Castle Combe Grand National

Even though its the closest track to me I'd never set foot in the place,mainly due to the oppressive noise restrictions and the ten minute track sessions but when I turned up on Friday was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of it.The track looks really fast and flowing,the pits tidy and well set out.
After doing some laps on the mountain bike I took the bike up for scrooting and the much feared noise test,I scrapped through at 105db right on the limit but 600's have to rev to 7500 revs, 1000's only rev to 4500 and the loudest of all Classics get tested on just over tick over which doesn't seem very fair.
Helen came down later and picked me up to head to Cirencester for the Josh Day fundraising night which was a fantastic night,absolutely packed!that team really deserve some success just for the effort and fun they put into racing,check them out, www.joshday.co.uk
For Saturday we had 15 minutes practice/qualifying and one race in the afternoon, this isn't enough time to learn a track and ended up on the back row close to fellow NG'rs Ricky Elder and Shane Morgan .Had quite a good start for the race but couldn't suss the breaking points and got mugged every lap and finished 33rd from 38 but really enjoyed the track despite the huge bumps.
The highlight of the day was Shaun Wynne and Darren Crisp battling for the win in the Sound of Thunder race with Shaun winning by a fag paper,crossing the line flat out but completely on the grass 2 foot from the pit wall!
Sunday was a good day for watching but racing was awful!one race all day with no practice was crap.The Dayo mob,Dazzer,Roger,Jim and even Dad and Brother had turned up but I rode like a plank!my aim was to not get lapped by the national riders and not finish last,failed miserably on both counts getting lapped and past on the last lap to finish dead last,GUTTED!!
I will defiantly do this meeting next year though but will do some track days first and try to blag a Sunday practice.

NGRRC Donington Park 2008 rusty comeback race

Pembrey test day

Had a really enjoyable day hooning round Pembrey in the sunshine just trying to get rid of the cobwebs.The new Brembo brakes are amazing with just a tiny bit of pressure needed to stand it on the front end at the end of the flat out straight.Bill from Whitecross had a little tinkle with the suspension to stop the bike running wide on the exit of corners and I felt really comfy on the bike,not pushing too hard yet as my confidence still isn't back to normal but I was quite happy to do 1m;05 laps in testing which I'm told equals 1m;03 in race mode,not convinced this is true but it sounds good!.The corners I struggled on were Honda and the Old Hairpin bits where I knew could be taken quicker but my brain wouldn't let the throttle do whats needed,before my next track time the brain will be put into the vice and re-adjusted for a bit more bottle.
At the end of the final session I was completely exhausted and it confirmed how out of shape I am,if it looks easy riding a bike think again it really takes it out of you.
As we packed up and went home the dark rain clouds started to gather.
All credit to the club as they ran the Saturday in monsoon conditions,they really are a dedicated bunch of people.My team mate Dazza had some good results and reckoned riding in the rain got his brain in gear for Sunday where he pulled off some fantastic results and laps into 1m;02 .
Next up is my local track Castle Combe,the final instructions came through today and its a bit disappointing.We get just 15 minutes timed practice to try and learn the track,then one race on Saturday and one on Sunday! I'm going down early on Friday with my mountain bike to do some laps and hopefully that will make the first race a bit less hairy.Bring it on!

August update

Only two more days till track time! I've booked into the Friday test day at Pembrey,it'll be nice to get back on a familiar track to try and get rid of these go slow cobwebs.Shame I cant do the race meeting but I've got work on Saturday and I've well and truly ran out of sick leave,also with doing the weekend at Castle Combe later this month I can't afford to do both.
The Brembo brake cylinder is fitted and looking good,I changed it because the other one started to weep slightly around the bleed nipple and after the whack it took at Brands Hatch I couldn't risk it failing.Speaking of Brands Hatch,really sad about what happened to Craig Jones he was a really exciting young rider and sure to win a title or two.The strange thing is he crashed in exactly the same spot as me with the back letting go but instead of ending up in the gravel he was hit by Andrew Pitt so maybe I was more lucky than I thought.
On a happier note we had it confirmed that Helen is expecting a sprog in March,which is the start of the season! I think trackside marshalls are trained to deliver babies so it shouldn't effect my racing.