It was great fun and pretty tiring. No spills for me on session one.
Group B up next and here I think it showed how the groups have been well split as barely any of the riders in Group B made it up the first big hill. It was carnage, bikes laid all over the slope. The marshals certainly had their work cut out to get everyone going again. More throttle needed for sure but I can understand how daunting that can be for complete novice, AND on unfamiliar bikes!
Their session continued with a steady amount of assistance required but everyone returned safely and I'm sure they all had fun ...... although one rider chucked the towel in at this point saying it wasn't for him so he got changed out of all his riding gear and spent the rest of his day watching his mates. Each to their own I guess ..... but a fair waste of money imho.
Session 2 for our group and after a few laps Dave pulled us into one half of the track and we all discounted to talk through track positioning and corner approach and cornering technique. We then circuited that small section of the track putting into practice what we'd learnt. Some real gains made in this session and with the whole group using a similar line the track was starting to dry out - the puddle being dispersed, the rutt widening and the top crust being removed.
Same scenario for Group B then we were back out again, this time using the top section of the track and again focusing on A-to-B riding which was entry - into a berm or a corner - exiting the berm or the corner, then moving onto/ into the next A-to-B feature, be it a berm or a corner or a jump.
A young lad working with Dave called Silus was giving us a demo of Daves description. Silus, a rather proficient MX rider to say the least!!, was inch perfect to everything Dave had described so it was great to see it in action and then to be let loose on the track to try it for ourselves. Really good tuition and great fun.
On the first particular part of this little exercise/ part of the track it was a medium downhill, then a slight uphill into a berm before aiming for a moderately tight left hand corner. I recall from the first session I was off the throttle coming down this hill but Silus was absolutely ON the throttle down the hill, up the other side and only rolling OFF the throttle as he hit the berm. I put my big boy pants on and did exactly as he did accelerating down the hill which initially was very nerve wracking but after a few laps confidence in the bike, the track, the grip all grew so progress was definitely being made.
Again, another great but exhausting session.
A shorter than planned stop for lunch which didn't matter as we'd been grazing at each interval to keep fluids and energy levels up then it was into the afternoon sessions.
Here we focused on the centre section of the track and the steepest, longest uphill. Again track positioning from the lowest part of the circuit before hitting the hill, what line to take up the hill, body positioning on the bike, and what line to take off the hilltop and into the wide, open left hander. We lapped this countless times putting our instruction into practise.
Unseen by me but at one point exiting the top of the hill Andy had a bit of whisky throttle moment and looped the bike. When we all reconvened Dave said he watched Andy up the hill and was applauding his line and technique. He looked away for a split second and when looked back Andy was on the deck, Dave thinking "what happened there then?????" Tbf there were a lot of hollows in the track at that top section and Andy said he must have hit one and the bike jolted causing him to grab a handful of throttle. No injuries, thankfully, so he re-mounted and continued.
Our final session of the day was back to full track access allowing us to put into practice all we'd learnt throughout the course of the day. Improvements could definitely be felt and confidence was a marked level above our opening session in the morning ..... and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that.
A fantastic day out on the bikes. Superb tuition, a great track, perfect blue skies and no injuries.
A nice leisurely ride home for me, again via a few lanes with the remaining energy that I did have. A stop at Ivy jet wash to remove the masses of mud clumped to every surface and nook and cranny of my bike - it was thick, and sticky and took a fair amount of water to shift!!
Home, showered then we all met at the pub for a meal and a few drinks to round off the day.
Absolutely loved it, just what I needed (even if I am aching in places I've never ached before today, ha ha!!). Thanks to my mate for organising and great to see everyone again ..... and to meet some new faces.
