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...