Round 13 & 14 - Cadwell Park - 14th Oct

With the Croft round now officially cancelled, this was the final weekend showdown. With two rounds left, I still had a slim chance of finishing 1st in both the formula 600 championship and the Senior cup championship. However I could also have a really bad weekend and finish 3rd in both championships. It was all to play for.

I’d spent the last couple of nights getting the bike sorted after the two crashes at Elvington in the last round. A new handlebar went on and the bodywork was fibreglassed together again. It was ready for action.

With Nic visiting her sister and new born baby, I had a lonely trip down to Cadwell on my own. With no music in the van, it’s a long and tiring drive. I arrived at about 8pm and got a great spot close to the holding bay and with a view over the track. This is essential with Auto66 as they have a habit of calling people to the holding bay about 10 minutes too early which then means your tyres loose all the heat you’ve been trying to keep in them since your last race.

I was set up next to Rob Wilson again. This was going to make for an exciting weekend as it was him who I would have to beat to get 1st place in the 600 championship. After heating up my luxury meal for one - a bowl of soup - it was time for a beer and a chat with the other riders and then off to bed at around 11pm for a good night sleep .

I awoke at about 8am to a cold and damp morning. The bike breezed through scrutineering and I signed-on and waited for practice. As we took to the track, it started to drizzle. I always remember being told that light drizzle isn’t anything to worry about as if your tyres are nice and hot. That thought was with me last year when I high sided and broke my shoulder, so this time I was a touch more cautious. I found myself behind a gaggle of riders and then settled into their pace, knowing that it was far too slow. After 4 laps I came in and I was really frustrated with myself. “I’m riding like a bleedin’ girl”, I said to Rob. If the day continued like this, it would be a nightmare.

As it turns out, the weather got worse and the drizzle turned a bit heavier, so on went the wets, ready for race one of the weekend, the formula 600 qualifying. I was starting from the front row and wanted to try and finish in the top 4 to make sure I started on the front row for the next race. After the first corner it was clear that that wasn’t going to happen. There were some crazy fast guys out there and I was quickly kicked back into 5th place. Throughout the next 4 laps I would loose more places and eventually finish 7th. I felt like I was riding safely which was not a bad option as there was no need to really push on until the points races but I still needed to finish high enough so as not to be starting too far down the order when it mattered.

The Senior cup qualifying race was even more frustrating. Cadwell park is a track where the 1000cc bikes can really stretch their legs. Out of barn, down the straight and all the way round coppice and charlies and down Park straight, the bigger bikes can really use their grunt. Starting on the front row again, I was quickly being pushed back and even though I had upped the pace from race one, they were shooting passed me at ferocious speeds. Gary Graves came passed me with at least another 30mph down Park straight and gave me a bit of a shock as he shot passed within an inch of my elbow. I finished 10th. This wasn’t panning out the way I had hoped.

It was now drying out and with a lunch break before I was back out, I changed back to my Pirelli Diablo Supercorsas. I had the same tyres on from Elvington but they had only done about 12 laps. They’d be fine for a couple of races.

I took to the grid on the second row and got a great start and was up with the fast boys. Once again though, they soon cleared off and they left me on the back of a group of three fighting it out for 7th place. Just in front of me was Rob Wilson. A couple of laps later and we had taken the leader of our pack and started to pull way. It was just me and Rob. With 2 laps to go he took a long look round and saw me breathing down his neck…game on.

I’d been following him for 5 laps, watching where he was strong and where he was weak. He was brilliant through Barn - a park of the track that I was typically weak on but had been working on during my last few meetings here. However he was a little slow through Coppice - a balls out corner that you can carry serious speed through (maybe 130mph) - where I was pretty good. Unfortunately Coppice is the first corner after Barn, so I would have to try and match his pace through there and along the straight in order to beat him into Coppice. For 5 laps he didn’t make a single mistake. Braking points were spot on and lines were inch perfect, it would take a brave move to get passed. Sure enough, as we rounded Barn to see the final lap flag, I was right behind him. I tucked in down the straight and kept up with him all the way. As he dabbed the brake for Coppice I moved to the right of him and took off a little speed and we both dropped it into the corner. I had carried more speed than him and as we flew into the corner I swept passed him, my elbow almost kissing his fairing. I took a nice tight line into Charlies and fired off down Park straight. I expected him to try a move at Park but my defensive line didn’t allow it. Round Chris curve and through the gooseneck. Then, just as I tipped it in to Mansfields (my high-side corner from last year) he was there, taking a tighter line and pushing me wider. We both gassed it and I had just enough ground on him to stop him from closing me out totally. Full throttle down to the bus-stop chicane and I had the inside line and he had to yield. Then it was just a case of taking defensive lines for the last half of the lap and I lead him across the line. I’d finished a disappointing 7th but I had beaten my main rival - result.

My times were in the mid 1m 41’s which is 1.5seconds off my pace from last time at Cadwell. Nick colley mentioned that he expected to see me going faster and this turned out to be a pivotal comment. I figured that I could go that bit faster and felt that I had enough in hand to beat Rob again. I felt confident going into the next race.

The senior cup race wasn’t such an exciting affair. With most of the riders on thousand cc machines it was just a case of damage limitation and I was very disappointed with my 13th place, especially as Gary Graves finished 6th to put him 2 rows ahead of me for the points race. I had ridden well but didn’t feel like I had done anything special to deserve finishing higher up the pack.

Although my tyres looked ok, I wanted fresh rubber for the points races and managed to get a quick change done before taking to the grid for the 600cc points race. This was it, my first opportunity to try and get some points back on Rob. I figured if I could get away well and put some pressure on him to chase me, he might make a mistake and finish well down the order.

The night before I had thought about how Nori Haga had approached the final World Superbike round, knowing that two wins wouldn’t be enough unless Toseland had some serious problems. Nori took the double and nearly grabbed the championship. He’d shown racing spirit, the kind which make the sport what it is. I had found the desire to go balls out in an attempt to take the title. ‘In it to win it’, and all that. I didn’t want to look back on this race and think ‘if only I tried harder’.

I took to the line on the 2nd row. Visor down. Revs up to about 11000rpm. Two fingers on the clutch lever. One foot on the ground, the other hooked under the gear lever, ready to grab second gear. Body over the tank. Eyes on the flag. No blinking…

The flag moved a millimetre and I was off like a rocket. I shot away to the front of our row and was right on the back of the leading four as we tipped it into Coppice. We were five riders together as we exited Charlies. I didn't know at the time, but Rob and Gary were behind me, right on my back wheel. A 14-wheel freight train fired down Park straight at 160mph. We all held station through Park and round Chris curve. Into the gooseneck and we all took the same line at the same pace. This felt great...

... shiiiiiiit...

This felt very bad. I was no longer part of the 14-wheeler. I was suddenly skirting across the tarmac on my ass with the bike racing away in front of me on it’s side. It had let go on the fast left and was now heading for the grass. I watched as it slid at high speed, already swearing to myself and thinking of my title chances disappearing. Then it happened. It dug-in and launched itself into the air, coming down on its nose and then flipping onto its other side. I was on my feet before it came to a halt and as I ran towards it, hoping and praying that I would be able to pick it up and rejoin the race, I knew that it wouldn’t be possible. There were bits strewn across the grass and instead of picking up the bike, I was picking up the pieces. The clocks were ripped off, the brake reservoir had be sent flying and the air scoops were lying 20 feet from the bike. I helped push the bike to the side and watched 6 laps unfold and with it my chance of the title had gone.

All thoughts now turned to my second place position in the title. I watched Gary Graves overtake Rob and shouted at Rob to get back passed him. Every point counted. Sure enough Rob did get back passed Gary which was the only redeeming part of the most devastating time during my racing career.

The van came and picked me and the bike up and delivered it back to my paddock area. I knew that my day was over. A DNF in the 600cc race and a DNS in the Senior cup. Nil point. Now to assess the damage to see if I could rebuild the bike for Sunday. It didn’t look good…

Smashed screen
Split fairing
Snapped fairing bracket
Dented fuel tank
Slightly bent subframe
Ripped off clocks
Bent handlebar
Snapped quick shifter bracket
Snapped wiring
Snapped brake reservoir
Snapped reservoir bracket
Bent and buckled exhaust and link pipe
Bent crash bobbin
Bent paddock stand bobbin

I didn’t want this to be my last biking memory but a large part of me was thinking that this was fate. Time to pack it all in and turn my back on racing. However a larger part of me wanted to overcome this and conquer this set back. If I could rebuild the bike and get out in the races tomorrow, I could still get 2nd in the championship. Time to get busy.

So as the paddock went quiet and people started to cook and open the beers, I set to stripping down the bike ready to rebuild it. It was 5pm.

After an hour, I had replaced the engine crash bungs, replaced the fairing bracket with a spare (and glued the bungs into the end) and also replaced the handlebar. Then it was time to get some help. As the clocks had been ripped off, they had also snapped some of the wiring, so I enlisted Nick Colley (an electrician) to solder the wires together and wrap them up in electricians tape. Then it was just a case of plugging in the clocks and cable-tying them to the bracket. Then we set to sawing a piece of aluminium down to make a new brake reservoir bracket and drilling the appropriate holes. Time ticked on and it was soon 8pm and time for some food, which Rob’s mates had kindly cooked for me.

30 minutes later and I was back to the bike to do a quick fibreglass repair on the battered and ripped bodywork. While that was setting I started on the brakes. I was going to araldite the brake reservoir outlet to the main body but thought it a bit risky (to say the least) so I was lucky enough to buy the last one off the mobile bike shop that was just closing up. With that in place I started to bleed the brakes. No fluid seemed to be coming through so I assumed there was air in the system and kept pumping. A minute later I realised that the brake hose was split and it had spat all the brake fluid down the forks - just great!

There then followed a 45 minute hunt around the paddock to find 4 inches of brake hose… with no luck! In the end I had to use a bit of fuel line which I managed to heat up and get into place, secured by some cable ties - nice!

Time just ticked away and by the time I had sorted trimmed the fibreglass and fitted all the body work and screen it was midnight. I was knackered.

The next morning I arose at about 8am to put the bike through scrutineering. I would now find out if I had slaved away for nothing. I’m sure it would have passed anyway, but luckily the scrutineer chose now to be very lackadaisical and just gave it a cursory once-over. I would be racing today and suddenly the chance of keeping 2nd place was alive again

I went out for practice and just took it easy. The bike felt fine

30 minutes later I was lined up for the 600cc trophy race. I was on the 5th row. Off we went and I gained a few places but straight away knew that I was riding too conservatively. I did manage to pass another couple of people during the 6 lap race but I was disappointed in myself which was confounded when I realised I had finished in 14th place with a best time of 1’47, a full six seconds down on yesterday .

As a racer, this was terrible but lets put it into perspective. You crash at about 80mph and wreck your bike. You get back on the following day but know that one more crash will finish the bike off, and end up loosing about 1 second per corner. If you count to one now, its not a lot is it. However on the race track - it’s a country mile and I was really frustrated.

For the Senior cup trophy race, I was at the very back of the grid. I told Nic that if I was last after one lap, I’d pull in. One lap later, I did just that.

My head was down and I felt totally deflated. I had gone from a front-runner to a back marker and I hated it.

My mood was only slightly improved when we worked out that due to an average result by Gary in the last 600 race, he couldn’t catch me for 2nd place in the championship. After a hard fought year, with many problems along the way, I would finish as runner up. A smile crept onto my face and quickly faded as I worked out the points for the Senior cup championship.
Gary was also in 3rd place for that and only 4 points behind me. The scoring in Auto66 goes:

1st 20
2nd 18
3rd 16
4th 14
5th 12
6th 10
7th 9
8th 8
9th 7
etc

This meant that I had to finish in front or directly behind Gary to guarantee 2nd place. Otherwise we could tie on points and he would still take the place on race wins. He was lapping at 1’42”, five seconds quicker than my morning pace - I was worried.

With no positions to gain or loose in the 600cc race and not wanting to risk a crash for no reason, I sat out the last 600 race of the year. This was a bit sad but it was the right thing to do.

This meant that I had another hour to wait for my final race of the day, my final race of the year, and probably my final race ever. I fuelled up the bike and then changed the rear tyre over again as I wanted the best grip possible for the race. Once that was done, it was just a case of waiting. An hour can seem like a long time when your mind is full of negative thoughts. I knew that my lap times were so slow I'd be lucky to get any points, I knew that I'd lost confidence in the bike and I knew that Gary was riding really well. Suddenly 2nd place in the championship was looking lost.

Gary and I watched the 'sound of thunder' race together and then turned to each other, wished each other the best of luck and headed back to our vans to get ready. I was tense.

I took to the grid and suddenly my nerves disappeared. I suddenly felt at peace with the situation. I did a fairly hot warm up lap and felt ready. I was on the 4th row. Gary was on the second row. Head down, here we go. I got the best start of the day and shot past Gary into the first corner. As I rounded Charlies and opened the gas onto Park straight, two guys came flying passed me. One was John Hildreth, who had now taken the Senior cup title and the other was Robert Atkinson who won the Open championship last year. I could afford to let them go as long as Gary was behind me. Half a lap later, he wasn't. He pulled a tidy move up the inside of me going into Mansfield and held it. Immediately I was surprised by his pace and I felt I couldn't keep up. As long as he didn't catch John or Robert and I didn't get overtaken, I would be fine.

Half a lap later I saw the shadow of a bike right behind me as I tipped it into Park. It was Daryl on his thou. Right then, time to put in some fast laps. I suddenly felt like I was riding well again and started to pull away from Daryl. Gary was now about 15 bike lengths ahead of me and he was indeed catching John and Rob. I wouldn't let it happen. For 4 more laps I rode like I had done on Saturday afternoon. Committed, brave and confident. The gap started to come down and down and with just 1 lap to go we were now altogether. I knew that Gary was going to put a move on them. If he got just one bike between him and me, he'd take my 2nd place. I used all the road coming on to the straight and tucked into his slipstream, but I was still further back than I would have liked. The bike maxed out in top gear and I pulled out to the right of Gary. "I'm not braking until you do", I remember thinking. As he sat up and grabbed his front brake, I was still about 4 bike lengths back and I had to leave my braking later than felt right. The back of my bike lifted in the air as the front tyre buried itself in the tarmac. I stamped down 3 gears and let the cutch out. The slipper clutch took up the load and settled the back of the bike with controlled engine braking. I was in front.

Half a lap to go and my race strategy changed completely. Now all I had to do was ride defensively and let the other two get away from us. By the time we exited Mansfield, I was still ahead and the others were entering the bus stop chicane. I had done enough. I took more defensive lines for the rest of the lap and gunned it out of Barn to take the chequered flag in front of Gary. My heart was racing and my head was buzzing. It had been a great race to end the season with and I had secured 2nd place overall.

With all the bad luck I've had over the last two meetings, it was nice for something to go well. I was happy that this would be my final memory of my race career. A fond memory and one I'm proud of. I had shown grit and determination to get the bike back together and I had shown a racers courage to get ahead of Gary on the last lap. I had been lapping 5 seconds faster than my morning races and felt I had given my bike a proper ride for perhaps the last time.

Back in the paddock I hugged Nic and shook hands with fellow riders. After so many weekends together, it was all ending so fast. Awnings were put away, bikes were wheeled into vans and before we knew it, the paddock was virtually empty. We finished packing our stuff and headed back home in the van.

It had been an emotional weekend with so many twists and turns. I was still disappointed with the crash but it had been balanced out by the end result. I went to Cadwell wanting to push for a championship lead. I had done that. I had also gone, wanting to ensure that I came away with at least 2nd overall and I had done that. I couldn’t have too much regret.

So thanks for taking an interest in my exploits this year and thanks for your support. There are a few people I would like to mention in person:

Nic - For being the most supportive wife I could ask for. Many people tell her she is mad to put up with it all, but she has been there for me from the beginning to the end and has never ask me to give it up. Thanks for putting up with everything

Mum and Dad - For taking a real interest this year and getting involved. It’s been great to have you at the races and I hope you’ve had a few moments that made you proud

Scott Whitfield - Without you I wouldn’t have gone racing at all. You got me into the sport and you’ve kept me on track throughout the 2 years. You’ve been an immense help and taught me a lot. I owe you.