Trev's Report
Me and Gems arrived at 3pm sat and walked into the curcuit as the entrance for vehicals was closed til the cars had finnished a 5, We soon met up with a group of fellow Monkeys Foo,Feen,PO,Bones to name a few Stood gassing and genrally getting in their way as they prepped their rides for Tech inspection, Had a good look and sit on the best prepped Gixer thou I have ever seen or heard (She sounds so sweet )Before we know it its 5.30 and we go get the Van Caravan, I get all flustered and hand over passes for Pembrey but he still lets us in.We get parked up Next to ABH and with in 2 mins Emma phones me they too are just entering the curcuit and they find us (Great we have a reliable mechanic) Get ourselfs set up and in no time Throotle Monkey 72 all roll in and set up just behind us, I get my bike out and go over to get the Tech inspection done alls good but they are not doing kit so that will have to wait til morningI get the BBQ lit and Emma and her Mum join us for some supper and a drink Thanks for suplying the beer Emma and Mum Loads of fellow monkeys stop for a chat and before we know it again it time to hit the sack.I put the bike in the back of the van to stop any tampering thanks Wobbler for giving me a hand to push her up the ramp I wake up at 7am and look outside and Martin is parked next to our van God he's early, The weather is dry but very misty, We are soon busy getting the Race tent set up in out slot in pit lane and taking up half of GB Moto juniors slot Sorry Phil and Maria, we move it over a bit but the slots are only 2.5M wide and race tent is 3M We get the Kit inspection done sign in and have a cuppa and a bacon and egg butty then rider breifing and off we go for 40 mins combined practice and quallifying Martin has the transponder and I lead us out on track I plan to do 10 min warm up then come in for a rest then Martin comes in after 15 we swap transponder I go out and soon find a decent rhythem I do 15 mins and pull in and thought we would have 10 mins left Martin pulls away and I was gonna stop but change my mind and shoot off behind him to see if I can tow him around to get a decent time but as we stop in stop out box the flag comes out end of session, We get the time sheet and we are 31 out of 31 dead last Dam, Martin got the quickest time so he is gonna start for us We go for a breakfast and a cuppa while eating we her the sound of a highside from senior session we look up towards the Elbow and see Blu Dam and doule Dam but the good thing he walks back and dont look to be injured Phew Time for the raceMartin gets a good start for us picking up at least 3 places after the first lap he looks to have gained anouther place or two great going, Thats enough of Matins report I will leave the rest to him We decided to do 22.5 min stints as we felt Mallory would be to knackering Martin pulls in and a smooth change over and off I go What a eye opener in my first lap I have atleast three harsh overtaking moves put on me but soon settle in and get up to speed no major incidents and I soon pull in to swap over, Anouther smooth pit stop and Martin is out I go for a drink and find on the bike I felt good but as soon as I have to walk I feel knackered I have a energy drink and a ciggie by the van Emma and Kwaky are doing a fine job in the pits for us 20 mins goes very quickly and Martin pulls in and out I go, And yet again I find Senior/National riders lifting me mid corner a black R6 I believe comes around the outside of me down the Elbow then cuts right accross my front wheel and how we dont go down is beyond me what a complete about half way through my session a rider goes down on the exit of Edwina's yellows are out and it looks bad the bike is on top of him and his leg is sticking out from under the front wheel (GWS ) when we get to Shaws the reds are out we do a full lap and they stop us on the straight before Edwina's we sit there a while then the white screens come out and we think the worse they then let us ride to the start finnish straight and stop us there all the pit crews bring out the stands and we waite I dont know how long but it feels like forever, Race control let us know the race clock has been stopped we have a rider breifing from Dave M and we get the race back on three laps behind pace car to warm the tyres and off we go and the guy I had a good battle with at Pembrey comes past and I think I can hang with you He gets a gap on me but I dig in and start to real him in after 3/4 laps I'm on his tail then slip by into Edwina's and gap him pit board is out and says in so in I come in and anouther smooth change over I go for some more fluid and a mars bar followed by a ciggie again the 20 mins is over and I'm out again This stint goes by with out incident and I'm feeling good on the bike, I pull in after 20 mins and change over as I get to the van I look over to Edwina's and the red flag is out again I go back to pit lane to find Martin never even got out and is held at the end of pit lane, this time the incident happened at the esses and sounds like a big one (GWS ) We get a print out from race control and we are in 12 bloody hell thats better than I could have dreamt when they resart the race at 5.30 we only have half a hour martin decides he only want to do 10 and leave me with 20 to finnish so thats what we do, I get out and after a couple of laps see I'm catching No 96 I get on his back wheel then we get swamped by Senior/national riders which when it clears he has a gap so I have it all to do again bit by bit I real him in but cant find a way past sit on his rear wheel for a couple of laps then all of a sudden the chequered flag is out and the race is over.We ended up in 13th place with a few points in the bag What a eventfull race some good and some bad but we got to the end in one piece with some points We get loaded up and go to the presentation at the end of the main trophies being given out they anounce the new awards for junior teams Donated by Nige and Ingie and to my suprise I hear Junior 1000 Pirate Racing I was stunned and over the moon I picked up the Trouphy and walked back to all the Monkeys chanting my name, what a feeling then everyone came up shook my hand and congratulated me at this point I was in a daze and couldn't take it all in in some ways I still feel like that even now, I phoned Martin who had to leave to get off for a meal with his outher half He sounded as stunned as me but the line went bad so we had to end the call.We had a good chat with loads of Monkeys then said our good byes and off we went me and gems talked all the way home about the race weekend and how we cant wait til Silverstone I would like to say a Big thank you to Emma and her Mum Your help and company was brilliant Thanks to Kwaky and Simon (thanks for the reminder Kwacky) you took some great pics mate You made a great pit crew What a weekend thats one I wont forget Everyone involved make the Hottrax Endurance a very nice place to be.
Martin's Report
First things first: Pirate Racing get their first points of the season coming 13th from 16 starters in class (3 points) and also are awarded the Inaugural Slaters Bikes Award for Best Overall Performance. Nice one Nige.
Having had a fairly good trackday, I was hoping to put in a solid performance in the race. I arrived in good time to a very foggy Mallory, hoping for the weather to pick up. Scrutineering went fine and we went out for timed practice. This wasn't great, there was a lot of traffic and when I went out for my second stint, the chequered flag came out after what I made 33 instead of 40 minutes gone. So our qualifying times weren't great.
Time for a very early lunch, during which we heard the sickening sound of plastics on gravel. It was Blue at the Elbow, luckily not too much damage.
Race time comes around quickly and we line up. I'm starting again and tell myself to be much more focused from the off. This seems to work as I dart past a few at the start and get away pretty well. My first session is not bad and I hand over to Trev. We have our changeovers pretty sorted now and Trev is out in no time.
Mid way through his session, the race is red flagged for a major incident at Edwina's. The race is stopped and bikes are kept stopped on the track while the doctors accompany the fallers to hospital. We take drinks out to Trev and check what he wants to do time wise. Eventually the race re-starts and Trev finishes his time. I go back out and am disappointed with my performance. I am a long way off my best times and my slow corner curse strikes again - I feel like a roadblock at the hairpin, whilst at Gerards I feel like I am as quick as most.
I have one dodgy moment, I get clipped by a bike as we go through the Esses, I have a major wobble but manage to keep it up. I come in after my 22 minutes and Trev gets going. Yella was passing and he spots that my clutch lever has been snapped by the earlier impact. He then puts my replacement on for me (cheers mate) as I would have been bounced by Fraser if the sharp end had been spotted.
Trev does his next stint whilst I am trying to dry the aweat off and get plenty of water on board. In no time his time is up and in he comes. I head off up pit lane and just as I am being let out, Fraser grabs the red flag and shouts at me not to go out. I then have the bike sat at pit exit whilst we have the second long stop. During the break we check the current positions and see that we are in 12th. Maybe we will get our first points this race.
Midway through the break I think that I would have been quite happy if the 3 hour race had been stopped then and I find it hard to re-motivate myself. I suggest that I only do 10 minutes and let Trev have the last 20 minutes. Trev is the opposute of me, I start fastest and get slower - Trev starts steady and does his best times in the last few laps.
We complete the race with no mishaps and find that we have finished 13th and get our 3 points! This is pleasing even though I'm disappointed with my performance.
We get packed up and I hang around as long as I can chatting to people but had to leave before the awards. I get an excited call from Trev saying that we had been awarded the Slater's Bikes Award. I could hear in his voice how Trev had felt when he picked it up and I was really pleased for him. Cheers Nige.
Big thanks to Gems as Manager, Pitboarder and photographer: Emma and Kwacky for Pit Biatching, Anna for doing a bit of everything and keeping me company, and Simon for the cracking pics he took.
Upwards and onwards to Sillystone for the season's finale.
I stayed at the Black Horse on Thursday evening and met Carl, Phil and Richie (RC Racing) for a steak and a few beers. In the morning, we got to the track in good time and set up in their gazebo. I was hoping for some instruction from Big Nige and in the second session he came out with me. Nige said my lines were ok but body position was wrong. I get my arse off the seat but not my head and shoulders. Just before the third session I saw Big Nige's bike looking poorly. Nige had been torpedoed. Poor ol' Nige and Bang goes my tuition! In this session Carl lost the front at the hairpin and spent the next couple of hours getting the bike back together. I also felt some real air at the mountain. Shame the camera wasn't there that session. I felt a bit strange and tired again so I came in a lap early and sat out the last session before lunch. I was feeling a bit down as I'd hoped to get much better times. Trev had hoped to make it for the evening session but didn't get there in time, which was a shame. I slummed it, sleeping in the car that night. It was actually quite comfortable and after taking a while to get off, I slept quite well. Trev made us a barbie and I bought the beers. We got up and got sorted. Our marshall didn't turn up and Trev asked Emma if she would do it for us. Luckily she agreed (thanks a bunch) and we were okay. Trev went out to qualify first and I went for the second twenty minutes. We assumed I was fastest but we don't know as the network was down and they didn't publish the times. Trev decided I was to start anyway. In no time we were off. I didn't see the flag drop but got away okay. I started winding it up and after about 8 laps I did my best time. I could see a guy in front that I was catching but I started feeling very tired and almost dizzy. My right foot and hand were also going numb. I backed off a bit and nearly signalled that I wanted to come in. Thankfully the pitboard came out and said 3 laps to go. I came in and I was nackered. I had done a couple of real wheelies at the Mountain which was a bit novel although I don't think any were captured on film. The second session came around quickly and I felt tired before I started. My times were slower as a result but at least I made the 30 minutes ok. It's strange as I consider myself to be pretty fit. Maybe I try too hard; maybe my technique is not efficient; maybe it is nervous tension. Trev went out and completed his session and we came home ok. We were 16th of 18 in class and 28th of 31 overall. My bike didn't go to Parc Ferme as I had leant it to Fatbloke as his had gone pop the previous evening. He was changing the tyres and trying (without success)to lower the rearsets. I decided to watch the race from up top rather than in the paddock. It was sunny on and off and I was enjoying the sun on my back. I walked down as far as the haorpin (waving to ABH who was marshalling) and watched there for a while and then walked all around the track. It was interesting to see all the parts from a different perspective. After a while FB appeared and I was pleased to see he was going pretty well on my bike. I got to Chris Curve and chatted briefly with GixxerJohnny (also marshalling). I got as far as the start of the start finish straight and found I couldn't go any further. Bugger - that meant I had to walk all the way back round. Oh well, it was a nice day. I watched the end of the race from the clubhouse and enjoyed seeing FB doing some decent wheelies on my bike. It sounded good popping away into Hall Bends. I have to admit to being a touch relieved when the race finished and my bike was still in one piece :) So overall an enjoyable weekend but still a bit disappointed at my performance. Trev's Report This time things started off on a better footing (Van got us there this time) but at 6.20 so a bit late for the evening track time so got set up and went to Tech Inspection, With that out of the way went for a wander and a chat with fellow Monkeys Then back at the Caravan a BBQ and a couple of Beers a earlyish night to get ready for a days racing.Race morning arrives and low and behold we are let down by our Mechanic again 5 rounds and only one show, Gems brother Paul stepped in and did a great job for us thanks alot mate Emma is a star and does our Marshalling for us thank you very much 9am and I'm out first for practice/Qualifying set off out of pit lane and into Hall bends and and the bike feels sh*te wants to stand up right on every bend the bike seemed to feel better after about 3/4 laps but still in my head what was happening at the start and struggle so pull in after 20 mins and pass on transponder to Martin who goes out and does a far better job than me Cheers mate We get set up in pit lane which was a job in itselfMartin out Qualifyed me so he started the race and did a great job, Half hour goes by in what seems like a few mins and I'm out the bike feels better but I still need time to get up to speed, Then all of a sudden Claire comes past me around the outside at coppice I chase her and she catches a guy on a slow R1 she takes a while but she gets by him then she catches anouther R1 and passes him I get stuck behind both of em and claire pull a big gap by the time I'm past them she is gone (Great riding there Claire ) and I feel like my lap time are inproving but slowly and before I know it the pit board is out and time to change over,Martin goes out and does anouther fine ride (I will let him fill you in on his side of the story) Then its me out for the final stint to the flag and I'm riding much better now At some point this idiot comes past on the right hander at the bottom of the mountain I'm on the apex and there is no room but he slill lunges at the pass I lift only for him to run wide right to the edge of the track so I have no option but to take to the grass cut the power and loose all momentum he then cuts accross the mountain and hits anouther R1 on the right hand side of the track pushing him onto the grass Even though this I still feel my riding is getting better and I'm now getting my left knee down at Mansfield and in Hall bends, We end up in 16 in class so still have No Points All I can do is say Sorry Martin I feel I have let you down this race But I will be more competitive at Mallory and hoping to make up for this poor showing by helping us to score us at least 1 point Bring it on
I stayed at the Black Horse on Thursday evening and met Carl, Phil and Richie (RC Racing) for a steak and a few beers. In the morning, we got to the track in good time and set up in their gazebo.
I was hoping for some instruction from Big Nige and in the second session he came out with me. Nige said my lines were ok but body position was wrong. I get my arse off the seat but not my head and shoulders.
Just before the third session I saw Big Nige's bike looking poorly. Nige had been torpedoed. Poor ol' Nige and Bang goes my tuition! In this session Carl lost the front at the hairpin and spent the next couple of hours getting the bike back together. I also felt some real air at the mountain. Shame the camera wasn't there that session. I felt a bit strange and tired again so I came in a lap early and sat out the last session before lunch. I was feeling a bit down as I'd hoped to get much better times. Trev had hoped to make it for the evening session but didn't get there in time, which was a shame.
I slummed it, sleeping in the car that night. It was actually quite comfortable and after taking a while to get off, I slept quite well. Trev made us a barbie and I bought the beers.
We got up and got sorted. Our marshall didn't turn up and Trev asked Emma if she would do it for us. Luckily she agreed (thanks a bunch) and we were okay. Trev went out to qualify first and I went for the second twenty minutes. We assumed I was fastest but we don't know as the network was down and they didn't publish the times. Trev decided I was to start anyway.
In no time we were off. I didn't see the flag drop but got away okay. I started winding it up and after about 8 laps I did my best time. I could see a guy in front that I was catching but I started feeling very tired and almost dizzy. My right foot and hand were also going numb. I backed off a bit and nearly signalled that I wanted to come in. Thankfully the pitboard came out and said 3 laps to go. I came in and I was nackered.
I had done a couple of real wheelies at the Mountain which was a bit novel although I don't think any were captured on film.
The second session came around quickly and I felt tired before I started. My times were slower as a result but at least I made the 30 minutes ok. It's strange as I consider myself to be pretty fit. Maybe I try too hard; maybe my technique is not efficient; maybe it is nervous tension.
Trev went out and completed his session and we came home ok. We were 16th of 18 in class and 28th of 31 overall.
My bike didn't go to Parc Ferme as I had leant it to Fatbloke as his had gone pop the previous evening. He was changing the tyres and trying (without success)to lower the rearsets.
I decided to watch the race from up top rather than in the paddock. It was sunny on and off and I was enjoying the sun on my back.
I walked down as far as the haorpin (waving to ABH who was marshalling) and watched there for a while and then walked all around the track. It was interesting to see all the parts from a different perspective. After a while FB appeared and I was pleased to see he was going pretty well on my bike.
I got to Chris Curve and chatted briefly with GixxerJohnny (also marshalling). I got as far as the start of the start finish straight and found I couldn't go any further. Bugger - that meant I had to walk all the way back round. Oh well, it was a nice day.
I watched the end of the race from the clubhouse and enjoyed seeing FB doing some decent wheelies on my bike. It sounded good popping away into Hall Bends. I have to admit to being a touch relieved when the race finished and my bike was still in one piece :)
So overall an enjoyable weekend but still a bit disappointed at my performance.
This report has taken me a long time to get around to – mainly due to the level of disappointment I felt about my performance over the race weekend.
The trackday was well organised as ever but unfortunately ended up with the very sad event of a death on track. I don’t want to say too much about this out of respect for the fallen rider but I would like to say we all felt a lot of respect for Dave Mabbutt (Hottrax) who gave a clearly emotional briefing to everyone before we went out to complete the trackday in the afternoon.
Trev had hoped to do the afternoon of the trackday but due to his van breaking down, he arrived late and didn’t get on track at all. As I noted in my previous Blog entry, I was confident and hopeful of putting in a good performance at this second visit to Snetterton. Unfortunately, my laptimes were telling me a different story. I didn’t get anywhere near until the last session of the day and finished some 3 seconds off my previous best time.
Dave, our mechanic, had enjoyed riding the trackday and was staying to help us for the race. We had a few beers and a decent steak in Norwich as preparation for the day ahead.
Race day came and I was hopeful of improving. Simon White, our Marshal turned up nice and early and met the guys. I think he enjoyed the day – where he was paired with a Mr Purple and had plenty to do at the Riches corner!!
The weather was damp on and off but getting better for qualifying. I took a second off my times but still 2 seconds off my best. Trev out-qualified me, improving his previous best time but asked me to start as he enjoys running upto the chequered flag.
We did the warm-up laps and prepared to start. I like the spectacle of the Le Mans start and so far have managed to get the bike away fairly well with no issues. I went past a few who had not got away well but was making no headway against those in front of me. I got passed by a few and was running at or near the back. This wasn’t the plan – I expected to be a way up the pack.
Midway through the session it started to drizzle. My times didn’t really change though which was one small positive. However my best lap time was 3 seconds off what I had done in May. My time was up and I came in. Trev headed off on his drys leaving Dave and me to decide what tyres to go back out on. We left it quite late and then seeing some real black clouds heading in our direction, we got the wets on. We had only just finished as Trev came in, struggling a bit with the conditions.
It was quite wet now and I went out fairly quickly. I started passing people almost immediately and hoped to improve our position as I usually do better relatively in the wet. After a couple of laps I went into the Esses and on exiting, I suddenly found myself airborne. This was a first as I’d never highsided before! I really didn’t know where it had come from as I didn’t think I’d given it much of a handful. Maybe I did, or maybe there was some oil on the ground – either way it had finished my race.
The bike was in the middle of the track and I wasn’t sure whether to run on and get it. The marshalls came over and told me not to – the pace car came out and the marshalls went to pick it up. One of them struggled a bit to lift it and then it came up with a rush – he thought the other guy was catching it, but he wasn’t – and Marshall 1, still holding the bike highsided himself over the top of my bike landing in a heap on the other side. I couldn’t help laughing even though it meant my bike had been dropped on the other side as well now.
The marshalls put the bike against the side wall and put bales in front of it. I’m not sure why I couldn’t push it back although I had no spares to fix it anyway. I got the transponder back so Trev could go out and skulked away well hacked off.
Trev had to ration his time to ensure he had 20 minute breaks and also running upto the chequered flag. His times were getting quicker until with about 8 minutes to go, he missed his braking point and lost the front at Sears. Bit of a wipe-out for Pirate Racing!
From my perspective, I have been on a bit of a downward trend since the last Snetterton Race – upto which I had been steadily improving. I’m not sure if the off at Pembrey affected me more than I thought – or if there is some other problem. I’m looking to get some instruction and go back to basics. The good news is that Trev is getting quicker.
So, next stop Cadwell – a great circuit, but one I’ve not ridden for a long time.
Well my weekend started off bad and just got worse Set off at 7am friday morning got about 30 miles into the journey and the flywheel on the vans clutch decided to break up and started squeeling and banging so limped back to the guy who repairs our vans and tried sorting a hire van. By the time we found one, got it and swapped all my stuff and set off for Snett again we finnally arrived at 5.15pm Things started to get better - our mechanic was with us this weekend Practice and qualifying go well and get a 1.22 pb so looking forward to my race I qualified fastest but opted that Martin start as I like to finish. Martin does his stint with no problems and we change over. As I am half way down pit lane I see red flag at the end of pit lane, safety car parked just before first turn with all the bikes stopped. Fraser let us out to sit behind the pack and then the drizzle gets heavier. if only I had waited I could have fitted my wets, Still we live and learn.Safety car eventually pulls away and we see whats caused it. 3 bikes down between first turn and Sears. We sit behind safety car for a few laps, all the time the track getting wetter and wetter. The safety car pulls in and off we go and I'm on Racetecs on a wet track doing more rear wheel steering than I would like and just trying to stay upright. Eventually I get the pit signal to come in with much relief I do so.Martin sets off on his wets but his session is cut short when he highsided exiting the esses. Martin is OK but the bike is pushed to the outside of the track and can only be rescued at the end of the race. Martin brings the transponder back and I have to wait till my 20 min rest period has elapsed so when it has off I go on full wets. I seem to settle in nicely and the rain gets very heavy. Standing water and what looks like a small lake and river apear at the start of pit wall which gets the bike twitching along with my ring 30 mins up and in I come I have to rest for a min 20 mins but around 60 mins left of the race so I rest for 30 to allow me to ride to the flag and hopefully get a finish and a cig. I know I have lost so many laps while on my rest period but think if I push on as hard as I can I might salvage something. All going really well and passing people all around the track. By this time the rain has stopped and the sun's out. Shame I have a clear visor on and get dazzled up start / finish. Pushing on and feeling good with 9 mins left I miss my braking point into Sears - grab a handful of front brake, tip in and lose the front .... Bollocks. My right shoulder closely followed by my head hits the deck then I'm sliding on my back head first. Somehow I spin so I'm now on my back, feet first off the track and onto the rough tarmac/ concrete and thinking this is fun. I come to a stop and stand up - OOPs not stopped so fall over and punch the deck with my left hand. I pick myself up then the bike. The front brake lever has snapped off so my race is done.Not too much damage to the bike - right clip on, front lever and right footrest, right crash bobbin are toast with a bit of scuffing and the odd hole ground into body work.But what a weekend. All the fellow Monkeys that attended and the friends we have made in the paddock make the race weekend Roll on Cadders
