Round 15 - Cadwell Park 15th October

Here we go...the last race of the season...

So what do you get for a £45 radiator repair? Silver paint! Thats all I got. The glob of instant metal is still in place but now the whole radiator has been srayed with Hammerite! Rip off, lets just hope it holds.

If ever there was a time for intelligent riding, this was it. I just needed to finish ahead of Kitson to secure 3rd overall. With two points races in each class, a crash could screw up the whole season.

There was a massive turn out and some gorgeous machines and right from the off it was obvious that the day would see plenty of "action".

The rookie qualifying went okay - a solid 6th out of 28 on the grid. However the Clubmans qualifying race was red flagged 3 times and eventually cancelled. As I waited on the grid for each session to be restarted, I could see water dripping onto the floor - was the radiator going to give up on me! more panic! As it turns out, it was just over heating and the water was expanding. A top up back in the pits saw the problem sorted.

This turned out to be a bad omen - not for me, but for Ben, who crashed on the cooling down lap after winning the first Open class race. Ben was out for the rest of the day but thankfully is on the mend.

The first points race saw me finish in 5th place, with Kitson down in 10th. 3rd place was mine - I could relax for the rest of the races.

After lunch we had two final races left of the season - I could feel myself getting into the zone.

The flag dropped and I was off....up to 5th, 4th and drop it into the fast left. I took one more rider going round the outside through Coppice and then grabbed 2nd place nipping tight on the inside going into Charlies. I got excellent drive onto Park Straight and then left my braking very late to nip into 1st as we tucked in to Park. I was leading!

Right, head down.... lets do some consistent laps. I concentrated hard on braking points and gear selection and 3 laps later, I was still in the lead. I was buzzing. I was to nervous to look round to see where the rest were but I was enjoying every minute of being out in front.

Another time over the mountain and through hall bends, using my new choice of gear to get me through the hairpin and back out onto the straight. Another lap gone.

Head down - concentrate - dont make mistakes - power on - barke - turn - power, more power!

Another lap gone and finally the last lap flag was out - dont loose it now.

Shit! A mistake, lost time... compose yourself... back markers ahead...

It amazes me - Even with all the psychological and physiological pressures that are acting on your body, the effort and energy that you are using, the concentration on each inch of the track and what each of your limbs and digits are meant to be doing - the brain still manages to find enough capacity to work out an accurate plan of where on the track you are going to catch up with the back markers and then work out the best form of ATTACK!

The first of the back markers was dismissed easily through Chris Curve, the next easily on the brakes dropping into Mansfields, however the last back marker could have brought my whole world (well, me and the bike) crashing down. I caught him up just over the the mountain and couldnt risk getting tied up in Hall bends so I left my braking REALLY late and stuffed it up the inside going into the first of the bends - he must have s**t himself as I was going twice as fast as him and we pretty much swapped paint.

Hard on the brakes for the hairpin, roll on the power through Barn and preying so hard that I wasn't about to get pipped at the post, head down and over the flag.... VICTORY!

The pleasure I got from that win made the whole season worthwhile. The ups and downs, the broken bones, the cancelled holiday and the huge expense, both time and money.

Both Nic and Mum were nearly in tears from the emotion. Happy tears for winning at the track that saw me smash my shoulder blade and worried tears as they thought I was going to crash and break it again. This was a real champagne moment - but I settled for lucazade as I had one last race to do!

The last race was also a great race but this time I was in amongst other riders for all of it. I battled hard to finish 4th and shook hands with 5th place after some good, safe, cloase racing.

That was it - the end of the season.

I finished 3rd in the Rookie championship, 36 points clear of Stuart Kitson but a huge 57 points behind Matty, with Ben in a different league

In the Clubmans championship I finished 5th, but only 11 points off 3rd. So without broken bones and broken batteries, it would have been mine.

But enough of ifs, buts and maybes... it was what it was.... an excellent year.

Thanks to Scott Whitfield, who had plenty of bad luck himself, but without whom, my racing season would never have got passed the first event. Scott - you're a star and a real mate.

Here's to the New Year Auto 66 piss-up! Cheers.

Round 14 - Elvington 1st October

I really wanted this to be incident free - If I get enough points today, 3rd spot in the rookie championship should be fairly safe.

Qualifying went okay, solid results but nothing special. However when I came into the paddock after the Clubmans qualifying, I noticed water spraying out of the radiator - time to panic!!!

Scott, who normally fixes everything said - "put it in the van mate, your day's over!". This could not be happening. This was 3rd place in the championship slipping away. There must be something we can do. However once I told Scott that I wanted to borrow his bike to get some points - we found a solution :)

A drop of instant metal and we decided it would be okay to race. However I didnt want to risk anything going wrong so I dropped out of the trophy races and rested for the majority of the day.

As it turns out, the heavens opened and I was glad not to have to run around changing tyres and riding around getting soaked. Stuart Kitson (who I was trying to beat to secure 3rd spot, pulled in after a few laps so he'd be starting at the back of the grid with me - excellent!)

As I lined up on the grid, right at the back, I was on a mission. Full attack mode.

My rev's rose, balanced on the clutch... the flag dropped and my wheel rose - a magnificent start! I passed about 7 riders in the blink of an eye. Hard on the gas up the long straight and passed a couple more with just 3 in front of me.... leave the braking as late as I dare... no yet...not yet...shit!..brake NOW and get this thing on its ear.

I dont believe it! I'm only in bloody 1st!

I managed to hold off Matty for a couple of laps (he was racing he new bike) and we swapped places a couple of times. Then, on the last lap, Nick squeezed passed me to push me into 3rd spot. I was well chuffed though. Stuart Kitson limped home in 8th.

The Clubmans race was another close one and this time I just managed to pip Matty to get 4th.

So panic over.. 3rd in the championship was looking realistic - I just need to get that radiator repaired ready for Cadwell - the final race of the season.

Round 13 - Teesside Autodrome 3rd September

Lets get this clear - I dont like this place - correction - I hate it!

I didnt really like it before I crashed here, but after crashing and then being stopped from going out to get some points last time - I hate the place. Leave it for the go-karts and lets race on proper tracks!

But this time I have a new reason to hate this track. I meant to be on holiday. My wife is and I'm here trying to pick up enough points to secure 3rd in the championship. I've changed my flights, so now I flying out tomorrow and back 2 days later. This had better go well today.

So the aim here was just to get points - no crashes, no heroic moves, just points.

As it was, I just missed out of a 3rd trophy by a smidge in the Rookie race and then got a good 3rd place for the points and in the Clubmans, I brought it home for a 2nd row start for the points race and then battled hard just to get a 4th in the points.

I enjoy this place more for the banter in the tiny paddock area than the racing itself. Plus, you can race like a blind man and get 6th or 7th, as thats all that turns out!

Hopefully next year we wont be racing here

Now, where did I put my passport.

Round 12 - Elvington 23rd August

oh shit!

What was I just saying about hoping for incident free racing!

It was going so well. Good weather, good vibes, good results...

I got a 3rd trophy in the rookie race and then a 2nd in the clubmans - Excellent

Then 2 corners from the flag in the points race, the battery cut out! I managed to bump start it and get round 1 more corner but that was it...dead. As I stood with my bike I saw them all pass by...3rd...4th..5th.6th.7th...........shit!

That was it - day over - even now it makes me angry to think about it - so lets not.

Round 11 - Elvington 6th August

Another good day of racing with some great results.

The results for the Rookie races was 3rd place in Qualifying, 2nd in the trophy race (just pipping Matty again) and then swapping places with him in the points race to get 3rd.

The Clubmans race was the opposite with a 3rd in the trophy race and then a very hard fought 2nd in the points race.


No incidents, just good hard racing - if only every event could be like this!

Round 10 - Elvington July 23 July

This was the first time my brother and his family had come to watch me, so after my crash last time out, I was keen to try and stay on this time. Although I think my nephew wanted to see a crash - lets see what we can do!

Rookie qualifying went okay and the mood was boyant. My start for the Clubmans qualifying was good, however I pushed the front (again) too much going into the tight hairpin on lap 2 and down she went. I held on to the clutch lever (seen racers do that on the telly!) and dragged it upright and remounted. I was last with 2 laps left. 2 laps later, I finished 3rd from last - poo! Oh well, at least Toby (my nephew) had seen a crash... I aim to please

The rookie trophy race was a beauty. I had a great battle trying to stay ahead of Matty and on the last corner he tried to get the run out of the corner and pushed it a touch too hard. He lost the back and down he went, leaving me to pick up the 2nd place trophy. Both Matty and the bike were okay.

I made a solid start in the Clubmans and kept battling through the field to go from a 10th place start to a 5th place finish.

The points race for the Rookie championship was another tough one and again I finished 2nd. Unfortunately I dropped down in the Clubmans and finished 6th.

A good day without too many incidents. I need those points to get 3rd in the overall rookie championship - thats the aim.