Head Racing

Get well soon Chris

2007-10-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

This is a big shout out to my old trackday buddy Chris Cahoon.

Here I was, thinking that I had been really unlucky to crash out and damage my bike, but Chris managed to beat me in the bad luck stakes

On his very last race for the year, whilst running in a very strong 2nd place, he highsided his bike and caused quite a bit of damage

The bike has got bent forks and the usual broken pegs, bars, levers etc, but whereas I walked away from my accident unscathed, Chris wasn't so lucky.

Early x-rays showed a broken collar bone (every racer should have one at some time!) But the real issue is two fractures to his pelvic area (both of which were missed by the doctors)

After spending a couple of days in physiotherapy trying to walk again, the pain had him sent back to the x-ray machine, where they noticed the two fractures and immediately put him back to bed to rest.

He has a fracture around the leg socket area and another which goes up from his coccyx up towards his spinal column.

Keep in touch Chris and let me know what the latest is. I'm thinking of you buddy and can't wait to meet up with you again, buy you a few beers and swap stories. Take it easy mate.

Round 13 & 14 - Cadwell Park - 14th Oct

2007-10-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Round 12 - Elvington - 30th Sept

2007-10-05T09:56:00.001-07:00

I'd been up to Scott’s again and we'd taken the clutch apart and refitted it. This time we used a torque wrench to make sure it had been done up to the specified 100Nm. New oil and filter and she was ready to rock.

I'd been meaning to get my forks services for ages and decided to take a half-day off work to meet Colin from 100% bikes at Croft to get them done. I went down to the track the night before and slept in the van. Jeezus it’s turned cold! The next morning Colin serviced the forks and put in new SBK spec fork oil. I then asked how I might be able to get the bike to turn a little quicker and he suggested I Softened off the front by one ring and harden up the back by 3 turns. Now she really was ready to rock.

Nic and I went down to Elvington on Saturday night. After setting up the awning, I joined Sammy Logan for a beer and as we sat around his roaring fire, he told me that he'd heard rumours that the Croft meeting at the end of the year had been cancelled. This has really pissed me off. It was one of the reasons I signed up for Auto 66 again this year as I thought they had some decent tracks booked. It now means that during the 2 years of racing with Auto 66, I won’t have raced with them at Croft once. It also means that I now won’t have the requirement of four different tracks for my National License. Bummer.

After another freezing night in the van, I got up and put the bike through scrutineering. Again, no probs, and before I knew it, it was time for practice. I was mainly checking out the clutch and it seemed absolutely perfect. The plan was to use the Michelin Power Race tyres until lunch and then put some Pirelli Diablo SuperCorsas on. Much to my surprise, the bike didn't seem to be turning quicker after the suspension changes, in fact, it seemed to be a little worse, but good enough for the qualifying rounds.

The 600 grid was a bit fuller than it has been lately and there were plenty of fast boys there. But I was feeling confident. After the warm up lap, we lined up and waited for the flag. Well, I waited for the flag. Most of the rest of the grid seemed to belt of early and as usual, nothing was done about it. After the first corner I was in 5th but right behind them all. I held the position for most of the lap but then moved into 4th at the last corner. The front 2 were pulling out a bit but 3rd place was well within reach. I kept a nice steady pace for the next 2 laps but the bike wasn't feeling quite as well as it should on the exit of corners. I approached the chicane and braked hard as usual, I let the brakes off and tipped it in, giving just a little throttle to balance the bike. Half way through the turn and just as I was about to flick it right, I was off...

The bike lowsided and slid straight into the straw bales and I followed. I wasn't hurt but the bike was. I couldn't work it out. I had done nothing wrong, nothing different. I wouldn't have changed a single thing about the way I took that turn and yet it had spat me off. That worried me more than the crash itself.

Snapped handlebar, snapped footpeg, shattered screen, snapped and bashed fairing, bent paddock bobbin, ripped leathers.

Quite a bit of damage for a lowside and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get it fixed. Luckily, Rob Wilson (who at the time was leading the championship from me by just 7 points) helped me out and loaned me a clip-on handlebar. It's times like this that you realise just how friendly the paddock is. When rivals will help each other out so that they can still compete against each other, that’s the purest form of sportsmenship. Then Nick Colley helped me out with the fairing and we used one of my spare footpegs and my spare screen to get it back together. I'd also changed the tyres for my sticky Supercorsas just in case that was the reason for my 'off'.

The scrutineer okayed our workmanship and even passed my leathers which had been professionally patched - with gaffa tape. I'd missed the qualifying race for the Senior cup but I was ready for the 600 trophy race.

Everyone had told me to take it easy and I didn't intend to go gung-ho, but a race is a race. Again, several people jumped the flag and again I was in 5th place after the first corner. Once again I moved up to 4th quickly and half way round the lap I was right on the tail of 3rd. As I rounded the left hander towards the end of the lap, the bike let go... I was sliding on my ass for the second time in 2 laps. Again, I had no idea why.

The damage wasn't as bad this time. Another broken footpeg (good job I had 2 spare at the start of the day) and a scrape to the handlebar bung (sorry Rob), and another couple of millimetres off the NGR engine casing. The leathers however were a write-off. The gaffa tape fix had been enough to ensure my skin hadn't been exposed, but it hadn’t been enough to stop a large rip now extending down the thigh and a few other rips appearing around the back of the suit. I couldn't race in it.

Time for another racer to come to the rescue. This time it was Matty Handley, who had narrowly missed running over me. He sped off to his house, which is approximately 400m up the road from the track, and returned with his spare set of leathers. For the rest of the day, I would be sporting "Handley" on my back.

After discussing what the hell was going wrong, we decided that the increased preload at the rear of the bike meant it wasn’t absorbing enough movement and it was asking too much of the rear tyre. I softened it off 3 turns to put it back to its previous setting. Luckily the tyres had felt better (during the 5 corners where they actually gripped) so I wasn't completely disillusioned.

I just needed to get some good points in the 600 points race. I knew that my confidence was down but if I let myself get beaten into a really bad position and Garry did well, my 2nd place in the championship would be under threat. I didn't feel that I could get anywhere near Rob to close the gap on 1st place.

As it turns out, Garry made my 2nd place even safer with a crash on the warm up lap. It turns out that he couldn't work out what he'd done wrong either, but it meant that I could ride slightly more within myself. I was starting from the 3rd row (due to my 2 DNF's) and again, they jumped the flag but this time I was pretty much with them and made up a place or two on the first lap. After then I was struggling to keep in touch with the front guys. I could feel myself over-compensating for the bike and was taking all my body weight on my legs to do some of the suspension that the rear shock should be doing. As I rounded the corner onto the straight, I got too close to the apex.

On a normal circuit this would just mean going onto the white line or maybe clipping the curb. At Elvington it meant I clipped the grass and the front lost grip. "This is it", I thought, 3 crashes from 3. But a split second later it had gripped and I was head-down with the throttle wide open, chasing the pack. As it turns out, I was putting in low 58's, which isn't too far off my fastest time, but I couldn't catch the main pack. I finished 5th. My lowest finish in the 600 class for ages. Rob had stretched his championship lead and I had stretched my 2nd place lead

As we waited in the holding area for the Senior race, Garry's bad luck struck again. There was coolant dripping out from his catch-pan. He took to the grid and did the warm up lap but as we lined up, there was still coolant dripping out and for fear of a seized engine he pulled out. This meant that my 2nd place in the Senior Championship was safer. Now I just needed to make sure that I wasn't too far behind John Hildreth. so that the 5pt gap didn’t get too big. I still have hopes that he might not go so well at Cadwell so I was on damage limitation.

I fired off the line and got swallowed up by the 1000's of John and Daryl and a couple of other new guys on 600's. I was confident I could get passed Daryl if I could stay with him... I just needed to get up to him. I was right on the tail of one of the 600's (a rookie) for most of the first lap and made my move down the straight. I passed him and left my braking really late so that he couldn't get back passed. As I went to tip it in to the fast right-hander - he was there!

I couldn't turn at all. I waited for him to make the turn so that I could let off the brakes and make the turn but it was clear he had carried far too much speed and was now running me off the track. I braked hard but I was soon on the grass and running over rabbit holes and molehills. The suspension was bottoming out and making a nasty noise over the field-like terrain. How I didn’t come off I don’t know but as I came to a stop and turned the bike, I saw the guy rejoining in front of me. I was absolutely furious - could this meeting get any worse? The rest of the guys were long gone now. I'd lost 11 seconds (it was a miracle it wasn't more) but I was desperate to catch the little rookie bastard. I fired off down the back straight and immediately out broke myself going into the chicane and had to go straight on and rejoin. Another lap of catching him and I came to the chicane again, with the same result - straight on! I was riding like a man possessed. Not fast, just mad!

Another half a lap and I caught and passed the little git. In the distance I could see another rider, I wanted him! 3 more laps of concentration and grit and I was right on him. In the exact place where I had crashed earlier on, I made my move round the outside of him and block passed him into the last corner, firing it up the straight and away from him. 1 lap later, it was all over. I had come 3rd. Not a bad result, but had I not gone off-roading, I should have got Daryl and thus 2nd place. Ho hum, I was just happy to have scored points in both of the races that mattered.

So now it’s just Cadwell Park left. A two round weekender to decide the championships. I am still a little nervous about my bikes handling but I am fired up for a good showdown.

I've ordered more spare handlebars, footpegs, paddock bobbins and screen (and then the Royal Mail went on bleedin strike!). Plus I’ve got a complete set of bodywork coming to Cadwell and I’ve sent my leathers off to be repaired. Not what I wanted at the end of the season but if I can have a good weekends racing at the end of the season it will all have been worth it.

Check back in two weeks to see how the season finished - wish me luck.

The clutch

2007-09-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that the problem with the clutch having terminal slippage was due to the spring stopper hub coming undone. It's really frustrating that something so simple has had such an impact on this years racing.

I was pretty pleased with myself for taking the clutch apart and diagnosing it but now I haven't got a clue how to put it together. It's times like this when I realise just how much I have relied on Scott and how I wouldn't be racing at all if it wasn't for his help. He's working totally flat out at the moment so he has no time to help me. I just hope I can get it sorted before my next race in 2 weeks time!

Round 11 - Elvington - August 26th

2007-08-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

I can't decide whether this was a day to remember or a day to forget. It was a real roller coaster of emotions and a day that would justifiably go into my autobiography.

It started sedately enough. Nic and I chose to go to the track the night before and sleep over in the paddock, rather than sleep at my Mums and travel there in the morning. I now much prefer this and I felt more refreshed throughout the whole day because of it. Ok, the back of the van aint luxury but its surprisingly comfy.

The bike sailed through scrutineering and we seemed to have a rather relaxed morning, with a bowl of cereal and a coffee pot steaming away on the stove - very civilised. My mate, big Scott (as opposed to my mate Scott who helps me with the bike) turned up to watch so we had a nice natter before practice and then out I went.

The bike was great. The new Michelin Pilot Race tyres were excellent. They have a steeper profile than the pirelli's which helps turn-in. Most importantly though, the clutch was working a treat and the radiator was keeping the temp down - result.

We roll up to the holding area. There is an embarrassingly small grid. I think there were 6 of us. The trouble is, its the guys that are trying for top championship positions, so it doesn't matter if its 3 or 33, its still going to be hard getting a win.

I told Nic that I would settle for 4th for the qualifiers (at Elvington the grid lines up in a straight line rather than staggered so 4th would put me in the same position as 1st). I got a great start and was 2nd behind Robert Wilson (again). Well at least I thought I was 2nd. Just as I tipped it in an headed for the apex, Gary Graves suddenly appeared and made me pick it up and run wide - grrr, firm but fair. I set off after the two of them and found that we seemed to be well matched for pace. Robert had pulled out a bit of a lead and as we came towards the end of the 4th (and final) lap of this qualifier, I found myself closer to Gary. Round the hairpin and I was right on him. I knew I would try my usual block pass and sure enough, a bit more speed through the final left allowed me to put my nose in front of his and he had to stand his bike up and allow me through. 2nd place was mine and I had a rye smile inside my helmet. Later, Gary came over and said, "was that for the move I put on you in the first corner" - too bloody right it was mate ;-)

I got a crap start in the Senior qualifier and was 5th out of 6 going into the first corner. Gary, Daryl and John normally clear off on their thou's into the first corner but this time a newby had also shot passed. As usual I spent a couple of laps trying to get passed Daryl who still can't go round corners even though he's wearing slicks (sorry Daryl). I got a good run on him and the new chap going into the hairpin but I just couldn't stop in time and ran way off line. I turned it tight and gunned it towards the left hander and managed to take both of them round the outside. 3rd place was mine.

On to the trophy race. Just before the race I had made two crucial comments. Firstly, that there would be no trophy for 3rd place as the grid was so small and also that I was getting sick of paying to race just to get the same result each time, behind the same guy. The other crucial factor was that a sidecar had just emptied its guts out at the chicane in the previous race and it only left about 1m of clean track on the entry into it. We would have to be very precise tipping it in. Another good start and I'm right behind Robert. Exiting the second right, I even feel I might get alongside him but the oil patch means I have to slot back in line so that I can take the new racing

line. I stay with him until the straight and it feels like he's pulling away a touch but I manage to real him in a bit on the brakes and by the time we're back at the chicane I'm right with him again. I thought it was just myself and Robert out in front, but as it turns out, there was a new kid on the block (17yrs old) who was right on my tail. I was right with Robert until lap 5 when I decided I was close enough to make a move.

Again, I was fast going into the left hander and managed to nip passed around
the outside of him and keep my line going into the final right-hander. Then it was head down for the final lap and a 1st pace trophy. I was really exhilarated. It's my first win since Teesside near the beginning of the season and it felt like I'd ridden well to get it.

The trophy race for the Senior cup was pretty exciting (well, the first 3 laps were). I managed to get a really good start and it was only Daryl who headed me into the first corner. I was still 2nd for the next half a lap but then Gary and John drafted passed me on the straight. At the end of the straight I managed to outbrake John and get ahead of him again and then hold that for another half a lap, but eventually his bigger machine told the tale and he passed me and gapped me. We had all managed to get passed Daryl and for 3 laps I was still in the hunt with Gary and John. However after lap 4 I realised that I was just destroying my tyres for no reason so I settled down and relaxed into 3rd. I felt like I was out for a sunday drive. There must have been about 15 seconds behind me. As I expected, there was no trophy for 3rd. That must have saved them about 30 quid for the day - what a joke of a club.

The points race for the 600's was one of the best I have been in (others include my first ever win, my win at Cadwell park and my near victory at Teesside which ended in tears!). I've not done it for a while but after getting the best possible start and leading as we headed for the first corner, I knocked it down 3 gears (as I do on a flying lap) rather than 2 (from a standing start) and the back locked up and sent me heading off the track. I grabbed as much brake as I could and then turned it and rejoined the track.

There were only 5 of us in this race and the other 4 were now well ahead (well actually James was only a few seconds ahead). I put my head down and gunned it. A fast sweep through the chicane and a great drive down towards the hairpin saw me claw back loads of time on James and I threw in a desperate block move on him which nearly backfired. As I ran a little bit wide, he ran me out to the edge of the track and got back in front. I got the power down and made my extra grunt (James rides and old CBR600) count and I outbraked him going into the top corner. The next 3 laps were all about precision and measured risk taking. One mistake and I would have lost touch with the front 3, however I didnt make any mistakes and with two and a half laps to go I was bearing down on them.

Luckily for me, they seemed to trip each other up a bit going through the chicane as the oil still meant that you had to tip-toe through. I went in fairly fast but came out even faster and my drive down to the hairpin saw me right with them. I went out wide and cut it back and as I did I took Gary on the inside. Then, in the same move, I went round the outside of the new kid. I was now right on Roberts tail. A lap later and in the same place, I went round the outside of Robert and into the lead. Once more round and back to the hairpin and he tried to outbrake me.

I saw that he couldnt quite get it stopped and I pulled it nice and tight round the hairpin. Two more corners, ridden fast but defensive and I crossed the line victorious. Last to First - Brilliant.

As I came into the paddock area, everybody was clapping me. People told me it was one of the best clubman races they'd seen. I was well chuffed. Life was good.

During the race, I thought I had felt the clutch slip a little. I couldn't be quite sure as it wasn't very pronounced and I was concentrating so hard that I think I put any problems with the bike out of my head and just rode the thing.

At this point, I was 17 points in the lead of the Senior Cup championship. As I lined up, I knew that I couldn't compete with John, I thought there may be a chance I could stay with Gary and I knew that I could beat Daryl. As such, My championship lead would only be reduced a little bit and the chance of staying number one at the end of the season was still a possibility. We set off on our warm up lap but half way round the bike lost drive. I knew it was the clutch and I started to furiously play around with the gears and clutch lever to get some sort of drive. I lined up at the start and as we set off, I managed to crawl forward at about 10mph at full revs. By the time I was half way up the straight I was just freewheeling and the bike would drive at all. I was out. DNF. Nil points.

The championship lead was gone and I was now 3 points behind John with Gary just another 10 or so behind me. In one race, I had gone from championship leader to staring at a 3rd place. In one day, I had gone from hero to zero. I felt empty.

As it was the last race of the day, most of the paddock had already packed up. By the time I had wheeled my bike from the furthest point of the circuit back to the paddock area, the place was nearly empty. We packed up our stuff and headed home. Few words were said.

A day later and I felt okay. Really pissed off, but ok. Racing is one of the most demanding sports, its also probably the cruelest. But it also rewards in a way that other sports simply cant match. So I accept the disappointment and take it on the chin. Before I sign off yet another sad turn in an otherwise great season, I wanted to revisit some of the things I said in my last blog entry. It may have sounded like I dont get any support from my family and that isnt true. Ok, so my brother is pretty shit at showing an interest but my mum and dad are now really supportive. They come along to as many Elvington events as they can and always ask me how things have gone. I should also mention that Nic (my lovely wife) is the most supportive person in the entire
paddock. She puts up with all my crap sorting the bike out for every race. She comes along to every race. Helps me out and then has to put up with all my crap when things go wrong. She's a star.

So, unlucky in racing - lucky in life. It's not a bad compromise is it!

Round 10 - Elvington - August 5th

2007-08-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was fairly confident that my recent radiator repair (bodge) would do the job but just to be on the safe side, i bid for a radiator on ebay. I won the bid and then spent half of Saturday evening driving into Bradford and getting lost. Eventually I found the place I was picking it up from and I headed back to Harrogate for some much needed kip.

Although sleeping in a proper bed always sounds like the best thing, I think I now prefer to sleep in the van and wake up at the circuit. It gives you at least another 1.5hours in bed and seems to take some of the stress out of the morning. As it was, I was up at 7am and arrived at the circuit in plenty of time to get the bike through scrutineering and get signed-on.

There were loads of old faces at the track and I knew that I was going to have to be on top form to get some good results. I used the practice session to scrub my new front tyre in, but couldn't help putting a cheeky last corner move on Matty Handley (just for old times sake).

As for the front tyre, it is a Dunlop Racer, whilst the back is a Metz Racetec. There is loads of talk about incorrect matching of tyres but in my opinion, if you are using the sticky race tyres from each manufacturer, a bit of swapping around doesnt hurt too much. Ideally I'd have matching tyres but at this point of the season I'm having to juggle to make my tyre supply last. The next round will be even worse. The front Dunlop will stay on. The back Racetec will do half the meeting, then I'll swap it for an old Supercorsa that should last a couple of races. Then after that meeting, I'm swapping to try some Michelin Power race tyres I got from Ben Handley. Hey - it's all money!

The 600 qualifying was a straight forward point to point and my 2nd place was never challenged and neither did I challenge for the lead. I think the old faces were just remembering their lines.

The Senior cup qualifying was also turning out to be a bit straightforward until with a lap and a half to go, I realised I was catching 3rd place. I put in a really good lap which brought me right behind him going into the hairpin and I used the momentum out of the turn to drive passed him on the last corner. It was a complete block pass and unfortunately he didn't allow enough space for my late braking. As I was trying to scrub off speed to make the apex, he was cutting back to the inside to try and get extra drive. His front tyre hit my rear tyre and although we both stayed on, it nearly had him off and he wobbled outside of the marked track and I think he lost 4th place.

I went over to apologise to him afterwards, even though it was a fair move. He seemed okay about it. His name was mitch - who I'd later learn was a bit of a nutter and a liability on track.

The 600 trophy race seemed to be over very quickly. I can't even remember much about it, but I do know that I finished 3rd. You'd think that coming 3rd in a trophy race would merit you a 3rd place trophy... but since Auto66 are such a money grabbing club, they decided that the grid size wasn't big enough to warrant giving out 3rd trophies so I was denied the silverware. Its a complete shambles and makes a joke out of the club.

I do remember the Senior cup, or at least the second half of it. I'd been putting in good fast laps, hitting my markers and suddenly I was aware of another rider right on me. He kept showing me his wheel but I'd just roll off the brakes a little and keep him out. It totally changes the way you ride when you know somebody is "on you". You take different lines, you brake later and harder (which kills your mid-corner speed) but then get on the power earlier to get the drive down the straight. I do it to try and break their momentum but ultimately it results in a slower lap and I think you can only do it for a lap or so before they figure out how to change their riding style in order to get passed you. It was a furious last lap and I could hear the bikes engine right behind me, but that's where it stayed and I managed to take 2nd place. As it turns out, it was Nick. He won every single 400cc race last year and has since been riding a CBR600RR with Derby Phoenix. He's a fast lad.

This time I got my mitts on the silverware and another 2nd place trophy for the mantle-piece. When I came into the paddock area, I noticed that there was water dripping out of my lower fairing. The bike was overheating again. Damn. I topped it up and just prayed that it would be ok. I made a conscious effort to keep the bike temp lower before the start of the race (around 60 degrees rather than 70)

The 600 points race was the best one of the day. Not for results but for excitement. Once again, I was in 2nd place and I could hear a bike behind me. A lap later and I was braking hard into the hairpin and a bike wheel appeared on the inside of me. I tried to carry as much speed through the tight 180 right-hander as I could and lean over as much as possible. As I did, my right elbow banged into his left foot, I looked over and we were about 10cms apart, both cranked over to the limit, yet it felt strangely safe and composed. We both accelerated out of the corner, trying to gain that little bit of ground to make the other back off. I'd been as brave as I could, but it was Nick who edged in front into the next corner and then started to creep out a lead from me. He then proceeded to chase down the leader and for the first time in a long time, Rob Wilson didn't win the race. Meanwhile, at the hairpin again, I was just at the end of my braking when Matty came shooting passed me and only just managed to stop from running off the track. I'd later learn that he nearly opted to go on the inside of me rather than the outside - thank god he didn't or it would have been zero points for both of us. In the end I finished 3rd place and lost a little more ground on Rob Wilson in the championship - but got closer to securing 2nd place for the season.

Once again, the coolant was bubbling over and I had to top up the radiator again. I really should have a larger radiator on the bike but I'm hoping I can do without until the end of the season - Hopefully the new one I've just bought should be better than the one on now, with all its hole repairs.

The last race was another standard fair with no great shakes. I rode well and finished a respectable 4th place, behind Nick and the two big thousand cc machines that battle it out every time. The most noticeable thing about the last race was that the strange rise in revs as I accelerated hard onto the straights had become much more pronounced. At first I thought that my tyre had gone off and I was simply spinning up the rear as I got the power down, however I know that my bike doesn't have enough power to spin up in 4th and 5th so it pointed towards a problem with the bike rather than my God-like bike prowess! All fingers pointed at the clutch. Slipper clutches wear the plates quicker than a standard clutch and I had had these plates in for two years so that was the main culprit.

So back onto ebay and I bought a new (used) clutch for a K4/K5 for £45 - bargain

Last night I was up at Scott's. I fitted the new radiator and then we set to work on the clutch. I run a STM slipper clutch which I can't recommend enough. Its a piece of bike porn. The only thing was, this Italian made exotica needs a sodding great 30mm hex nut to get it off. Without such a tool, Scott was able to fashion one together by welding a 22mm steel nut to a 30mm nut and then we used a 22mm socket with our new bespoke double-ended nut to undo the clutch - pure mechanical genius!

So now the bike has a new radiator which should help but might not fix the heating issue and new clutch plates which should do the trick.

I guess the big news is that I have decided that this will be my last season of racing. Its unbelievably time consuming and obviously remains very expensive. It's also strangely lonely at times and it's this more than anything else that is making me move away from it. Without other race mates, its not a sport which I can enjoy to the fullest. I can't talk about racing to anybody (take an avid football fan and put him into a situation where suddenly nobody has an interest in football - it would take a lot of the fun out of the game for him), and I can't share the fun with anybody as even Scott no longer races.

I've been writing this blog for around a year now and only about 3 people read it (thanks you guys). My Folks don't read it (this is a test, as my Dad says he does!), my Brother has absolutely no interest in it and has never wished me good luck or asked me how a race went (although my Nephew thinks I'm a biking God - bless him) and all my "friends" ask me how the biking is going in the same way as they would ask a work colleague how they were - they don't actually want to know, its simply a rhetorical question to appease me.

I also realise that to progress to the next level, I would need to invest probably double the time and money, which I am not prepared to do. I know I'm a good rider, but I'm also a pretty lazy one. Give me a fully prepped bike and tell me to turn up at race time and I'll do the business - But all the stuff that's involved before you even get on the bike is something I could now do without (buying this, fixing that, cleaning this, changing that, driving here, there and everywhere just to get the bike ready). I know I'm going to miss it more than anything else in the world, but I have plans to do lots of other biking adventures to make up for it. Supermoto experiences are knocking heavily on my door and I'd like to do a few off-road breaks.

Anyway, for now I remain committed to the rest of the season and just hope I can get through it without any major incidents to either me or the bike. Later doods...

Round 9 - Elvington - 22nd July

2007-07-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

After a long wait, Scott found some time to help me out with my Swingarm and we spent a long evening taking the old one out (with the snapped lugs and old chain) and replaced it with one with shiny blocks of aluminium welded to the underneath for the paddock bobbins. Scott had to drill them out and put a thread into each block, so it wasn't as straight forward as we originally thought. They look ace. Kinda like something you might see on a works race bike with bespoke machined parts. Along with a new chain, I also treated the bike to 3l of syntec 4+ fully synthetic putoline oil. It's kept the engine in fine fettle so far so I didn't want to risk using anything else. So Scott has come up trumps for me again and I'm massively grateful. I really couldn't have done this year without him.

The day before my Elvington race, the Auto66 quarterly newsletter dropped through the door. It was full of rubbish as usual but it did have the points for the championship so far. As it turns out, I did score points for the race at Cadwell when my battery failed. I had forgotten that the race had been merged with another race so I actually came 9th and got 7 points. That was enough to push me into the lead of the Senior cup by 5 points. I was surprised to say the least. It made me think that I should have done the teesside race as I'd have picked up easy points there (given that nobody bothers to race there) and I could have been over 20 points clear!

Nic and I set off later than anticipated for Elvington and we arrived in York around 10:15pm. We hadn't had anything to eat so we dashed towards the centre of York looking for a takeaway. 15 minutes later and we were heading towards the track, being the proud owners of a Large Pizza Hut deep Pan Meat Feast. The gates to the circuit hadn't been chained up yet so we let ourselves in, grabbed a good spot for the next day and devoured our new acquisition. Bloody gorgeous.

The following morning we took everything at a relaxed pace. I got out of bed at about 9am, got the bike through scrutineering, signed on and then went back to bed to lie down for a bit. It's much better than having to rush around and I'm sure it allows you to concentrate on the racer more.

I had a new rear tyre so I was anxious to scrum it in. I had also decided to go up one tooth on the rear sprocket so I wanted to see how that felt. I had a couple of little slides but the tyre seemed to bed in nicely and the new gearing was definitely a good move as it seemed to have more grunt out of the corners and would top out nicely along the long straight. I was ready for the first race

As I lined up with the rest of the 600's for the first race, I noticed that Steve Degnan (the bloke who fractured his back at Teesside) was the flag man for the day. It was great to see him again and he was beaming with joy as he dropped the flag..and away we went. I got a good start and was 3rd going into the first corner. As we rounded the double-right-hander I got great drive onto the back straight and managed to drag passed into 2nd place. From there it was a case of trying to catch Richard Wilson (The leader in the 600 class). After 2 laps he had stretched a little bit more of a lead on me but the following lap I managed to close it all back up. Into the hairpin for the final time and I was late and hard on the brakes which brought me right up to his back wheel. I got a good drive out and set myself up for a last ditch block move at the final corner. Unfortunately I didnt quite have the pace to get ahead and as he closed the door on me, I needed to get hard on the brakes and sit the bike up in order to miss his rear wheel. I finished 2nd but I was happy that I had challenged him all the way to the flag.

For the Senior Cup qualification race, I had decided that I needed to try to get ahead of the big 1000's and stay there as long as possible. From the line I thought I might get into the lead but the thousands soon got into their stride and I was back in 3rd place. Through the chicane and I was hard on the gas to try and close in on the leaders. I left my braking late and then trailed it to the apex of the corner. Just as I was about to let the brake off, down I went!

It was a pitifully slow crash and I held on to the bike for the whole time and pulled the clutch in. I stood up and yanked the bike upright. As I did, I pulled on the throttle and with the clutch pulled in, it revved to the max and screamed for mercy as it bounced off the rev limiter. I jumped back on and off I went. I'd been down for about 20 seconds. The race was 4 laps and each lap takes 1 minute - it didn't look good.

I contemplated pulling in but I could see one rider was only about 10 seconds ahead of me so I decided to go for it. I picked him off with ease and went after another back marker. It took me 3 laps to catch him and a couple of corners to set him up. This time, my last corner block move worked a treat and I beat him by 0.3 seconds over the line. I had come 5th out of 7. With such small grid sizes, It hardly seems worth qualifying but racing is racing and I was having fun. Unfortunately, the bike wasn't! It was overheating. It had reached 100 on the starting line and didnt cool down at all during my unusually slow warm up lap. Riding through the paddock back to my pit area, the bike continued to get hotter and on checking, I realised it had overflowed all of its coolant into the belly pan. Worrying! I topped her back up with a litre and a half of Buxton and preyed that she would be okay.

The damage from the crash was minimal. Having gone down on the right hand, I was sure my new titanium exhaust sleeve would be damaged but hey presto, the frame sliders and paddock bobbins had done their job. The fairing was scratched quite badly but I can live with that. Luckily the bike was still working perfectly.

We broke for lunch just at the wrong time. It was sunny but there were clouds looming in the distance. Personally I'd have kept going for an hour to see if we could miss the worst of the weather but we didnt. Then it happened. In the middle of the wettest summer on record, somewhere along the line I had to race in the wet. As the black clouds dumped their cargo of droplets on the race track, the paddock lept into a fury of activity and put their wets on. Unfortunately my fury of activity lasts twice as long as everybody elses as I'm pretty slow at changing the wheels, but I reckon I managed both in around 15 minutes, which is pretty good for me - practice makes perfect.

The trophy race for the 600's is in torrid conditions but the wets do themselves proud. I'm not too shabby in the wet, manly due to my style. I don't push it too much going into corners (which is where the real wet experts make ground on me) but I do sit the bike up early and get the power down. Thats the style I use on my road bike and it seems to work. After 6 wet laps I come 3rd. However, its only when I go to pick up my trophy that I'm told I came 2nd. One of the guys was in a different class! So that makes me well chuffed. Another piece of "silverware" for the mantle piece.

The belly pan was full of water again but this time I put it down to the fact that I had forgotten to take the rubber bungs out and it had filled with water from the track. Looking back, it was a poor assumption.

The long gap between races means the track has had chance to dry out. The sun is now beaming and steam is coming off the tarmac. However it still looks a bit damp and I know that if I start changing my tyres now, I risk missing the race. As I line up for the Senior trophy race, others are on wets too so I dont feel too bad, however its the guy on dry tyres that takes the early lead and pulls away. I'm in 4th place and after 2 laps I realise I'm making no ground on the others in front. With the grid sizes so low and my tyres starting to rip themselves up on the drying tarmac, I decide to pull into the pits. It may seem a strange thing to do but it was the sensible option and it gave me extra time to change my tyres over for the 600 points race.

With the track now 99% dry and the bike being back on the right tyres, I was fired up for the 600 race. I got another good start but once again Richard Wilson pulled ahead. Again I tried to close the gap but he was just too quick for me. Looking at the timing sheets, he's lapping at around 0.4 seconds per lap faster. If you time that on a watch it seems like nothing, but if you see how much distance you cover when your doing 150mph and then times it by 8 laps (for the points race), it actually seems like rather a lot. I was still happy with my riding though. I was breaking differently for the hairpin. leaving it 5-10m later and braking at 98% in a straight line and letting it off at the turning-in point, rather than braking at 90% and then trailing it to the apex. It felt faster and safer. I guess the fastest way is to brake another 5m later and then brakes at 99% and still trail it to the apex (but I dont want to crash again). Eight laps in second place seemed a long time and didnt make for a very interesting race but it was valuable points and pushes me slightly clearer in 2nd place in the championship, but further away from Mr Wilson in 1st.

As I brought the bike back to the pit area, it was steaming. The temperature was in the low 100's and I needed to put another 1.5litres of water in to top her up. It was going to be a risk taking it out for the final race but I really needed the points. On a road bike, you'd simply put it in the garage or limp it round to the nearest workshop. On a race bike you try and balance the act of revving a poorly bike at 13000rpm for 10 minutes, risking hundreds and hundreds of pounds damage, to get a couple of championship points - strange how priorities can change.
With the bike topped up, I left it as late as possible to start her up and go to the holding bay. The temp stayed below 100 and I set off for a slow warm up lap. The temp was still below 100 - time to race.

The flag dropped and I pulled the perfect startline wheelie - about 8inches of air under the front tyre all the way through first gear and into second. The tyre dropped to the ground, I tucked in as much as possible and aimed my 599cc missile towards the first corner. As with all missile wars, bigger is generally better and the opposition made their extra 400cc known by creeping ahead. I held on to 4th out of turn one and was immediately stuck behind a turn and squirt rider. He simply couldnt go round corners, but once out of the corner, he grabbed a handful of throttle and shot off into the distance on his thou, leaving me to play catch-up on the brakes, only to see him squirt it off into the distance after the next corner. It took me 3 laps to get passed him and I was furious that the leaders had pulled about a 20second lead. I tried hard for the next three laps to catch them but they were running a faster pace than I thought. The timesheets show that they were actually running at 1.2 seconds per lap faster so my chase was futile. I took 3rd over the line and took my bike back to the pits. Again, steam started to rise from its guts - it had survived, but only just

So a pretty good day for results but not such a great day for the bike.

The following day I took the bike up to Scotts and we stripped it down to have a look to see if the thermostat had broken. I now know that the bike doesnt run a thermostat!

We then removed the water pump to see if that was okay and Scott said it was fine - not sure how you can tell just by touching it with the hand but hey, he's an expert at this kinda thing. So then we decided to fill the water system with radflush and clean the system. We idled the bike for 5 minutes and as it started to get hot and the water started to expand, I noticed that it was leaking from the radiator. The crappy track surface of Elvington had fired another stone into my rad and holed the radiator core. The bike went back into the van and back home to have some chemical metal applied to the hole.

After leaving it overnight for the chemical metal solution to harden, I tried again. Once again, the radiator started to leak and I spotted yet another hole (I hate Elvington). So now I have attempted to repair that hole and I'll find out tonight if I've fixed it.

Lets hope I can fix it before the race next weekend. The thought of paying to enter and driving down there, only to find its not 100% makes me shudder. Fingers crossed.

Round 8 - Cadwell Park - 17th June

2007-06-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well as usual, things haven't gone to plan. I am meant to have a new swingarm with new chain fitted but Scott has been completely overworked and hasn't been able to help me. I was hoping we'd have managed to find some time to do it in the last 3 weeks but there you go!

I do however have a pair of part worn Diablo Supercorsa's which I am dying to try out.

We arrived at Cadwell after driving the van through torrential rain. The M180 was under about 10cms of rain, so it was a big relief to find the clouds moving away as we pulled into the paddock area. After much running around and moving Biffo bin's to reserve spaces, we managed to find a nice spot of tarmac to set up on.

I felt very relaxed that night. A nice BBQ, a pint of strongbow and a walk around the track with Nic, pointing out the racing lines, all helped me feel chilled out.

After another good nights sleep in the van (I swear I sleep better in there than in my own bed!) We woke up and signed on.

During practice my main aim was simply to bed in my new brake pads and recalibrate my brain to a decent track, however I quickly found that my bike seemed sluggish on the power. At first I was thinking there was something wrong with the bike or the fueling but then I figured that I just needed to adjust the gearing to give it more punch.

Into the pits and I took the back wheel off and changed the sprocket for a 46T, up one tooth, and kept my fingers crossed.

Time for some breakfast and then out for the 600 qualifying. There were 36 of us on the grid and some of the guys were on some serious machines - this was going to be tough. As the flag dropped I was immediately swamped by 3 guys but as we tipped it into the first corner I held my ground. Onto Park straight and another 2 guys came passed me - bleedin' hell, this is not going to plan. The next 3 laps did go according to plan however and I stayed in 6th place. Just as I was feeling comfortable, a bloke drafted passed me and pushed me into 7th. I wasn't going to lie over without a fight and I stayed right on his tail. I slip streamed him along Park straight and pulled out for the braking zone, leaving it as late as I dare and thankfully a split second after him. I was back in 6th and kept my composure to stay there over the checkered flag. So 6th out of 36. Not bad, but as I had started from pole position (due to my championship points), this could well be the best result of the day, especially as some of the fast guys were starting at the back of the grid.

I was happy with the gearing so I made no changes for the qualifying for the Senior Cup. It was similar to the 600 qualifying, in that I got swallowed up off the line, kept it smooth throughout the race and was then overtaken by the same guy. And then, just like before, I managed to just sneak in front of him before the checkered flag (you could tell his was miffed). So a 7th place was excellent considering some of the new thousands that I was running with.

Time for a long lunch and I was really enjoying the day. My riding was safe, smooth and pretty fast and the bike and tyres were working perfectly.

The trophy 600 race was another really good race and I had to fend off quite a few challenges for position with some brave body and bike positioning. I'm thinking in particular of the action at Charlies. It's the fastest corner that we visit during the Auto66 calendar and you have to be fully committed. Heading down the start/finish straight, in a split second I dab the brake, change down a gear, shift all my weight to the left and tip it into the bend, at say, 130mph. Just as I did, I caught sight of a front wheel appearing about 50cms away from my left eye. At this point there are two options. Option A involves sitting the bike up a touch and rolling off the throttle slightly to let the aggressive rider through. This is the safe option and allows you both to get through the corner safely. I chose option B, which involves opening the throttle a touch more than is comfortable and leaning you body and bike into the path of the approaching rider so that you are where they want to be. It requires a certain amount of trust that the other guy has not taken too much corner speed and is going to ram into you, but with a slight mind adjustment, that decision seems an obvious one to take. The end result of this move... I exited the corner ahead of him and never saw his front wheel again ;-)

Anyway, apart from a near highside when I saw the rider in front make a mistake and I was too eager to try and capitalise on it, the race was another smooth one and the 8th place was as much as I could do. My laps times were within a second of each other, lap after lap, race after race. I was riding faster than before (by the tune of around half a second), yet I felt more composed and safe than ever. I think some of that was down to the tyres and some is down to increased fitness, which allows me to just concentrate on the race.

A word on the tyres - I love these new Diablo Supercorsa's - every racer should buy them - they are the best on the market (and I was always a Metz Racetec man!)

The trophy race for the Senior cup was always going to be hard and my aim was to stay in the top 8 to get a second row start for the points race. Starting in 7th position, this was going to be hard but a good start saw me 5th into the first corner. The bigger capacity bikes were too much for me on the straight however and I started to drop back. An error by one rider (running onto the grass) allowed me to power passed and take him into the mountain section (a brave move down the inside and hard on the brakes), but I lost that position a lap later and was back down in 9th. The laps were ticking by and I could see a rider coming back to me in the closing stages - I think he was tiring. I pushed and pushed and set my fastest lap of the day (1'40.3") and managed to close right up on him going into the mountain section for the last time. I got a run on him through hall bends and put a block pass on him at the hairpin. I was in 8th! Hard on the gas down to the last corner and hard on the gas.

Hard on the gas on a 600 is not the same as hard on the gas on a 1000cc and with a metre of track left in the race, I was pushed back into 9th position - crap!

The Points race for the 600's was another great battle and I was in amongst them for a lot of the race. The fastest guys had once again stretched out a bit of a lead but I was holding my grid position and riding within my limits again. When I say that, I don't mean I was taking it easy, I just mean that I was more in control of the bike than I was the last time I was at Cadwell. I managed to bring the bike home in 7th place which I was fairly happy with given the level of competition.

So, just the Senior race to go. I was well up for this one and only needed 3 points to put me in the lead of the Championship. We took to our grid positions and I noticed that 3 riders had failed to make the grid, which put me up to 6th straightaway. I got a great start and was in 5th place after Coppice and Charlies and charged hard along Park Straight. I was actually catching 4th coming into Mansfields but the red flags came out. We went back to the line and waited....and waited.

Finally it was announced that the race would now be 1 warm up lap and 4 flying laps. I shot round the warm up lap and was ready for the off. Rev's rise, clutch lever balanced, and we're away...well, kinda!

My bike started to stutter and I knew that my battery had given up. Either is was nearly flat of the connection had come loose - again. My initial reaction was to try and continue to get some points , so I kept at it. However I could only rev to about 8000 rpm before the stutter got worse (I'd say I had about 60bhp to use). Bikes started flying passed me and all I could do was keep it smooth as possible and carry as much corner speed as I could. I finished 16th out of 19. One place outside the points! I was really pissed off, but couldn't help laughing at the fact that I had still beaten 3 guys! I think they should give up now!

It's at times like these that you question to sanity of your involvement in the sport. I spend an unbelievable amount of money and time ensuring that I can make it out on race day. From Friday evening, I think about little else (although that's also true for most of each week). I psych myself up for each race and as I sit on that line, I concentrate on one thing only - winning. Nothing else enters my mind. I'm not thinking of whether I have put enough petrol in or whether I really should have put a new chain on so that it doesn't snap and take off my left foot - it's too late for those thoughts. I'm 100% focused on the drop of the flag and what I need to do for the 10 minutes that follow. When I launched the bike off the line and felt it stutter, all that work, that time, that commitment is worth nothing. Incidents like this test your character. I felt upset, I swore and I put the bike in the van and headed home. My character was strong enough to deal with the disappointment but I don't know if it can continue to do so.

I've started thinking about retiring from racing at the end of this year. I know I'll never find anything to replace it. I went go-kart racing last week and the whole thing felt tame. Lets see how we get on at Elvington in a months time and take it from there.

Round 7 - Brother-in-laws wedding

2007-06-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

I missed the Teesside round due to being very drunk at my Brother-in-laws wedding the night before.

I'll be honest with you. I enjoyed getting drunk in the sun much more than pratting around at the crappy Teesside track. The only bad side was that I finally gave up the lead in the championship in the 600 class and I still haven't caught up with Steve Degnan even though he's been out for about 3 rounds!

See you at Cadwell.

Round 6 - Elvington - May 20th

2007-05-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

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.

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!

Made it - Just!

2007-05-24T12:15:00.001-07:00

As much as I tried not to stress, it was inevitable that I would when I still didn't have the exhaust back on the Thursday before the race.

The bodywork had been sprayed. It's now a fantastic rich racing red with white number boards. Once I'd put my 111 stickers on, it looked the business.

The exhaust came on Friday and it looked amazing. Mark at MHP has done a brilliant job and it looks brand new. It now has a titanium sleeve which I think I even prefer. All the kinks are out and the header pipes are true - fab. It also saved me about £900 getting it repaired rather than buying a new system.

So it came down to saturday. We fitted the subframe and sorted the levers and footpegs. Then we drilled the holes for the screen, drilled the holes for the seat unit and fitted it. Then we straightened the Gilles chain adjuster, saving another £75 in the process.

I headed home with just the bodywork to fit.

1.5 hours later and a few scrapes on the brand new body work and I still couldnt get the bleedin fixings into place. Eventually, with the help of my father-in-law, we did it. Levels were topped up and it was ready.

Another 45minutes to pack the van and I headed off at 11pm.

What followed was the scariest journey of my life. I fought back the tiredness as my eyelids got heavier and heavier. I completed the last 40miles peering through tiny slits and couldn't focus on anything. At 1am I made it to Elvington. The perfect preparation for the following day. Night night.

Latest on the repairs

2007-05-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

All is not going to plan. The bike still looks pretty close to when I'd just crashed it. However we have done the following:

Fitted new harris clip-ons
Sent full body work off to get painted
Sent exhaust of to MHP to get repaired
Bought a subframe on eBay (£87 so well chuffed)

I still need to:

Get the exhaust back (he's not started repairing it yet!) and fit it
Pick up the subframe and fit it
Buy some new race numbers
Fit the old chain adjusters while I wait for some Gilles ones to come on eBay
Fit the body work and tank
Change the tyres
Fit new levers

This is the bare minimum, they'll still be stuff to do after this but at least I will be racing if I get this done

... I have 4 days!!!

Wish me luck.

Round 5 - Teesside Autodrome - 29 April

2007-05-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

I've been putting this entry off. Yep, lets just say this race day didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.

I packed up the van on the Saturday night and as Nic headed off for a night out with the girls, I headed off for another nights sleep in the van. Glamorous!

The next morning I was up early and set up for the day with the help of Big Scott (Scott Whitfield's mate and ex-club racer). My newly polished machine breezed through scrutineering and I made my way out for practice.

It only took a couple of laps to remind me that I HATE THIS TRACK. It's no good for motorcycles and should be left as a go-kart track.

With the usual joke of a PA system, it was a case of, watch the race before, guess when the flag was coming out and get yourself ready. Inevitably we'd turn up in the holding bay and have to wait for our tyres to cool down before being let out on the track - its as if its one of Auto66's policies.

Qualification for the Clubman's 600 race was okay and I took 3rd, being overtaken on the last corner, but since the first four line up together it really doesn't matter.

Likewise, coming 2nd in the Senior qualification was a god result but a front row start is all I was after.

In the 600 trophy race I got a good start and was in second place. Unfortunately, half way round the first lap I pushed the front a fraction too much on the off camber, down-hill, tight right-hander that leads onto the back straight. I went down softly and slid along with the bike. I pulled the clutch in to keep it running and jumped straight up. As I did the bike stalled and wouldn't start - I was out and had to watch the race by the tyre wall - no fun, but at least there was no damage to the bike

The trophy race for the Senior Cup was a different story however and I was out in front for the whole race. I knew that somebody was close and expected one of the 1000cc machines to come flying passed but it never happened. I took a nice tight line into the last corner and powered out as hard as I could for the line. As I crossed, I noticed a bike right at my side - surely I hadn't lost it at the line. I didn't think so but everybody watching thought i had just lost it. As it turns out, I came 1st by 0.02 seconds - pah! Easy!

It felt great picking up only my second 1st trophy, shame it looks a bit wonky! Still, mickey mouse trophy for a mickey mouse track!

On to the points races and I felt a bit more confident in getting a good result in the 600 even though I had crashed in the trophy race. As it turns out, I just didn't have the pace through the twisty sections and I could only bring it home in 4th. I was catching 3rd and felt I could have had him if we had another lap or two but hey, points are points.

I was really looking forward to taking on the 1000cc bikes again but as we lined up for the last race of the day, there were only 3 of us! Me and two 1000cc's. I got a good start but had to slot into 2nd at the first corner. As I tried to brake as late as I could into the tight right second corner, I outbraked myself and ran straight into the kitty litter. As I came to a halt, I managed to paddle my way through it and get back on to the track, but by now I was about 15 seconds behind the others.

This was it - head down - concentrate - put in some good, fast, consistent laps.

At the first lap I was still about 15 seconds down but that seemed to have dropped by the end of the next lap - that gave me hope

One lap later and the gap must have been about 10 seconds - I was flying

Lap after lap I closed them down and I braked later and later as I gained more and more confidence. It was going to happen - I could feel it - I was going to catch them.

With 2 laps to go I shot passed second place on the brakes into turn one. A great move which required real "balls". I wanted first!

Hard on the gas - hard on the brakes. Get it turned, sit it up and back on the throttle. Find your braking marker and add another split second. Hard on the brakes and turn.... closing closing...

As we passed the last lap flag I was with him. We entered the braking zone for turn one where I passed second place. I braked HARD. The bike skipped up its rear wheel and I stamped down to find second gear - It didn't take!

In too high a gear, I had to brake even harder on an already unstable bike. The front end couldn't cope. It didn't make the turn...

The ground came up to meet me even faster than I seemed to be going but I remember feeling angry with myself even before I hit it. As I slid across the ground I saw the other bikes disappear round the corner and then I came to a stop in the hard packed dirt. I didn't think it was a particularly big "off" and even when I glanced at my bike I thought all I had done was throw away the chance of a victory. As it turns out, the diagnosis was a lot worse

Smashed carbon exhaust (RRP£450), bent titanium middle section (RRP£250), Cracked subframe (RRP£350), Smashed bodywork (RRP£350), bent Gilles chain adjuster (RRP£180)broken pegs, bent clip-ons, bent levers, snapped swingarm lugs, bent engine bolts, knackered crash bobbins, broken exhaust protector (about another £200) - I felt empty.

I'll be honest, I felt close to tears. I wanted to rewind the clock just 5 minutes and do the last lap again, without crashing.

At times like this racing is tough. It's the polar opposite of the highs you get when you win, I just didn't expect to feel them both in the same day.

So now I'm on eBay every day trying to reduce the near £2000 bill of new original equipment, to something closer to £1k. It's still like working a month for free but I can't bear thinking about the other option. I just love racing too much.

Let's see if I can get her back together for May 20th at Elvington.

The Racing Calendar

2007-04-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

In case you're interested, here are the rest of the Auto66 Clubmans Challenge races for 2007:

April 29: Teesside Autodrome
May 20: Elvington Park
June 03: Teesside Autodrome*
June 17: Cadwell Park
July 22: Elvington Park
August 05: Elvington Park
August 26: Elvington Park
September 30: Elvington Park
October 13/14: Cadwell Park
October 27/28: Croft

Probably going to miss this due to Brother-in-laws wedding the night before - and the fact that I hate Teesside go-kart track!

Round 4 - Elvington - 8th April

2007-04-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic Easter weekend - sun sun and more sun - and that always makes for a happy racer ;-)

After a gorgeous curry with the folks the night before, Nic and I set off at 7am to Elvington in the van (which quickly smelt of last nights curry!) Note to self - curry and nerves don't mix!

It had been nearly 7 months since I'd raced here and I've never really like the place, so I was cautious in warm-up. Just trying to remember the lines, the bumps, the braking points and the gearing.

The Clubmans 600 qualifying went well and I managed to eek out a gap between myself and 4th place to ensure a front row grid.

In the Senior qualifying, I went in far too hot into the hairpin (trying to catch the two GSXR1000 K5's in front of me) and ran straight on, loosing 4 places. I tried desperately to catch them up but started to get ragged which just lead to more mistakes and I crossed the line in 7th place - giving me a second row start.

Before the next race my Groupies turned up! Mum and Dad, and their friend and daughter (pressure!)

I got a flying start but was swamped into the first corner and came out 4th. I got my head down but they just seemed to start pulling away. Then the guy in front made a mistake through the chicane and suddenly I was back with him. I pressed him and pressured him and then put a block pass on him going into the last corner (this was to become my signature move today). I crossed the line in 3rd and was pretty chuffed.

Until I saw the trophy! Anybody need a spare thimble!

Then my brother and sister-in-law arrived with my nephews - even more pressure!

I wasn't expecting much in the Senior trophy race but got a great start and was 3rd going into the first corner, ahead of Steve Degnan on his K5 thou. He tried to go up the inside of me on the second lap but I closed the door on him and put in a few solid laps to move away from him. I even caught up with 2nd place man and with just a few corners left, ran out of time to do much about it. I got a good run on him on to the straight, but he crossed the line half a wheel ahead of me. 3rd it was, and another thimble for the sewing kit.

The Clubmans 600 points race was a beauty with a lot of place swapping for 3rd place. Each lap had us changing position and the adrenalin was racing through me. Again, my last corner block pass worked a treat and I brought it home for another 3rd place.

The last race of the day, the Senior, was the best of the day. I had an amazing battle with the KTM 990SM that had just pipped me in the previous Senior race and he could brake much deeper than I could. He took my place for one corner but I got him back straight away in my fave passing place (the last corner). He tried the move on the next lap but ran on a touch and I was able to hold my ground. We had been setting such a good pace that Mick Goodings was now coming into my grasp. I think his tyres must have been going off as he was slow through the double right-hander and then slow again through the chicane. I braked as late as I could for the hairpin and realised that it was going to be a desperate lunge to get passed him, but sure enough, at the last corner, I passed him and held on to the position to get my fifth 3rd place of the day.

Today has been brilliant. Great racing, great atmosphere, great competitive spirit and some good results. I knackered - time for a nice cold beer(s).

Not sure when the next race is as I can't afford to do Croft since its not a championship race. I'll let you know soon.

Cadwell Park - Round 3 - March 25th

2007-03-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Nic and I slept soundly in the back of the van, to be awoken by...

"Race 1 to the holding bay"

Oh shit! We had forgotten that the clocks went forward and had slept in. I was in Race 2!

What followed was like a sketch from Benny Hill and we managed to get everything out of the van, petrol in, tyre warmers on and leathers on in about 5 minutes. Instead of waking up and having coffee and cereal, I was taking to the line for the 600cc Clubmans race that was postponed from yesterday, luckily I still had my wets on from yesterday as it was a horrible damp morning.

Mike Hemsworth shot off and there was no way I could catch him, but I ended up in a great battle with Mr I.O.M. Right up to the point where he completely cut me up and it was only by the luck of God (me in this case) that he didn't take my front wheel out. Bastard! I shot after him and worked out that I was better than him coming onto Park straight, so I got a great run on him, passed him on the power and held it on the brakes. Another solid lap of hitting braking points and gears and 2nd place was in the bag. I was really chuffed as I had only been able to see out of one eye due to a really bad misting visor. I was also chuffed because it was my Birthday!

35years old today!!

Still no time for breakfast as I was out pretty soon after for the postponed Senior cup race. Considering how I had been asleep an hour earlier, I rode a really mature race. It was obvious after the first 3 corners that the leader, Liam Marchant(on his ZX10) was way faster than me, so I just put in consistent laps until the final lap. He's the sort of bloke who needs to be doing well though. He has two bikes (dry setup and wet) and was in a massive hundred thousand pound (and then some) motorhome and had a posse around him all the time - seems a desent bloke though

I had a couple of good long looks round to see that there was nobody there and started to ease the pace. There was no point in frying my wets on a rapidly drying track. I brought the bike home in 2nd place, just over 3 seconds ahead of a still charging Steve Degnan. Well chuffed. My visor was still misting up badly though (even after I had used a compuer screen wipe on it which clearly has no effect).

The races came thick and fast but I had enough time to change onto my dry tyres. Well only just!

Front wheel done. Back wheel done, just put the caliper back on.... like this........ Why isn't the caliper going on? Try again... no luck. Try again.... no luck..... no luck, no luck, no luck - ARGGGGGHHHH!!!!

As it turns out, the brake hose had somehow moved round and was getting trapped against the rear bobbin lug, so it was a quick twist with a socket and hope that too much brake fluid doesn't come out. Result.

What followed was one of the best races I've been in. We were touching elbows, leaning on each other and racing really close, but every single move that we did was clean and safe. Mr I.O.M was holding me up and eventually I went down the inside of him on Park Straight (again), just as James Stokoe went round the outside of him. We both came up to Park corner at the same time and braked at the same time. We both tipped it in for the corner and went round with just a crash bobbin between us - brilliant. I put my head down and thought I had broken the tow of James, but I should have had a look back! As I crossed the line, he shot passed me, bashing his petrol tank in frustration. As it turns out, I beat him by 0.047 seconds! My fastest lap was 0.007seconds faster than his. Places 3rd - 8th were split by 3 seconds. What a great race and a well deserved 3rd. For this race I had opted for my spare helmet and a lot of saliva to try and cure my misting problems - it didn't work - so we bought some de-mister from the parts van (why didnt I do that this morning?)

Next up was the Senior cup. This time the field cleared off a bit and I was playing catchup straight away. As we approached Mansfield I had caught up to them a bit and then as I came to the chicane I saw one of them go down. It was Steve Degnan (poor guy really wanted a 2nd in this race). So now I was behind Liam, Mick Gooding (he's good - the clue is in his name!) and Gary Graves who I was trying to keep on to. As it turns out Gary's 1000cc was just too much for me and I had to settle for 4th. At least the visor demister was working!

Finally we had a break in the day but instead of feeling refreshed after it, I felt absolutely shattered. A full race weekend is bloody hard work.

So back to the grid for another Clubmans 600 race. Adam child was in this race (he's a journalist for Motorcycle News) so I really wanted to beat him. I got a good start but was a bit early on the brakes going into turn one and Adam screemed passed me - bugger. Head down and I could see he was very late on the brakes so I started to think that I'd have to try and get him on the power. I chased him for a lap and got right up to him coming on to Park straight (my new favourite overtaking place) and I got the drive to push me passed him, then left my braking as late as I dared. I then tried to relax and keep things smooth and luckily I stayed ahead of the rest of the pack - until...

Suddenly the bike was labouring at full revs. I couldn't understand what it might be but it kept going. I had about a lap and a half left. Each time I went over about 10000 revs it would stutter. With half a lap left, the inevitable happened. It wasn't Adam though, it was Mr I.O.M (the git). I chased hime all the way to the line but I just didnt have the power to beat him. I finished 3rd by 1 second - damn.

As I looked at the bike in the pits, I wondered what the problem might be. The battery seemed okay, as previous battery failures had happened abruptly and the bike had stopped within half a mile of the first occurance. Then I spotted that the fuel cap was loose. Could it be that the fuel hadn't been pressurised which was leading to poor fueling at high revs (don't ask me, I'm no mechanic). Let's just hope so.

Unfortunately on the warm up lap for the final "points" race of the day, the problem was still there. I lined up for the start, still hoping it might be a glitch that would clear itself, but as I stuttered away from the line, it was obvious that I wasn't going to finish this race. Nil point.

Not the way I wanted to finish the race weekend but on the whole it had been a sucessful two days. I'm trying not to get stressed about the racing this year so I'll just look at the weekend as good fun and some excellent results. I'll have the bike washed and the battery charged for the next meeting (and a spare battery) and we'll see if we can keep on the podium.

See you in two weeks.

Cadwell Park - Round 2 - March 24th

2007-03-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

We were late setting off so after 4 hours at the wheel without stopping, it was a dark Cadwell Park that greeted us on Friday evening. We put up our marquee (instant pop-up my arse!) and heated up our spag bol that we'd brought with us. Washed down with a cold San Miguel and it was soon time for bed (in the van).

We awoke to the sound of the tannoy system and started to prepare for the day. Bike out, genny on, fuel in bike, tyre warmers on, check oil and water levels, check chain tension, charge battery...The it was scrutineering and the bike sailed through (phew). Sign on and pretty quickly it was morning practice.

The track had been wet but had totally dried out. I started to up the pace and hit my braking points and racing lines. At the end of the lap, at the hairpin, I clipped the white line and soon found out that, unlike the tarmac, it was still very wet. The back and slid out and gripped again. This could have easily been a lowside or even a highside but luckily the bike stabilised and I carried on. Phew, didn't want to crash on the practice!

Which is exactly what Matty Handley did! And he broke his knee! He's gonna be out for 6 weeks. What a pisser.

It started to drizzle, nothing serious, but persistent. I thought that it wasn't wet enough for wets so I stayed on my standard tyres. Just as I was about to go out for qualifying, it got heavier and it was soon far to wet for my tyres. I frantically tried to get my tyres changed but it was too late - I missed qualifying.

We waited for the Senior cup qualifying to come round. At the last moment we started to take the tyre warmers off but the back tyre wouldn't move! I thought that the brake might have seized on (it had happened at Teesside), so I let out a touch of brake fluid - with no effect. As it turns out, in my mad rush to change tyres, I had left off a spacer. That was both qualifying races missed. Not a good start to the weekend.

The day progressed really slowly and it wasn't until 3pm that I actually got out in the Clubmans 600 trophy race. Starting on the back I had my work cut out for me but I fought hard and managed to get passed a few guys. I was messing up my gears though and didn't feel that comfortable on the bike. Also my damper wasn't wound up enough so I would get tankslappers every time I got hard on the throttle. I finally caught up with a guy from the I.O.M. We had a real dice and there were some desperate moves going on. I managed to get him back going into Park in a late braking move and held it for the rest of the lap to take 4th. I even got a 4th place egg cup trophy for my efforts. That was too much like hard work!

The next race was better. It was the Senior cup with bikes up to 1300cc. Again, I was starting near the back but I got a great start and was getting my gear right. I flew passed a few guys and caught Steve Degnan (a mate from last year). I followed him around the back of the circuit and got right up to him coming into the mountain. I timed it just right, got on the gas and nipped in front as we went into Hall Bends. With a 1000cc, I thought he'd pass me on the straight but he never came passed. I held on to take 2nd place.

That was it for day one. Races had taken an age to get through so they were postponed until tomorrow.

Instead of eating from the burger van, Nic and I headed off to a gorgeous country pub and had Jumbo Grimsby Fish and Chips with mushy peas and a pint of beer - what a great way to finish a race day. Let's hope we have better weather for tomorrows racing though.

Phil Seton - you let me down

2007-03-20T01:50:00.000-07:00

Even with the arctic conditions, spirits were high last night and we started to put the engine back in with a new found positivity. Engine slotted in, new crash bungs went on (very nice vortex ones - lets see if we can keep them nice!), airbox, radiator, exhaust.....

About 45 minutes later we looked at each other - "Go on then, start her up"....

The engine burbled into life and we smiled and congratulated each other.

I started to recall how last time, I'd stood there, blipping the throttle, smiling to myself until I stared down and saw oil pouring out.

"There's oil pouring out!"
"Yeah - it must have been a pisser"
"No, I mean mean there's oil pouring out NOW!"
"WHAT!!"

Yep - for the second time, we had rebuilt the bike, only to find that Phil had let us down again. This time the error was pretty simple and avoidable. He had misaligned the cam chain tensioner gasket and it was leaking. I won't bore you with the new swear words I thought up.

To be fair to Phil, he's done all he could to rectify each problem. He holds his hands up and admits they should never have happened in the first place, but given that we live at opposite ends of the country, he has done all he could to rectify both problems and that means everything. Phil - you messed up big style, but your still a top bloke.

The suggested procedure for rectifying this would be to take everything off the top of the engine (petrol tank, airbox, valves) and then remove the cam cover and tackle it from there. Luckily, Scott was able to shortcut this procedure and we removed the gasket pretty quickly. The gasket wasn't looking too pretty, considering it should be a spanky new one (I paid £370 for the engine refresh remember!) but it was positioned correctly and backed up by some extra sealant and put back together.

So with another top up of oil, we were ready to go

This time the starting of the engine wasn't met with cheers, just anticipation....

We ran it for 5 minutes and saw no further leaks. "She's good to go" said Scott... "Cheer up mate - you're going racing!" I was happy, but completely absorbed by the fact that I had lost confidence in the engine. An oil leak in the garage is one thing, but an oil leak at 150mph is something completely different. I was trusting my life in Phil's hands and from what had happened up to now, that wasn't really a safe place to be.

The bike was wheeled into the van and I headed home

Today, with the snow falling, I'll be phoning up to pay my £300 entrance fee for this weekends racing. I'll be sleeping in the van, with my wife, and the bike, with temperatures just above freezing. I just hope the weekend goes well so that I remember why I do it. Why I put myself through so much stress and pour in so much money into something so demanding.

Then I think of the feeling of winning, and I just want to get out there and do it again!

Tonight's the night

2007-03-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've still not got it in! (insert joke here)

The engine is still not in the bike - but tonight's the night.

It was meant to be in over a week ago but Scott's flat out so it was postponed to last Thursday - but Scott was still flat out

He's promised me we'll do it tonight, even though he'll still be - flat out!

It's still a case of keeping fingers crossed to see if the engine runs okay without puking its guts out. If its okay, I'll be putting in a very late entry into this weekends Cadwell clash. I feel so unprepared its untrue. I wonder how Rossi would get on if he didn't sit on a race bike between Valencia and Qatar? Yeah, you're probably right... well lets just hope I do as well as him then.

On a cheery note, I forgot to share my end of season trophy picture with you. Nothing like a bit of ego massaging eh! Check out the HeadRacing hoodie.

...and breathe!

2007-03-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to relax a little now. We did all we could to get the bike ready for the first race of the season, but it just wasn't to be.

The engine was sent back down to Phil Seton in Colchester and he got to work on it right away. He had to helicoil the bolt hole, so fingers crossed it'll be okay.

The weather for the race at Elvington was a bit crap, but I still wanted to be there rather than watching World SuperBikes on TV. A potential 25 points lost already!

The engine was sent back up - but instead of going up to Scotts, it came to my house - so my neighbour ended up taking it in for me while I was at work! When I knocked on the door that night, Tim didnt seem too pleased to have a dirty pallet with a cling wrapped engine stuck in the middle of the hall - then I had to get him to help me carry it round to the garage. Another race fan lost!

And there it still stands, in the garage. Scott is flat out at his workshop at the moment so the engine will have to wait until next week to get put back in.

On the plus point - I managed to successfully do my fibreglass repair to the body work. It looks a little bodged but at least its strong enough to take another fall!
I'll get some silver hammerite on it and it'll look fine ;-)

So fingers crossed everything goes okay next week. I can't wait to race it again.

...and kicking...and kicking...

2007-03-01T04:39:00.000-08:00

So... after a 1hour 45minute lunch break trying unsuccessfully to buy putoline syntec 4+ oil, I finished work at 6pm and headed up to Scotts to solve the oil leak problem

It was nearly 7:30 by the time we'd got round to looking at the engine but 20 minutes later we had found the problem. A bad seal on the ignition plug cap.

50minutes later I was on my way and thought I'd ring Phil Seton to tell him the good news. Phil told me that he didn't understand the problem and would talk to Scott to clarify what had been the root problem. I trundled back home, 20miles away.

As I approached Tynemouth, the phone rang - "turn round mate - we've not solved it!!"

I bit my lip and tuned the van round and back up the A19. As it turns out, there must be something else leaking to get oil into that chamber so that needed investigating.

I reached Scotts at about 9:30pm and set about taking off the rocker cover. No sign of a bad seal, but further investigation found a loose bolt. Phew - we just needed to tighten that up and all would be well... err, no!

The bolt had been stripped and wouldn't tighten at all. Sure enough, one small tug on it and out came the bolt, thread and all.

So it was back on the phone to Phil and we agreed that it needed to be shipped back to him to solve. That meant another 40minutes of stripping the bike down, draining the oil and taking the engine out, ready to be shipped down to Colchester - again!

The crux of this means that I will now not be racing at the opening round at Elvington this weekend. Not the way I wanted to start the season and its left me with a strange empty and gloomy feeling inside.

All that effort to get the engine refreshed and this happens. Something good needs to happen soon or I'll be out of racing forever. And that thought leaves me cold.

When life kicks you in the nuts - and won't stop

2007-02-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

I have never wanted to pack in this racing lark more. In fact the way that I feel right now, I'm not sure I've ever wanted to pack in this life lark more! Let's stick to the racing side of things though eh!

Finally the engine made it to Phil Seton, with great thanks to Mark at Dynapro. Then Phil did his magic on the engine and charged me accordingly - wow, an engine with nothing wrong with it costs a ridiculous amount of money!! Then the stress begins...

I spent an age trying to find a cheapish courier to get my engine back up the country and eventually found someone who would do it for £53. It was due to be delivered on Friday, giving me one full weekend with Scott to get the bike sorted. That was, until Scott told me that he had plans for the weekend - how dare he ;-) Then Friday came and went and the engine didn't turn up.. stress was starting to increase

So on Saturday, I had to drive up to Cramlington to pick the engine up - but at least they did it free of charge. Monday morning came and time to get the bike in the van, ready to take it to Scotts. That's when I realised some low-life scum had tried to screwdriver the lock on the van and ended up smashing the window to nick my cassette player fascia - what the bloody hell use is that to them?

Scott got me a window replacement for £20 and we got that fitted sharpish. The engine went in, the rad back on, the exhaust on... right then, lets fill her up with oil and get her running... oh bugger - no oil!!

So I took it back home assuming that all would be fine. The next day I filled her up with oil, fitted the batteries, put in some petrol and kept my fingers crossed as I fired her up.

Bliss - the soothing sound of a burbling 4-stroke

A minute passed - the engine idled nicely... I smiled

I stopped smiling... quickly

Oil was pouring off the front of the engine. I reached over and hit the kill switch and looked at the 5 minute old, fresh golden oil, pouring onto the garage floor....... shit!

Many phone calls later and an attempt with crappy tools to find out where the oil is coming from and quickly a decision is made that I need to go back up to Scotts the following day - that's today - to get it sorted.

So at lunchtime I headed out to buy more oil. I reach the shop and I'm greeted with a sign "back in 30 minutes". I wait.... for 45 minutes, with virtually not one of them passing without uttering a swear word. Eventually I head to Kawasaki motorcycles as they do Putoline oil as well.

They've run out!

Which brings me to 3pm on the Wednesday before the first race of the season and life could be better.

If all this seems trivial, it's because in the scheme of things it is, but unfortunately its backed up with many things that are not trivial and as a result I'm almost void of motivation. Something needs to change for the better and quick, if I am to continue with the ongoing hassle of racing.

I'll let you know how that turns out.

Winter blues

2007-02-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

It seems like an age since I was tearing up Cadwell Park and drinking the victoy champagne and since that gorgeous October day, I've pretty much done bot all with the bike.

Scott helped me (aka he did it on his own) take the engine out and Mark from DynoPro offered to get it down to Phil Seton to check it over. However 3 weeks went by before Mark and I were able to meet up and as I understand it, the engine still hasn't quite got to Phil yet. I've been told not to stress about it, so I'm placing all my trust in Phil and trying to be chilled about the fact that I now have 3 weeks before my first race of 2007!!!

Before then, I need to buy some new clutch plates and an NCR engine cover. I also want to put new fork oil in the forks... oh, and repair the fibre glass bodywork and fit the chain adjusters. Oh god - I' can feel myself starting to stress again!

Jan 20th was the Auto66 annual Gala. It was a really good night (the hotel was average, the food was okay and the drinks were over-priced). It was great to see everybody again and have a good chat over a few beers. Nice to pick up the 3rd place award after a long hard 2006

Things did go downhill when the strippers arrived though - especially since one of them was male - what the bleedin 'ell was Mr Hillerby thinking? The school disco was also really crap! How can DJ's still get away with playing 70's and 80's MegaMixes? We still danced until 2am though which meant some of us were a little worse for wear the following day...

Very attractive :-)

The exercise regime was going pretty well, until this week. Its amazing how easy it is to slip out of it and start doing nothing again. Gotta get fit so that I can concentrate on the racing rather than the breathing!

So that just leaves me to say - watch this space to hear whether the bike does make it back together for the 4th March - fingers crossed.

Round 15 - Cadwell Park 15th October

2006-12-22T01:55:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T01:33:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T01:22:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T01:03:00.000-08:00

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.

Round 9 - Teesside Autodrome 16th July

2006-08-30T01:19:00.000-07:00

After sleeping outside the track, I awoke to find that about 10 racers had arrived while I was sleeping and taken up most of the tiny Teesside paddock. I grabbed a spot and set up.

Then it was time to find out what the track was like so I walked round it, twice. It’s so ridiculously twist in parts that it should really be used for racing anything with more than 50bhp.

Because nobody had ridden round the track before we got 2 practice sessions and then 2 qualifying races per event. After calculating my tyre situation I decided that 1 qualifying session per event would be enough and promptly got changed and watched the other riders belt round, safe in the knowledge that I would be on the front row with my first qualifying times. This decision was also based on the fact that it was about 100 degrees and I was feeling a bit faint.

From the front row, I got an okay start in the rookie trophy race and was soon in second position. Normally Ben manages to just pull out a few tenths here and a few more there and starts to disappear but at this track I was staying right on him. Then on the run in to the twisty section I got better drive and managed to beat him into the first corner, tight left-hander. I managed to hold him off as he tried to put a move on me in the twisty section and again got good drive onto the back straight. Powering back towards the twisty section I braked hard, set the bike up nicely for the tight left-hander and leant it in.

Half way round this corner there are two rather severe bumps that you just have to ride through. Up until now, the bike had coped with them but this time they unsettled the front enough for it to break traction and down I went, sliding out into the scrub land. I tried to pick up the bike and restart it but it wouldn’t. Another DNF!

I wheeled the bike back to the pits and felt like I was going to collapse. Sweat was dripping from my whole body and I thought it was going to shut down.

As it turns out, it was lucky I didn’t set off again as the crash had loosened the brake banjo bolt and brake fluid had leaked out causing front brake failure. This is when Scott gets his "best friend" award as he nonchalantly started to fix the brake. Together we bled the brake with new fluid until it was back to normal. I had missed the clubmans trophy race but it looked like I would make the rookie points race.

However when Scott went out for his Open race, my body just couldn’t function properly and I thought I was going to faint again. Slowly I took off the fairing and removed all the scrub land from the engine and belly pan. I put it all back together and got ready for the race. However as I pulled in to the holding area, I realized all the other bikes had already gone onto the track and were finishing their warm up lap. I pleaded with the marshal to let me join at the back of the grid but he wouldn’t and all I could do was watch as they set off without me. Another no score for my rookie championship – for the sake of 30 seconds!

After drinking lots of water to regain my voice (after the 5 minute swear and shouting fest I had) I got ready for the last race of the day, the clubmans points race. It was important to try and put my crash behind me and I managed to get a good start and allowed the bike to ride through the bumps that had previously caused my crash. Starting from the back of the grid after my DNS trophy race, I worked through the small turnout to finish a respectable 4th.

I left this place feeling very low. Those 30 seconds could cost me dearly when it comes to totting up points at the end of the season – we shall see!

Round 8 - Cadwell Park 18th June

2006-08-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

It was meant to be a relaxing day, the day before the race, but it didn't turn out that way!

I needed new brake pads as the others were badly worn. Luckily I had a spare pair so set about fitting them. First pair fitted, second pair...wrong type! Here we go again.

So then it was a 50mile round trip to try and find a correct pair of EBC brake pads. How hard could it be?

Very!

Louth - No
Cleethorpes - No
Grimsby - No

Scott told me he'd get some in Newcastle and bring them down but I could rest until they were in my hand. Which at around 8pm, they were. Stress attack over.

There was another huge turnout as there always is at Cadwell and some of the bikes were looking seriously tasty. Luckily most of them had no Auto66 points so they'd be behind me on the grid for the qualifyer.

Both qualifying races went well but there were some seriously quick guys who left me for dead.

In the trophy race I managed to get a 3rd in the rookies and 4th in the Clubmans. I was well chuffed. 10 weeks after breaking my shoulder and everything that had happened in the last couple of days and I was still able to pull it out of the bag and get a trophy (and cadwell cap!). The day would be a success whatever happened now.

The points races were hard work but I was happy with my riding. After some close battles and a few "moments", I managed to bring it home in 5th in the rookie race and then 8th in the formula race.

For the first time in ages I had had an eventful day with no mishaps. Racing felt good again.

Trackday - Cadwell Park 16th June

2006-08-29T02:22:00.000-07:00

So this is it, my return to the track after a 10 week lay-off with my broken shoulder, back here at Cadwell Park where it all happened. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong so that I can get my confidence back.

I'm here because I have an Auto66 race here in two days time and I want to get some time on the bike before mixing it with the big boys again.

Tyre warmers on, battery charger on, fuel in, oil level good. Brand new tyres on. We're ready.

The usual briefing takes place and then its on the bike for the sighting laps.

Lap one... This is a good pace to scrub my tyres in. Gradually increase the speed and lean angle

Lap two... Feeling good, increase speed and lean angle a bit further. tyres feeling good

Lap three... right then, lets give it a bit of full throttle. Slow down to create a gap in the convoy of bikes, give it some.... mmmm, that adrenilin rush is back. Feeling good. Another gap, another bit of full throttle and a bit more lean, all the way round Chris's curve. Then settle down towards the end of the lap ready to pull in....

...whats this guy want, waving and pointing? I turn round to see smoke bellowing out of my bike. With just one corner left, I decide to carry on and leave the track as normal. Last corner and "WOOOOHHH", the back end comes flying round and nearly has me off. I ride at a snails pace up the exit road and into the paddock. Stop and look at the bike.

Holy mother of god!

The bike has oil dripping from every panel. The bike is coated in it!

The bike is stripped and eventually we find out that there are two rubber seals on the oil filter. The old one had remained stuck in place when I replaced the filter this week and as a result there was no seal, resulting in approximately 2.5 litres of hot oil being sprayed over the entire bike. I was lucky to have stayed on - Very VERY lucky.

So this was my first time out on the bike after breaking my shoulder at this very circuit! Not the best way to gain confidence.

It took me about 3 hours to clean the bike with the help of friendly riders and their cleaning products. My tyres were now not only new but has absorbed a shocking amount of oil. After a few laps of the car park to make sure they wouldn't throw me off at the first opportunity I went back on track - for 5 minutes.

I came back in, happy that the bike was safe and went straight to (100% bike suspension) Colin for a bit of suspension help. He had a tweak and then it was back out again. It felt better and I pushed harder and then came back in to compose myself for one last decent session at the end of the day.

Time to see if the gixxer thou boys next to me were really as good as they sounded when I had listened to them throughout the day.

Out we go, with me following them. Build up the pace slowly letting them get away a touch. Right then - lets give it some....

1 lap later, I had passed them, a couple of other guys and left them for dead. I felt happy with my performance. But just to bring me back down to earth, I was passed by some REALLY fast guys and I just couldn't catch them. Oh well, lets pretend they're British Superstock boys - maybe they were?

So a mixed day. I thanked my lucky stars I was still in one piece and headed of to a nearby pub for a much needed beer. Bring on Sundays race!

Round 7 - Elvington 28th May

2006-08-24T04:57:00.000-07:00

Yet another missed round.

My shoulder is feeling much much better but I didn't want to risk falling on it as I know its not quite right.

The next round is Cadwell (where I fell off) so I really want to go there and confront my demons.

We'll see...

Round 6 - Elvington 7th May

2006-08-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Another missed round and now I'm well down the order in the championship.

My main thought is whether to pack in the championship this year, get back to full fitness and then do the rookie championship again next year - or whether to think, sod it, jump back on when you're ready and do as good as you can.

Not bothered about not racing at Elvington but I do want to be on the bike racing.

Decisions decisions...

Round 5 - Croft 22nd April

2006-08-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

I REALLY REALLY wanted to race at this event.

I was so pissed off I couldnt even bear to go to the event.

Looking at the results, I know I'd have done well here

Gutted!

Round 4 - Elvington April 16th

2006-08-24T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to this race... but only as a spectator!

It hurt not to be out there with the rest of them. Watching my championship position dwindle.

This is the depressing side of racing.

Round 3 - Cadwell Park 2nd April

2006-08-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

My god its a long way from Tynemouth. Luckily we'd stopped over in Sheffield and continued on from there on Saturday afternoon. We set up and settled down for the night.

The next day the weather was looking threatening but mainly managed to stay dry.

Simon Raynor, John Lydamore and Rob Hoyles were there as well as the Handley brothers. This was going to be tough.

Again, practice and qualifying went well enough but it quickly became apparent that I didn't have the pace to run with the frontrunners (Jon/Rob/Si).

The last qualyfying race was a wet one and my first time on wets. I did okay but some of the other riders managed to find parts of the track that are best left undiscovered.

Onto the points race and I was hanging with the front guys, at least for the first lap! Then after another lap of holding station I decided to push a little bit harder. Unfortunately this coincided with a slight drizzle coming down.

The gap was definitely closing and this added extra incentive to keep pushing. Unfortunately I should have settled for my 3rd spot as I managed to highside out of mansfields. And it was a biggy. Big enough for the race to be red-flagged.

I told the medics that I remained concious throughout, and I believe I did, but it was a bit fragmented. I remember the back tyre loosing grip and me shutting off, then I dont really remember the next bit until I hit the ground and then I just remember being on the floor and trying to crawl to safety and not being able to. I guess its something my brain doesn't want to remember.

Anyway, off in the ambulance to the medical centre and a nice lie down to answer lots of stupid questions. Meanwhile Nic was having kittens as she hadn't seen the crash and couldnt get any information about what had happened. Finally I got a message to her and she made her way to the medical centre. That was my time to relax and go very pale and faint. My vision then when very wierd and I thought I was going to pass out. However I managed to pull myself together and 30 minutes later I was on my was with suspected bruising and potential ligament damage.

The pain meant that I couldn't drive and the painkillers meant I couldnt stay awake.

Nic drove the white beast all the way back to Tynemouth (stopping at the Wetherby Whaler of course)... bless her

The next day the X-ray showed that I had cracked my shoulder blade in a "very rare and impressive way"... oh good!

So that was me out for at least 2 months, longer if Dad gets his way

Arse! The only compensation was being awarded 3rd place with the bizarre count back rule.

Round 2 - Elvington 19th March

2006-08-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

I don't remember much about this day except for struggling with the bumps again and loosing lots of time trying to settle the bike down.

After pretty good qualifying I managed a 4th in the rookie race.
The clubmans race was a great race and I was knuckling down when all of a sudden my bike gave up the ghost. As it turns out, it was a disconnected battery terminal. What a bugger!

So no points from this race, I'd have to make up for that next time at Cadwell Park. Finally a decent track to see if I was really any good.

The first race weekend - March 4th/5th

2006-08-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

What a nightmare introduction to the world of motorcycle racing.

We awoke to see a crisp layer of snow on the ground and thought that the weekend would definitely be cancelled. That was my introduction to the money grabbing mentality of the race organisers. If there was a way to get us out on the track, they would have our money in their hands.

We arrived at the circuit to see that the snow had been replaced by a covering of thick ice. Not condusive to racing. But still we waited...

...and waited...

and..well, you get the idea

Then around 12pm..."it's on!"

The convoy of trucks headed down the slowly melting ice rink towards the pit area. A quick walk around the track had me laughing nervously as there was still large sections of ice. Still, we kitted up and got our machines ready and then low and behold we were waved out.

Once we realised that the track was now 95% ice free we started to open up the machines little by little. After 10 minutes I had the following thought..."I HATE THIS PLACE"

Elvington is a half tarmac, half concrete track laid out at the end of the runway. It has cracks along its length, with grass sprouting through in places, drain covers bumps galour. It aint donington!

I ended the day very happy with the power of my bike but worried about the suspension as I was being bounced out of my seat on the tracks two most critical corners (leading onto the straight). Oh well, lets see what tomorrow brings.

After journeying back to Harrogate to avoid frostbite overnight, we travelled back to the track early the next day and the conditions where fine.

Practice went okay and qualifying went even better. Well the rookie race did but the clubmans qualyfying saw me fall on a patch of oil left by the sidecars (3 wheeled plonkers). Still, no real damage. The rookie trophy race was the perfect start to the season. I won my first ever race!! [note, as the season stands, this was also my last race victory!]. On to the points race and I came second. Confidence was high until it was brought back down with a 6th place.

Overall though, a good day and I was hooked! Bring on event 2