IOM 2013 - Day 13 - Final Prep

Spent today getting new tyres fitted and doing final prep on the bikes for tomorrows races. Check, check and check everything. Then check again. Also made a few small changes to the bikes. Going about half a tooth shorter gearing on the Suzuki... mainly to get 11mm more wheelbase to try stabilize her a bit. I've been easy on her during practice... tomorrow she'll have to work a little harder. Also added 2mm of pre-load to the Aprilia to try stop the forks bottoming out.

 
Weather forecast is iffy. I have inters fitted to the Suzuki that I can run in the dry and a set of inters on rims ready for the Aprilia in case we need them.

Need to be up early to load the bikes solo and get them through skrootineering. Man, I'm missing having Nic around to help. In the paddock, Ian and Steve will help out and be in the pits for tomorrow's two stops. Will certainly need the help if I am to change the Aprilia wheels between races.

 

 

Time to get some rest... going to be a busy day tomorrow!

Follow the races live

Supertwins: 10h15-12h00 #31 'Suzy V'
Senior: 13h15-15h00 #50 'Betty'

Manx GP 2012 Thoughts... the Senior

It's been a few months since my ManxGP 2012 - I've had time to think about it a bit... digest it all... an get over the disappointment... also been watching some of my on-board footage and doing a bit of analysis. I'll start with Betty - the 'big' bike I used in the Senior race. My fastest ever lap of the TT Mountain Course is just shy of 109mph - I did this in 2006 on my stock 1998 Aprilia RSV. I'm going to get all anoraky now...

Greeba Castle. When a bike handles... it all feels easier... less fear of getting thrown into a wall... so you can go faster...

In practice week I did a 107 mph (average speed) flying lap and a 106mph lap from a standing start (I also did a 108mph from a standing start - but don't have any footage from that). Standing starts are generally around 2 mph slower than a flying lap. And in all my past years, I go about 2 mph faster in the race than I do in practice - adrenalin? Things were looking good for me to beat my personal best in the race.

The Gooseneck. Giving the vintage Fattrack leathers an airing during practice...

Just to make sure I wasn't just being hopeful, I checked out times from the on-boards. On the 107mph lap, it took me 9:08 to reach Balaugh Bridge. On the 106mph lap, about 09:28 with a bit of traffic and wet around Glen Helen. Looking at the overall lap times it stacks up. I compared with my race footage...

Ballaugh Bridge. On my 6th ManxGP,I finally get the knack of jumping Ballaugh...

I knew it was the fastest half-lap I had ever done around there... the vid confirmed it. Depite it being wet around Glen Helen - the clock says 08:54 to Ballaugh Bridge. Extrapolate that out and I was on target for a first lap of around 110 to 111mph. That should give me a flying lap of around 112 to 113 mph. This has been my goal since 2006. But, with the bike breaking down 200m after Ballaugh Bridge... half a lap counts for nothing.

The bike started running on one cylinder... so I was hoping it was just a loose wire or something. I was so disgusted with it for breaking down that it just got dumped in the corner of the garage when I got back from the Isle in the beginning of September. I had a closer look at it before Chirstmas.

Ballaspur? Nothing comes close to the feeling of going as fast as you can on real roads...

The rear rear cylinder plug was bent... damage on the piston crown and fine shards of metal on the tops of the inlet valves... it didn't look good. I took it down to may mate Don Plane (Aprilia guru) at Southern Cross. Turns out it dropped and exhaust valve on the rear cylinder. Shit. :-( gonna need new pistons, valves and other bits. Don's now trying to get the head repaired... this is gonna cost :-(

Mountain Box. Flat-out for miles on a bike that hauls... gentle curves become hard corners at over 150mph... exhilarating!

Up until the point where she went 'pop', she was running sweet. For a 10 year old bike, she's fast. And with the help of my fellow competitor Dennis Booth, I was getting her handling too. Dennis knows his stuff. In my 5 previous campaigns, I've never been able to make a bike handle around there. It just shows what a bit of know-how can do. With a fast bike that handles... I know I can go fast around there...

ManxGP 2012 - Day 3 - First Practice

After a no-go day and a day of rest, there wasnlt much to do on the bikes. Opportunity to tart them up a bit. I like tarting the bikes up. Hand cutting vinyl is like making cut-out pictures back at pre-school. It's therapeutic... and your hands stay clean :-)

All smiles 'n sunshine on the appraoch to Kirkmicheal

In the afternoon I hauled the bikes up to skrootineering. Most of the day-paddock swamp had dried out and it was warm and sunny. I got both bikes through skrootineering with no problemo. Somehow I got the start time of practice wrong by an hour... the air-ambulances taking off let me know practice would be underway soon. I got siuted and booted and headed up to pit-lane with my trolley of paddock-stands, emergency tools and fuel.

The number police got me in yesterdays scrootineering... so I added more '38's to keep everyone happy 

Practice was delayed 20 minutes while marshals got to thier posts. After Saturday's lack of marshals, I think they had an influx of new marshals... they'll get into the swing of things soon.

I call the Aprilia RSV Factory 'Betty'... she call's me 'Al'

After Saturday's disaapointment, it was a relief to be pointing down Glencrutchery Road with the starter's hand on my shoulder. I feel the tap. Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaap! I forgot to get the wee bike into gear. Doh! Clunk! Braaaaap-braaaaap-braaap. Following the rider ahead down towards St. Ninians.

Betty gets Sideburned up!



The other rider was going really carefully. I had to sit up down Bray Hill... not risking a pass till over Ago's Leap. Take it easy... some heat into the old, worn tyres. After Union Mills I get me head down. It was like I was never away!

I take it steady, remembering I'm on old tyres, dodging the damp patches and re-aquainting myself with the course... and the speed! :-)

Suzy lookin' sweet with here bling front-end



The new front-end on the Suzuki feels awesome. Firm and planted. The biggest improvement is on the brakes - Brembo's rule! At the heavy braking points (end of Sulby Straight, into the Cregg) I'm holding up 50 yards short! Great forks and brakes with such a light bike - big-time negative g's. No more squeezing the brakes as hard as I can and then feeling the front-end squirm around as the forks flex backwards under stress. I need to get used to this.

The queue for skrootineering - Alan Jackson is back on his #14 Moriwaki

Up the mountain. Just after the Mountain mile and I'm eveloped in swiring mist... by the Verandah is thick fog. Visibility down to less than 50 meters. I knock it back two gears and just follow the white line. At Kate's Cottage it clears but the session is red-flagged. They run the next practice session up to Ramsay and then red-flag it again. Everyone gets a lap in.

Great to get on the bike and do 2/3 of a lap. Great to know my home-brew front-end is working.