1st May 2004 - Snetterton

Race day dawned and despite the overnight rain the track was drying out until a sudden downpour just before practice had everyone rushing to fit their wet tyres. Fortunately I had managed to source a new rear wheel after a lot of hassle (it had been on order since January) and at considerable expense also. I thought this was meant to be a cheap series so swore at the idiot that wrote the rules requiring the use of standard wheels until I remembered that I had written them so maybe I will have to fix that for next year :-) As I hate the wet I went as fast as I dared but was still overtaken by most of the guys who fill in the very back of the grid. Maybe they don't know quite how much it can hurt yet or maybe I'm just a bit too scared by it all.

First corner bundle - 40 Bikes in the wet!

Race 1 - Mini Twins

The MiniTwins were race 4 and by the time practice finished it was obvious that not only was the rain stopping but it would be starting to dry out very soon. Another mad rush to put the Dunlop 207GPs back on and I was just about ready to go out for the race. The Raptor wheels are much easier to fit than the SV650 as there aren't any loose spacers or other daft bits to drop at the crucial moment. Having said that there are a couple of captive spacers on the wheels and it's quite important to transfer them over in order for the wheel to turn when everything has been tightened up. As usual I found out the hard way!

The race was pretty scary not least because despite the increasing dry line the whole of Russell Chicane was awash with detergent after an oil spill as was the outside of the braking zone at the end of the Revett Straight. Normally you could avoid the problem on the way in to the Esses but the detergent had decided to run across the track right where you didn't want it. I made an okay start and kept with the other bikes on my row until the first corner when I started to go backwards rapidly. I had a few problems getting in to top gear down the back straight which was a bit worrying but most of my concentration was on the detergent running across the track.

For the first time this season there were people actually getting in my way but with only a dry line I wasn't sure how to get round them. In the end I found that there was room to go round the outside of them on the way in to Corams which would give me enough space so they didn't come by on start/finish straight. I had a good battle with Sarah Jordan on her new fuel injected SV650. I really should have got one instead of the Raptor as they are so much faster on the straight bits that it just wasn't funny. Even in the slipstream down the back straight I could only watch as the bike pulled away from me.

Eventually I got round Sarah at Corams only for her to come by again on the next straight. Although I was faster through Riches I wasn't close enough to make much of it although I do barge my way through on one lap only to watch her disappear down the Revett Straight 20 seconds later. I tried an optimistic move around Corams again but had to brake hard as she turned in on me as we approached Russells Chicane. I managed to keep up along the start/finish straight until she braked early which caught me by surprise and my panic braking let Andrew Smith through. I got the place back at Corams again but lost drive out of the chicane and he got me back at Riches on the next lap.

The three of us then formed a little train as we overtook a couple of slower riders on the way in to Corams and both Andrew and I got by Sarah on the way in to Russells Chicane. I'm not sure how Sarah coped as Andrew went round the outside and I took the inside route. I lost a bit of time on Andrew when my bike jumped out of gear on the way out of the chicane. Andrew got better drive than me on to the back straight but I was no match for the power of Sarah's bike and got overtaken again on the last lap. I almost got the place back around Corams but the dry line just wasn't quite wide enough and I was still nervous about the detergent at Russells so I settled for 19th place having started in 24th.

My fastest time was 1:28.17 which I was pleased with after my practice the day before. The fastest lap of the race was 1:21.36 though which shows the class of the field.

T.W.O. Magazine came out to play!

Looking a bit upright!

That's more like it!

Race 2 - Mini Twins

I got a reasonable start but lost a couple of places in to the first corner as I am still rather nervous after having being taken out or bumped so many times in the last few races. Sure enough I found myself trying to tag on to the back of Sarah where she would pull away down the straights and slow me down through Riches and Corams on most laps. I lost a bit of time when I had to take avoiding action at Riches to avoid running in to the back of her which let another bike come through. I spent the next couple of laps trying to get clear of him as I would take him at Corams and, occasionally at Riches, only for him to come by on the straights again. The bike started to have problems getting in to sixth gear down the Revett Straight. A few times I managed to get it to go by using the clutch but for most of the race I was left with the rev counter well in to the red in fifth gear from about half way down the straight.

Eventually I managed to get a good drive out of the Bomb Hole and rode round the outside of him at Corams (anyone notice a pattern here?) and managed to break the cycle. The next lap or so saw me chase Sarah down and I found I was much faster in a couple of corners whilst she was getting held up slightly by the rider in front of her. I finally caught up on the penultimate lap and despite showing her my front wheel in a few places I think I only got alongside once and didn't have the courage to make the most of it on the way in to the chicane.

The bike had jumped out of gear a couple of times but I managed to do it twice in a row on to the start/finish straight as we went in to the final lap. I lost just enough drive for another rider to be able to get alongside and then out brake me into the first corner which meant I lost drive on the way in to Sears. As I tipped in another rider came underneath me and as I sat the bike up two other bikes came through. To top it off I had run off line and had lost drive down the straight and was overtaken by another five bikes. I couldn't get much of a tow down the straight but made up a lot of time through the Esses and the Bomb Hole before overtaking one of the riders round the outside on the way in to Corams. I almost made it round a second guy but despite being just in front he had the inside line for Russells Chicane and I just wasn't brave enough to try a make the move stick.

First corner bundle - 40 Bikes in the wet!

No! I want to be in front!

I crossed the line swearing loudly to myself having slipped back from 19th (just behind Sarah) to 26th in one lap. My lap times had improved to 1:25.02 which I was quite pleased about but the fastest lap of the race had gone down to 1:18.14 now that the track had dried out.