IOM 2013 - Day 9 - Classic TT Final Preparations

Sunday is a day of rest on the Isle. Spent the morning preparing the Duke and getting stuff together for Monday's race: the inaugural Classic TT Formula 1 race which starts at 14h00. We have to get to skrootineering between 08h00 and 08h30. The first event of the day is the Classic TT 350cc, followed by a parade lap, then our race. After the race is a 1 lap practice for the Supertwin/Senior bikes. We'll take the Suzuki up and if I'm up for it will do a lap after the Formula 1 race :-)

Over the mountain to Ramsay - Scotland on the horizon

Spent the afternoon having Sunday roast at the Sulby Glen Hotel (Klaus Klaffenbok and Niel Hodgeson were there too) and then a few hours at the Jurby Festival. Saw loads of bikes and then made the most of the warm sunshine down at Laxey beach. The weather has been awesome today... hope it holds till tomorrow afternoon. A relaxing day.

So far, the Duke has been really good. She hasn't missed a beat and is quite easy to ride. We've been working on the setup during the week and improving her every session. Made some changes that we haven't been able to test (Friday's washout and getting some laps in on other bikes) - but hope they work for the race.

There are always some special...

 

 

...weird...

 

...and wonderful machines at Jurby.

 

 

Does this cool café racer belong to Derek Brindley?

 

 We also shortened the gearing by 1 tooth to get a bit more drive and take her to the 10k limit (currently hitting 9700 on the approach to Brandish).

Qualified 32nd out of around 68 entrants. 13th fastest Privateer with a lap of 102.9mph. With a clear track in the race and a flying lap in there... we can go faster

Follow the race from 14h00 tomorrow on Classic TT Live Timing. Looking forward to it!

IOM 2013 - Day 8 - One Lap

Saturday saw the first race of the inaugural Classic TT being run - the Classic TT 500cc. Mark Herbertson was out on Alan Harmiston's immaculately prepared G50. Unfortunately Mark broke down on lap two. With bike problems, so far this years event hasn't been great for Mark and Alan... good luck for the 350cc race on Monday!

Mark and Joanne just before the Classic TT 500cc race

Dominic and Alan with the G50 on Glencrutchery Road

Between the race, we got the Aprilia up through skrootineering and ready for 1 lap of practice after the 500cc race. My partner Alex arrived on the island on Friday night... great to have her here :-)

Alex getting big Betty through skrootineering

The practice lap went ok. We made changes to the bike and have improved things. She turns in and holds a line better, but the compromise is that she shakes her head a lot over fast bumps when on the power and cranked over.  Nothing too concerning, but I would prefer more stability. We'll see if we can sort that.

Lots happening behind the grandstand on race day. Agostini and Whitham.

I was held up a few times in traffic. Also got a nice pull along when my mate Mike Moulai flew past me through Bishop's Court. Finished the lap 106.5 mph. Considering traffic and a standing start, it's not bad. But not as fast as I wanted.

Nice looking race Buell on the Ace Café stand

Being the last qualifying day, a lot of the lads out there had the bit between their teeth. I didn't improve my fastest time and quite a few of the riders got two laps in. The second lap is a flyer, so you can add 2 mph to your first lap time. As a result, I got moved down the leader-board... in all classes! Disappointed with that.

Manx crab!

Here are a few pics from the red-flag waiting on Thursday evening...

IOM 2013 - Day 7 - Washout

Worked on the bikes all morning... then at 15h00 the rain came down. Bikes ready, we just made a cup of tea and watched the traffic on Bray Hill until it stopped. We used the break in the weather to load the bike and get them up to the paddock... just in case it went ahead.

We got the Duke up through skrootineering no problem - for the first time this year there wasn't queue down to the shower block. As we get the Suzuki wheeled up the hill, the rain starts again. It's then announced that a weather system is moving in and the final qualification practice is cancelled.

A bit disappointed that it wasn't dry - I wanted to go a few mph faster so that I can qualify a little higher up the start order. Also wanted to test a few changes we've made. Oh well... we've had a good run so far - 4 days of dry track on the Isle of Man is good going.

IOM 2013 - Day 6 - A Few More Laps

Thursday turned out to be a sunny and warm day. We worked all morning on the bikes, making changes to the Suzuki and Ducati to try get them to work better. Both were feeling too hard so we softened them up a bit. Ducati was hard to turn in and running wide so jacked up the back a bit too.

  

What a way to spend the evening :-)

  

In the garage prepping the bikes... 

Another few hours in queues to get through skrootineering. What a waste of time! We get the Duke up and ready for the first session. It's then we notice the ignition is on. We check it out... battery is dead. Bollocks!

Ducati belly-pan damage...

On the left from Begarrow, right form Bray Hill.

Must have left the ignition on overnight. Nic gets going on removing the fairings and poked battery. I get back to the van and then to the garage to borrow the battery off the Aprilia. We fit the new battery, and get the fairings back on. There is only half an hour before the session starts so go down to the van to get my kit on and Nic takes the Suzuki up through skrootineering.

I get up to pitlane with 10 minutes to spare and start the Duke to get her warmed up. She's running for 10 seconds before I notice fuel pissing out from under the tank. Oh crap! I dash across to Parc Firme, grab the tools and get to work.

I undo the bolts and try work on the fuel lines under the full tank of fuel... trying to let too much slosh out. The fuel line clamp wasn't on properly. I sort it out and mop up the spilt fuel. It's warn, sunny, I'm in leathers with bikes warming up all around... pretty soon the sweat is streaming down my face. There is a 20 minute delay to the start of the session, it's pretty frantic, but I fix the problem, get the fuel tank back on and have a few minutes to cool down.

Norton TT racer with a 'Norton developed V4' apparently

The 'Domiracer' prototype was on display... I liked it. Lots of trick bits and hand-crafted stuff... ruined by the el-cheapo vinyl 'carbon' wrap. Why don't they just make it in carbon?

 

Soon we're off down Glencutchery Road again. The big Duke is great, pulling like a train over 7000rpm. Pretty soon I'm hitting traffic again. I work my way through the traffic and the changes we made feel good. We're heading in the right direction :-)

The old girl is pulling beautifully. I only rev her to 9000rpm before changing... got to treat her good... this is only practice. I'm only hitting 9700rpm down to wards Brandish, so think a tooth shorter on the back should get me to 10000.

Beautiful MV Augusta triple being raced by Gary Johnson

The second and flying lap started well. Much less traffic and I can focus on the track ahead and what I'm doing. As I get up onto Cronk Y Voddy straight, she cuts out. Damn! Thoughts of a blown engine and dollar signs go through my head. I coast to a stop at a gate and get her off the track and ahainst the open gate to have a look. No oil, all looks okay. Hmmmm.

Great shot of the Duke through Appledean. I was trying a different line... I think it worked :-)

I get my helmet and gloves off and look for another minute or so. I'm just about to climb through over the wall and trudge through a small fiel to the next marshal post that's 50 yeards away. It's then that I spot the cut-out switch. I must have accidentally hit it. It's a silly design and really close to the throttle. Note to self "Replace standard cut-out/start switch and move to left handle-bar.". I get my helmet and gloves on and indicate to the marshal over the wall that I will continue.

I roll the bike back on track and head off again. Takes a few miles to get back into it, but pretty soon I'm enjoying the best race track in the world again.

Pretty Ducati in the evening glow :-)

I get back to Parc Firme  in good time when Nic meets me with the warmed-up Suzuki. The session started 25 minutes before, so I have to get a wriggle on. I hop off the Duke onto the Suzuki and blast off down Glencrutchery Road. I hold her flat-out down Bray Hill. Steady through Quarterbridge and Braddan and then open her up through Snugborough. She's going well.

A mile later and I spot a yellow flag in the sun dazzle. I slow down. As I get to bling kink/rise of the flat-out Ballahutchin I see a marshal frantically waving a flag. Less than a second later I go over the rise and there are two bikes two riders down. There are chunks of soil and bike debris everywhere. I'm still travelling at around 90mph. I squeeze those brakes hard and watch that I don't go over any debris, bikes or riders. Both the riders are motionless as I pass. Doesn't look good.

Back in the garage that night - safe

Next marshal post is green flag. So I put what I've just seen behind me and focus on what's ahead. Takes a few corners, but by the time I'm at Crosby I'm flying again. The lap is going well. Then, just after Ginger Hall I come to waved flags again. A rider is down and as I pass, avoiding debris and a bike, he's picking himself out of the air-fence. A mile down the track at Glantramman and I see the red flags. Session over.

 I thought my painted number-boards were withstanding the stone-blasting quite well, until Thursday evening... they took a battering.

Apparently there was another big incident just after the one I passed. We are held at Glentramman for almost an hour before the travelling marshal comes through and collects riders on the way back to the Grandsatnd. I couldn't believe how many riders were already following him home. Seemed like hundreds! I normally ride alone on the roads and being in this queue of a hundred or so race bikes going through Ramsay and over the Mountain felt strange. Like I was in some sort of biker gang!

So on the Suzuki I only did a 'shake-down' first lap, a 100mph lap and now this half a lap. Not good for qualifying but at least I'm qualified :-)

IOM 2013 - Day 5 - Scrappy Qualification

Made a few changes to the bikes for Wednesdays practice. I was cloudy and supposed to rain during the day, but it held off and we started a delayed practice on dry roads.

Out on the little Suzuki first. I couldn't really feel any difference despite the changes we made. Still very hard, harsh and I'm fighting her all the way around. Really tiring.

Only managed 1 lap before they pulled us in for the next session to start. A bit disappointed about that. Despite us moving to skrootineering half an hour before it opens, the queue by then is down through the paddock. Poorly organised and seems that some skrootineers are just there for a bit of social chat. It takes more than an hour to get each bike through. Waste of time and puts pressure on everyone. Something must be done.

Nic doing brilliant work helping out with the mechanics, prep and practice

We've got a wee oil seepage on the Ducati. Clutch push-rod 'o' rings. Proving hard to get the right size on the island though.

I daren't say anything. A few years ago I made myself heard and for the next few years I was 'seeded' just about last - race number 106. It can be a bit of an 'old boys club' here... different 'rules' for different folk. Pity... as a competitor, it's the biggest thing that spoils the event a bit for me... besides crap weather of course!

Still smiling after waiting an hour in skrootineering queue!

Anyway... back to the business of going fast on the most awesome race track in the world... I managed a 100mph lap on the little Suzuki. Not great, but considering it's only my second lap on her and from a standing start, it'll do. Qualified on that bike. Hoped to get 2 laps in but we were so far back in the queue and with the delay it didn't work out.

Nic had the Ducati warmed up and ready for me in Parc Firme when I got there. Thanks Chief! Down Bray Hill - I couldn't feel any noticeable difference in her. She was still hard work to turn in and running wide coming out of corners.

Legendary bike... loads of pics and had a good chat to the guy who looks after it

The traffic was bad in that lap. Newcomers on fast bikes not knowing where they are going. I give Newcomers a wide berth, but when they're on a faster bike than you, the only place you can pass is in the corners. They also hold each other up so you tend to come across them in clumps of 3 or 4 bikes. Makes it even more difficult because they are all making strange lines to try get past the wandering fellow up front. Dangerous.

Suzy V on the approach to Kirkmichael

I came across such a group at the end of Cronk Y Voddy. They were all on fast bikes. I passed 2 through the Handley's section and lined up the next going into the top of Barregarrow. Newcomer goes for the apex, I'm steaming in wide of him to get the drive down the hill. He decides to hit the brakes and pick his bike up just as he goes into the corner. Next second, his bike is right where I want to be and he's hard on the brakes.

Pete Minns - flying on his Newcomer year!

 

Fuck me! I squeeze those Brembo's as hard as I dared while cranked over at 120mph. The front wheel buries itself into the corner and the back sways. I fight the bars as the suspension loads and unloads. I miss his back wheel by 2 feet and am a bit out of shape. But, the Duke is awesome and helps me out... she sorts herself out as soon as I'm back on the gas down the hill.

Holy crap. That is the closest I have ever come to hitting another bike around here... it unsettles me a bit. I have a patchy, non-flowing second half of the lap trying to get past traffic. Lap 2 and I'm onto a flier. At Ballacraine I come across another clump of Newcomers getting in each others way and causing a mobile hazard.

Hussling the Duke into Kirkmichael

I get through them through Glen Helen as I hit Cronk Y Voddy I get behind Chris Palmer on a classic bike. His bike is slow but Chris is one of the fastest around the TT Mountain Course with 4 TT and 3 Manx GP wins. I roll the throttle and sit behind him... I go to school.

For the next half a lap I fly through turns faster than I ever have. Studying his lines and feeling his corner speed. I have to roll the throttle at 7500 rpm down the straights to keep behind him, but I learn a lot. Most of the time I'm using my 100% horsepower advantage just to keep up as he pulls a gap through the corners.

Traffic through Greeba Bridge

 

In Ramsay I make 2 small mistakes because I'm focussing on Chris more than on what I'm doing. The lesson is over and I let him get 100 yards ahead, knowing that I can easily get past on the Mountain Mile. I do just that and have a quick, flowing last few miles. I clocked a 102.8 on that lap... despite only rumbling down the straights on half throttle!

With the 107mph on the Aprilia, 100mph on the Suzuki and now a 102 on the Ducati... and 2 laps or more on each - I am qualified for all three classes! Done.

 I'll do a post on this machine sometime.

IOM 2013 - Day 4 - The Quickening

Tuesday was beautiful on the island. Sunny and warminsh :-)
Spent the morning prepping the bikes and then hauled the Aprilia and Ducati up to skrootineering. Again, at skrootineering there was a queue halfway to Douglas Promenade. A bit disorganised. We got both bikes through no problem and the bikes into Pitlane and Parc ferme.

 

First session was the Duke and we started on time. I set off at a steady pace... a bit slow through to Ballacraine with loads of traffic but then started to get back into the rhythm. Over the mountain there were rain drops on my screen/visor, but nothing to be concerned about.

Some fantastic machines in the paddock...

 

Blasting past the Grandstand on a flying lap is awesome... flat out down Bray Hill. It's so fast. The Duke was feeling good, but a bit slow to turn and running a little wide. Had to man-handle her through the bottom of Bray Hill.

Some oddball ones too!

The second lap was good. Not too much traffic and the old girl pulling well on the changed gearing. The fairing design and seating position pushes ones knees into the wind. At over 140mph down the long straights, the wind is trying to push my knees open. I have to really work hard and the insides of my thighs were burning at the end of 2 laps.

The first lap was 98mph second was clocked at 102mph. Super happy with that :-) We've got more to come.

Norton Rotary...

 

Permanently being worked on...

I came into Parc Firme and Nic had the Aprilia warmed-up and waiting. A quick drink, visor clean and we're off again on the big bike.

She feels totally different to the old Duke. Different riding position. Feet not so high, bum lower than your hands, long and stretched out. Big. Fast! First time I have ridden big Betty since breaking down at Ballaugh in last year's Senior. The 10 000 mile completely standard eBay engine in her pulls well. Don at Southern Cross has sorted her fuelling beautifully and the power 'curve' is a straight line. Kaboodles of torque too.

Rotary engine on display

The Ducati has a close ration box, so I'm changing gear a lot more than with the Aprilia. The Aprilia drives like anything from 5000 rpm so I can short-shift a lot more and generally be a bit lazier. No knees battering through the wind and with that big screen she's a lot easier to ride fast. But, on the really fast sections I'm struggling to breathe. I have to gasp for breath. I think there is a big negative air pressure happening and it is literally sucking the breath out of me. Need to try sort that.

Lining the old girl up down Glencrutchery Road

First lap on the big girl and I'm on 105mph. Nice :-) I get a second lap in... with the flyer down Bray Hill I clock in at 107.5 mph. Awesome. Pretty close to the fastest I've ever gone around here (108mph) and I wasn't pushing at all. Definitely more to come.

An awesome day's practice with 4 good laps in. Back of shoulders, neck and back aching like anything. Very unfit for riding a bike... but with the first race in less than a week: no pain, no gain.

Pic of the SV at Ballacraine from Monday