Race Day 3
Anglesey Coastal Circuit
New Era Rounds 2+3 and also No Limits track day
What is the best way to prepare for 2 days racing at a new track? Yep another day at the same track the day before the racing starts, well that’s what we thought and although the idea of spending 3 nights up there didn’t really appeal too much we decided that it’s the best bet. Although I’m sure setting off from the midlands at nigh on 8:30pm wasn’t the best idea but sod it, who cares, it’s better than getting up at 3am and travelling. The journey was going well(apart from the murderous winds) until the lane restrictions on the A55 just by Conway halted us as we could see tail lights for what must have been 800yards. This turned out to be a complete halt to our journey for what seemed like forever but was probably more like 20 minutes, not too bad you think. But 20 minutes at 11:30pm isn’t exactly what you want when there is another 30 mile or so.
It eventually cleared and we managed to get going again. Finally we got there and we knew the wind was bad but Anglesey Circuit being right on the coast meant we got the blunt end of these. We managed to set up in the paddock and get into the caravan at about 1am Friday morning, all good apart from the wind whistling through the awning channels on the caravan but to be honest I was that knackered I didn’t care.
Weren’t the best nights sleep but that didn’t really bother me as the rain was pelting down and although the winds had died down slightly it still wasn’t the best. Off to the briefing for the NO Limits Track day and even worse news….nothing will happen till the weather changes. Oh great we drive for 4 hours only to be told this Friday morning. Well it did give us chance to get set up (no awning though as the wind would have blown it away. So Bikes out the van and covers over them for the time being. Leathered up and by 10am the debriefing was held and with a few test rides from instructors on track we were told that it’s a goer. Bloody nutters the lot of us, I’ve never been a fan of riding in the wind and especially this strong but I cant exactly say nah I’m not riding today as I need to learn the circuit as well as I could ready for 2 days worth of Superstock 600 racing with New ERA.
We eventually get called to go out on track and I’m not 100% happy about going out but to be fair after a couple of sighting laps I start to settle down and quite enjoy it, the wind did actually help you in the long fast right going up the hill as I found that I didn’t really need to counter steer much for it to find a nice line. As the session carries on I find myself with a really big grin on my face. Although the conditions were less than perfect the track surface is awesome. I know there has been a lot of chat about how good it is there but I hadn’t expected this.
As the sessions come and go the wind and rain seems to clear and the track starts to dry. Now with the tornado spec winds we’re encountering the track dries quicker than anyone expects and although I’m out on wets I start to feel the rear move about quite a bit so decide to save the wets for the weekend and not completely destroy them.
Next session it’s nice and dry so the speed starts to pick up nicely. Even though the track was still very cold the grip here is unbelievable. I thought Donington was grippy in the warm sunshine but this place beats that hands down. Not bothered with lap times yet I start to get into a nice rhythm and learning that there are so many good lines at this place. I’m never gonna break lap records but I’ve never felt so confident at a track. I start pushing harder and harder only to find that the grip never seems to go away. A couple of corners I’m struggling with so far namely the left hander at the top of the hill and the corkscrew. It never ceased to amaze me at how hard you can push through that really, really down hill section. It’s steeper than any video can show you and I kept thinking the front would wash out any second but again its grips and grips.
Jody my best mate and team mate has got all singing, all dancing data logging on his bike and Mark his data guy keep showing him how settled the bike is through that section of track. So it’s all in the head that the front end is about to let go. As the day goes by the sun even manages to come out a bit but the tyres start to degrade quite badly. The bike starts to move about quite a bit and considering they are Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa’s the feeling I was getting when they were knackered was very inspiring. Its time to call it a day but I’m not too bothered as I have two more days here, let’s just hope we can get some more decent weather.
Bloody sods law aint it, as the track day ends the evening we had was stunning (well stunning compared to the day). Bright sunshine and even the wind had calmed enough for you to be able to walk around the paddock in a straight line. We noticed that the scruteneers had turned up this evening so before we headed over I had to get my new numbers on my bike, 72 as opposed to my usual EMRA number of 70. What a pleasure it was to have the bikes done for the weekend before it had even started, I cant recommend this enough o people as it saves so much hassle(and time) in the morning so we knew we could have a bit of a lie in. Some decent grub and a few beers meant the evening had gone and ready for bed.
What a difference a decent night’s sleep makes, I’m sure I had 10 hours and my god I felt refreshed and ready to go. Yet again the weather had returned back to its horrid conditions but this being race day I didn’t care. In fact the wetter the better seeing as I’d had some really good practise the day before. Not long before racing got underway the weather had again turned again and was now drying out.
Timed practise was the first session of the day and so we all headed out on a dry track (the wind was that bad it dries within minutes) and with confidence high I managed to put myself in a decent position 11th with a 1:19.65 on the 600 grid. Superb result for me especially considering the company I was in but I know I can go faster.
First race of the day was the Allcomers race with the grid meant to be sorted by when you get your race entries in, although my team mate had sent ours in at the same time I managed to have another 11th when he was 18th on the grid. Superb but with all these 1000’s around me I was a little sceptical as to how the race would pan out as the weather had took a turn for the worst and we now had horizontal rain, not really ideal and my visor was already steaming up sitting on the start line. I managed to get an ok start but fortunately most seemed to get a bad start as I rushed forward and made up 3 or 4 places before the first corner and again another couple as we headed into the 2nd, a right handed 180 degree corner. My visor had already become almost completely misted up and during the race quite a few times I had to open it for a few seconds to let it de-mist which must have cost me time but its one of them I guess. As the race went by I noticed the fact Jody my team mate had somehow got in front, must have shot past on first lap, so I tried as hard as I could to keep up. As each lap passed (only 6 laps in this race) I was slowly catching him and at one point I must have only been a second or so behind him, this for me was unreal as he’s usually way faster and always a smoother rider which suits the wet. I must have got a bit over confident as I out braked myself going up the hill into the Rocket complex and completely missed the apex and had to turn the bike at almost walking pace meaning I lost out big time. As we crossed the line this time I noticed the final lap flag so had a quick glance back to see no one challenging me. Although still trying to catch him up I was riding out of my skin and the rear was getting a bit messy out of some corners as I was nailing the throttle to try and regain what I’d lost but as I crossed the line I was a good way behind him.
Back into the pits and off the bike I was buzzing that I’d managed to finish right behind him on track but gutted as I knew I could have done better. We got the time sheets after the race and to my absolute amazement, I had somehow managed to finish 5th, a result which I could not have dreamed of and was over the moon with. Still can’t believe that only 3s between us and also managed to get the fastest Superstock lap in that race too with a time of 1:24.44. Not amazing but considering the conditions I was more than happy with the pace I held.
Next race was the first 600 race of the day. Another wet race but after the Allcomers result my confidence was an all time high. Didn’t get of the line too well this time but thank god the Midland VW Racing R6 is like a bullet as I managed to make a pass into the first hairpin and also made up a couple of places along the back straight. As a couple of laps pass with no drama I find myself being dropped by the leading pack quite quickly and try even harder to make some time up but feel like all my efforts make me go backwards. I take a quick peek back only to see a Honda gaining on me. I recompose myself and try to get it smooth again so I don’t get passed. The last 2 or 3 laps seem to take forever and I can feel myself being sucked slowly back towards the Honda. As we come down the corkscrew I can literally hear the guy on the Honda applying his power before me so it was a big relief for me to see the chequered flag and for me to keep position.
Again back in the pits and head up to race control to get my time sheets. Great stuff as I see I had managed to improve my wet pace by over 2s to have a new best wet time of 1:22.29 and finished in 8th position on track and also 2nd in the Superstock 600 class and also 2nd Novice on track with on Jody being the only novice in front of me. Yet again I’m beating all my expectations and cannot convey in words how happy I am.
We had a short wait before race 10 of the day, the second and final 600 race of the day so managed to watch some of the other races which was an eye opener for me as it showed me a few different lines through the first corner and especially when starting. With the weather being very changeable through out the day it was a last minute change to dry tyres. Great I thought about time we had a dry race as I wanted to improve on my qualifying time of 1:19 earlier and headed out to line up in my 11th on the grid.
This time I made a much better start and managed to make up places as we tipped into the first corner but then losing out as we start braking for the first right hander and then get my nose chopped right off as start turning. I manage to make the best use of the power I have and also the wider line that a couple riders took into the fast right onto the back straight. Jody yet again is in front of me but this is unknown territory for me as its dry and he’s right there. I somehow manage to stay with him for the first lap but cannot maintain his ballistic pace on the 2nd lap. As things clam down I start having a great battle with a couple of riders, this lasts pretty much all of the race with 3 of us racing so closely trying different moves on each other at various corners. Somehow none of us manage to break the chain although on the last lap I manage to get by on the third corner and stay there until half way round the top corner before we drop down the corkscrew I feel something really nasty happen to the rear wheel. I swear it felt like it was about to drop out but this being the last lap I had to finish. Fortunately the awesome Midland VW Racing R6 managed to make it over the line but sadly I had god knows how many people pass me as I tootled down the hill and across the line.
I manage to make it back to the pits for an inspection so we can see what had gone on and caused the rear wheel to move about so much on the spindle. Upon stripping the bike down we sadly notice that when changing the rear wheel I had missed out the little spacer that goes directly behind the sprocket holder which had the collapsed the bearing and almost welded the spindle onto it. Now don’t ask me why but only a couple of weeks previous I had bought a spare sprocket carrier with a new bearing in it as I wanted a spare for my wet wheels. Thank god I did otherwise that would have been weekend over with still a day to go. Put everything back together ready for Sunday and covers over the bikes and headed over to race control to get timesheets.
Amazingly I hadn’t finished last, although it felt like it when 4 riders had passed me on the last lap, finding out that the incident had cost me just over 14 seconds. So instead of another 8th on track I was 12th. Gutted but still happy to make it home and also be 2nd Superstock rider. Also I cracked my dry time down to 1:17.38 so all in all, apart from my stupidity, I had a great race as yet again I was 3rd novice on track before the rear wheel let go. Tomorrow is another day and we can start all over again and hopefully make the most of the two days experience I have under my belt.
Sunday wasn’t a day I’ll for get in a hurry. We woke up to more rain but the wind had almost completely gone. So at least we only have one thing to deal with and to be brutally honest I don’t mind the rain too much. Sadly the rain meant another change in wheels and it was only when doing this I noticed that the rear spindle had a hairline crack in it. Must have been done yesterday but somehow I couldn’t see it the night before. If only I had then I would have had 14/15 hours to get a replacement. Now less than 60 minutes before qualifying what was I meant to do? There was absolutely no way I was going to ride it like it was but do you think I could find another one. I mean a spindle isn’t exactly the sort of thing you carry as a spare. Levers, Clip ons, rear sets and even screen are all essentials but a rear spindle was not. Running around the paddock I spoke to almost everyone to try and beg, borrow or steal one for Sunday but to no avail. I was devastated…all of Sundays racing going to be missed by the fact I didn’t see this the night previous. Absolutely no one had anything for me. Multiple calls over the paddock tannoy to try and obtain a spare came to nothing and I was getting more and more pissed off.
Frantically calling directory enquiries for any motorbike dealer, spares place or scrap merchant to see if there was anyone local (ha ha, local in Anglesey isn’t exactly what you’d call convenient) but still nothing, this was after all Sunday morning in rainy Anglesey. I’d already missed the qualifying and with the Allcomers race looming my heart continued to sink with the dreaded feeling of having to sit out of Sundays racing. Bill, Jody’s dad and technical guru had the idea of welding it but without a welder we had no chance.
All I can say is thank god the Kart boys were at the same meeting. After searching for at least 90 minutes for a spindle or a welder I managed to find a welder in the paddock who just happened to have some gas with him. I cannot remember his name but I cannot thank you enough if you read this as you saved my whole day. With a welded up spindle and the bike back together just in time for the first 600 race of the day I was not looking forward to starting at the back of the grid but starting is a million times better than watching so I headed out onto a dry track.
With so many people in front of me it was hard to get a good line through the first corner and I managed to over take one or two only to find I was way off line for the second corner and couldn’t manage to get by anyone until we hit the back straight and I could use the power of the bike to sail past a couple only to be murdered during braking up the hill into the horrible left. Staying with them right through to the start finish I looked to lunge up the inside going into the left only to find myself a bit too far away to make it stick. Again 3 of us battling for position through out the race but this time I was thinking more about how to get past than before. On the fourth or fifth lap I spotted my team mate down at the 180 degree banked right hander, the second corner, and I wish I hadn’t as it rattled me a bit whereas usually seeing someone down doesn’t bother me. This started me thinking twice about passing these guys in front of me and stupidly I stayed behind them on the back straight instead of using the power and getting past I kept steadily behind and watched the two in front swap places for the last few laps. On the last lap I thought I would be able to pass both of them with the power I have but again going up the hill I went in that slow that I couldn’t pick up the speed to manage a pass down and sadly I stayed behind all the way to the flag.
Upon obtaining the race timing I was gutted to see myself in 12th position on track (my worst of the weekend) but still happy that somehow I had still managed 2nd in the Superstock class but with times almost 2 seconds down on yesterday I knew I had a better chance if I could get my pace back to what it was yesterday.
Race 10 arrived and with it being the last race of the day I thought just do it, go for it and who cares what happens. This definitely helped me at the start as not only did I make a superb start but forced my way past a couple more riders through out the first lap. I must apologise to one rider who I brutally passed but I had to get there otherwise it was another lap before I could catch the guy in front who was pulling slightly. Trying my hardest to catch up with the Honda in front I got in some much more consistent 1:17’s and caught and even passed the Honda and started to try and make up the next gap. This race all happened so quick that it felt like the last lap flag was put out after 5 or 6 laps. With the gap to the next man being too big I did what I could to keep Elliot Blundell behind me and was easily managing to do this with some different lines to cover any passes. This was until we got into the complex at the top of the hill for the last time when my inability to not get past the backmarker meant the when braking down the corkscrew Elliott did indeed make a pass on me. I tried a late apex on the last corner and I was catching him but the finish line appears so quick I couldn’t manage to get past and ended up 0.33seconds behind him. Gutted but awesome racing and was much happier with my performance in the last race of the day.
Deciding to pack up as soon as we came in, it was almost an hour before we went up to race control to find out the result. Although I was gutted with Elliot managing to pass me I had still managed a 9th on track but more importantly I had somehow finished first in the Superstock race. This also meant a nice little trophy for me. I was over the moon and still can’t believe that in my third race meeting I have managed to get a class win and a trophy.
As per usual massive, massive thanks to Midland VW racing as without you guys I wouldn’t be there racing.