Rockin' !

Sunday was equally as good as Saturday. The weather was dry and clear although a bit windy.
the racing starts later on a Sunday, which means a lay in bed....very welcome!
We were not due on track for our race until after lunch apart from a short warm up session late morning. Well very short for me as I ran out of fuel on lap 2. Best to get these mistakes out of the way before the racing.... what a dork!

I got a great start in both the races but, again, found myself slipping backwards down the order, suffering badly with clutch slip. The engine seemed to behave this time though.

Handling of the suspension wasn't too bad but we found that the forks need to be completely re-worked. All adjustment being at one end of the available "clicks". Another job for Steve Jordan!
The rear seems fine and the tyres performing excellently apart from a couple of rear slides coming onto the start straight. Just me I guess, trying to get the power down too early.That is something the sorted suspension should cure.I am having to wait too long to apply the power out of the corners while I wait for the bike to settle.With no testing before Lydden Hill for us (due to having to work), and the forks not due to be worked on until after the race weekend, I am going to have to race with the setup the way it is until the next round at Snetterton.

I had the help of Jeremy Hill over the weekend. he is an ex-champion and had retired from racing to concentrate on helping new racers, such as myself. We talked about setting up the bike as well as a multitude of different things. He really was a great help and I very much look forward to his help throughout the coming races.

Thanks Jez!

I managed to shave over a half second off of my Saturday times, finally recording a 58.290 time.A long way to go to the front guys, who are running times in the low 52 second area.
It will be very interesting to see the difference in my times, next time we go to Brands Hatch.

The first race of the day was interesting. Following Gyles on his Moto guzzi, I could smell burning fiberglass and soon realised it was coming from the bottom of his bike. He, as I, was having trouble with the catch tray grounding out early and severely limiting angle of lean. This was soon to become an even bigger problem for Gyles as the bike decked out, loosing grip, and sliding him off into the gravel. He was thankfully ok and back at the paddock he and Chris, set about fixing the relatively light damage, ready for the next race.He made it onto the grid for the last race.

Here he comes!....bugger!

The second and last race for us was a belter! I got away from the back but made several mistakes, missing gears and recovering from a rather nasty slide allowed Phil, who I had passed at the start, to catch me. Coming along the start straight, I knew some one was behind and close as I could see their long shadow in the low afternoon sun. I resolved to try to keep this mystery guy behind, riding defensive lines. I decided to have a peek over my shoulder and found to my delight that it was Phil. There's something special about racing a close friend. We spent a good 5 or 6 laps close together and by the last lap I knew that Phil was going to try something. Sure enough on the entry to Druids hairpin, I let the bike run wide by mistake and Phil ducked underneath me and got in front. There was little chance to regain the position as he was running a second a lap faster than me all weekend, but what a great end to the weekend!

Monday was so depressing. I guess all the adrenalin from the weekend was gone and I was on a big comedown. This racing lark surely is a big drug.

Thanks to Steve Spencer for sending me a new clutch and springs. That should sort the problem.With plenty of mods for the bike happening this weekend, we should be in reasonable shape for Lydden Hill.


This was one of the best looking bikes I saw at Brands over the weekend.