Cooking at Cadwell. Part 2

The prediction of foul weather for Sunday came to nothing and we were greeted with sunshine that would stay with us all day. No need for hurried wheel changing is always a relief.
With the torture of deciding which bike to ride now done with, I felt good about the day ahead and able to concentrate on making the most of things.
I had changed the worn out slicks on the FZ for the newer 2 race old ones from the Guzzi the previous evening and felt confident enough to not take the warm up session. Less hassle, leaving more time to relax and get in the right frame of mind for the racing. I also changed the front brake pads for new ones.
With the Guzzi looking sad sat in the paddock unused, a few Guzzi supporters had turned up to watch and were to be disappointed. I felt for them but this is racing. A racer has to do what suits him best.

Race 1, row 2 start and I was feeling great. The previous day on the Guzzi really had made me go faster.


The now customary getaway off the start line put me into 3rd into turn 1 and I quickly settled into a fast pace. I got the feeling there was someone behind and I was soon to drop to 4th, but I kept the pace up following Phil Read and Garry Budgen closely and consistently in the low to mid 1:41 second range.

I had a close look at the back of the Alto Vyrus for quite some time!

I chased these two hard.

After the race I found I had smashed my best time by well over a second to 1:41.21.

Dan and young Danny start to catch me not long before the red flags come out.

During lap 7, Dan Wright finally got past but as the race was stopped due to a crash, the results are taken from the lap before the red flag and I had myself a 4th place finish. A shame the race didn't run the full 9 laps but I was really happy with the result and the way I had ridden. Consistanly running 1:41 was satisfying. My pace felt faster and I had pushed the FZ harder than ever before. Of course, a 4th meant it would be the first time that I would start from the front row and with the FZ getting away well, I was quietly confident I could stir things up at the front in race 2.

There was what seemed like an age between the first race and our second. Good time to relax, get the bike ready, watch a bit of the other racing and socialise.I even had time for a half hour of kip!

We bagged a nice spot under the trees.

I really enjoyed Sunday afternoon. Stu had turned up to meet me, another Yamaha rider I had got to know through the internet. He had donated some bike parts last winter and I chucked some tickets to the racing his way. I know he really enjoyed himself and it was great to be able to put on a good show for him and Simon, who had brought his wife along too.
Simon had brought his video along too and is to thank for the clips I have uploaded to this post.



The promise of a front row start was fantastic and I took to the grid with my head in a good state. When the start line official points his flag at the lights, and they come on, the world around becomes strange and numbed, almost like you are staring down at yourself from above. Trying to anticipate the turning out of the lights by the human on top of the start light gantry is a fun game. I can sense the bikes along side creeping, with my eyes looking past the lights, I can still see when they go out.

Out the lights went and I didn't see another bike for almost the whole of that first lap. As I lead the race out across the wide open fields of the first half of the lap, I remember thinking, someone has got to come past soon! It was weird and almost like I was out there on my own. I felt calm but at the same time pumped and was riding hard and on the limit, again, pushing harder than ever. It was a great feeling coming up over the mountain for the first time in the lead and into Hall bends but at the end of Hall and into the hairpin, Lee Hodge, riding the injured Simon Peytos' SV, stuffed it up the inside to take the position.



I chased him hard and reeled him back in along the start straight but was unable to do anything about his level of pace.
It was a short but very sweet experience, leading a race and a couple of laps later I had Garry Budgen and then Dan Wright come past. They were just a little too quick for me to challenge all weekend.No Phil Read? he had suffered a mechanical gremlin and pulled out early on. I backed it down just a little to stay safe and bag that 4th place and some more really good points.

Here's a great series of shots from Jules. Exiting mansfield corner and into the chicane before the approach to the Mountain.


What a race. My best so far and getting better. I hadn't quite managed to beat my best time from the previous race by a small margin but overall consistency had been good again and I had a great result and another fantastic weekend.



Hall Bends



and more Hall Bends

All the good points positions of the last few races have moved me up the table to 8th in the standings. Top ten is great but aiming ever higher has to be done. Top 6 is the goal for the end of the season. Now that would be great!

Oulton Park in Cheshire is next on the list. No Thinderbike rider has ridden there except Phil Read and that was 16 years ago. A complete unknown for all of us and with just 4 X 15 minute practice sessions before the 2 Saturday races, it's going to be an interesting meeting.

Thunderbikes. Some of the other bikes.

One of the Alto Perfomance teams' guys, Jules, takes pictures for fun and to supply the team no doubt. He is always willing to run off a copy for me at the end of a meeting. I would like to take the time to show off some of his handy work and at the same time show some of the other bikes racing in Thunderbikes. Jules takes some great shots and Cadwell is one of the most picturesque places to be shooting. Unfortunately, I don't have the software to cut the shots down to size and I don't suppose the skill either, so forgive me Jules, if this doesn't do your shots justice. Personally, I still think they're brilliant.

In no particular order...

Joe Duggan, new to the series this year and doing well on his Ducati 748


Rob Chapman on his gorgeous NSR250.

Regular John Hall. If you think you're too old, come at see John wheelie over the mountain at the young age of 61!

Gary Budgen. Missed the championship by 1 point last season.

My co.racer Phil Smith. This is engine number 3 this season. Spent the 2 previous seasons on a Laverda 750 formula.


Paul Martin. Suzuki SV 650. A popular bike for Thunderbikes. Altamura run 2 of these, The other ridden by Craig Ashall.

Mike Parry fields another Ducati 748. A nice looking example.

Simon Peyto, Championship leader sat in Hospital while Lee Hodge plays caretaker aboard The Diablo Suzuki SV 650. A superbly prepared and set up machine.

Peter Whitelegg aboard his Alto prepared Laverda 750 formula. Pete raced for Alto for a while before Read took over last season. Hope to see this out again.

Phil Read JnR aboard the Alto Vyrus. No forks can win! This is a feast for any engineers eyes. What an amazing piece of kit. Some say it's ugly, some say it's lovely.Either way, it's fast and can win.

Dan Wright on a Honda CBR 600 "steelie", very similar to Gary Budgens' and giving Gary a hard time.

Young Danny Buchan.Age just 15 years. Remember that name, you may well hear it a lot in the future. Kawasaki ZXR400. He was excluded from the results at Cadwell because the frame was deemed illegal. Too long a story to go into, but he was flying. He took the lap record. Excluded or not, nobody could take away from him, his outright pace. The championship would look different if he was a regular. What a talent!

Andy Burbridge on another Ducati. Andy is an old hand at racing but is out at the moment with a broken collarbone. He'll be back for sure! Not sure who took this picture.

The Inzane Ducati. Ridden by MotorCycle News reporter Michael Neeves. This bike runs on Bio Ethanol. Who says racing can't be green!

Ok so this picture was taken by me back in June but I couldn't leave out the Kawasaki ZXR 750s of Colin Walkey (blue machine) and Rob Bean. These two were at it hammer and tongs all race until colin fell at the mountain, putting him out of racing for a few meetings. That was scary, don't do it again Colin. Rob is also out at the moment with a busted motor. He'll be back I am sure.

This TDR 250 runs in the Yamaha Past Masters series along with RD250LCs,RD350LCs, TZR250s and RD350 YPVS machines. 2 strokes are eligable for thunderbikes and I am surprised we don't see any in our series. I like this bike a lot. It's really tidy and I had to
stick it on this page.

This is a Racing line image from Brands early in the season. Kev Furnish on his Suzuki GSXR 750. Gary Skellet also runs a GSXR 750 in Sheene colours. He's not had much luck with it though. It keeps breaking.

Here's a couple of moody shots from Jules, Both of Phil Read. They capture some of what racing is about....




There are a lot more machines racing in Thunderbikes.Last season there were somewhere around 80+ different bikes and riders entered in the series.This year we are up to around 50 or more. Some are regular entries, others are only occasional. I don't have images of quite a few of them and what I do have are rubbish. If you are interested to have a look at more stuff, Racing line Photography have some great shots of just about everybody that races with the club on their website archive. The link is on the right of this page.

Enjoy!

Cooking at Cadwell. part 1

If you follow my blog regularly, then you'll know I love going to Cadwell.
This round was to be a little different though and my mental state as the weekend approached, was a bit shaky. Let me explain.
When we were racing at Croix back in mid June, The owner of Gyles' Moto Guzzi asked me if I would be interested in riding another MGS01 next season. Naturally, I was excited about the prospect and as Gyles was due to not be riding at Cadwell, it was agreed I would test the bike to see how I felt about riding it.


I think there were only ever 50 of the MGS01 made by the factory and they were built as a race bike and do not make a good road bike. I have been told that if you want lights and a number plate, it's another £2,000 please! Amongst Guzzi fans, this bike is the grail, so I am extremely privileged to be riding it, and with a price tag of somewhere in the region of £17,000, an expensive machine it certainly is, as well as rare. The only one racing in the UK.

The FZ has been a long journey for me, from the initial build and the hard slog to getting the bike to run and handle well, to improving my riding and getting the bike into the top 6. That was always the goal for me, to be consistantly running in the top 6. So now I am there, it's hard to go and jump on another bike.


So as Cadwell on the Guzzi approached, I found myself torn between the chance to ride the Guzzi and wanting to continue on my journey with the FZ. It is really difficult to get across how hard a decision it was to choose between the two. The FZ just had to go in the van too, just in case I decided to ride it and also in the event of a nasty with the Guzzi.

So Friday Practice came, and at last a ride on the Guzzi. The first thing you would notice is the weight. At around 220kg its a good 40 or more kg heavier than the FZ. There is however, more power, around 120bhp and something like 96fpt ( foot pound torque ) as opposed to the FZ with 95bhp and around 70fpt.

With the last Cadwell meeting just five weeks ago, the circuit was still fresh in my mind, so at least it should be easier to get my head around the Moto Guzzi, but there was all this weight! It is such a different machine to the Yamaha. I had to almost re learn the corners. The first session, and after several laps the weight began to take it's toll on my body. I remember thinking, how on earth am I going to last 8 laps on this?
I returned to the pits absolutely soaked in sweat and feeling a little down in the mouth. I was determined to give it another go and went a bit quicker in the next session. With just four sessions booked for me, I decided that the last would be for the FZ, just to keep my hand in should I decide to ride the old girl in the races.


The third session on the Guzzi and I was even more convinced I would struggle on race day. I realised I was not fit enough to hustle this brute of a machine as well or as quickly as Gyles.
When time came for the last session of the day, I fired the FZ. What a difference! So light and nimble compared to the big black beast. I felt instantly at home and so much happier. I really wanted to ride the FZ. That last session was fantastic fun and I really found a renewed love of riding the FZ. As they say, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. I was instantly on the limit with the Yamaha and feeling that I could push harder than I ever had before with this bike.
This is not to take anything away from the Moto Guzzi.

What a fantastic bike it is. It is a really planted to the road feeling. It has immense presence both on and off the track, and gives out a "don't you mess with me" look no matter where you look at it from.I'm sure it would scare the pants off anyone with a weak constitution.
So with the Friday sessions over, and race day looming, the dilemma on what to do became larger. I chatted with Gyles on the phone, I chatted with Jeremy Hill and several other people in an attempt to reach the right decision for me. The next morning would be the time to decide.Go with your gut feeling was the general advice.

Saturday at last, race day.
I had to give the Guzzi a chance and see how I got on. 1 minute 40 seconds was a tall order and matching Gyles was going to be near on impossible. Practice times from the previous day were taken from timing my on-board camera laps and the best was a 1:46. Mid pack times and not the top 6 I would have liked. Anyway I had to give it a shot.

Race 1 and I was to start from the second row and with all that big Guzzi torque I figured I could get up there at the start. Having not done a race start on this bike, I was looking forward to finding out how this bike would compare to the FZ. Gyles usually got away well but the FZ is renowned for getting away particularly well.
Well the start wasn't too bad at all. An initial bit of bogging down but as the torque cut it, I found myself heading for a small gap between Read and Budgen and tucked into 3rd into turn 1.


The first lap was ok and the guys in front of me pulled a small gap but as the next couple of laps went on, I began to struggle and the queue behind me began to form up. I was soon down a place, then another and the weight of the bike really began to show.


If a down change in gear is made too early, the front of the bike begins to perform a really strange pogo action and quite severe it is too. At the down hill entry to Mansfield corner, I found out just how bad it can be as I
braked a bit late and banged down the box in a hurried attempt to get stopped in time. The spirit of Zebedi hit the bike and I ended up going straight on and a trip across the grass. By the time I rejoined, most of the field had gone past.


At the same point on the track the next lap round, my foot slipped from the peg and I realised the peg had jumped ship and with it, the gear shift lever dangled helplessly from the bike. So that was it.No gear change and nowhere to put my left foot. I was almost relieved to have to pull in. I was absolutely knackered. The harsh reality of riding this bike hit me and before I had got back to the pit, I had decided that the FZ was going to get out for some fun.

I was feeling a bag of mixed emotions buzzing through me as I got the FZ ready to race that afternoon. A little unhappy that I had not got my head around the Guzzi as well as I had hoped but also pleased at the progress I had made with the bike. Conflicting feelings really but I had been confident I could get closer to Gyles' times than I had. I had run a 1:45 in the race. A full 5 seconds slower than he had run at the last meeting. Fitness would be the key and a lot more time on the bike. Also the suspension needs a lot of work to get it to suit me better. Excuses? yeah I guess they are!


It was not all bad though. I am sure that riding the Guzzi had made me ride the FZ better and quicker too. When I jumped back on the Yamaha for race 2, I felt more fired up and confident than at any point in any past races. I would have to start from the back in 23rd place but as we all lined up for the warm up lap, the two rows in front had each a vacant grid slot on the left hand side of the track. My slot was one in from left. A nice big gap to aim for and three rows ahead sat Phil on his fresh engined FZ. I remember telepathically asking Phil to move over to the right and let me past. At the start, it was like the parting of the Red Sea. The gap in front widened and just as I came up behind Phil, he moved out of the way and gave me a clean shot at more bikes ahead of him. I think I was 10th into the first turn. An absolutely blistering start!
I had Joe Duggan, Paul Martin and Adam Palfreman ahead of me and was determined to get past as soon as possible. I could see the guys in front of them getting away and it seemed like Joe on his Ducati, was holding things up. It took two or three laps to clear these three guys and by the time I had, the bikes in front were long gone. That's when Micheal Neeves started to make things interesting. Riding the Inzane Ducati800ss, Michael was doing a story for Motorcycle News about riding a Bio ethenol powered bike.

Michael Neeves chases hard.

He is a real fast racer and as he came past me I realised who it was. If there is ever incentive to ride on the limit, it's when someone with a reputation comes past. I got back past him and as each lap passed, I could feel the deep rumble of the Ducati vibrating in my chest, I could feel it was Michael and at one point, I took a quick peek to check. As I did, I noticed he was on his own and we had dropped the other guys.I continued to push relentlessly and hard too. Lap after lap and I kept the pace hard. I began to tire towards the final few laps but dug deep and kept up the fight. I managed to keep the Ducati behind to the flag and finished in 7th. I was ecstatic with that result and had enjoyed the racing more than ever. I knew my riding had changed too. I felt so much more confident in the bike and felt I could push more than ever. 1:42.6 had been my best lap here last time and I had dropped that to a 1:42.5 just a shade faster but on extremely worn out rubber. last time out I had been on new rubber and with a new set of tyres waiting for the FZ for the Sunday races I knew there had to be a second to chop off my times. With the prospect of 7th on the grid the next day, and Micheal Neeves not racing anymore, I felt super excited about the chance of a solid top 6 on the Sunday.


The day had been a really good one. I had finally come to a conclusion as to what to do about the Guzzi/Yamaha dilema, I had gone faster on the FZ and I had found another level in my riding. I had also kept up my now traditional Cadwell ritual of not either starting or finishing the first race of the weekend. That's three meetings on the trot now!
I was really pleased to have Simon turn up again. If you remember, he came to the last Cadwell and saved my weekend from disaster. Now I had the chance to get a good result and put on a good show for him as reward for all the help and encouragement he has given. He got some great video footage of some of the racing too. I will share that with you in the the next post.

A solid Snetterton

I turned up late on Friday test day and managed to get the last session of the day for a shake down. It was worth it to get a feel for the circuit again. The fact I'd gone along on my own was playing on my mind as there was nobody to get me home if I smashed myself up and the two crashes at the last visit here were still fresh in my mind. So I elected to hold back a little, which is kind of going against the grain. One advantage to being on my own was an added amount of space in the van and the awning and just myself to think about made it all a lot easier, that's not to say I begrudge my good mate the other half of all the space. It was kind of strange him not being there.

Anyone for a swim?

The weather was playing havoc with everyone's minds, one minute it was ok then howling with wind and rain. But we were relatively lucky with just the last race of the weekend being wet, or rather half wet. One end of the track demanding slicks, the other, full wets.

Race 1 and my championship position of 8th dictated my grid slot. As we took the start for the warm up lap, two front row slots were empty. Phil Read on the Vyrus and Gyles on the Guzzi were missing having got late to the grid. They would start from the back, giving more room and a better chance of a result. A bit of a wheelie hamper my start a little but with the missing riders, I found myself 3rd going into the first turn and out along the fast revetts straight only to have Dan Wright on his red CBR600 and then Mike Baxter on the nice red Ducati come past and then clear off. A couple of laps later Mike lost the front in Sears corner. At 60+, Mike is a hard racer and took the crash in his stride and was sorted for the next race.

A familiar picture for most of the weekend.

I settled into a nice pace until Gyles came past and then Phil Read although I wasn't going to make it easy for him and repassed along the start straight, but inevitably, he got me straight back. That's the way it stayed. 6th place and some good points. A good start to the weekend.
Peyto took the win from Gary Budgen then Dan the Gyles and then Mr. read JR.

Race 2. Simon Peyto on his SV, leading the championship on pole with the two CBR Hondas of Dan and "the Budge" second and third, then Gyles fourth filled the front row. Then Phil Read outside of me. Looking at my on bike camera at this lot still make my stomach churn.
4th into turn one but it wasn't long before I found myself 6th again, looking at the same guys. Then Phil fell in the same place mike did in race 1, so 5th for me.
I again settled my pace until Mike blocked passed me in the russles chicane to the point we both almost stopped, or so it seemed.


As we blasted along the home straight I dug deeper determined to get my 5th place back.


Surprisingly, I out dragged him along the back straight and then seriously got my head down to get to flag before him. 5th and more good points.
Gyles took the win. Fantastic!

Then Gyles and good friend Big Chris celebrated. I was ready for a decent nights sleep at 10.30, as Chris decided to remove me from my chair and carry me towards the bar, picking up Phil Read along the way. A late night was had by all but it was a good one. My face ached from the laughter as I settled at about 1 am. Bloody northerners corrupting me.

Sunday race 1 and a 5th place grid slot. Another wheelie at the start but still 4th into turn 1. The inevitable again, Dan came past along Revetts. It took a couple more laps for Phil to get past and when he did, I returned the favour, then he got me again and as we headed out along the straight, I missed a gear allowing him to get away, I still managed to pull along side but phil is so much better on the brakes, there was no chance. From there I settled, and came home a lonely 6th. Still happy with that. Top 6 is where I want to be. So far, so good!
Gyles took another win! Good man.

Race 2. A drying track but still too wet for slicks meant everyone was on wets.
A good start and 4th yet again and then along Revetts as I out dragged Piers Hutchins, Gyles out dragged me. Slip stream city!


Dry track, wet tyres.

Lap 2 and Phil came by but as we approached the first turn Gyles and Simon Peyto tangled and both went off. 3rd. Just as I could smell a podium and Dan gets by. This man would continue to deny me a podium in the coming races!
As the guys ahead disappeared into the distance, I kept an eye on maintaining the gap to Piers behind me.I settled for the 4th and reasoned my self with conserving my expensive wets by riding in the wet patches and being as smooth as possible on the dry stuff. Having softened up all the suspension helped and as we all pulled off others tyres were a mess of molten rubber.
The Budge took the win from Read then Wright. This shakes up the championship but Peyto is still looking uncatchable.

Check out www.thunderbikeuk.com for the full points table.


A bit of a formal report I know, but that's really how the weekend went. No big dramas, no massively exciting long battles. Just concentrated on riding safe and not turning up the gas to get things boiling, more of a simmer. It was a valuable weekend and not one to be testing new limits. neither was it perfect. On looking at my camera, I found I was changing down one too many gears at the end of the start straight and subsequently heading into sears, I was in a different gear too, all weekend. I still don't know how I managed to be doing this and it probably explains why I went no faster than I had at Snetterton before.I know I was riding better but not faster. If that makes any sense? One for the note book!


Cadwell next and as I write this, I've already been there! Now that was a complete contrast, In fact the best and one of the most interesting weekends I have had so far.
I will try to get on with writing about it as soon as I can but with Oulton Park in less than 10 days, and having to work away from home in between, it's going to be difficult. I am looking forward to writing about it and I have some fantastic pictures to show you......

A long time coming

I had been particularly looking forward to going to Cadwell. I had my best result of 9th there last season and had thoroughly enjoyed it, and was most disappointed to have missed the second outing there later that summer. It had been over a year since, and I was determined to make up for missing my second chance at a good result.

Running a 23 year old machine is challenging at the best of times. Just when you think you're on top of all the old crappy bits that break through age, something else comes along to bite you on the arse! Croix in France was like that and I was to have my patience and determination tested again at Cadwell.


Friday practice was a must for me so my self and Phil had made an extra early start to make the 6 hour trip,plus a stop off at Steve Spencers', as well as not missing out on our traditional detour of taking a wrong turn, we actually made the circuit in day light but only to be greeted by a howler of a rain and wind storm. How we ever coped without an awning seems hard to imagine. We had the thing up in minutes and with smug grins upon our faces, albeit soaking wet, we stood in the dry watching the weather wreaking havoc throughout the paddock.


It's hard to predict the weather at Cadwell, so I decided not to bother trying. As it turned out, I had enough to be using my brain power for.
The club has just introduced a half day test fee. Running a whole day not only is more expensive in fees but you burn a set of tyres, more fuel, more oil, more physical energy and the added chance of a spill or more mechanical woes. There is not so much pressure trying to run around like a loony, trying to pack in a whole day. It becomes more relaxed, meaning less margin for error and more time to fix 23 year old bikes that break! So a half day is a great idea.



So yes, the FZ decided to break. The fuel pump, 1999 R6 item, bought from the famous E-*^$, shagged! the resultant trawling the paddock for anyone with such a thing made me glad I had packed a push bike. A fellow Thunderbike rider, with a phone call, promised a spare the next day when he was due to turn up. The offending item got stripped and bodged to get me out for 3 sessions that afternoon.
It was a relief to be able to get my self reacquainted with the track. I felt good about the next days racing. I had dialled in the suspension and added the long awaited steering packers that made the bike feel completely transformed. It now turned so easily and quickly that direction change had become so much less effort and more precise. In fact the bike felt like someone had swapped the old FZ for something else and not told me.

The onboard camera proved invaluable over the weekend and armed with footage from a racing instructor, I felt confident of a good result.

Saturday morning, reasonable weather, at least no rain and the warm up session was going well, until the last lap. I just about made it off the circuit before the thing died. Bugger, what now?!

I chat with fellow Yamaha owners on the internet. Simon had learnt of my Blog through the site I visit and had turned up to watch me ride. As it turned out, he spent most of his time fixing my bike.
At this point, I have to send out massive thanks to him for his help. If it had not been for him, my weekend would have been a non starter.
We had been thinking it was the fuel pump and after stripping the thing and taking the best of two pumps to make one good one, the bike kept cutting out.Then a 400 rider lent a spare pump, but still it would cut out. With the help of some of the Alto bods ( thanks again!) a new battery did the trick. I missed race one, just as I had last year, but race 2 was great!



It's a bit of a mixed bag of emotions, watching the guys you race with heading out on to the track. I tried to contain my frustration of not being out there and settled to watch the race. It was great to watch until the last lap when the two Kawasaki ZXR bikes of Rob and Coiln came over the top of the mountain. Colin caught the back of Rob as they crested the rise and down went Colin. I must say it was absolutely awful seeing a fellow rider lying on the circuit, motionless. As it turns out, he had knocked himself out but was actually reletively, ok. That was crash number 2 for him. The first he managed to get the bike fixed up and get out for the racing.



Race 2 for Thunderbikes and I was starting from the back but with the usual flying start, I made it through to 10th place. I felt I could have done better. A near miss at the hairpin and I had to back off the throttle while the guy behind went straight on, nearly collecting me.
Still, I was happy with 10th and even more pleased to have the bike working and to be looking forward to the next day. I would be starting 9th on the grid and was really fired up for the coming races.

Joe put up a good fight on his 748 Ducati in Saturdays racing. He gets faster every race.

Finally, I was starting from where I should have on Saturday and was hoping for a good start.I nearly jumped the start, but managed to gather myself and get away clean and into 6th. I could see Gary on his Blue CBR600 getting away and after a couple of laps Dan, on his red CBR600 into coppice, then fast charging from the back of the grid,Gyles came past into Park and I was down to 8th. That's where I stayed.


A good first race but lots to gain in the next. 8th on the grid is one row further and after having compromised the last start, I had to get a better one. I had a good think about how I could improve from the last race but was struggling with fatigue and beginning to wonder how I was going to cope physically. I decided to try a change in which gear to be in at a couple of corners and a few other small changes mentally. I was resolved to do better.

As we circulated on the warm up lap,I had so little energy that I decided to sit limp on the bike. It was a revelation for me. I found I was keeping with guys infront without particularly trying. If I could do the same in the race, then maybe I could last the distance physically. It worked!
A good start but backing off at the first turn a little too much. I was 6th and keeping with the guys infront. after two or three laps rain started to stream over my visor. We had been chatting about this in the paddock.


All day it had been hot with the occasional light shower. We were watching how little dampness there was on the paddock asphalt and how quickly it dryed in the strong wind. It took quite a prolonged period of a light amount of rain to make the surface wet enough to worry about. With this in mind I continued to push. Still I could keep with the bike infront, Gary on his CBR. I got close enough to pass and managed to get by. 6th. I kept pushing.
Final lap and Gary got me back. I chased hard and was right on him all the way to the end of the lap but with two corners to, Andy, in second palce on his Ducati, highsided and was out. The bike and rider were smack in the middle of the track just on the exit of the hairpin, and with no way to see what is on the exit of the corner as you come through there, the red flag came out and stopped the race. Andy had knocked himself out and broken his collar bone.
With a red on the last lap, the result was counted back a lap to when I had been in front of Gary. So a 5th and the best result for me so far.

I had gone 6 seconds faster than I had last year. Which is testament to the work done over the winter and the ongoing improvements to the bike. When it works, it works well and allows me to concentrate on my riding. It is a real relief to not have to be thinking about mechanical problems while riding.

Cadwell was sweet for me. After the initial problems with the bike, the results were there, where I have always known the bike could be... in the top 6. It gives me immense satisfaction to see the time sheets. Thanks to all the guys that have helped get the bike there! and a special thanks to Simon for giving up your time for a racer!

With Snetterton just 5 days away, there was little time to think about Cadwell. All attention was now on getting home and having one of the busiest weeks of the year. All geared to going well at the next round.