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On this page:...
Preparation - then racing.
Preparation - January/February 2001
Lydden - 3rd/4th March 2001
Brands Hatch - 18th March 2001
Snetterton - 21st April 2001
Brands Hatch GP circuit - 12th/13th May 2001
Snetterton - 27th May 2001
Oulton Park - 30th June 2001
Mallory Park - 1st July 2001
Cadwell - 21st/22nd July 2001
Brands - 11th August 2001
Lydden - 6th / 7th October 2001
It started before Christmas with the arrival of the spare wheels. I went down to the (damp and cold) shed to liberate a fastener from one of the disks on the bike so that I could measure it. I aim to get some new fasteners at the Road ‘n’ Race show.
Then I noticed how dirty the bike was….. so the cleaning began. Before it got dark, I’d got a fair way through the cleaning.
I’ve also done some of the fibre glass repair work. The lower fairing had only one nasty crack in it, so that was straight forward. The upper fairing had a total of five cracks, one of which was a major split down the front next to the number.
I mixed up some Isopon 40 (?) fibre glass repair stuff but needed some wooden blocks and g-clamps to pull the fairing back into shape whilst it set. So, you can guess what happened when I took the clamps off. Well,…… eventually I managed to prise the blocks off of the fairing!
The Isopon is a sort of pink colour, so I’ll have to sort out some white paint. I don’t think it’ll look the thing of beauty that it once did.
Just back from the show at Ally Pally. Very distressed at having to spend money. New Arai (managed to get an old colour scheme a bit cheaper) with the up to date ACU gold badge and I got some better gloves. Bought some brake disk bolts - but that was enough, couldn't bring myself to part with more wedge!
Only a week to go to the first meet now. I feel pretty ready. I'll be running number 49. I bought my wets last week but still have to get them fitted. I started the bike, filled the shed with smoke - so that seems ok. Ready to roll.
Drove down on Friday evening, but it was slow going on the M25 – mainly due to the volume of traffic and the snow!
I hadn’t covered the bike because it was dry and clear when we left. Of course, when we arrived at the circuit, the bike was filthy.
Saturday started cloudy and cold. At scrutineering I got a warning about fitting a lower chain guard for the next meeting at Brands. This looks like a hassle to fit as it’ll probably mean drilling and tapping holes into the bottom of the swinging arm.
Cold for practice. I did two sessions of four laps each. The ambient temperature of 2 degrees Centigrade didn’t encourage heroics, so it was just a matter of re-adjusting to the bike. (8 miles)
Race 1 Row 6. Just as I got to the collecting area, the race on track was red flagged. We seemed to wait for ages to get out onto the track. We did a sighting lap, then a warm-up lap (ho, ho). I got a mediocre start and spent the first couple of laps warming up the tyres. I was very slow at first but felt a little confidence coming on the approach to Paddock, and I even managed to get the line right once at the hairpin. I spent most of the race behind Eric Gorridge, who in turn was behind Garry Stephens. Two laps from the close, Ron Fry, Neil McLoughlin and Bill Philp charged past (good flag marshalling), followed by Jason Holland and a couple of others.
By the end I felt I was getting back into the rhythm, but there’s a long way to go yet. 24th out of 27 finishers was a disappointment, and a lap time of 52.45 isn’t startling. But then it was the first race of the year and nearly freezing. (14 miles).
Race 2 Row 6. Mediocre start again. Felt as though I was running reasonably well with the same group as in the first race. About six of us. Garry at the front to start with and me at the back. I started to settle down and make progress, passing Eric on the drive out of Paddock after I’d gone into the Elbow in the wrong gear and he’d passed me on the run up to the hairpin. Then, on lap eight, the bike wouldn’t pull at all coming out of Paddock. It felt as though it’d run out of petrol, although I’d checked it before the race. I coasted to a halt at Chessons and discovered that I couldn’t push the bike off the track! The marshals rushed over, lifted the bike and I ran for the tyre wall. It transpired that the front brake had seized on. After a trip in the van and the marshals very kindly carrying the bike back to the motorhome, I got to work stripping the brakes. Best lap 52.47. (10 miles).
Sunday 4th March
I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon messing around with the front brake callipers trying to make sure the pistons were as free as possible. On Sunday morning I’d got to the point where all but one of the pistons could be pushed into the callipers with finger pressure alone. When the final piston wouldn’t move freely, I decided to pump it out. Sure enough the dust seal had split and got trapped between the piston and the calliper, restricting its movement. I canvassed opinion in the paddock and decided to bin the dust seal as the fluid seal was in good condition.. I bled the brakes, but the wheel still didn’t seem as free as it should.
Race 3 Row 6. Poor start. Lost quite a few places going in to Chessons. Then I got hold of myself and tagged onto the ususal group. I felt as though I was making better lap times and was surprised coming out of Chessons on lap four (?) to find someone lying on the track. The posse went left, I went right and passed them all (by accident!). I held the position (14th?) until coming into the Elbow on the next lap when I hit a false neutral instead of a gear. Two came under me and a third passed me on the run up to the hairpin. I noticed the bike didn’t pull properly out of the hairpin and sure enough, on the main straight, the front brake seized again. I pulled off at Chessons and got some stick from the marshals and the recovery team. The scrutineer voiced an opinion about a dodgy master cylinder. David Tyler (R1 Powerbike) offered me a spare, so I fitted it. I was still bleeding the system when my last race was called, so I missed it. (6 miles).
I took the opportunity of borrowing Vince's drill to put some holes in the swinging arm for the lower chain guard. I'm sure Vince leaves his drill switched into reverse just to make me look silly! Anyway, I broke his 3mm drill bit as revenge.
I’ve now had the opportunity to fully strip the master cylinder and it seems perfect. I’ll fully strip the callipers at the weekend.
Well, I stripped the whole thing including splitting the calipers. It's rebuilt now and seems ok. There was no definite really obvious cause for the problems - there was some metal machining swarf in one caliper (could have blocked the fluid return when the lever was released).
I fitted the lower chain guard too. All looking good so far for Brands next Sunday.
Brands Hatch - 18th March 2001
Drove down on Saturday afternoon and whilst it was dry for part of the journey, it soon turned to heavey rain, that lasted all night, once we'd arrived.
Sunday morning was very wet and sleety. I decided to wrestle with the bike to change to wets before going over to scrutineering (which was at the far end of pit lane due to building work in the paddock). All went ok, but I felt mildly panicked.
Practice - Wet and raining. I did four laps just feeling my way with the wet tyres and the rebuilt brakes. The brakes didn't feel quite as sharp as they use to. They felt better by the end of the session - or perhaps I just felt less nervous of them. The wet tyres felt good. I came in thinking that so long as it stays wet I'll be ok and if it goes damp, I'm in trouble. (5 miles)
Race 1. Row 7 - Wet race. Must have been a bad start as about six bikes came past me off the line! It looked like there were a fair few fallers during the race - lots of yellow flags. It felt as though I passed a lot of people - the wets were really good, giving loads of confidence. I'd been quizzing other racers about braking, etc. on wets and they live up to all the praise. The bike ran well and I could get onto the power out of Clarke Curve earlier than a lot of people by letting the revs drop to 7,000 in third and just letting the engine pull itself all the way through the corner. With good early drive and manic braking into Paddock I could just about keep ahead of more powerful machines.
13th out of 31 finishers. Best lap 1.03.82 (13 miles)
That lap time was better than the best of the two people who finished in front of me, so with a better start, I could have been 11th. Well pleased with the result - best yet in SS400.
Race 2. Row 4! - I spent some considerable time leading up to the race trying to make the right tyre choice. There was a drying line on the track but black clouds kept blowing in. I went for dry tyres. Turned out to be the right choice - but you wouldn't know it from the results!
I got a poor start from a damp grid. The tyres needed at least a couple of laps to get up to temperature. The damp parts of the track were causing me concern - not too much opportunity for over-taking off line. Several people surprised me when coming past, but I had a few good dices. I was with a group of four when I got the raw end of a back marker coming into Graham Hill Bend. I lost twenty yards on the group. Then we started the last lap and I had a big rear end slide when putting the power down out of Graham Hill Bend. I finished 25th of 32 finishers. Best lap of 1.00.82 (13 miles)
All in all, a top day that I thoroughly enjoyed. Roll-on Snetterton!
Special thanks at Brands go to Sue (for general support, putting up with me, team tea and food, and helping with wheel changes), Tom and Olly (for mechanical support and bike cleaning), Vince and Vicki (for general entertainment - hitting me on the head with a caravan, looking after my wheels and giving Olly another bike to clean).
...............
I noticed at Brands, when I came to drain the coolant, that the level had dropped. It seems unlikely that
the engine could have got so hot that it would have boiled a significant amount of water off, so I’ve
started to look for a leak. The pipe joining the water pump to the rad looked a likely candidate as there
were water marks on the exhaust under the pump. However, running the bike up to temperature
revealed no leak. The water marks could have come off of the chain since it was wet at Brands. Have to
see how it goes.
I noticed, when fiddling about, that the tow-bar mounting on the back of the motorhome has a couple
of cracks in it! Took it off and tried to weld it up. Have to see how that goes too. Never any shortage of things to fix.
I'm glad that I'd prepared the bike before the Easter holiday weekend. After four months
of searching, I finally found the source of the (hopefully) last remaining leak in the
motorhome. What I hadn't realised was that the entire over-cab bed area was in fact an
indoor swimming pool (cunningly disguised as lino over rotten plywood). Took me the best
part of three full days to rip out the old and install the new. The leak was from a poorly
sealed front window in the over-cab area.
The chaos started early this time. Joining the M25 at the A3, we lost the bike off the back of the motorhome! Thanks to all the people who helped me out on the motorway: the other drivers who avoided running it over; the driver who stopped to push it to the side of the slow lane; the lorry driver who helped me pick it up; and the police who helped me lift it back onto the motorhome.
Spent a late night fixing the damage (broken peg, lever, screen, bent clip-on). Got to bed at about 1:30am Saturday morning (race day) and found I couldn't sleep, despite being shattered.
At least the weather looked better on Saturday morning - until I started to push the bike down for scrutineering - started to rain then, of course.
Practice - Track was wet, so I just wobbled around for a few laps. The forecast for the rest of the day was good. (8 miles).
Race 1. Row 7 - Nice dry track, ok-ish start. Very crowded through Riches and Sears - real trouble not running into people. Someone on a Kwack was leaning on me through Riches which freaked me a bit. The field soon spread out (because of the long straights). I managed to catch and pass a couple of people (braking for the Esses and Russells). With two laps to go I was catching Peter Kimber and I saw him look over his shoulder as we came onto the Revett Straight. He then started to edge away from me. Jason Holland lapped me through Corams on the last lap.
26th of 34 finishers. Best lap 1.29.16. (24 miles).
The Bomb Hole
Race 2. Row 7 - Felt a bit more confident now. The first two corners seemed busy again (surprise). I felt as though I settled down and made some reasonable passes early on. I managed to scare myself passing someone at Riches when I missed my turn-in point. That lack of concentration, control and confidence summed-up the day really. Then the field strung out and it was lonely in mid-race. There were a few drops of rain at Corams towards the end of the race, but not enough to worry about. I didn't get lapped this time.
22nd of 27 finishers. Best lap 1.29.00. (24 miles).
Corams
Corams again
Well, didn't get a good start to the weekend, but I was beginning to enjoy myself by the end. The lap times are very disappointing as I've done a 1.26.21 last year.
Thanks to the family for helping out in a big way over a difficult weekend - especially Tom for running up and down the M25 helping retrieve the bike, my dad for the use of his garage and assistance, and Sue for full-time support.
I'm hoping Brands will be better! I enjoyed myself at the GP circuit last year.
Realistically, I was very lucky that the bike didn't get run over on the motorway - that could have ended the season. It was also all easily repairable damage - could have been so much worse.
Brands Hatch GP - 12th 13th May 2001
Practice
Straight out onto the GP circuit. Excellent. The hot weather meant the tyres felt good
immediately. Unfortunately, I wasn't concentrating hard enough to test myself in the corners,
so I'll have to make it up as I go along as usual! Felt confident that I could beat last
years lap times as that was the first time on this bike and the weather wasn't that great.
Race 1. Row 8
The lights caught me by surprise, but the start still wasn't too awful. I felt settled quickly,
helped by the confidence in the tyres on the warm track. On lap 5 I tipped it into Druids and
the exhaust hit the deck, lifting the rear wheel. There was an undignified slide but the bike
landed ok and gripped. I knew what it was as soon as it happened.
I settled back down and managed to pass several people I normally have trouble with, so I knew
I was going ok.
18th of 32 finishers. Best lap 1.48.60 - ten seconds faster than last year!
Clarke Curve
I was really hot and tired when I got back to the paddock. I immediately set about adjusting
the rear shock pre-load to jack the back end up a bit. There was a minor panick when some of
the damping oil escaped (don't ask!) - but eventually I got there.
Race 2. Row 5
The breeze had got up noticeably. Nice to start from row 5 but, of course, I knew that
everyone in front of me had gone faster in race 1. Not a bad start I think, but I probably
didn't make up many places. I was a bit too busy to tell. It was hard work pulling the bike
down into Westfield against the breeze. I followed Ron Fry for a couple of laps and was
impressed with his smooth riding. I thought I might be able to pass him into Druids, so
when we got the 'last lap' flag I went for it. A back marker almost scuppered the plan
and I had to go deeper on the brakes than usual to make the pass. It worked but the
excitement of passing someone I know is a much better racer than me meant my riding went to
pieces! I was scrappy all the way to the finish but kept the place.
20th of 35 finishers. Best lap 1.51.37
Brilliant day, brilliant weather, brilliant!
Surtees - following Peter Kimber and Les Holloway
Sunday
Race 1. Row 8
Long delays before the race due to oil slicks (sidecar practice) and then a big startline incident in the 600s. So, we were first race of the day after the clearing-up.
To say the racing line was a mess is a major understatement. Maybe I'm just a bit of a sensitive petal.
I was a bit slow off the line and was completely engulfed in a dust cloud at Paddock. I must have been nearly last as we came out of Druids. I didn't feel quick, but managed to start to pass a few people. Unfortunately, my favourite passing places were a bit dodgy due to cement dust. I made the most of Surtees however, and passed one bike on the brakes as if it were going backwards - I was well chuffed with that move - best bit of the race.
The race was cut to five laps due to the delays.
In an effort to catch Jason Rose on the last lap I ran over the kerbs at Dingle Dell which was a bit scary. I still didn't catch him.
29th of 37 finishers. Best lap 1.51.62
Race 2. Row 8
Poor start. Got swamped into Paddock again! Bill Packer flew past me on the outside, but I knew I'd have the inside at Druids. I also went passed Juliet Manning on the brakes. Good drive out of Surtees got me passed Darren Groves on the way down Pilgrims Drop but I was surprised that Juliet powered past me again before braking for Hawthorns. Big horses in that bike. As we entered Hawthorns I saw the red flags.
Were we held at Stirlings for five minutes while they cleared the wreckage from a coming-together between Adam Rose and Phil Polden at Paddock. I'd seen nothing - I was probably too far back!
We did another warm-up lap and then re-started. I slotted into a group headed by Eric Gorridge and had a fair old dice with Oliver Goodfellow (VFR400). I remember him passing me at Dingle Dell, then I must have re-passed him somewhere, 'cos, on the following lap, my bike bogged slightly on the drive out of Dingle Dell and he flew past my right ear into Stirlings. The last lap came too soon for me to retaliate.
23rd of 30 finishers. Best lap 1.51.80
The terrific weather helped make this a great and memorable weekend. The new toilets and showers in the paddock are a revelation - and not before time either.
Stirlings
Woke up to the sound of rain on the motorhome roof. Not what I wanted to hear. The
sociable "neighbours" had kept us up until the early hours drinking beer, so I was a bit
tired too. I got up at 7am for scrooty at 7:45, but I noticed the neighbours didn't get up
until about 8:30 !! Laid-back or wot.
Practice
I was more relaxed than usual by this point in the day. There was a bit of drizzle in the
air, but the track was dry. The bike didn't feel crisp coming out of corners on the gas
and one time through Corams at 10,000rpm it simply wouldn't accelerate at all.
When I got back to the paddock, I set about changing the plugs.
Race 1. Row 6
Made a pleasant change from row 8. The field strings out quickly at Snetterton after the
first two corners. My start was ok-ish and I soon relaxed a bit and settled into a group
with Oliver Goodfellow, Doug Lloyd and Juliet Manning who were chasing Bill Packer.
It's all a bit of a blur now. I remember passing all of these people at some point, but
Juliet could re-pass me on both straights. On one lap I managed to out-brake her on the
inside into Riches by a big enough margin to hold her off for a full lap. I was chasing
Bill Packer for most of the race but I couldn't get across the gap to him before the
finish.
22nd of 30 finishers. Best lap 1.24.30
I was surprised just how much I enjoyed the race. I'd gone to Snetterton with a poor
frame of mind, thinking I'd do badly. However, I enjoyed the race as much as any before.
Come to think of it, I really enjoyed Brands too. Perhaps my slightly better confidence on
the machine is making me feel better about the whole thing.
Race 2. Row 6
Not such an exciting race this one. Spent a fair time in the wilderness after getting clear
of a few riders on the first lap. I was having trouble at Sears with my toe and knee sliders
hitting the deck very early in the corner. Need to keep the bike a bit more upright?
Near the end of the race, I saw Mike Steele rejoining the track at the Esses out of the
corner of my eye and thought I'd keep another place until the end. Then, as I approached
Russell's, I saw Doug Lloyd had come to almost a complete standstill on the apex - must
have made a serious hash of things. This let me close up to within about twenty bike
lengths of him as we crossed the line to start the last lap. I gave it my best to close him
down and was taken by surprise as Mike Steele came past me on the Revett Straight. That was
how we finished.
21st of 29 finishers. Best lap 1.25.18
This was the first race where I've thought I could usefully use different gearing. There
was a strong breeze blowing down the start-finish straight. This meant I was only getting
into sixth just before the 300m board for Riches. On the Revett Straight the bike was
pulling 1,000rpm into the red. I could have geared for Revett and used five gears on the
front straight.
The long drive up to Oulton seemed to take forever. In fact it was only (!) six hours. For over 30 mins we were within sight of the junction we wanted on the M6 but were stuck in traffic - at 11pm!
Practice
Initial impression - scary. Lots of corners and blind crests. There was a damp patch at Old Hall that got the back stepping out and Cascades wasn't as slow as I was expecting from the notes. After the Foulston chicane I got completely lost. I managed to get out for a second practice which was a bit of a help. After I came in, I noticed that the fuel line had a slight weep where it had perished. Something to do between races.
Race 1. Position 32 (Row 8)
Bit of a shower as we were waiting in the collecting area. Confidence inspiring!
Got a mediocre start. I noticed people on the grass at Old Hall and Cascades. After two laps Les Holloway came past on the entry to Old Hall, he must have got a really duff start as he was on the fifth row. Then a VFR400 came past. Then Steve Fruin on his NSR250 came past - things weren't going well! Before Steve was able to get past the VFR, I put in a quicker lap and closed right up on them, but I started to lose ground again - I made several mistakes - down one too many gears for Knickerbrook, too slow an entry into Druids, too slow at Shell Oils.
Juliet Manning past me as we started the last lap and I had it in mind to stay close and out-brake her into Lodge, but I lost too much ground and wasn't close enough.
After the finish, six of us missed the pull-off point (because there was no marshal / flag) and got ordered up to Race Control where the Top Man (Dave Stewart) gave us a bit of a spanking. Obviously that brightened the day up somewhat! Seriously though, he just "watch the flags AND use your head".
32nd out of 35 finishers. Best lap 2.04.82
With more track knowledge the circuit would be fantastic. It's all dips and rises, tank-slapping bumps and braking whilst leaned over. A real roller-coaster.
Race two might be better.
Race 2. Position 32 (Row 8)
Better........ no. Start was ok and I felt more up for it. Into Druids Les Holloway passed me, so I latched onto him - big mistake. I was only a bike length behind as we exited Old Hall but, crucially, I was on the outside as I prepared to turn-in to Cascades. Les didn't turn in - he went straight-on. I was left with nowhere to go but the gravel trap. Thankfully I kept it upright after a lot of fish-tailing and slewing about. The wheels buried themselves about a foot deep in the gravel and the marshals had to rescue it. End of race. Turned out Les' bike had seized on the run down to Cascades and he got the clutch in just as he was about to turn in. Oh well, at least I came out of it unscathed.
Practice
Managed two sessions, but didn't feel quick. I felt I needed to do some following in the race.
Race 1. Position 29 (Row 8 - last row!)
That felt a bit more like it! I got a good start! I made up maybe six places as we went down to Gerards for the first time. During the race, Peter Kimber passed me through Devil's Elbow as did Nick Sanders with one lap to go. I followed him close into Gerards but the bike bogged and he pulled ten bike lengths on me down the back straight. I closed him on the brakes for the hairpin but wasn't close enough to pass before the flag.
22nd of 26 finishers. Best lap 1.00.12
I felt I had two major areas where I could improve for race two - entry speed to Gerards and braking for the hairpin.
Race 2. Position 22 (Row 6).
Another good start. I felt I managed to improve in both places and although Les Holloway and Nick Sanders passed me, I got them both back by getting good drive out of Gerards. I got blue flags on the last lap into the hairpin and knew Jason Holland was probably bearing down on me. I managed to fluff my gear change and got neutral, giving no drive out of the corner. I managed to keep ahead of my rivals, but Jason lapped me through the Elbow.
21st of 26 finishers. Best lap 59.60.
It wasn't until I got back to the paddock that I noticed the CDI ignition box was hanging-off the rear of the bike! It could have been nasty as the thing was dangling by its wires onto the rear hugger - could have been grabbed by the tyre if I was unlucky. The alloy sheet that it was mounted on had fractured. I'll need to do some mending before Cadwell.
I felt much better about my racing by the end of the meeting. I was a bit despondant after Oulton. I know it was my first time there, but I wanted to do better (and get more track time). I can still improve a lot at Mallory, but that was ok for a track I'd not been to for four years.
Cadwell Park - 21st/22nd July 2001
Drove up to the circuit on Friday night, arriving at aout 11:15pm. Unfortunately it was pitch dark (of course) and not having been to Cadwell before we didn't have a lot of idea on where to park-up - so we just stopped in a field near some other vans. Turned-out ok.
Saturday dawned slightly damp but breezy.
Practice
Wooooah.... Did I get a surprise at the Mountain first time around! I've never pulled a wheelie that high on a bike before. Before I could get control of it, it flashed through my mind that it might flip. I'd never expected the bike to be powerful enough for those sort of antics. More on the power (or lack there of) later.
Race 1. Position 26 (row 7)
I was taken by surprise on the grid! The lights went green before I was ready - quite what I thought I was doing I've no idea. I should have been waiting for the lights to go green of course.
Anyway, to cut a long and rather tedious story mercifully short, I got a bit hemmed-in at the first few corners and a lot of people passed me. As I tried to go faster, the bike started bogging down around 9,000rpm. Not consistently, but enough that I'd lose the tow.
23rd of 26 finishers. Best lap 1:47.96.
Luckily my mood was lightened by the visitors I received during the day. Ian Nutt and
Warwick Blenkinsop (both TZR 3XV enthusiasts) dropped by to sample the atmosphere and
generally talk about the problems of de-restricting the bike. After seeing Ian's dyno
chart showing 60bhp, I decided it'd be a good idea to put my bike on the dyno to finally
end the mystery of how much my bike makes.
Mansfield
Race 2. Position 26 (row 7)
Another poor start (not concentrating hard enough) although at least I was more ready this time. Alistair Pirie passed me on the Park straight (not sure what he was doing behind me!) and I thought I'd try to stay with him and learn something from a faster rider. That idea was short-lived when the bike immediately bogged through Chris Curve.
Next time around it bogged through Coppice and wouldn't pull through it until halfway down Park straight - now this was getting really serious!
My mood was lightened somewhat when I saw sparring partner Les Holloway have a walking speed tumble at the Mountain (on the grass) followed by some graceful rolling around on the floor - much less painful/expensive than flipping it!
28th of 29 finishers, best lap 1:50.68
The Mountain
After the race I decided to have a beer and spend the evening relaxing and stripping the carbs. The top carb was full of muck that had come through the airbox and blocked some of the air drillings. I dropped the jetting while I was in there (to try to crisp things up still further) to 330 and 320.
I then went on to drink more beer and help Vince with his clutch (ohh err).
Bed too late, headache in the morning.
Sunday
Dyno time. The bike sounded great on the dyno. So sharp you could cut yourself. However, 49.3bhp is hardly cutting edge power. I'll put the graph under the Specs section.
Race 1. Grid position 23.
Slightly better start and it was noticeably more busy through Coppice and Charlies. I spotted Les H come past on my inside into Coppice.
The bike was very crisp with no signs of bogging thankfully. I got my head down and tried to put some faster laps in. Eventually I caught Les and passed him on the run down to Coppice. I'd followed him for a while and knew I could go quicker through Charlies so this was the best place to make a pass stick.
I was pleased with my racing and felt I must be at least a second quicker than Saturday. Gutted again when I got the results sheet:
26th of 30 finishers, best lap 1:47.82
Chris Curve
Race 2. Grid position 23.
Again there was more dicing with Les and another guy on a grey VFR400. I managed to get the better of them both in the end and put some smooth laps in. I was pretty much on my own for a lot of the race and just tried to concentrate on the areas where I knew I was slow.
25th of 29 finishers, best lap 1:46.47
Nice to improve my times by a reasonable margin.
I've now got to do some thinking about this bike!
Brands Hatch - 11th August 2001
My plan for Brands was to spring a bit of a surprise and race Vince's
old RGV250. When I asked if I could borrow it, I didn't realise quite
how much work would be required to get it race ready. Vince insisted
(honest) on doing the preparation work himself and it took many hours
in the week leading up to the race to get it to a half decent state. I
did some welding on the exhausts, fixed the gear lever and fitted brake
pads but Vince did the rest.
We arrived at Brands on the Friday evening at about ten to seven and
were surprised to find the place already so busy. All of our kids were
away with relatives, so it was just me and Sue at this stage.
Vince and Vicky arrived about an hour later and after helping put their
awning up (always a pleasure) I set about the last few bits of tidying
up on the bike. After that we hit the alcohol and chocolate cake!
Saturday
The queue for scrutineering always seems to be at record levels and this
meeting was no exception. Amazingly, the old shed (bike) passed at the
first attempt.
After spilling a fair bit of fuel on the floor, we'd eventually mixed-up
enough for practice. Following several attempts at bump starting the
bike, it was noticed that the fuel hose hadn't been connected at the
tank! More fuel on the floor! When it did go, the idle was a touch
high at 4,000rpm! A sticking choke was diagnosed and fixed.
I headed-off to the collecting area with Vince following at a safe
distance on his bicycle. Whilst waiting, I noticed that turning the
bars to the right caused the revs to increase alarmingly. I mentioned
this to Vince and he went in search of some cutters to remove a cable
tie that was holding the throttle cable to the fork leg. After cutting
the tie we gave the cable a yank (yes that was YANK) to make sure the
routing was ok.
When they opened the gates to let us onto the track, I bumped the bike
and got a mighty surprise when the revs immediately soared to 11,000rpm
before I could get to the kill switch. Vince took over and had a turn -
admitting later to a probable 14,000rpm before reaching the switch!
Playing with the throttle re-settled the cable and all was back to
normal at the next bump start.
Practice
The tyres felt good straight away (Dunlop KR364s) and the power felt
ok, but not as strong as I was expecting. This bike is supposed to
have 70bhp at the wheel. It all felt a bit soft and saggy suspension-wise
and it was weaving about on the turn-in to Surtees. I was amazed at
how easily my knee went down at Paddock - I feel as if I'm trying really
hard on the TZR to do that.
On two of my laps, as I came onto the main straight, the power went
dead and the engine mis-fired at 11,000rpm in third. Each time I
changed into fourth and it pulled fine.
After the session I decided to increase the preload on the rear spring.
I mixed-up some more fuel in readiness for the first race.
Race 1, grid position 27
I didn't get a very good start - not used to the bike. Driving out
of Paddock it started to lose power and out of Druids it was really flat.
I suspected it was on one cylinder and hoped it'd clear the plug on
the bottom straight. It didn't, everyone came past and I pulled into
pit lane.
Vince was waiting and after a fiddle with the plug cap (to no avail)
we decided to return to the paddock.
I whipped the plug out and didn't like the look of what I saw - lots
of grey sludge. I had a poke about through the plug hole with a
screw-driver but couldn't find a hole in the piston.
Darren Thomas popped-over and said "I bet the skirt's broken off the
piston". So, off with its head! And guess what - loads more sludge
and, after removing the barrel, the piston was found to have no skirt
front or back.
There ended my attempt at world SS400 domination via the RGV.
I put the motor roughly back together whilst Vince went for a sulk.
Everyone had done their best to make the day a success and no-one
worked harder than Vince. Thanks mate, I appreciated the effort, but
it seems it just wasn't meant to be.
In disgrace
In bits (Vince surveys the damage I've caused)
Into the bin
Back to Yamaha.
Lydden Hill - 6th / 7th October 2001
I was in a poor frame of mind when we left home on Friday evening. I forgot
the keys to the motorhome (not the ignition key, but all the others) so we
had to turn back after three miles.
The M25 was almost at a standstill when we joined it (what's the point in
spending a fortune on these advance warning gantries on the A3 when they
leave them blank all the time instead of saying e.g. "long delays on the
M25 eastbound"?). We left at junction 9 and followed an alternative route.
Of course, we weren't the only ones with that idea!
It took five hours to reach Lydden (new record!), but we still managed to
find a good level pitch in the paddock "annexe" even though we didn't arrive
until 11:30pm.
I spent about an hour sorting the LC (water, gearbox oil, plugs, etc.) in
Vince's awning and got to bed at about 1am.
Saturday
Not raining! I was almost the first person through scrutineering and had a
leisurely breakfast.
Timed qualifying Ten minutes.
It felt a little bit strange being out on the LC again. The track was damp
in places but the Avons always seem to give confidence whatever the
conditions. I felt as though I could go reasonably quickly straight off and
there were some slower people out there.
I was in group two for qualifying, but group one had a completely dry session,
so their times were better. Ron Fry was back out on an LC (350, but like me,
his first time on an LC for ages) so I was sad to see him on his backside
at Chessons - particularly since his season had started with a nasty
high-side at the same corner.
After the session I got the times and found that I was 11th fastest in the
session out of 27, with a best lap of 54.92. I was well pleased as I was riding
the only 250LC. There were three 350LCs and the rest of the field was made
up of TZRs, RGVs, VFRs, ZXRs, etc. 3rd row for the race.
Race 1, Position 11, Row 3
I didn't get off the line well. The LC is tricky because with less than 8,000rpm
on the clock it wants to bog down. I had to take a second bite at it, so I
got swamped by the rows behind.
The first couple of laps were ok, then, as I started to push harder, the
front end started flapping. It gradually got worse and I ended up running off
the track at the exit to Chessons. I managed to brake hard whilst on the
tarmac, then used the back brake on the grass. I rejoined safely and didn't
push hard again for the final two laps.
I think my riding style needs adjusting. I was too hard on the front brake
into corners and then not hard enough on the throttle to get the weight off
the front.
23rd out of 25 finishers, best lap 54.65
Race 2
It poured with rain as the previous race sat in the collecting area and it was
still tipping when we were called. I decided on full waterproofs (but I've
no wet tyres for the LC).
I got a better start this time and found that after a couple of laps I could
pass a few people - Chessons being the best place for riding round the
outside.
I felt a couple of slides from the front at the hairpin but the backend
behaved completely. Of course, being very wet, I wasn't on the brakes so
hard so there was no flapping and slapping from the front.
I really enjoyed the race, mainly because the wet is a real challenge
(especially without wet tyres). It's also a leveller with regards to
power, and the bike behaved too.
14th of 22 finishers, best lap 1.02.62
Sunday
At 3am we were woken by the sound of Dave Heal's "tunnel" awning taking-off
and landing upside down beside us! I went out to have a look, but Dave and
co had decamped for some partying for the night and the awning was too heavy
for me to man-handle - so I went bak to bed.
At 7am we were woken again by Dave's awning blowing against the front of
the motorhome. Olly got up and helped me move it across the paddock to the
fence where it couldn't blow around anymore.
When we had a look around, there were a lot of awning casualties.
We managed to fit a new front brake disc to Vince's car between other
bits and pieces - then it was practice (for 3 laps!).
Practice
The track was almost dry. I tried my best to adapt to a new riding style.
I'm not sure what the times were like, but it felt better.
Race 1
It was just a little damp as we started our one and only race of the day.
I was positioned on the 4th row in place 15. I got a poor start - this bike
is tricky to get off the line. It has no mid-range grunt at all!
I managed to ride through a few people at Chessons, but the field so started
to string out.
My riding was definitely getting better. I only made one real big mistake.
It's Chessons that really upsets the bike and I went in too late on the
brakes on one lao and had to run a bit wide.
I spent three laps chasing down Steve Rayer on his Aprilia RS250 and on the
penultimate lap I could have forced my way through on his inside at the
Devil's Elbow. I didn't feel ready, so I backed off and decided to do it on
the next lap. Sure enough I got better drive through Chessons and comfortably
pushed up the inside into the Elbow. I just kept my head down and went as
fast as I could to the finish.
Simon Peyto passed me before the line - he won the race by 40 seconds! He shouldn't
really have been in the slower group, but he fell offin his second race on
Saturday - and it was Saturdays times that decided the grids for Sunday.
9th of 14 finishers, best lap 53.04
Another faller on Saturday was my usual sparring partner (and Simon's team
mate) Les Holloway. He followed-up a season's best qualifying of 3rd fastest
with a fall and a broken wrist in race one on Saturday.
My previous best on the bike at Lydden was a 52.23 in much better conditions.
The season's over for me now. Time to think about what to do next year. I'm
torn between riding the LC and trying to learn more about how to really
ride properly (I'm sure I could learn more on the LC as it demands a very
precise riding technique) or looking for more power for the TZR (or the
unthinkable - giving-up for a year to concentrate on photography). Anyway,
I've got plenty of time to decide.
Do come back to follow the decision making process.
home to SBR....