17th April 2004 - Cadwell Park

The track was damp (again) when we went out for morning practice but the sky was definitely clearing so we were looking forward to a dry day. The dyno was also here so all the MiniTwins would be tested - We would finally know just how much those new fuel injected bikes were putting out and how much my little Raptor was making.

Despite the twin race cans it was still running standard header pipes which were bound to be costing me a bit of power. I had also heard various rumours about the newer bike having better machining internally as part of an ongoing improvement programme put in place by Suzuki. Unfortunately the Raptor 650s were all built using engine Cagiva purchased back in '99 so that I had one of the oldest designs on the grid.

Even the later carburettor bikes were going to be better than mine and the new fuel injected ones had the benefit of an oil cooler which would make a big difference towards the end of the race. Guess I was going to have my work cut out!

Race 1 - Mini Twins

By the time our race was called the track was mostly dry. To say I was nervous was an understatement especially as I was on the very inside again just like I had been for my accident last year. This time I was back on the 6th row and although I made an okay start and didn't lose too many places I was in the worst possible position for the first corner so lost out to a few of the braver guys on the way round Coppice in to Charlies 1. I got held up a bit through Charlies 2 and had to sit there as a about half the grid came by on the straight section.

I had managed a much better start than Robin McKee although I'm not quite sure how. He was about the fourth rider to come by on the straight although he did go by a lot slower than some. his lack of horse power was revealed on the dyno but it didn't help me at all. I stuck with him for another lap but could only get along side round Chris Curve due to the number of bikes using different lines. Coming out of Charlies 2 for the second time not only did Robin pull away but Sarah Jordan, Don Carcas and Jay Knowleson all came by as well.

I got back past Don round Chris Curve and held on to Jay for a while but Sarah just continued to pull away as soon as we got to a straight part of the track. I gradually settled in to a comfortable rhythm until about the fourth lap when I was approaching the new chicane. My usual hard braking seemed to work fine right up until the point where I usually turn in. At that point I got a hard shove from behind as someone else overcooked their braking and ran in to the back of me. I had no choice but to turn in but much later than I ought to have been. A bit of grass tracking ensued visiting the rumble strip on both sides of the track and narrowly missing the tyre wall in the process. I finally came to a stop whilst still upright. By some miracle the guy in front of me and the guy behind the idiot that hit me didn't get caught up in the process and I set about trying to catch them.

The nice new chicane hadn't been there long enough for there to be any grass around it so I had been riding through wet mud which now coated my tyres. After a couple of slides I decided to take it easy and a quick look over my shoulder revealed a reasonable gap so I didn't have to push too hard. After wobbling round for the last couple of laps I found that I had finished in 29th place, only three places off last position. To top it all the rider who had run in to the back of me was none other than Nigel Voyce - The very same person who had taken me out big style at Brands Hatch. This was starting to get personal. Despite finishing in 29th I had only managed a best lap of 1:56.66 which I wasn't to pleased with. The fast boys reckoned that the new chicane was adding around five seconds a lap so I should have been aiming for mid 1:45.xx according to my calculations based on last year's results. Oh well, at least I finished in one piece.

Race 1 - Clubman 400/650 Shoot Out

After a long wait to get the bikes put on the dyno I found that there were only three bike putting out less power than mine and two of those had definite mechanical problems. I wasn't sure about Robin McKee as I suspected his power problems was just down to very rich jetting but Matt Bond had ridden the wheels off his to get 12th place yet his bike had the least power of anybody. After some investigation it turned out that his carburettor slides weren't opening fully which would explain things. Shame he couldn't do anything about it until he got home.

The Clubman series was designed to give people an extra ride and an additional championship based over just twelve rounds as a lot of people couldn't afford to do a full season of twenty rounds. The top six from any of the championships from last year weren't eligible to take part so it meant that there should be a few different people dicing for the top positions. It also meant that the SuperSport 400 riders were going to be racing with the MiniTwins guys. It should be interesting to see how the two compare as we found the SV650s were slightly quicker last year but they never had to mix it on track at the same time. I was 14th on the grid right next door to Deb Cartwright. We'd had some good battles last year when Deb was doing Rookie 400s but she had finished the season and was in top form whilst I was, er, making it up as I went along still :-)

I was determined to get a good start but it all got rather pear shaped instead. I certainly got moving pretty quickly, the only problem being that my bike started to wheelie. Talking to Deb later she said the first thing she saw was my front wheel come past her at around head height! Yeah, it scared me as well! Having botched up my start I had no choice but to get my head down and see what I could do about it. Obviously the usual problem down the straights didn't help, especially as my poor start let a few too many guys get in front of me. I managed to overtake at least one person per lap through Chris Curve and invariable another through Coppice although they would usually get me straight back down Park Straight. Fairly quickly Sarah Jordan came by in the usual place which spurred me on a bit more. Sarah had started from the 35th grid slot so I was obviously not riding anywhere near my capability and was being far too tentative with my overtaking ability.

I then got caught up with a few of the SuperSport 400 guys. Strangely enough their bikes were much faster down the straight but not so good in the corners. Very odd considering the quality of their suspension and brakes. I had a good battle with a couple of guys which really forced me to get my race head on and stop riding like I was on a track day. With my new found determination I pulled myself through the small pack of 400s that I was fighting with a caught Don Carcas and Carl Shipman on their SV650s. I overtook Don on the way through Chris Curve (again) and tried to pass Carl in to the Gooseneck. He wasn't going to make it easy and shut the door on me and we had a great scrap all the way back round for another lap. I would pull alongside through the corners and Carl would get back in front down the straights. I eventually made a forceful move up the inside in to the Gooseneck and got my head down to break the tow. I knew that I should be able to brake harder and that if I pushed hard Carl might make a mistake the way Nigel had done earlier.

I could see a couple of 400s up ahead and although we were running out of laps I started pushing harder through the twisty section and soon found that I was dragging my belly pan through the Mountain section. Initially it was quite unnerving but I soon got used to it although I had visions of having to fork out for a new one if I wore it away so I tried to be a bit more gently. Honest! I caught up to the back of the 400s as the last lap flag came out and tried my usual trick of overtaking round Charlies 2 only for him to come back down the straight. Another go around Chris Curve and he shut the door on me. My last option was down in to Mansfield which was going to really test my bravery. I decided that if I got inside him then I could brake as hard as I wanted to and he wouldn't be able to get back at me. A manic block pass later and I was through. Using all the track I knew he was gaining on me despite having lost all of the drive out of Mansfield. I managed to cross the line just 0.7 seconds ahead.

I finished 26th which was disappointing initially but I had really been racing this time rather than just riding round. I had scraped my belly pan, had a few good battles with riders I knew I should be beating and generally enjoyed myself. A better start and who knows where I might have finished. My best lap was 1:53.90, a whole 2.8 seconds faster than the earlier MiniTwins race. I had also worked out why i was going so slowly down Park Straight. My aluminium brackets supporting the nose fairing had collapsed. Rather than a nice aerodynamic shape to push the wind aside it was now a flat sail slowing me down. Something to remedy for the next race where I might have a chance at redeeming myself.

Race 2 - Mini Twins

A bit of maintenance on the nose fairing and I was ready for action. Well, the bike was. All I wanted to do was go to sleep but I had another race to run. Starting in 29th place I couldn't really go backwards so I was a good opportunity to try out my new found confidence and see where it took me. I made an okay start and was amazed how much faster I was able to go up Park Straight now that my nose fairing was helping rather than hindering my progress. Most of the guys up front were a good couple of seconds quicker than me and pull away accordingly. I managed to hold my own and even make up a couple of places in the first few laps. I got in to another battle with Carl Shipman. Now I could almost stay with him on the straight, note the 'almost' :-) I got along side him a few times and despite having time to wave to each other whilst flat on the tank I could make up the time anywhere obvious. My riding was getting a little erratic as I got tired and I starting making mistakes again. I missed a few gear changes that didn't help and started scraping my belly pan badly on the way in to the Mountain which was proving very distracting as I really needed to be able to concentrate fully on the twisty section.

Carl was much better than me through the hairpin and Barn corner which left me a lot of work to do to. On the next lap my new nose fairing brackets decided they had had enough and it unceremoniously turned back in to a large air brake. The effect was amazing, Carl just disappeared in to the distance. Note taken to get it sorted properly in time for Snetterton! After trying to catch Carl I eventually chickened out of a more determined move through Barn which let him get away for good. This mistake was just enough to allow Will Jobbins to catch me round Charlies 2 and he simply rode passed me down Park Straight. Will is Editor of Streetfighters Magazine and our battle even made for a picture in the magazine. Only problem was he was in front :-( Not much I could do as I was now exhausted. This was the most exercise I had done since breaking my leg back in August 2002 and it was making itself felt. I looked over my shoulder and couldn't see anyone so settled for that position and followed Will home to take 33rd place.

To think that I thought 29th was as low as I could go. Bah Humbug! I didn't even get close to my time from the Shoot Out race and had to settle for a best of 1:54.95 - It was still over 1.5 seconds better than the morning race but just wasn't good enough. I did learn that aerodynamics make a big difference on my little bike, although I suspect that weighing in at 14.5 stone wasn't helping either. At least I was down almost a stone from the end of last year after sitting around nursing my leg.

Another day over with - Thoroughly exhausted but feeling much more positive than I had before as I had finally found some determination and a some of the race craft that I had forgotten from last year. Now if I can just get some more power I'll be a bit happier and some more sleep :-) Roll on Sunday although another three races is going to be a lot of hard work!

At least I had a better day than Paul Wilson. He was riding the T.W.O. bike and was taken out big style two corners in to the first race. He did make up for it though by scything through the field to take 20th place in the second!