We're Going Dirttrackin' in the Mornin'

Tomorrow is the first round of the 2014 DTRA National Dirttrack Championships at my 'home' track - Leicester. I've been away since the Noyes Camp UK two weekends ago, so didn't have a chance to prep the bike till last night.

I made a few adjustments to the suspension and found out the new bars I had bought were pretty narrow. Then I hit the start button to check everything and nada. Hit it again. Nente. Shit. I look, check and put my multi-meter on a number of wires. Out with the wiring diagram. Check. Test. Check.

With my overly simplistic understanding of moto-sickle wiring, I narrow it down to one of the two starter relays. I removed the kick-start from the bike because it was in the way of the custom footrest I made and I had also never started the bloody thing on the kick-start despite many, many attempts. I find my closest KTM dealer online... just 1 hour drive away. Yipee.

I call them first thing - I'm in luck. They have both relays on the shelf. I pay for them on the phone and head up to Peterborough. I get the bits and pick-up a perfect set of Renthal bars as well :-) Back in the garage I fit the first relay. Still nothing. Shit. Fit the second. Hey-fuckin-presto!

With a bike that now starts, new bars, rear tyre and some suspension tweaks - she's ready. Bike, spares, tools, fuel and gear loaded. We're goin' Dirttrackin in the mornin'!!

Racing starts at 13h00 - Leicester Lions Speedway Track & Pavilion, Beaumont Sports Complex, 1 The Lions, Leicester, LE4 1DZ. Com'on down and watch the action!

Ducati Desmo Due - Pay Day

Thanks Jodie Wilcock for the pic

Friday night we loaded the van and got some shut-eye before the early morning trip down to Brands Hatch.

Got there around 08h00 - in good time for the 09h20 Qualification. Bike and kit through skroot okay then out onto a damp track for Qualifying. Most of the racers  made use of the Friday testing so were up to speed quickly. I just warmed my tyres for 2 laps then started chipping away.

Lap 4 and I feel a clunk. Then again. What the? I slow down and check where I can... no loose bolts sticking out. Bike still stops and turns. Engine running fine. Hmmmm... then 'clunk' again. After another lap, it get's worse so I pull into the pits.

First check I and I don't see anything. Helmet and gloves off... check again. Look, look, look. The I spot my chain... at one point, it's at a funny angle. One of the fecking links has broken. Crap! The clunk feeling was the chain hitting the engine casings.

I got a few hours before my race start, so just have to source a chain and a chain-breaker tool. With no race shop in the paddock (which is a bit weird), I ask around. Turns out Colin Norris of the SorryMate Endurance team (they kindly let me share their garage) has a spare chain from last year, a chain breaker/riveter and an angle grinder. Awesome! I get to work.

All done in good time for the race. But my Qualifying time from earlier is shite and I'm 19th on the grid from 23 riders. Got my work cut out for me. Dry, sunny but a cold wind. We line up and wait for the lights...

Hangin' with team SorryMate.com - thanks guys!

Thanks Justine Verwey for the pic.

I make a good start and grab a few places off the line. More places to be had going into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time... and some more going into Druids. Sweet! On lap 2 I get behind Michael Burke and we have a good ol' ding-dong battle for the next 8 laps.

Then the Wee Monster starts to fluff at high revs. Then clears... then fluffs again. I lose touch with Michael, then she bogs down completely going into Surtees. After trying my hand at engine work for the first time over the winter... and the ham-handed cock-ups I've made - all I see in my mind are bits of metal being sheared and swarfed up inside the engine and the poor beast chewing herself to bits. I swear I can smell burning oil. Bollocks!

First corner in a road race is pretty busy.

Thanks Jodie Wilcock for the pic

I pull into the pits and have a quick look. No oil. No chunks of metal. No rattles or knocking sounds. I check again. Nothing. She seems to run ok. Then I spot fuel around the rim of the fuel cap. I twist the fuel cap off and hear the 'ppppffffsssssssstttt' release of pressure. Shit. Must be fuel starvation... I check down pitlane at the finish line. The chequered flag is being waved. Too late.

Team SorryMate.com starting their 3hr endurance race - they got 4th and were unlucky not to get on the podium

This leaves me with a problem. There is only one race on Saturday... only one opportunity to get a qualifying signature for my TT Mountain Course Licence. It doesn't matter which class or bike I'm on... I just need a race finish to get that signature. I check the race schedule. There is a 'Lightweight' race for which the Wee Monster is eligible at the end of the day. I go find Dave, the race meeting Boss. He lets me enter the 'Lightweight' race on short notice.

Paul Berryman helping out with a cup 'o tea and the all important sticker alignment.

Thanks Justine Verwey for the pic.

The fuel cap is a cheap Chinese one. I got it originally for the Ducati 888 Classic TT bike. I didn't like the feel of it so swapped it for the good quality European made fuel cap that was on the Wee Monster. Turns out that although it is the right size and bolt configuration as a Yamaha fuel cap, the breather hole is in a different location. When fitted to a Ducati, the breather is blocked. Yep - cheap Chinese crap.

Thanks Jodie Wilcock for the pic

Besides the chain and gas cap issues, the bike is running well. I'm not being left for dead down the straights :-) Incremental gains: new rings, lapped in valves, removed base gasket, 2:1 exhaust (thanks Kevin Ellis), open airbox and the beautiful Desmosedici aero pack from one of my sponsors, Peter at Oronero.

Because of changeable weather (and some hail), my Lightweight race is cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday. Bollocks. I got find the Race Director and he agrees to give me a signature for that race if I finish it on the rescheduled Sunday. A long, frustrating, tiring day. Cold and hungry, I head back to my Mom's for an awesome home-cooked meal and a dry, warm bed :-)

Lookin' sweet! Did I mention the cool fairing is from Peter at Oronero?

After a fantastic night's rest and some great breakfast, I head back up to Brands for warm-up, the Lightweight race and then the two Ducati Desmo Due 18 lappers. It's bright and sunny, but soon big black clouds blow in and we have intermittent showers for the rest of the day.

Out for 4 laps warm-up and then straight into the Lightweight race. Because I was a late entry and didn't qualify, I'm right at the back of a 21 bike grid. Revvs up, lights out and I make a blinder of a start. I take handfulls of places in the first 2 corners... 13th after lap 1. Sweet! I lose some places to bigger, faster bikes as the race winds down. But I finish to gain my first signature of the weekend. Turns out that I finished 2nd in class :-) but no trophy because there were only 3 of us in the class. Bike works good.

Bike on fire at Clearways... all in a days' racin'

An hour later and I'm lining up 19th on the grid in the first Ducati Desmo Due race of the day. Another good start and I'm making up places all the way through lap 1. Next few laps I catch and pass, catch and pass. I'm up to about 7th and I can see the leading group ahead. Drops of rain start flicking off my visor and screen... I push on. Two laps later and I'm starting to see lines left by the tyres on the wetting track so I back off a bit. The next time we hit Druids and two riders are down and the red flags come out. Damn! Now I got to do all that work again from the back of the grid in a shortened race.

We gather for the restart - 8 laps. But the rain gets heavier, then it starts to hail. They call an early lunch and postpone the race by 30 mins. The rain stops after 20 mins, but the track is soaked. Our control tyre, the Dunlop Qualifier isn't too good in the wet. But we're all on the same rubber so we got to give it a go.

Spot the Wee Monster - 19th is a loooong way back!

Thanks Alan Lygo for the pic.

Another good start off the line. I cut through the pack around Paddock hill, take another bunch of places into Druids, another one into Graham Hill, another into Surtees. I cross the start line in 3rd! By the time we are around again for lap 2 and I'm leading! Its been a long time since I've lead a race... an awesome feeling. Acres of empty track in front of you. Just you, your machine and the track. No one kicking up spray in your face. Beautiful!

Working our way through the traffic.

Thanks Jodie Wilcock for the pic

I push the front a few times in the next couple of laps. I get the rear sliding around too. I focus on being relaxed and smooth. Feeling everything through my arse. On the gas as hard as I dare... just enough to get it sliding. A bit like flattracking. I'm really enjoying it and just keep trying to brake that fraction later and harder on every corner, and get on the gas that fraction earlier and quicker. The last lap flag comes out and that's when the thought of  "I can win th...". I crush the thought before it can escape and do me harm. "There's someone on your 6. Just keep doing what you're doing.".

Through Clearways for the last time... hanging off the bike, egging a slide on. Tuck behind the screen... braaaaaap, braaaaaaaaap... over the line. "Fuck yeah!" I roll down Paddock Hill, the marshals applauding. Goddamn this feels good! I turn around and the track is empty. I turn to the other side looking for the guy that was on my 6. Empty track. I slow right down, wave at the spectators and marshals and wait for the next riders for a hand touch. Turns out I won by 10 seconds. 19th place start, 8 laps... and I win by 10 seconds. This was almost the same as my only other race win which was at Anglesey... 6 years ago... in similar conditions... on the same old bike! Stoked!

Thanks Jodie Wilcock for the pic

Job done - two signatures for the TT Licence. Sweet. The attrition rate is high by the time race 2 rolls around. The track is also a bit damp and patchy after rain showers. No worries. I make another decent start and carve my way through the pack. I'm up to 5th or 4th after some laps.

Over the start/finish line and I get a face-full of hail. Shit! I back off a bit, brake earlier, tip her in slower and easier. As I approach the apex of Paddock Hill, a pair of riders in the leading group have skittled down the track and have been flung into the air as they hit the raised gravel trap. I ease off and hit the apex, my front pushes, I recover, it pushes again. Whoooooah, boy! That hail sure is slippery stuff!

Thanks Justine Verwey for the pic.

The race is red-flagged. Kevin Palmer and Scott Wilson got pretty beat up in the gravel but I think are ok - hope you're feeling better by now. We restart a 10 lapper. I got all the hard work to do again. No worries - what man has done... man can do. Lights off, full gas. More barreling through the pack... awesome fun. End of lap 1 and I'm up to 5th. With my dark visor on, it's hard to see just how wet or damp the track is. I sit behind a few riders for a few laps in the uncertain conditions.

A bit patchy out there.

Thanks Justine Verwey for the pic.

I see the leading group a few seconds ahead, they're not getting away. After 5 laps I decide to make a pass and start pushing. I catch the lead group and start picking them off. There is a lot more grip than it looks like -  I'm riding by feel. Pushing harder every lap, and the grip is there.... no front-end pushes or slides. I wind her up. I catch the leader, Matthew 'Awesome' Lawson as we cross the last lap flag. I don't take any chances through Paddock Hill, get in late, square it off and drive up Matthew's inside toward Druids. Matthew comes across to defend, but I hold my breath and squeeze through on the brakes.

I know he'll be trying to get back at me when he sees how much grip there is. I pin my ears back and sprint the last few turns for the line. I take my second win of the day by a few bike lengths. Fuck yeah! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Top step... feels good!

Thanks Karen Claridge for the pic.

After all these years trying, I finally take a Desmo Due win and go on to do the double. It's been 6 years since my last and only race win. Goddamn!

I'd like to thank my Mom, Peter at Oronero, Mike Dawson at MD-Racing, Steve at MTS Classics, Colin and Warren of team SorryMate.com, all the great fellas (and gals) in the Desmo Due paddock, Ale, Oz-Poz and Dooley-Bug for all your love and support form afar. I couldn't have done it without you! It's been real.

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