Back at Brands... Again!

Sat 10thMarch 2012

Early start for the two hour drive to ye olde Brandishing Hatchets to get there for 7:30. Then it all goes into fast forward...

Park van, unload bikes, wheels off Candy, queue at tyre changers, unload rest of gear, back to queue at tyre changers, go for a shite, back at tyre changers to give instructions, get my gear on, Wee Monster to the other side of circuit for scrootineering, kit scootineered, back to Candy, hook-up battery, gas her up, back to tyres changers... they're not finished, warm up and stretches, warm Candy up, finally get wheels from tyre changers, fit wheels, get Candy across circuit to scrootineering, then get her to the other end of pits for signing on, first call for practice, race program stuffed down leathers and we trundle out for Classic Superbike qualifying...

Wee got no more power Capt'n... I'm givin' it all she's got!

Out in qualifying I do 3 steady laps on cold, untried tyres. Then I'm right back where I finished off a week ago. Short-shifting a bit more than usual because of the deafening roar as Candy comes on song – I forgot my ear-plugs. I put a couple of progressively quicker laps together. The rear is sliding out of Druids more each lap. I come into the pits half-way through the session, happy that I've qualified reasonably well without taking more risks.
Only later do I realise I didn't check tyre pressures... 45psi is a bit more than the 28 I normally run on the rear. Probably explains the slidey-slidey Druids. Doh! I still qualify 3rd in the Classic Superbikes :-)

A van, jenny, paddock stands, a box of spares, jerry cans of gas, leathers and kit... and two bikes on teh way to do sum racin'... early morning delirium!

After a short break and I'm out on the Wee Monster for the Desmo Due qualifying. I get to the assembly area first... looking for a clear track. This plans goes wrong when the Wee Monster doesn't fire up on the button. I eventually get her chugging over after the first riders are already on track. I’m at the back of a big field of 33 bikes. Bugger!

I hang way back on the first 3 laps... coaxing warmth into the tyres until the lead guys on track are bearing down to lap me. Then I get the hammer down and put in a some flying laps with no traffic. I catch a a gaggle of slower riders and pull in, unlikely to get a clear run for the rest of the session and saving my tyres. I did two rounds on these tyres last year... and I’m too Scots to buy new ones for the season. Old and past their prime, I save what’s left of them for the race where a tenth of a second could count a lot. I qualify 5th :-)

Hitting traffic in the Desmo Due Qualifying session

My race prep for the Wee Monster since racing her almost a year ago was: hooking up the battery and sloshing some fuel in. The tyres had a half the pressure they should have had in them! After correcting tyre pressures on both bikes, refuelling and a little fettling I'm out for the one-race Classic Superbikes on Candy. Lining up on the front row, I stare down the throat of the beast that is Paddock Hill Bend... I WILL be first through there. I can see it clearly.

Start lights go out, I'm off teh line well and Candy pulls like a train. The pole starter is alongside, but fades as I hang on the gas as long as I dare before tipping in and falling over the precipice of Paddock Hill.

Taking 2 bikes racing: it’s twice the work, twice the hassle and everything takes twice as long.

Paddock Hill bend is one of the most awesome corners I've ridden. It can be a bit scary. But I love it - it's my strongest corner at Brands. A great feeling knowing that you have this baby in your arsenal.

Through Paddock Hill and Candy is leading a race for the first time... ever! It’s my first time leading in the dry too :-) I defend through Druids - my weakest corner. I know they're tripping themselves up back there in the melee. I have a clear track. What a feeling!

Candy leads her first race... follow me boys...

Mark Dicken gets me across the line on his 1999 R6 that must be tuned to the moon. I hang onto the back of him and then get mugged going into Druids by a blue Triumph. A Truimph 955! The bastird hangs me out to dry. I square the turn, fire Candy out at him and get back on the case. Soon, through Paddock Hill bend and he's mine. Easy-peasy.

He gets under me again through Graham Hill. No problemo as I pass him again, way before the apex of Paddock Hill. Now the leader has gapped us. Damn this guy on the old R6 is quick!

I push, but the best we can do is maintain the gap the leader has. He is merciless through the lapped traffic and gets away. I keep pushing till I pass the chequered flag. Candy gets her first podium after 8 years of trying! Damn, it feels good. No wild celebration... just quiet contentedness as I enjoy the cool-down lap.

The first piece of plastic Candy has earned

Candy is a stock-engined 1998 RSV – she’s only making 128 bhp. Since I got the old gal in 2004 she has been losing out on speed and power more and more every year. Racing is so much more fun when you’re not creamed by more power and can fight a fairer fight.

An hour and a half later and I’m lining the Wee Monster up on the outside of the second row. Start lights go out and I give her beans, pulling a nice wheelie off the line. I storm through Paddock Hill in third and take second on the way out. Yeah!

From 5th and on my way to 2nd in one turn... should be doing this every race!

We push hard on warming tyres. After Candy the Wee Monster feels like a rapier through the corners but an engorged slug between them. I hit the rev limiter a few times just trying the get more go out of her… but she’s got a completely standard, high-mileage roadie engine with only 60bhp… and feels pretty gutless. I hold second for 4 or 5 laps and then the inevitable… I get passed down the straight. I pass back immediately into Paddock Hill.

Then I make a mistake in the transition from Surtees to Mcleans. With a 5-speed gearbox the gearing is a bit off for this section and I have to change down as I’m tipping her in – far from ideal. I miss 4th and hit neutral… I run wide while clutching the stomped down-change. Two riders take the invitation and are up my inside. I get on it again and push to make up the gap… honing in on the bike ahead – “That’s MY podium!”

Paddock Hill is kind to me again. I pass easily.

Ruling Paddock Hill Bend!

Next lap and I get passed down the straight again… but this time a rider on each side! As we near the entry to Paddock Hill, I know they’re going to bottle it before me. There’s a bike half past me on the inside. I roll the throttle before I get to my marker to let him get ahead and I dart to his inside. They hit anchors and I brake only after passing them both and I crank the Wee Monster toward the high inside curb. Whoooohooo!

This is a dog-fight and I’m lovin’ every moment of it!

Somewhere in the fight the red flag comes out. Race stopped. There are enough laps run to call a result at the end of the last lap. I’m unlucky that the start-finish line is at the end of the straight, before I make my Paddock Hill moves and I land up with 4th. No trophy. My poor bike needs more power but I’m still beaming from some great fisty-cuffs during the race… and knowing that in both races I owned Paddock Hill Bend.

Shizzle-mah-nizzle! Now that was gaddamn fun!

I pack up with a big smile. Picking up my trophy for the classic Superbike race before heading home early because of the endurance race in the afternoon. I haven’t felt this good about short-circuit racing since 2006!

Season Opener - Brands Hatch

Been mad-busy the last few weeks - little time to post. Got some catching up to do. So, with the help of dates...

Sat 3rd March 2012

Headed out to Brands Hatch with Candy (1998 Aprilia RSV) for the road race season opener with the ThundersportGB club. Funny how things turn out...

Almost 8 years ago... on the 6th March 2004 at Brands Hatch, I popped my cherry and did my first ever race with the BMCRC (Bemsee) club. Dave and Bernadette Stewart who now run ThuundersportGB were then running Bemsee. And... I was riding the same goddamn bike!

6th March 2004 - Same bike... anyone recognise those leathers?

Then we were in the 'Supertwins' class... time has passed up both by and now we are 'Golden Era Superbikes' class.

This guy's day started badly... he lowsided on cold tyres before he even made it to qualifying... fortunately he had spares to repair and he got out to race.

I get to the circuit and it's gloomy and cold... same as it was 8 years ago. 15 minutes before practice and it starts drizzling lightly... I decide not to change wheels becasue a) I'm by myself and the job will take at least 10 minutes b) I think it'll stop drizzling and I'm too schnup to wreck a set of wets for one qualifying session. 2 minutes before we go out and it starts raining. Doh!

Normally don't mind the rain... but it sucks when you're on the wrong tyres

Turns out that I've lost a spacer from one of my wets and couldn't have changed the rear wheel anyway. Everyone else except another punter is on wets... I'm on super-slick Dunlop GP211s. Ho-hum...

I take it easy... just feeling my way around. I only need 3 laps to qualify. By lap 3 and it's pelting it down. I'm slithering all over the place... but just keeping her steady. My biggest concern is another rider flying around on wets harpooning me in to a corner. I do 2 more laps to make sure I qualify and then pull in.

Keeping her upright...and wobbling around

I qualify 18th out of 22... waaaay at the back. Sure enough it stops raining and starts drying for race one. It's still damp out there as we line up on the grid for the first time in 2012.
The guy ahead of me jumps the start by a mile... I'm thinking that they will red flag and restart. I relax. As the jump-starter is passing the start-row ahead of him, the lights go out and they're off. I'm caught napping... Doh! I'm last into Paddock Hill Bend... same as 8 years ago!

Druids action

It's slippery but the track starts to get a dry line after a few laps. I'm still on my dry-weather Dunlops and after the morning's qualifying just build my confidence lap after lap. I make up a few places before deciding to get the hammer down mid race. I make up more places but too little, too late. I finish 13th.

More Druids

It's glorious sunshine as race 2 soon rolls around. I get an okay start, the track is dry and I pile on the coals from the first turn. I gain a handful of places through Paddock Hill Bend and Druids. The rest of the race is one-way traffic. It's a busy race - catching and passing. Awesome to be racing against simmilarly matched machinery that doesn't leave you for dead down the straights.

Graham Hill Bend - in 2004. Who is # 11?

The same bend 8 years later on the same bike... at least we look faster! 

The race is over all too soon... I was really enjoying it when the chequered flag comes out and I take 5th. Eight years ago in my first two races I finished second last and last... good to see I've improved a bit after a few years racing.

Road Race Season Starts... Tomorrow!

Just a few pics from a few weekends work over the last two months. No big project, just lots of little things to get Candy (the old 1998 Aprilia RSV... the B.A.M.F.) in shape for the short circuits.

Changed the geometry a lot... setup for short circuits is very different to the TT Mountain Course

Tomorrow I'm at Brands Hatch for the inaugural round of the Golden Era Superbikes with ThundersportGB. I started my road race career with Dave and Bernadette at ThundersportGB... almost exactly eight years ago... at Brands Hatch... on the same bike!

Them rear sprockets sure do build up a bit of heat around the IOM!

I haven't short circuit raced Candy since looping her and at Cadwell in Spetember 2006. She was a write-off... but was resurrected with great cost, time and effort. I'm hoping she remembers her way around these tight tracks and doesn't hold any grudges.

She's gonna look sweeter bustin' some moves around Brands tomorrow!

ManxGP 2011 - Day 14 - The Big One - Senior Race

Woke up to rain, got our shit together and headed to the garage to pick up the bike, fuel, tools etc. We were in the Day Paddock by 08h00 when it stopped raining. Candy through skrootineering, into Parc Firme, under a cover and tyres warmers on. The 10h15 start is delayed 30 mins... this flies by and pretty soon were doing final checks and warming the bike up in Parc Firme.

Lap 1 into the Cregg Ny Baa

Wet an damp roads all round the Isle... not quite what we'd hoped for... but at least it wasn't raining. We wait for the first rider on the road to scream down to St Ninians before wheeling Candy up onto Glencrutchery Road and taking our place in the start line. Focus. There is a gap in the numbers ahead of me (a few not making the start line) and I have to wait 40 seconds after the rider in front has set off. Great... a good clear road.

Parc Firme fuel top-up

I get the 10 second signal. Starters hand on my shoulder. Revs rise. The flag drops at the same time as he taps my shoulder and I get away cleanly with a little wheelie. After getting the 'flat out till the left after Ago's right in practice, I'm disappointed that I have to roll the throttle through St Ninians and down Bray Hill because of the wet. Tip-toe through Quarterbridge, Braddan Bridge and Union Mills where it's not as wet and then flat-out.

Ale, Me and the old war horse Candy... She was the oldest bike out in the Senior and in her 4th Manx GP

I take it cautiously through the wet sections and nailing it as if in the dry through the damp sections. I'd only managed 3 laps of practice on Candy and hadn't ridden her in nearly ten days. But with the great work done by Dave at Evo Moto, she pulls like she's never done before. I think part of my lack of top speed on her in previous years was the clutch slip. The run onto Sulby straight was wet and taken real easy, despite this she knocks out her fastest yet through the speed trap - 157mph.

View up pit-lane... pit crews filling the fuel bowsers

She's handling well too - the chopper/razor compromise is spot-on. She shakes her head when she weelies over the big bumps and get's air over the fast jumps. Nothing major... I make a mental note to wind the steering damper in a few clicks during the pit stop. It's wet and a bit hairy over the mountain... but we take it smooth and steady... already catching riders that started a minute ahead of us.

Lining up on Glencrutchery Road

The driest part of the track is the last section, the usually slimy Governor's Dip. Back onto Glencrutchery Road and down Bray Hill again for lap 2. Feeling comfortable in the poor conditions, I pick up the pace as dry patches and lines start appearing. Still very wet through Glen Helen... but mostly dry all the way through to Quarry Bends. We get the hammer down where we can and Candy is singing in her Vee Twin barritone "Brrraaaaaaaaaap" all the way.

Hammering past the pits and grandstand into lap 2

Onto the mountain and I catch my mate Neil Vicars who started ahead of me. He's not enjoying the conditions as I fly past on one of the fast, wet bends. I just "make a rhythm" and concentrate on being smooth. Faster as the conditions improve. Pretty soon I'm slowing up and hurrying down pit lane at 30mph (speed limit in pit-lane with time penalties for infringement) for the pit-stop. I see Graham, and stop infornt of him, hit the kill switch and sit up so he can get the fuel cap.

Defuelling and packing up while the race is still being run

"There's no fuel cap!" He exclaims. I look down at the tank and see a big hole where the fuel cap should be.  I get that sinking feeling just as my visor goes dark as the visor cleaner foam Alex has just sprayed on is doing it's work on the bug carcases. I just open my arms to show I don't have it... Graham looks around the bike but it's somewhere on the 37.7 miles of TT Moutain Course. Probably close to the pit because I couldn't smell petrol and don't have any on my leathers. By then the skrootineer is onto us and tells us "I can't let you out without one".

Lap 2 into the Cregg... Neil behind me

I think. I'm sure I saw a gas cap of the same fitting in one of the race shops. Vaughan who is helping out to heads off to the paddock to try find one. One after another of the riders I have passed start coming in to pit... get refuelled, visor and screen cleaned, a drink and are off down to St Ninians. That sinking feeling gets deeper. We try bargain with the skrootineer and come up with McGuyver solutions. He's not having any of it. I just want to finish the race...
 

Candy into Signpost Corner during practice week

A few minutes laterVaughan appears with a few gas caps complete with fittings from the race shop... but none of them will fit a 12 year old Italian bike. We run out of time. Our race is over. I push the bike out the pit area to Parc Firme... it's no way to finish a race.

Suzy V from the inside of the Cregg Ny Baa on Wednesday

Suzy V around Cronk Na Mona on Wednesday

We got Oh-leens!

Alongside all the flattrackin, preparations for Manx 2011 continue...

A few weeks ago I got the BAMF's suspension back from K-tech... resprung and serviced forks... serviced rear shocker... they also set them up for the TT Mountain Course. Their experience has won many TTs... looking forward to testing these beauts out!

6 Days

I've had the trailer on the back of the chevy for 6 days now...

Tuesday - dropped the flattracker and Candy off at TSS for a toon-up for the new exhausts

Wednesday - picked up the flattracker and Candy form TSS. Candy's power curve is nicely smoothed out with a 4bhp gain at the top. The flattracker has gained 2-3bhp across the rev range :-)



Thursday - Got down to the field and had a blast just ripping up the dirt with Ant. Our track is so overgrown... many places is just a foot-wide groove of grip... get off this is and you're sliding across the grass. Very dry and dusty too... hooning around the fields was fast as you like! Awesome fun!

Friday - Down to Brands Hatch for a test day. Took Candy out for a couple of runs. All's good. She's running well and the bodywork makes her slippery! Took the Suzy V out as well to get her better setup for short-circuit racing. I left the suspension as it is from the Manx last year and just changed the wheelbase, gearing and front ride height. I didn't want to change too much.

 Early morning start on Friday...

 Pitting under an awning with Team Respro - oh... the luxury!

 Schnuggled up for a night in the paddock

Saturday - Still at Brands Hatch for the fifth of my six qualification races for the Manx GP. I'd entered Suzy V in the Thunderbikes class because with the winter engine work she is now illegal for the Minitwins class. She was a bit outgunned against most of the field and with mostly Manx set-up wasn't the nimblest... but she did well. Qualified 17th and in Race 1 managed to bring her home safely in 14th. It wasn't a fun race - a sidecar in the race before blew up and dropped oil on the racing line on 6 of the 9 corners. Spent the race dodging oil. Lap times were about a second and a half down on qualifying times. I normally do a second or two faster in a race.

 Paddock ingenuity for a lost exhaust plug

Team Respro: Mr Harry Cole 

We waited the whole day for Race 2 - this was cancelled after another sidecar incident before us. I hate racing with sidecars... it's always the same... they screw it up for the rest of us. They're not even motorbikes... they should go race with the cars. The only peeps that like sidecars in the paddock are sidecar crews. They're like quadbikes at enduros... just a pain in everyone else's ass. Hmph!

View from my paddock waiting chair... 

This is road racing... hurry up and wait... and wait... and wait... and pack up and go home. One reason why flattrackin' is more fun... less waiting and more racing!

We were racing on the Brands Hatch GP circuit... which is rare thing because of the wankers that move to a village next to one of the oldest race tracks in the world and then complain to the council that it's noisy on weekends. Tossers! The last time I raced this circuit was 2004 when I did about 10 laps before I had bike trouble. Yesterday I only got 14 laps in on the 'best circuit in Britain' - disappointing.

Harry likes to rock n roll! 

BUT - I got to test both bikes... got qualification race 5 under the belt... and pitted with my friend Harry Cole who I haven't raced with for a few years. And... the weather was good... so it was great!

Sunday - Got the fourfiddy back down the field where Ant, Mike and I did some shredding! Ultra dry, dusty and super-fast. Nothing like holding onto the big ol fourfiddy at full pelt down a single track... speeeeeeed-therapy!

We were just about to finish off... and were doing wheelies up 'wheelie' hill. I went off the back of the bike and cought my leg sideways. "Clack!" Jeeeeeeeesus! My knee! The pain! Despite wearing quality knee braces... I've now done my knee in. My flattracking knee (left). It hurts like fuck if I twist it slightly. Shit! Bollocks! and Fuck!

Gaining Weight

After spending an unreasonable amount of time and money rebuilding the BAMF last year, I managed to get her half-wet weight (ready to go race but with just a liter of gas in the tank) down from 186kg to 175kg. This bodes well for the power to weight ratio (acceleration) handling and braking. Part of the weight saving was using a trick LiFE battery pack supplied by Durbahn. It saved my 2kg over the stock lead acid battery and it's had loads of cranking power (used it in the BAMF, Fourfiddy, Wee Monster and Duke flattracker).

Somehow after the Snetterton test I managed to run the battery completely flat. Doh! Mr. Durbahn has been really helpful on the phone as we tried different things to try get it recovered. But, it was to no avail... I now have a very expensive Durbahn paper-weight. The BAMF is getting a stock item replacement... not ideal but the Durbahn is just too expensive to replace at the moment... so the BAMF is gaining weight. :-(

But hey... not all is lost. I've shaved 2kg of lard from by body through my gym punishment over the last 6 weeks... so we're evens!

Test at Snetterton

Took some time out from my house move on Sunday to test the little Suzuki SV and the BAMF at a Snetterton trackday. I got there early but the organization was piss-poor. Queued for 1/2 an hour to sign only to be told I have to go to the room next door and fill out some forms. At signing on there was only one staff member... and she was taking cash. Both bikes also had to be noise tested.

Early morning start with a Chevy packed with house contents and dragging 2 race bikes to Norfolk

They only started noise testing 45 minutes before the first session... of course they had the compulsory riders briefing during this time. Another queue. My session starts and I'm still waiting to be noise tested - I get out for 2 laps before the end of the session. It was run by a well known trackday company called 'No Limits' - they're shit.

Between sessions I queued again to get the BAMF noise tested. Despite the exhaust being repacked, she failed miserably. Limit: 105 dB. BAMF: 107 dB. Not good.

Got out on the Suzuki for 3 more sessions before lunch. She was great! She's a bit slow down the straight for the fast group - late model 1000cc superbikes would fly past and gap me by 50 yards before we got to the end of the longest straight on British soil. I'd then claw some back all the way to the chicane and they'd gap me again on the next straight. There were a couple of really fast boys out there... but most of the riders didn't get too far away from the 9 year old SV which had less than 1/2 the horespower than just about all of them and was on Pirelli road tyres.

Finally managed to get some air-ride suspension fitted to the Chev-dawg last week. You just load her up and pump up the pressure... fully loaded trailering 2 bikes she just eats up the bumps at 90mph! Brilliant!

During lunch I tried to botch a dB-killer on the BAMF - but wasn't accepted by the noise tester. :-( Got out for another session on the SV after lunch, but wasn't learning anything new. As Colin Edwards once said: If you're not riding at 110%, your just wearing out the machinery. Besides... I had a house-move to continue. So I skedaddled.

I was very happy with what I'd learned on the SV. It's dead-easy to ride quickly. Very forgiving. A bit slow, but quite a bit quicker than the Wee Monster. On standard road gearing I was still revving her out before braking - so need to sort that for the ultra-long straights on the Isle of Man. She's a lot lighter than the Wee Monster and easier to throw around, but still has worse brakes (no Brembos!) - got some new Performance Friction pads waiting for her so should be a bit better. Nothing broke or fell off. No surprises. Lovely! The bloke who built it, Gary at SDC Performance did a good job. :-)

The well mannered little SV and the fire-breathing Badd Ass

I was bit disappointed not to give the BAMF and run with her new-found horses and magnesium rear wheel - she's just been one disappointment after another since the rebuild - but I have faith that we'll get the old gal right.

BAMF Engine Rockin!

Got the BAMF back from Andy at Southern Cross. It was waaaay down on power on the Isle of Man following the rebuild. Back in 2005 she was giving us 130 bhp at the wheel.

Andy is the Aprilia RSV guru. He fitted the big throttle bodies and sorted the fuelling. He did loads of dyno work, experimenting with different airbox configurations and velocity-stack lengths. He built a custom airbox in the end.

The final tune is the blue line (short stacks).

Look at that torque!

Not as much power gains as I'd hoped for, but the dyno is probably calibrated a bit different to what it was 5 years ago.

She should now be good for 180 mph down Sulby Straight... I can't wait!

Manx GP 2009 – Afterthoughts

This year was the third time I competed in the Manx GP. Although I’ve been
3 times, I’ve only started 3 races there. One would normally enter at
least 2 races for each trip… 3 if you can. Ignorance, mechanical failure
and weather would be the 3 most accurate reasons why I only have 2
finisher’s medals and 1 replica on my mantlepiece for all my efforts. Not
much return on investment there.


This year I thoroughly enjoyed going as fast as the machine would go (or
as fast as I dared) on closed roads, despite the poor weather. For the
first time I never got ‘lost’ and always knew exactly where I was and what
was coming next. This made it a lot less stressful… and more enjoyable. I
just lapped up the experience, basked in the moment. It’s a privilege to
be able to do something most bikers only dream about… and an absolute
hoot!

It’s a drug.


When you’re hammering flat-out through a super-fast, blind corner on a
glorious sounding Vee Twin, one quickly forgets about all the expense (I
stopped keeping tabs of race expenditure years ago), time, trouble,
energy, hassle and ball-aches it takes just to get to the Isle and
compete. Is it worth it? Probably not... but I still want to do it again.



So… the BAMF will be developed and return to the Manx GP in 2010. She will
go the way I intended her to go this year – like a missile. The only
useful Vee Twins eligible for the Junior class are long £££s (a race
prepped Doocadi 749r ?), that leaves the Ultra Lightweight class again.
Riding Mike’s Wee Monster was an honor and brilliant fun… but we need to
up the ante. 62 bhp on a road bike just doesn’t cut it around the Isle. I
know my way around there a little bit better… now I want to compete. A
Suzuki SV650 is the obvious choice... but my heart isn’t into that. I’m
having wild ideas about a Ducati Monster special… or something else Vee
Twin, different… and fast!

We’ll see.

I’ll be back in 2010.