Fourth Race Day
Mallory Park - EMRA Round 3
After such a good result last week it was always going to be an anti-climax going back to Mallory Park and race with the EMRA boys. Although not the biggest club, it’s still one of the most hotly contested and always some great racing going on. So when we sat there the night before pondering how the day would pan out we could have never predicted so many changes in weather. Would it be dry then wet, or wet then dry? Well as it happens it’s changed all day long and without some consistency the day was going to be hard.
The sun was shining when the Midland VW Racing Yamaha was taken for Scruteneering and all was looking good for a dry qualifying, that was until about 15 minutes before I was due out on track when the heavens opened. So with the usual speed and precision we opted for wets at the last moment and just about made the gate for qualifying. Although I must admit I chose the wrong helmet to go out with and I hadn’t even got to the end of the start finish before it had started to mist up but at least I hadn’t got dry tires on like some of the lads I was passing.
Now considering my performance in the wet race last weekend I was shocked when my first couple of laps were so slow. Just no confidence in the bike this week resulted in me tiptoeing around most corners. As the tires worked up to temperature the bike felt a bit more compliant but exiting corners it was squirming around underneath me way too much so I tried to be more precise with throttle application only to find that it made me slower. I decided to have a couple of real good goes at this wet pace and hammer through the uncomfortable bits regardless of what happens. Keeping one eye on my lap times I saw me drop almost 2 seconds instantly down to a 1:06 but this was way off the pace I knew I could run here in the wet so had to keep going. I knew I was bad, as at the Hairpin and the Bus Stop I was crawling through but managing to get a good run through Gerards and down to Edwinas. Another crap attempt at the Esses saw me light up the rear and go sideways for a short time but kept it pinned up to the hairpin where a lovely sweeping line felt so much better than the stop-turn-go line through it that wasn’t previously working. It did feel much better and now my sweeping ‘250’ Esq. lines seemed to result in a more stable bike. To make things worse the visor had decided to let go on one side when I was demisting and so my last lap effort was cut slightly short as I tried a couple of times to get it to sit back properly. Gutted with my performance I came in furious myself and the way I had rode.
It’s always nice to be surprised by your own results and when the time sheets came finally came through I was excited to see me first ever front row start. 3rd on the grid and only .7s behind the pole man lifted my mood especially knowing I could have and have gone much quicker as my 1:05.xx wasn’t exactly a blistering wet pace.
Race one came around quite quickly and it was a toss up between what tyres to run but with the sidecars being out before us then I made the decision to swap back to dry tyres. Thank god I did because as we lined up in the holding area I saw a few with full wets still on and also dry rears and wet fronts. I thought I had a really good chance as the track had dried really well with only a couple of damp bits left around the circuit. I knew as long as I could get away well then as the race went by my tyres would give me the advantage. I must admit I was very nervous sitting there on the front row, no one in front of me to get in the way and the ‘fast’ boys surrounding me. Well this is what we’re here for so warm up lap out of the way we wait for the flag to drop and the lights come on.
As they went out I nailed it only to find I hadn’t quite given it enough beans and the bike bogged down. Quickly in and back out with the clutch saw me launch the front wheel in the air and motor forwards losing out what must have been at least 6 places. I was gutted but thankfully the Midland VW Racing R6 is such a weapon that I did manage to pass another couple before we settled into Gerards for the first time. Now usually I am quite cautious on the first lap but I knew I had to go for it and made another pass on the exit of Gerards down towards Edwinas. I have been working on my braking recently and I thought it had paid off until I out braked myself slightly and allowed another couple past me as I couldn’t turn the bike quickly enough after nearly over shooting the corner. To be honest, I think that is what brought a bit of the red mist down and I started to race better than ever. I started to get my head down to chase Dane Oliver in front but it took a couple of laps before I could make my move. Once lined up on the start finish straight I managed to blitz past as the power of the Midland VW R6 made it quite an easy task. Next up was Marcus on his Triumph but he was almost 3s ahead so I had to ride out of my skin to catch up, which in a matter of 3 laps I had done. I managed to get right on his tail and tried a couple of moves to get by, but was never really close enough to make it stick. This was until a backmarker came into play, sadly for me Marcus managed to get by quite easily and I was left languishing behind him for a few corners until I could get past. I chased back as hard as I could but knew deep down that the new gap wasn’t bridgeable. I settled for the position on track and almost cocked up by letting the man behind catch up but managed to cross the line with half a second to spare.
Not knowing where I had finished meant that the walk up to Race control to get the timesheets was an anxious one. I knew I had raced well but after the dreadful start I made it wasn’t clear to me where I had finished. After a long wait the timesheets finally came down and I was more than pleased with my best ever EMRA finish of 5th. I was gutted I couldn’t have made the extra step but this was my best result yet in the Superstock 600 class. Lap times were well down on what I would call a fast race as I only managed a fastest lap of 59.72 and consistent low 60’s. I can only put that down to the conditions of the day making the track cold as I felt like I was riding the wheels off the bike but I cant complain at the result and looked forward to the next race as I was sure I could make a better start.
In the time between race 1 and 2 we had more rain followed by a bit more rain again. There was a 10 minute window where the rain stopped and I thought we may have a dry 2nd race but no, the heavens opened more and left quite a few puddles on the circuit.
Sitting there on a rain soaked grid in 5th spot I was concentrating on making the best start and when the lights went out I shot forward with much more vigour than the first race but was still slipping the clutch more than I had hoped to get better drive and again I had a few people pass me. I knew I could get back into it but pushing a bit hard into Gerards for the first time saw me go well wide in the second half of the corner which left the gap for someone to come through. Well not only was it someone, it was four or five riders getting through and the main ones being Dane Oliver and Mark Pennington. I managed to get awesome drive out of Gerards with my bad line and passed a couple as we braked for Edwinas. It stayed like this for the whole of the first lap and most of the second until I screwed up my braking again and slightly over shot the hairpin where another rider passed me. I tried as hard as I could but felt myself being very tentative through the slower corners losing more and more time each lap. I wasn’t happy on the bike as I’ve never had t move about so much underneath me and without knowing what I was doing wrong I held onto the back of Colin Orr but could never make a move and saw me drifting slowly backwards as the laps ticked down. I can say that I was happy to see the chequered flag as I wasn’t enjoying the race due to not being able to push myself as much as I wanted. Knowing full well that I have gone faster in the wet before.
I came back into the pits and parked up the bike with a feeling of sadness for the day. The rain continued to pour and I made the decision to not race in the last race of my day. After getting the time sheets I was pleased with my 10th as I honestly thought I was much further back but with a best lap time of 1:03.6 it confirmed that something wasn’t happening for me in that race.
Seeing as that was my last race it gave me time to think and the conclusion is I need some more wet practise and concentrate on corner speed as that’s where I was losing out in most areas. Stupidly Gerards the fastest corner on the track was my best corner in that race as I always crept back up a few tenths through that corner and down to Edwinas but losing out everywhere else. Madness that the fastest isn’t a problem but the slow ones are. Anyway I have come away from Mallory with another good result in the first race and it was definitely my best performance race wise so I look forward to Snetterton next weekend where I’ll hopefully be able to stretch the legs of the rocket ship Midland VW Racing R6.
Once again thanks to Midland VW Racing and also everyone else who comes to support and watch us. Without you guys this wouldn’t be possible and I look forward to reporting on more rounds and races as the season passes by.