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5th July 2004 - Pembrey
Although Bemsee had raced at Pembrey just a few weeks earlier I was still officially on the injured list so hadn't made it. Now here I was at Pembrey for the first time and expected to lead the advanced group round having never even seen the place before. I did get a sneaky couple of laps in first to make sure I knew which direction the corners went but it was still a daunting prospect.
Bizarrely by the end of the first session I had worked out pretty much where the best line should be and by the end of the next time out I was able to put most of it in to practice. Despite being what seems like a million miles away from London I really enjoyed the circuit and having no history let me think about it in a very logical manner to work out how I should be riding it.
Of course it was harder to put it in to practice with the faster boys but when Folly regular Nigel Barratt asked for some help I had no choice but to see how hard I could push it. Chasing a new R1 rounds the circuit was great fun and I could get by fairly safely on pretty much any corner other than after the long straights but could make up the difference on the brakes at the end of each lap.
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Meeting the marshals!
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Chasing a GSXR750 and an Aprilia Mille...
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Far too relaxed!
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Hints and tips for a 2004 R1.
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I spent a few session working with Nigel and also got to help out a fairly rapid Aprilia Mille which had a lot more grunt out of the corners and so required a different riding style than the R1 in order to stay close enough to observe everything without putting either of us in any danger.
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Looking behind for the pupils.
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Ambling around.
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Another tight corner.
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End of day debrief!
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All in all a top day. I was getting fitter (slowly), the sun was out and the day was fairly quiet, i.e. not too many people there and just two fallers. The most entertaining moment of the day was when a breather hose came off a KTM 660 trailing big plumes of smoke round half the circuit.
By the time I caught him through the traffic it was obvious that it was going to be too late to warn him before the hairpin. I had no choice but to take a different line to avoid the oil and slow the rest of the group down ready for the KTM to gracefully high side it's rider and slide off down the track. Fortunately both rider and bike were unharmed and were out again later in the day.
Once again a top circuit although it would be nice if it was a little closer, or I just had a faster van :-) |
