ManxGP 2011 - Day 4 - That's the Manx

Got the bikes cleaned up and prepped this morning. I have a new race clutch for Candy on it's way from Texas and some new Rock Oil oil for her at cost price from Padgetts.

Candy and Suzy V prepped and ready to rock 'n roll

I was an hour early to skrootineering. With two bikes to sort I always need to get there early... but this time they played it by the schedule and didn't let us through early. So I hauled the other bike and my trolley up... and stood around waiting. Both bikes through skrootineering no problemo... except a nit-picking skroot who when he realized he was wrong about my lockwiring made up some kak story about how it should be... he tried to save face and has given me more work for tomorrow. Twit.

Modern classes waiting around for skrootineering... where's Suzy V?

Anyways... still through with plenty of time to have a relax, eat and drink. Suited and booted and a new clear visor fitted (it's been dull and overcast the whole day... but dry!) and I headed up to Parc firme.

A bit of pre-skroot banter with the Minns family

There was a 20 minute delay while they shuffled marshals around... then the Newcomers who didn't manage an escorted lap yesterday went out for their escorted lap. One of the Newcomers yesterday, a local lad from Douglas, crashed on his sighting lap... at Ballaugh Bridge! I asked him about it and he said "I was just being a dick...". I guess he's been over Ballaugh at the legal 30mph lap a kazillion times... and yesterday he was free from the legal shackles, gave it welly and launched it skywards. He was ok... but the bike mullered. That's the Manx.

Some stone damage on Michael Moulai's bike - the stones were bad yesterday... shoot up like bullets and nail  you at over 130mph. Many bikes had holes right through their screens

15 minutes later the session 1 lads tore off down Bray Hill. It would be at least half an hour before we got going. I warmed up the bike... chatted a bit and worked at keeping focused. Fifteen minutes after the last of session 1 riders got going we heard that the session had been red flagged due to an incident approaching Ramsey. Approaching Ramsey is fast... hey... it's all fast...except Ballaugh Bridge!

I didn't escape the bullets - a glancing blow was enough to chip my brand new lid... this is the Manx

We waited and waited. Then the session 1 boys came back under yellow flags in drips and drabs. It took a while to clear the incident and we were losing light... the session was eventually cancelled. Ho-hum and bollocks! A lot of waiting around. Hope whoever was involved in the incident are ok.

Classics and Post Classics warming up... with those megaphone exhausts the earth shakes!

Disappointing because the forecast for the rest of the week is dire and today was the day to get those qualification laps in the bag. But we're all in the same boat... and that's the Manx!

Candy waits patiently for me to retrieve her from Parc Ferme... we did a lot of waiting around today

ShorttrackUK Club Championship - Amman Valley

The trip down

Up at 5a.m. for a 4 hour drive...

I cocked up my alarm setting and woke an hour later than intended on Saturday morning. Rush, rush, rush... in the van and on my way to Amman Valley in Wales for the next round of the SHorttrackUK Club Chapionship.

Stevie left for Wales on Friday... the forecast was sunny and hot... so he brought his beachwear...

It was raining when I woke and raining all the way there. It was supposed to clear mid-morning... but it didn't. At 14h00 it was still drizzling - racing on the track would have just chewed it up. A decision was made to cancel the meeting. :-(

Waterlogged

Factory Team Suzuki

But, we were lucky... and the World Cup Speedway Grand Prix was on at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff... just an hour's drive away. Guy, Karina, myself and a few other competitors headed to Cardiff for some speedway action.

It was all wetsuits on Saturday...

Action at SpeedwayGP - Millenium Stadium, Cardiff

The atmosphere in the stadium was awesome and the racing a spectacle. 41 year-old Greg Hancock (USA) showed the young one's how to do it by winning the Grand Final in convincing style. A great end to a washed-out day.

Here are the highlights (thanks Tom Neave for the link...):

Sunday - A Day in the Garage

Minging, drizzly weather yesterday. Spent it in the garage prepping the BAMF and Nic fixing the BSA.

(Brit iron and weather - oil and water)

Turns out the crap handling over the Mountain on Saturday evening was caused by a puncture. I must have picked up some debris from Ryan Farquar's crash at Guthries. It must have been sharp metal - it was picked up, pierced the tyre then flew around under the rear hugger and smashed a hole through the carbon-fibre. War wounds.

(War wounds from the Isle of Man)

Also stripped, checked and cleaned the throttle and linkages on the throttle-bodies. Couldn't find anything to explain the strange behaviour at Bedstead Corner on Saturday. This doesn't give me piece of mind... mabe the wheel was just spinning up in the punctured tyre? Dunno. All looks and feels fine.

(The broken BSA or foul weather didn't dampen spirits)

Nic spent the day up to his elbows in oil and grease fixing the BSA Streettracker. A piece of the steel chain-guard got ripped into the sprocket and went around a few times! It sliced through a wire from the magneto - that bike is an absolute pain in the arse to work on... but he eventually got it sorted.

(The BAMF gets finally gets some graphics)