I thought that the weird feelings in my stomach would get less, now that I have raced....wrong, they are still there.
We were gifted some great weather for March, but rather cold nights in the van.Nice and warm for the racing though.
The first race grid of the year is set by the championship finishing positions from the previous season.Phil was to start from 8th and I was to start from 23rd.I really didn't have any expectations of where I would be by the end of the race and no idea of how the FZ would compare to the machinery around me.I just figured on finishing.I knew from the practice race starts we did at Mallory last month, that the FZ was good away from the start line, so I was hopeful of a good start. I was right. I wasn't too nervous on the line and felt well focused.I got a great start and blasted past quite a few guys, clipping some one's handle bars with mine as I shot through.
Phil # 61 and Tim "chunky" Churchill trying to find a way past!The clutch slipping was a big problem and the engine was running badly and stuttering quite a lot.I soon found myself getting swamped by guys coming past as I lost drive out of most corners, especially the straights.
The race was over so fast it seemed like we had done only a couple of laps. A lot of it was a blur, but what a feeling of exultation for quite some time after.
I found from our timing sheets after the race that I had finished 21st. I was happy with that. I phoned my girl friend to say I was ok and she gave me my times from Mylaps.com website.I had been running consistent times, which was pleasing.
The second race for Thunderbikes of the day came as the last race of the day and again I got a killer start finding myself way up the pack.Halfway around the first lap, going into Surtees, a rider lost the front and hit the deck right in front of me. I picked my bike up to avoid him and had to take to the grass, loosing positions as I rejoined and coming out last. I managed to get myself back up to 20th and finished half a second behind Phil, getting back to the paddock with an even bigger feeling of joy inside. Great to get through the day in one piece!.
It was a long way back onto the circuit!Saturday evening was a great fun.We had camped out with fellow Thunderbike racer Gyles Fairclough and his friend Chris.These guys had driven down from Scotland with the Moto Guzzi and a shed load of beer. We had some good food and some great laughs with tales of swollen bollocks and past biking stories.
Gyles's Thunderbike...what a beast!
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