Round 2, Lydden Hill, Bemsee's home circuit.
A good weekend all in all, apart from sleeping on a hill and a bit of cold and wet on Saturday.
The bike ran fine, running well on all 4 and with no clutch slip. I however, was not running on all 4.
I really don't like the cold and wet.
Phil's Laverda decided to spring a water hose leak, 2 minutes before first practice and after trying to sort it, unsuccessfully, he missed the first race too.
The first race for me was still a case of getting to know where I was going and sorting out the correct lines. Still suffering with a horrible front end, especially in the slow turns, my storming fast start was wasted as just about everyone came past. I managed to finish 16th out of 18 finishers.
As race 2 approached, the weather went from cold and damp, to colder and wet and with not much time to decide on which tyres to run, my gamble to stick with inters proved wrong. 10 minutes before the start the rain got heavier and it became clear that wets would be the correct choice.
Phil had his bike sorted and was allowed to take the start.
Again, I got a very good start but quickly went backwards and skidded around praying for the chequered flag to come out and coming in last... not nice.
Camping on a hill is no fun, neither is being on grass!
I felt quite down about the whole day, feeling not very confident in either myself or the bike. I have a lot to learn about riding in the cold and wet!
After a nice warm evening in the back of our more comfortable van, after leveling up the bunk, and a better nights sleep than on Friday, I woke to a much better looking sky. The hotter the better for me! Heat gives me confidence.
The warm up was short, just a few laps and over in no time, but I managed to hook on to the back of one of the fast guys and learn some better lines.
Race 3 was much better. yet another blinding start, jumping up the order but not for long as loads of guys came past early on. About halfway through the race, I decided to take a peek over my shoulder to see whether I was being caught and if I was going to be last again. There was Phil behind me, and as each lap passed, I could feel him getting closer. On the second to last turn, the hairpin at the top of the hill, I felt the pressure, messed up the corner enabling him to get past. I finished second to last this time.
I managed to knock 2 seconds off the previous days time which I was happy about, but I was not happy with a few things I had done.
After a good chat with Jeremy Hill, my mentor for this season, I felt better.Some advice on certain lines and other bits and pieces were a good help and some adjustment to the forks for the second race of the day.
As race 4 got closer, very pissed off with myself, I had to turn negative into positive.
I tucked myself away in the van for a while to psych myself. I used a bit of visualisation and got myself determined to really go for it and not make the mistakes I had made previously.
I decided that I am to never look behind ever again. I knew after the last race that this is a bad thing, and that I need to 110% concentrate on what I am doing instead of playing silly games with the guys behind. Jeremy confirmed this with me.
I had, up until then, been letting the bike worry me. That had to stop too. If the bike is going to go bang or something falls off, then tough, don't worry about it. Just me and the road in front is all.
Leaving my warmers on until the last moment and not looking at anything, I made my way to the grid very well sorted in my head. If the belly pan decked out, then so be it (it had been putting me off all weekend as I still haven't got this sorted quite right yet). If I fell in the process, then so be it... bollocks to it! I had to get on top of the bike and push the thing more than I had at all so far this season.
So the lights went out and I stormed through 2 rows and about 10 places into the pack. This time I made it much further into the race before they all got me back.
The bike felt better, I felt better and although I went backwards in the finishing order again, I was happier with my performance and another 3/4 of a second off my lap time, and I wasn't last this time.
There are a few mods in the pipeline for the next race meeting at Snetterton. These include:
A change of gearing to cope with the long straights and high speed corners.
Getting the ground clearance right, including rear ride height and belly pan mods.
The front suspension is at Steve Jordan's suspension shop being sorted and a trip to the dyno to get the motor running better.
I really feel focused on improving in as many areas as I can in the coming races. This is once in a lifetime for me, so I plan to make the most of it.
Even with moments of doubt and getting a little down.... I love this racing lark!
