KTM 990 Dirttracker

This was Johanny Lewis' ride for 2014 - The Project K Racing Team's KTM 990 powered machine. Love it!

Dirttrack National Championship - Round 6 - Rye House

Sunday was the last round of the DTRA National Dirttrack Championships at Rye House, just north of London. With more riders than ever entered, a split event was run with the Pro, Restricted and Thunderbike heats and finals in the afternoon and all the other classes in the morning. This meant I could sleep in :-)

Thunderbike Final start line

Thanks Ian Roxburgh for the pic

Unloaded, signed on, changed and by lunchtime we were out on track. Heat 1 - a good start... 4th from the back row. Then my first Pro heat... front row start... held onto 2nd for half a lap and then went backwards. Next Thunderbike heat and I could only get 5th from a second row start - I was struggling to get into it.

I kept plugging away, thinking about where I could improve, what I was doing wrong. I wasn't really enjoying it and it was pretty hard work with just 3 classes being run back-to-back. Fortunately, I still had a bit of fitness left in my bones from the ManxGP/Classic TT so I was recovering quickly between heats and never felt tired while out on track. My calf was battered and bruised from Saturdays lie in the dirt but only bothered me in the paddock - on track it was the last thing on my mind.

Geoff getting it tight

Thanks James Boddy for the pic

The heats done... I was surprised to see that I'd qualified 5th in the Thunderbike Final with my mediocre riding. I just missed the Grand Final by one place, qualifying 13th. That cheered me up a lot. Okay.. just two races to go... let's give it all we got!

Thunderbike Final - Revvs up. The light flicks on and we're away. The bike hooks up so well on the race line that she pulls into a big wheelie. Well... it felt big... but was probably just 6 inches. I knock the throttle a little to get her back on the ground, hook third gear and run her into the turn 1 melee.

There's a bit of barging and contact around me.. I manage to keep out of trouble and sling the big KTM out of turn 2 behind in 4th place, behind Geoff Cain. Nice!

Thanks James Boddy for the pic

I quickly settle into the race. Dave Chadburn is at the front and pulling away. I'm in the queue behind Guy Sutherland and Geoff. We're all real close... lap after lap. There is kind of a blue groove (it was a groove, but wasn't blue) and it's almost impossible to make a pass without someone making a mistake or having a bit of contact. I find myself running into the back of Geoff mid-turn but his yellow Co-Built is always in my way so I have to back off. He starts cutting the turns tight. Turn 1 and there seems to be some room on his outside... this time I carry my speed and go have a look...

Shhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrr. The bike goes into a two wheel slide. Shit! I'm losing the front... I try keep her up on my steel-shoed left foot. Ghhhhhhrrrrrrrrr... the swish of tyres sliding across dirt fades into a nauseating grinding sound. Shit! I'm loooooosssssssing heeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr. My left side gets ground into the hard-packed dirt. My left foot getting caught between the front wheel and the bottom of the headstock, graunching my leg in a carbon copy of Saturday's off.

Fuck! The expectation of the impact of another bike on my trapped body goes through my mind before I've stopped sliding. Makes no difference if I'm waiting for it.. or trying to get back in the race. So I'm scrambling to get my leg out form under the bike amidst an angry swarm of Thunderbikes. I have to roll on my side and do a prone dance and wiggle free. I'm out, I'm up.

Queueing up!

Thanks James Boddy for the pic

Get bike up. Need to race! I try lift her... wrong angle and she just slides along the gravel. I adjust my position and hoik her up as the pack comes swarming around again. I hold the bike and watch over my shoulder as the other bikes dodge me. At least if I'm watching I have a tiny chance of lessening any impact. I'm missed by inches - these guys are good riders!

Clutch in and I roll the bike to the sanctity of the grass infield where I get her started again. Wait for the bikes to pass for the last time before tagging onto the back and finishing the race on two wheels. Well... I was was doing well there... and then I fucked it up. A bit annoyed with myself... but happy at the same time that I had the pace to be up there after I felt like the slowest rider out there during the heats.

Jetwash time

My leg got mangled in the same place as the day before and hurts like a bastard. 10 minutes later and I'm lining up with Guy and Paul Sheldon for the Pro 'B' final. There are still points on offer for the Championship. Oh yes... this year I have no Championship. Ah - fuck it... it's still a race! Let's go for it!

Guy manages to gap me in my over cautiousness with battered bike and body. I roll the bike home in 14th place for the Pro class - probably my last race of 2014. Would have been nice to carry the high from the Isle of Man through to the last race. Oh well.

It hurt then, it hurt more on Monday, it hurt a little less on Tuesday, it hurt less yesterday and less again today. The body forgets pain... that's why we keep racing.

Post-season sparkly clean, some WD40 and tucked away in the garage for the winter

Flattrackin Starts Tomorrow

In for a treat tomorrow - heading down to Rye House early for the Kenny Noyes Flattrack School. Dusted the flattracker off, refit the exhaust (stole some bits for the Wee Monster), fixed the broken battery tray, fired her up and gave her some general prep for a day on the clay tomorrow.

Late this evening, as I finished loading her up, the left footpeg just fell off. Really... it just went 'plink' and was on the van floor. FFS! Guess its better for it to fall off at home than tomorrow at the track.

I whipped it off, cleaned it up and welded it back. My first welding job in about 18 months... and it looked good. Hope it's strong.

Been looking forward to tomorrow for a few months now. I want to learn just 1 thing :-)

Busy Weekend

Between the Classic TT build, I've been sorting the Flattracker and Wee Monster.

 

Wee Monster gets new fork seals, new clip-on bar and got the broken seat-catch fixed. So idea how she'll handle with new fork oil that is probably a different viscosity to the old. We'll see.


Also got her dyno'd after she felt really slow at Oulton Park (after the crash into the gravel).

She was at 59bhp before... now down to 54. Her class limit (Class A) is 65... she's good as a Class B bike. Crap! I reckon she swallowed a stone or something and has taken a bit of internal damage. She still runs and sounds fine... so should be good for a race or two at Donnington Park on Sunday. I hope. I'm just looking for a finish... my last qualification race for my TT Mountain Course Licence.

Wednesday evening... in the sunshine, good tunes in the background, beer at hand and cutting tyres in preparation for the Flattrack racing tomorrow at DirtQuake II. Ah yes... life could be a whole lot worse :-)

Got a busy weekend ahead!

BSA Streettracker - For Sale

Will be sad to see her go... but got my old, super-cool BSA A65 Thunderbolt Streettracker up for sale.

Spread the word... she's a good 'un and needs a good home.

This Classic TT Ducati build is bleeding me dry!

DTRA Flattrackin' - Round 1 - King's Lynn

Got home from the disappointing, but ultimately successful (got a Manx GP Qualification race finish) Desmo Due racing at Oulton Park late Saturday afternoon. Swapped the Wee Monster and road race gear in the back of the van for the Flattracker and flattrack gear.

Stars 'n Bars

Thanks Steve Mann at MTS Classics for the help with the paintwork

Thanks Tom Whiting for the awesome pic

Up early on Sunday morn and cross-country to King's Lynn for the first round of the DTRA National Flattrack Championship. Winter is finally over and the sun was shining.

Flatbed race transport

More Thunderbikes than you could shake a stick at! Lots of new bikes and new blood.

Robert Williams' uber-cool Steampunk Ducati

Got setup and skrootineered (new for this year). Out for practice. I was slooooow. I'd entered the Thunderbike and National Pro classes (because I lost my 'Restricted' status last year) so had two practice sessions. Tried to pull my finger out in the second, but was still dawg slow.

Skrootineering!? Awfully organised these DTRA fellows!

 

Heat one for Thunderbikes and I'm drawn on the front row. I make a good start and get into turn one in second or third... then I start going backwards. Eventually finishing 6th. You gotta finish in the top three when you start on the front. Bugger.

Paddock neighbour Drogo Michie between heats

 

Next two heats were pretty much the same... 6th and 6th. But from the back and middle row, so improving. Carried on improving by finishing in the top 4 in my last 3 heats. That's a bit more like it! Got some useful riding tips from the current Thunderbike Champ, Neil Martin that I was trying (when I remembered)... it was working.

Battling with Co-Built Geoff Cain

Thanks Tom Whiting for the pic

 

I'm a bit of a slow burner. The same in road racing... I get faster with every lap of every session. Doesn't really play into my normal road race approach which is not to do Friday's testing/practice, rock up on Saturday morning and go straight into qualifying and then 2 short races. Not exactly helping myself. Oh well... it's the taking part they say...

Rest between heats

Dimitri Coste drove all the way from Paris for a bit of flattrack action on his classic BSA

I qualify 8th in the Thunderbikes and an unbelievable 8th in National Pro. Up until the end of last year I had only ever made one semi-final (top 24) in the Pro class. And now 8th! Well... it was a reduced field... and I think I got lucky in two of the heats. I'll take it.

I love the closeness, banter and bustle of the flattrack paddock... always someone to help, someone going out to do battle and someone coming back with war stories

 

Thunderbike Final - I got a new starting technique (top secret) that I'd been using effectively all day. I start from middle row, far inside. Revvs up, tape shoots up and we're off. I make a good getaway and make it up to the back of the front row by the time we get into turn 1. Nice.

Working on the new 'Neil Martin' technique

Thanks Tom Whiting for the pic

 

By the afternoon, it's a groove track. It's fast. But off the line it's very marbly... get onto the marbles and you're in trouble. Makes it really difficult to pass. Starts are key. I slot into 5th behind Geoff Cain and Guy Sutherland. They don't make any mistakes... I try and put pressure on Guy, but he keeps it on the groove. We do the whole race and finish in a three bike train. 5th in Thunderbikes... happy with that!

Great to see the old faces back for more dirt slidin'

 

National Pro final up next... the last race of the day... the blue ribband event. I line up in the same place as the Thunderbike final. Another good start and I'm in the thick of it in turn 1. By lap 2 things have settled into the 'groove train'. Two places ahead, George Pickering makes a mistake, goes wide and I follow Pete Boast through to 6th place. Sweet!

Keepin' it fast and efficient

 

I'm working hard and pushing to the edge to keep up with Pete. George comes back at me and shows me a wheel on turn 3 entry. We battle hard. My corner exit is strong... but I'm struggling to get into the corners fast... the big old Thunderbike just wants to head for the barrier. I hang onto 6th for another few laps, Pete only making 4 or 5 bike-lengths on me... George pressuring me on the entries... me driving hard out the turns.

On lap 5 or so, George shows me his wheel again... I hang on. As I hit the apex and start the drive out, I get a nudge from behind... just enough to push me onto the marbles. I'm down and sliding on my arse. "Fuck!"

Pushed onto the marbles... man down...

 ... sliding swish into a grating grind...

... I can still save it!

Thanks Tom Whiting for the brilliant crash sequence... first time one of my offs has ever been caught on camera!

 

Gear-lever knackerd again. "Shit! Bollocks!" I wheel the bike to the centre of the track. Pretty disappointed to be knocked out of the final. But happy that I got up to 6th.. and happy that was giving it everything :-) That race was the fastest and hardest I've ever ridden a flattracker. I learned a lot in those few laps (and thanks for the tips Neil!). Now... if only I can ride like that in every heat and every race...

Mixed results, but had a smile all the way home... bring on round 2!!

ShorttrackUK Club Round 5 - Buxton

Weather forecast was good. Woke and loaded up in the sunshine. 2 and a half hour trip up North and all sorted well before practice.

Love this shot from James Boddy.. Geoff and I giving it sum beans!

I tried a different swing-arm angle for practice. It felt good... Went back to my original settings for heat 1 to get a back-to-back comparison. I has running in the Thunderbike and Restricted classes... 3 heats on each.

Riders briefing

Despite the bike losing some turn-exit drive, I still got two 2nd places on the first two heats. The bike was running well and I was feeling good. For heat 3 I went back to my new swing-arm angle. It hooked up more consistently on the marbly surface - Three 2nds from three heats :-)

The Co-Built 'Garage'

Heat 4 and I get a 1st. Feeling really comfortable with the bike... Not having to ride the wheels off it. I can catch the rider ahead, sit back for a lap and setup a move. I do this lap after lap. I can hang it out on the marbles, or hold it tight on the apex. It feels awesome to have this control!

Neil Martin stylin it up like Speedway

Thanks Tim Coles for the pic

Seems I've sorted the bike's carb and she doesn't bog down or stall on the line. It wasn't all faultless though. In two heats I somehow managed the knock her in neutral on the start line. Standing still as the tapes go up isn't the way to do it. Luckily, on both these occasions, the heat was red flagged on lap 1. Could have been taken out by the crashes. Sometimes you need a bit of luck!

Pete's new pukka 80s Triumph framer shipped in from the States - sweet!

Heat 5 and I get up to 2nd. Reigning Champ Anthony Brown is ahead and get onto his back wheel for the last few laps. We catch a back marker on turn 3 and 4 of the last lap. Anthony gets squeezed in the inside and like a plonker I follow and get squeezed too. Shoulda gone for the outside - 1st was for the pickins. I just knick 2nd... shouldda, coulda, woulda. Heat 6 and I get another 1st. On a bit of a roll here!

A twin with magphones = glorious sound!

Thunderbike Final - I get way cleanly but get pushed onto the crap on the inside of turn 1... I come out in 4th. I soon take 3rd and am lining up 2nd... just more of the same please.  The bike feels really loose... I think it's just the marbles from the grading done before. The bike starts losing grip getting out of the turns and running deep into them. I get a big slide on out of turn 2 and super-consistent Anthony Brown is onto me in a shot. Down to 4th.

Qualifying #1... just had to get a pic!

I hang onto Anthony's back wheel, but the bike is feeling quite a handful to ride. I can't make a move but keep in touch with the front three. Its a close fought battle to the line and I get 4th. Back in the paddock and I notice my tyre is flat. Shit! Explains the sudden change in the bike's handling.

With only 2 races between finals, I get out the foot-pump and get to work. As hard and fast as I pumped I couldn't get more than 10psi in the tyre and within two minutes it would be completely flat again. Nice time for a puncture. Shit! Fuck and Bollocks!

Paddock can be a busy place betwen heats... Pete had a collapsed wheel bearing...

...Sideburn Gary doing a gearing change

With points on the line and the King's Lynn rounds' misfire, I decide to give it a go and scurry out late for first pick. I can feel the flat tyre squirming around just rolling around the track. Let's see what happens here... gonna be interesting!

A great shot from Tim Coles with Neil Martin and Alan Birtwhistle all crossed up

Restricted Final - Tapes go up and I make an okay start... I manage to get 3rd into turn 1 but the bike is all over the place. One lap later and the tyre must have been completely flat - the whole bike is chattering down the straights and slewing from side to side going into the turns. It's bearely rideable but I just think of the points on offer. I push and it feels worse and worse, she's bucking and bouncing all over the place.

I was getting great drive out teh turns all afternoon... until the pucture

I get passed regularly. I'm hanging in, determined to bag a few points. I get pipped to last place by 2 riders on the last turn. All in vain. Should have saved my brand new tyre and watched the race from the fences. After feeling so strong and knowing that for the first time I could challenge for the win... what a downer.

This was a brand-new tyre - an expensive day on the clay

ShorttrackUK Club & GNC Round 4 - King's Lynn

I got my ass down to King's Lynn for the 4th round of the Club and Grand National Championship held at King's Lynn on Saturday. It was a combined meeting so the Thunderbike results counted for both championships. A good day to get some points!

Flattrackin' in the sunshine... AH YEAH!
Thanks James Boddy for the pic

The day didn't start too well. The zipper on my leathers failed so landed up lock-wiring them closed. I had to cut myself out and take time to stitch myself back in... so taking a leak was tricky and I landed up slowly roasting in them on a warm, sunny day. Tremendous!

Heavy showers on the way and before practice... it all dried perfectly!

Thunderbikes were on the oval, Restricted class on the TT track. Happy with two 3rds from the back and middle row in my first two Thunderbikes heats. I was keeping up with some of the quickest out there. Steady progress in the Restricted heats as I got to grips with the tight TT track that I was racing on for the first time. This TT track was about 3 times smaller and tighter than the TT track I had a hoon around on in  Hollister a few weeks ago with my friend Jim. A bit of a handful on the comparitively heavy Thunderbike.

I with the big boys in the Pro class... celebrity riders too - that's TT winner Stave Plater's elbow in my face.

Thunderbike 3rd heat. I'm drawn front row... time to make it count. Tapes go up and I stall on the line. WTF? It takes me a lap before I get the bike started... she'll only start in neutral and is sometimes a bitch to get into neutral... especially during a race! Fumble, tap, push, tap, push, tap-tap, gentle click, push... tap... shit! I finally get going to finish last. Only good enough to start 10th in the final.

Action shot - felt like a good start, looked like a good start... 

Clunk! Stalled on the line - what a muppet!

I make the Pro semi-final in 10th because Restricted is run with the Pro class. Happy with that... but there are 4 or 5 other Restricted class riders in that semi. So those are the guys I needed to get ahead of. I make a good start and get through the first hairpin scuffle unscathed and in about 6th place... ahead of all but 1 Restricted class bike... and I'm quicker than him on the next laps. I plan my move and then... stall in the hairpin despite clutching it. What a plonker! Again... nearly a lap down by the time I'm going again. Last... again. :-(



Last minute preparation... Drogo lockwiring his grips...

...then the rain comes down... time for a cup 'o tea!

Oh well... Thunderbike final to redeem things. I've been getting fantastic drive out of turn 4... sideways on full throttle down the blue-groove. A good start and a few passes is all I need.

Thunderbike final - into the thick of it from the back row.
Thanks James Boddy for the pic.

Revs rise, tapes shoot up and I make a good start from the back row. I'm in amongst the middle row through turn 1 and 2. I'm in 7th, wheel to wheel behind Co-Built Geoff Cain and Dave Chadburn. I hold station for a lap and I see the riders ahead of them starting to pull a gap. I got to make my move on Dave and know I'm strong out of turn 4. I get close going into turn 3, setting up the pass.

Trying to make up places... difficult on a blue-groove track!

Geoff goes a little wide of the blue-groove at teh apex and hits the marbles... he manages to get the bike turned back onto the groove. Chad hesitates and I clip his back wheel. Shit! I try and save it with my grinding steel-shoe but I run onto the loose stuff and my foot slide forward, under the falling front wheel. I'm skidding down the track on my left thigh in a graceful low-side. Fu...


Wilky getting a better look at the racin'

Bam! I'm nailed from behind. I feel the impact on my back, I'm spun off my bike and feel my helmet smacking that concrete-hardpack clay. I land up on my side, just being able to see the oncoming last few riders... they all manage to get past me and my stricken machine. I'm a bit dazed and it takes me what seems minutes to struggle to my feet. Holy Shit! That hurts!

Family business - Richard Mason, Derek Brindley and Oliver Brindley

My lower back hurts like fuck. But all I can think about is getting back into the race. Forget the pain, that can wait... I got racin' to do. I haul the bike up. By then the race-train comes around again. Thankfully they all dodge me standing mid turn with my bike.


Busted zipper - sew me in!

Thinking back... it's probably not the brightest thing to have done. Actually, a pretty stoopid thing to have done. When human bodies get hit by racing bikes it gets ugly. I should have just left the bike there and scrambled to safety... or just lay there. The race would have been red-flagged. I would have had a chance to start the race again. Instead, all I can think about is getting back into the race with no regard for my (or the other riders' safety). What a dumb-ass pillock!

Skidding into the first hairpin on the TT course
Thanks James Boddy for the pic

The pack passes with a few near-misses left and right. I see my kill-switch has ripped off - good job. I clutch the bike and drag it to the inside of the track. I grab the kill-switch cord around my wrist to put it back on, only to find a frayed, dangling cord... and no kill-switch end-jobbie-thing-mah-jig. Fuck!

Everyone has thier own way of remembering teh race and start order...

Stuart Lovell's gorgeous two-smoke framer

My race is over... as the determiation to get back into the race subsides, the pain seeps back into my lower back. Jeeeesus! I move my toes, feet, legs... do a full body function check. Just soaking up the pain as the race whizzes around me. I'm relieved that all the body-parts work and nothing's broken but I'm feeling pretty battered up. I look up to see who's leading, they're already filing back into the paddock. Where the hell did that time disappear to?

Guy Sutherland has his KTM DTX flattracker up for sale

Turns out I got tagged by Paul Sheldon who was behind me. He almost managed to avoid me, but hit me on the lower back, his brake lever mashing hole right through my ally-honeycombe back protector  and gauging some flesh out over my lower spine. Fuck me! That was a lucky escape. I was intitially pissed-off for not getting those double championship points.. but now I'm just thankful I didn't leave the track in an ambulance with a few bigger problems.

'Learner' - Got to start 'em young!

Today I'm a bit beat up, back is bruised up and has a hole in it but will heal quick. The kill-switch end jobbie was lost on the field of battle and the bike suffered a few scrapes and a bent seat pad. Paul's bike fared worse with a screwed brake lever. Sorry Paul - I know how much those bloody KTM things cost... I'll get one in the mail to you.

.

King's Lynn is one of the best surfaces - hard and fast and doesn't get cut up