I can now add Anneau du Rhin on my list of tracks that I’ve been to, as I headed down there on Tuesday for a Sportfahrttraining with Speer-Racing. I’ve been wanting to ride on this track for quite a while as it’s the closest track to me in Switzerland, located just 1.5 hours by car in France.
Although relatively tight, it has quite a wide range of long turns, from high to low speed. Unfortunately on this day the 3.0 km layout was being used, but it was immense fun nonetheless.
At the beginning of the day the bike remained relatively unchanged from the last time I rode it, but I had to change the rear tire in the afternoon as I finished the Pirelli Superbike slick. I put on my Metzeler Racetek RR K3 rear in 190/55, but left the Superbike slick on the front.
Previous setup:
| Front Tire | Rear Tire |
|---|---|
| Pirelli Superbike SC1 120/70 | Pirelli Superbike SC2 200/60 |
New setup:
| Front Tire | Rear Tire |
|---|---|
| Pirelli Superbike SC1 120/70 | Metzeler Racetek RR K3 190/55 |
Although I eased into the new tire I found myself surprisingly much more confident on the K3 as it felt a bit more precise. Given that the overall diameter is smaller on the 190/55 it was also completely different to ride and the higher “gearing” felt much better suited for the track. With these differences I was able to set a faster lap time on the Metzelers semi-slick.
I think the problem really stems down to the size of 200/60 tire, as it’s simply too big for this bike and my gearing. In the future I will be switching to a 180/60 slick tire.
This was also my first time using tire warmers and I do believe they are an absolute must. Great to have immediate confidence on the tire.
Best lap was 1:24.573. Quite a few seconds away from the top but I was able to secure 7th quickest time on the day.
A couple of tiny showers didn’t spoil what was a great, although very hot day at the track. I look forward to coming back on the full layout.