Round 6 - Elvington - May 20th
The bike sailed through scrutineering which was a huge relief. Now I just needed to find out if we'd put it back together correctly.
Practice session and the bike felt tight and responsive - brilliant
600 qualifying and it was back down to earth with a bang. I just didnt feel I could push the bike right to the limit. There was no way I was going to crash today - I simply couldnt afford it. I'd sat there before the race and made the decision that if I crashed badly today, my race career was over. It's becoming too much like hard work and today I was totally on my own which made me question the whole experience. It's meant to be a laugh but how many laughs do you have when you pour all your money into something just to spend your Saturday night and Sunday on your own.
As such, I just couldn't keep up with the fast boys. Don't get me wrong, I was giving it some shit. The throttle was back to the stop, the brakes were pulled to the bar and the bike was flying, but I was erring on the side of caution rather than playing with the limit. I finished 7th
The Senior qualifying was better. A smaller grid probably had something to do with that but I do love battling with the big 1000's and getting the better of them. I finished 3rd.
On to the Trophy race for the 600's. I got an absolutely blinding start and was leading for the first 200m, but then rolled off the throttle to early and I was 3rd going into the first corner and 4th coming out of it (mental note - take a tighter line on the first lap). As the race went on I was passed by more of the faster machines. They would get passed me on the straight and then slowly pull out more of a gap. I brought it home in 6th and was still questioning my riding.
The Senoir trophy race was a bit of a non event. I was quickly pushed into 4th place and spent the next 6 laps in that position, battling with nobody. Boring.
Practice session and the bike felt tight and responsive - brilliant
600 qualifying and it was back down to earth with a bang. I just didnt feel I could push the bike right to the limit. There was no way I was going to crash today - I simply couldnt afford it. I'd sat there before the race and made the decision that if I crashed badly today, my race career was over. It's becoming too much like hard work and today I was totally on my own which made me question the whole experience. It's meant to be a laugh but how many laughs do you have when you pour all your money into something just to spend your Saturday night and Sunday on your own.
As such, I just couldn't keep up with the fast boys. Don't get me wrong, I was giving it some shit. The throttle was back to the stop, the brakes were pulled to the bar and the bike was flying, but I was erring on the side of caution rather than playing with the limit. I finished 7th
The Senior qualifying was better. A smaller grid probably had something to do with that but I do love battling with the big 1000's and getting the better of them. I finished 3rd.
On to the Trophy race for the 600's. I got an absolutely blinding start and was leading for the first 200m, but then rolled off the throttle to early and I was 3rd going into the first corner and 4th coming out of it (mental note - take a tighter line on the first lap). As the race went on I was passed by more of the faster machines. They would get passed me on the straight and then slowly pull out more of a gap. I brought it home in 6th and was still questioning my riding.
The Senoir trophy race was a bit of a non event. I was quickly pushed into 4th place and spent the next 6 laps in that position, battling with nobody. Boring.
The 600 points race was a near repeat of the earlier race. This time I kept a tight line in the first corner and it worked. I was 2nd.... for 20m. The tight line had robbed me of a bit of corner speed and Mick Gooding came passed me light a bullet (and about 5cms from me). The same motley crue passed me throughout the race but in the final 2 laps I had a good ding-dong with another guy and came out on top. I finished a disappointing 7th but I was happier with my racing - and I'd really enjoyed the race.
As we waited for the Senior points race I saw that Robert Wilson (who has just jumped me in the 600 championship) had a smoking engine - he would take no part in the Senior race - time to get some points.
I had a brilliant start and lead into the first corner again - its a brilliant feeling and send a shiver down me. Sure enough, the bigger bikes soon came passed and I must have been 10mph down on Gary's bike. On lap 3 I was in 3rd place and settled into a great rhythm. I felt like I was pushing the bike further but was still braking too early. As I exited the fast s-bend chicane, the bike slid out away from me. I had had a few slides through the day but this was massive - I was almost sideways.
The bike gripped and tried to highside me. I was pushed up and out of the seat and was doing a bit of a handstand but luckily landed back in the seat and was able to compose myself and get straight back on the power.
With a lap and a half to go someone came alongside me and took my line into the hairpin. I kept a really tight line and wouldnt give way. As we exited, I got the better drive and took the inside line into the next corner, then took a defensive line into the next and got hard on the power for the straight.
The next lap was faultless, if a bit defensive and I took the flag by a second to take 3rd place. Good points and a good end to the day - we all love a battle - its what makes racing what it is, otherwise it's just going round in circles.
I'm missing the next round - teesside - for two reasons. 1) Because I f**king hate the place, and 2) Because my brother-in-law is getting married on the saturday.
So that should give me enough time to fix the swingarm lug, fit a new chain and sprocket and clean up the scratches before Cadwell on the 17th June.
Bring it on!
posted by Lee Head at 12:24 PM
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