Well, the challenge was to get out there at all after the fateful Brands trackday brought me an engine failure. It was pulled apart and a few not so pleasant things were found inside – I’ve posted the full story here http://www.ypmrc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34&start=20 if you’re interested in the inner workings of a 20 year old engine!
Just being there at all involved a bit of pulling together, so thanks to Dex for the hire of a fast motor and Martin Taylor (Taymar Racing) for getting it together in time.
Had to go from
My bike and fairing finally got to match up to one another on Friday morning so missed a couple of sessions fettling that little lot and making sure the bike was fit, between running around the awning re-siting and bashing in pegs where the wind was grabbing them. By which time the rain had started! And the wind round the circuit was really going some now... So it was a few sessions of dawdling round to get used to the circuit and spinning it up what felt like nearly upright in 6 deg C and wet conditions. New GPR70 was fitted (control tyre for TZRs this season, and at £23.50 a pop we’re not complaining). A good night out in the steakhouse just outside the circuit after the day was done made for a good evening’s bullshit and bar talk, but come 9pm we were all knackered so another pint in Snett bar and we were done! Rock and roll…
Saturday morning and all I had to do was fit the rear wheel, check pressures and off we go. At that point I discover that the battery pixies had visited my brand new transponder and flattened the bloody thing overnight (four flashes equals four days, three 3 days and so on). On Friday it all looked fine for the weekend – four green flashes - and on Saturday morning nothing!!! Grrr, get the bugger on charge and find out the bike battery’s flat too. Quick schoolboy error question to the other YPMers revealed I was running a total loss ignition with the borrowed engine, hence no charging while in motion. Oops! Out comes the Optimate too.
I can't say I was particularly up for it on Saturday warmup or first race (brand new GPR70 in those conditions didn't feel ever so clever). It was cold, wet and windy with some hail at times, so the general mood was one of enduring the conditions. 29th and a 1:52 gives a picture of how dismal things were. Come the second race when we had a dry session it was ok but the wind felt like it was taking the front wheel away round Corams and Sears. MUCH better confidence with some dry conditions and had a great bit of argy bargy off the startline with Ken Lawrence, the fastest posty in
Sunday dawned with an hour less kip from the time change to BST. After a cold wet Saturday it had cleared up while we slept and a heavy frost had left things wet and freezing in parts. So another dawdle round for morning warmup just to get the leathers and the engine warm really. Pat had borrowed a BRAND NEW RD350 off another YPMer and bolted various of his own bits on so it looked like his bike. It came back with a nice 6” round hole in the generator cover where the rotor had come off the spline and punched its way free… So Pat had another drama to get ready for first race!
An earlier race start caused some further drama as we were expecting another 11:00 am kickoff, so a couple were tanks-off mid-fettle when the first call went out at 10:00. Sunday’s new improved weather made things a lot nicerer really. I can get these things off the line – it’s great! The RD350 I hired back along was a pig to get moving from 0mph so this is a pleasant surprise. Three of the front runners who started from the pitlane came storming up through the pack, but couldn’t really grab any ideas off ‘em as they bogged off into the distance. Had a good diceup in both races with a couple of the other rookies - and an outbraking-himself Ken so I thoroughly enjoyed myself! In the second race I hadn’t made a decent connection pushing the bullet connector back in to connect up the powervalves, so it kept opening and closing them and losing my fast bike its advantage down the straights – somewhat frustrating!!
27th and a 1:32.9 in the first race (more finishers pushed me back a couple of places in the order) and the same finish place but a 1:31.9 in the second. No fork brace certainly makes things interesting round Corams – it’s all wriggling around and took a little while to get the measure of what was meant to be moving around and what was “about to snap out” difference in feeling.
So, not gonna set the world on fire, but made progress, got faster and really enjoyed the Sunday races - the times are only a second off the points pace, so a bit more elbows out stuff and taking advantage of the relatively decent starts I can make compared to those immediately around me and things should improve pretty rapidly. Roll on Brands!!!
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