Members racing thread
Discussion
Had a nice day at Oulton watching the racing.
Clouds were a bit grumpy in the morning but the afternoon was pretty good weather wise.
Was great to see hebegb again and was good to meet gavia and George, everyone rode brilliantly setting some great lap times, a 6th position on the grid and a top ten finish while not forgetting about pb laptimes galore!
Well done fellas, great stuff!
Clouds were a bit grumpy in the morning but the afternoon was pretty good weather wise.
Was great to see hebegb again and was good to meet gavia and George, everyone rode brilliantly setting some great lap times, a 6th position on the grid and a top ten finish while not forgetting about pb laptimes galore!
Well done fellas, great stuff!
Well, an exhausting couple of days at Oulton Park is over and the adrenaline and excitement of dipping a toe in the waters of solo racing (having done one previous Endurance team round )has come to an end, two happy boys , myself and Gavia alive well and to be totally honest , massively happy with our day's racing in the NoLimits Newcomer1000 class, a test day on Friday and then three sprint races of 8, 8 and 10 laps.
We were both down on Thursday night and all unpacked and kitted in the garages by 7.30 so "George29" ( George Hindle racing in Club1000) led us on our pushbikes to a lovely country pub ( The Egerton Arms) about 400 yards from Lodge Corner out of the gates of Oulton ...
We sensibly tried to have one round each (3) and some dinner .... cue 12.30 and several rounds later and multiple cycle crashes later to bed we went in assorted van/motorhome/boxtrailer contraptions...
Test day ( glorified trackday - ACU road/race license holders only, but hugely relaxed and informal )3x20 min sessions morning and 3x15 mins sessions in afternoon , Gav had throttle cable ( frayed and knackered ) issues so he headed in one direction trying to source replacements while I did my sessions ( good day , dry sunny and improvements being made all day , a PB in final session with fresh tyres on )and then found somebody who could fix it , along with somebody else with a cable which could be cobbled to get it done , which it was , by the end of the day .
We saw Graeme(4130)Hardie briefly but he had to go and didn't make it back for racing on Sat. unfortunately .
Wet : predicted all day Saturday ....
after a wet Anglesey 4 1/2 hour Endurance race that's all we needed - mega peed off as it's just not what we signed up for really ...,
Tired wet tyres from Anglesey and wet Quali .... well , blow me , I qualied in sixth and couldn't believe it - euphoria !
Gav was back in 22nd and little time on the bike ( this week anyway !) and with neither of us having changed to dry suspension settings ( oops!) he wasn't feeling it ......
Until ..the race , it was a bone dry line once out and completely dry by end of race sliding in and out on destroyed wets, when he stepped up big time and got to 12th ! right behind me in 11th ,and with a slightly better best lap than me ! Top work and two results we weren't expecting as we had said we would be happy not being 25th and 26th out of the class, hoping for top twenty maybe ...Happy Days.
After lunch and the wife and bunch of friends arriving we set out for dry race 2 looking forward to dry racing for once ... I was back to 14th on grid behind Gav on 11th based on best lap time .... I start well , he less so by his own admission , just can't quite launch it just yet but great racing and we arrive me in 12th and he in 14th , again with a single slightly better lap time ... this is getting to be exciting and fun !
Right last race , 10 lapper , all gloves off and Gav desperate for a go at me ..and me equally keen not to allow him a look in ....
I'm 16th on grid right behind Gav at 15th ( both with PBs in last race , his .14 faster) and off we go - I get a start and pass him and a couple more on first lap , hardest riding I can remember for ten laps - gone in a flash , up to lap 8 when I'm flagging a bit and coasting a bit struggling to see a way past the guy in front blocking me everywhere ..when Gav nips through ...,bang , wake up call , he closes on guy in front and looks inside him ..I think it won't happen , so run deep outside ...and get round both of them as one then the other had to roll , head down and away fighting for grip and to stay on til the flag ..,,with Gav 1.8 seconds behind - me P10 ! Him right behind in P11 - two more PBs him down to 1.50.2 and mine at 1.51.0 - he'll be a bugger once he can start !
Great day - first solo race day , first top ten result and off to Doni in two weeks for 3 man 1000kms Endurance with Fleegle too !
Cheers all and great to spend time with George top bloke -racing on a " sold already " bike ! and Curlie John who visited to support - thanks mate.
We were both down on Thursday night and all unpacked and kitted in the garages by 7.30 so "George29" ( George Hindle racing in Club1000) led us on our pushbikes to a lovely country pub ( The Egerton Arms) about 400 yards from Lodge Corner out of the gates of Oulton ...
We sensibly tried to have one round each (3) and some dinner .... cue 12.30 and several rounds later and multiple cycle crashes later to bed we went in assorted van/motorhome/boxtrailer contraptions...
Test day ( glorified trackday - ACU road/race license holders only, but hugely relaxed and informal )3x20 min sessions morning and 3x15 mins sessions in afternoon , Gav had throttle cable ( frayed and knackered ) issues so he headed in one direction trying to source replacements while I did my sessions ( good day , dry sunny and improvements being made all day , a PB in final session with fresh tyres on )and then found somebody who could fix it , along with somebody else with a cable which could be cobbled to get it done , which it was , by the end of the day .
We saw Graeme(4130)Hardie briefly but he had to go and didn't make it back for racing on Sat. unfortunately .
Wet : predicted all day Saturday ....
after a wet Anglesey 4 1/2 hour Endurance race that's all we needed - mega peed off as it's just not what we signed up for really ...,Tired wet tyres from Anglesey and wet Quali .... well , blow me , I qualied in sixth and couldn't believe it - euphoria !
Gav was back in 22nd and little time on the bike ( this week anyway !) and with neither of us having changed to dry suspension settings ( oops!) he wasn't feeling it ......
Until ..the race , it was a bone dry line once out and completely dry by end of race sliding in and out on destroyed wets, when he stepped up big time and got to 12th ! right behind me in 11th ,and with a slightly better best lap than me ! Top work and two results we weren't expecting as we had said we would be happy not being 25th and 26th out of the class, hoping for top twenty maybe ...Happy Days.
After lunch and the wife and bunch of friends arriving we set out for dry race 2 looking forward to dry racing for once ... I was back to 14th on grid behind Gav on 11th based on best lap time .... I start well , he less so by his own admission , just can't quite launch it just yet but great racing and we arrive me in 12th and he in 14th , again with a single slightly better lap time ... this is getting to be exciting and fun !
Right last race , 10 lapper , all gloves off and Gav desperate for a go at me ..and me equally keen not to allow him a look in ....
I'm 16th on grid right behind Gav at 15th ( both with PBs in last race , his .14 faster) and off we go - I get a start and pass him and a couple more on first lap , hardest riding I can remember for ten laps - gone in a flash , up to lap 8 when I'm flagging a bit and coasting a bit struggling to see a way past the guy in front blocking me everywhere ..when Gav nips through ...,bang , wake up call , he closes on guy in front and looks inside him ..I think it won't happen , so run deep outside ...and get round both of them as one then the other had to roll , head down and away fighting for grip and to stay on til the flag ..,,with Gav 1.8 seconds behind - me P10 ! Him right behind in P11 - two more PBs him down to 1.50.2 and mine at 1.51.0 - he'll be a bugger once he can start !
Great day - first solo race day , first top ten result and off to Doni in two weeks for 3 man 1000kms Endurance with Fleegle too !
Cheers all and great to spend time with George top bloke -racing on a " sold already " bike ! and Curlie John who visited to support - thanks mate.
A little bit more from me, but hopefully not too much.
I arrived on Thursday afternoon to the unusual situation of the garages being a free for all. Normally they are booked in advance and allocated primarily to Endurance teams, but with only one day's racing and no Endurance at this round, the situation was there was no fee and no reserved list. So it was down to me to spread my stuff every where to reserve amspot for hebegb. Th awfully, it was pretty easy as most sprint racers have their awnings and paddock set ups that they prefer, as they get more space that way.
Anyway, an hour or so down the line and I realised that despite packing everything including the kitchen sink, I realised that I'd forgotten my tyre warmers. Thankfully graeme4130 stepped up with a spare pair (I'll get them back to you at Donington, I promise!). Now the pub beckoned. Sensible became a non-existent word and one pint quickly became 7. Riding a pushbike back in the pitch black with lights that make you seen, but don't project any light is quite difficult. I fell off a few times
Day 1 test day:
This really didn't go to plan. Into the corner, I noticed that the throttle wasn't giving me power when I twisted it, but it only happened once and I let it pass, thinking maybe I'd got my glove twisted up. Sadly not, in the next session coming out of the first chicane and there was nothing there, until bam, it all came in at once. I didn't fancy riding back halfway round. Alive track with a surging throttle, so pulled onto the grass and had a chat with a Marshall. End of session, due to a nasty incident and a red flag, I carefully rode back and found a loose throttle housing that was rolling around the bars. Undoing it we found more delights, a throttle cable that was about to snap. Game over for me for the day, as sourcing and fixing it was anything but easy. Finally at c5:30 it was fixed and off to scrutineering for a 1.5 hour wait in a queue.
Race day:
Woke up in my "motorhome" to a damp and overcast paddock, but it wasn't raining. Result. Sadly that didn't last long, just as quail was starting, so did the rain. Not proper rain, but that fine rain, you know, the stuff that soaks you through. Anyway, a quick swap to wet tyres and out we went. I couldn't get any dpfell from the front at all and basically rode round like a complete bobber. Ended up starting 22/26
Onto the race and on the warm up lap, everyone could see that the track had effectively dried out and there was a 15 foot wide dry line all the way round. All of us were on wet tyres though. Had anyone gambled on SCs or slicks, then they'd have romped the win. As I was at the back I didn't worry too. I have about my start and set off trying to pick my way through. Three laps saw me get through most of the slower guys and then I had a lot of clear track in front so pushed as hard as I could to try to close a gap on the group I could just about see in the distance in the long straights. Amazingly, after three laps the gap was closing and despite riding on tyres that we're falling apart, I thought I could get to them in the remaining two laps. Hopes were dashed though, as a red flag ended the race two laps early. Still, very happy to finish in 12th and with a new grid slot of 11th based on lap times in the race.
1-0 to hebegb though
Race 2 was bone dry and the first after dinner. I had a shocking start and lost multiple places, thenwas stuck for three laps behind a rider who was 2 seconds off my pace, slow into the fast corners, but very defensive lines and with a hugely powerful engine made it really difficult to get past. Once I did on lap 3, I had clear track and no way to close the group in front. A guy on a GSXR1000 came past me and we had a bit of a tussle, it he was much faster ultimately, but it was fun trying to keep with him. P14 finish was disappointing given my grid position, but by the same token, it was great given my poor start
2-0 to hebegb
Race 3 again bone dry and startin in P15. This was my best race of the day and our "feature race" of 10 laps vs the scheduled 8 laps of the previous ones. A better start from me and a worse one form hebegb saw me sitting behind him for lap after lap, albeit making a few mistakes and then having to catch up the lost time. Somehow the bike that held me up in race two, overtook both me and hebegb and then he just went into blocking mode again. I was never going to find a way past both of them though until hebegb made a slight mistake and I nipped past, just as we caught another slower rider up.
The slower rider nearly had all of us off at Shell, as he kept braking when we'd released the brakes and were ready for tipping in and opening the taps again. I ran to the top of Shell doing the most insane stoppie and praying that I wasn't going to wipe everyone out. Somehow we all made it.
That was it! Gloves off! Things got feisty and the slow rider that we'd caught suddenly woke up and was back on the pace. I was doing all I could to catch up. Meanwhile hebegb had carried out a fantastic overtake at Old Hall taking himself past all of us.
I pushed as hard as I could to catch up, but there was no way and then out of nowhere the really slow guy came steaming last at Clay Hill. No idea what had happened, but he was on fire and started dragging me back to hebegb. Last lap and I was resigned to a 3-0 defeat, but hoping I could finish close behind. The slow rider then lost the plot and ran straight on at the first chicane and let me through to an admirable eleventh.
3-0 to hebegb. Dammit
I managed multiple personal bests and bizarrely my best laps in all three races was the last lap. My final lap of race day was my best ever lap of Oulton Park at 1:50:271, so close to breaking into a race confirmed 1:40s.
All in all a great few days, honourable mentions go out to George26, Graeme4130 and curlie467 for their appearances
George, awesome riding and great to see him again
Graeme, thanks for the loan of the tyre warmers and gutted you couldn't make it back for the racing
Curlie good to see you're still following racing, even if it wasn't for you.
Anyway well done to hebegb. He beat me 3-0 in the races, but both of way outperformed our initial expectations. Now for Donington and the 1000km / 8hours 40min race in two weeks where we'll be teammates along with Fleegle.
I arrived on Thursday afternoon to the unusual situation of the garages being a free for all. Normally they are booked in advance and allocated primarily to Endurance teams, but with only one day's racing and no Endurance at this round, the situation was there was no fee and no reserved list. So it was down to me to spread my stuff every where to reserve amspot for hebegb. Th awfully, it was pretty easy as most sprint racers have their awnings and paddock set ups that they prefer, as they get more space that way.
Anyway, an hour or so down the line and I realised that despite packing everything including the kitchen sink, I realised that I'd forgotten my tyre warmers. Thankfully graeme4130 stepped up with a spare pair (I'll get them back to you at Donington, I promise!). Now the pub beckoned. Sensible became a non-existent word and one pint quickly became 7. Riding a pushbike back in the pitch black with lights that make you seen, but don't project any light is quite difficult. I fell off a few times
Day 1 test day:
This really didn't go to plan. Into the corner, I noticed that the throttle wasn't giving me power when I twisted it, but it only happened once and I let it pass, thinking maybe I'd got my glove twisted up. Sadly not, in the next session coming out of the first chicane and there was nothing there, until bam, it all came in at once. I didn't fancy riding back halfway round. Alive track with a surging throttle, so pulled onto the grass and had a chat with a Marshall. End of session, due to a nasty incident and a red flag, I carefully rode back and found a loose throttle housing that was rolling around the bars. Undoing it we found more delights, a throttle cable that was about to snap. Game over for me for the day, as sourcing and fixing it was anything but easy. Finally at c5:30 it was fixed and off to scrutineering for a 1.5 hour wait in a queue.
Race day:
Woke up in my "motorhome" to a damp and overcast paddock, but it wasn't raining. Result. Sadly that didn't last long, just as quail was starting, so did the rain. Not proper rain, but that fine rain, you know, the stuff that soaks you through. Anyway, a quick swap to wet tyres and out we went. I couldn't get any dpfell from the front at all and basically rode round like a complete bobber. Ended up starting 22/26
Onto the race and on the warm up lap, everyone could see that the track had effectively dried out and there was a 15 foot wide dry line all the way round. All of us were on wet tyres though. Had anyone gambled on SCs or slicks, then they'd have romped the win. As I was at the back I didn't worry too. I have about my start and set off trying to pick my way through. Three laps saw me get through most of the slower guys and then I had a lot of clear track in front so pushed as hard as I could to try to close a gap on the group I could just about see in the distance in the long straights. Amazingly, after three laps the gap was closing and despite riding on tyres that we're falling apart, I thought I could get to them in the remaining two laps. Hopes were dashed though, as a red flag ended the race two laps early. Still, very happy to finish in 12th and with a new grid slot of 11th based on lap times in the race.
1-0 to hebegb though
Race 2 was bone dry and the first after dinner. I had a shocking start and lost multiple places, thenwas stuck for three laps behind a rider who was 2 seconds off my pace, slow into the fast corners, but very defensive lines and with a hugely powerful engine made it really difficult to get past. Once I did on lap 3, I had clear track and no way to close the group in front. A guy on a GSXR1000 came past me and we had a bit of a tussle, it he was much faster ultimately, but it was fun trying to keep with him. P14 finish was disappointing given my grid position, but by the same token, it was great given my poor start
2-0 to hebegb
Race 3 again bone dry and startin in P15. This was my best race of the day and our "feature race" of 10 laps vs the scheduled 8 laps of the previous ones. A better start from me and a worse one form hebegb saw me sitting behind him for lap after lap, albeit making a few mistakes and then having to catch up the lost time. Somehow the bike that held me up in race two, overtook both me and hebegb and then he just went into blocking mode again. I was never going to find a way past both of them though until hebegb made a slight mistake and I nipped past, just as we caught another slower rider up.
The slower rider nearly had all of us off at Shell, as he kept braking when we'd released the brakes and were ready for tipping in and opening the taps again. I ran to the top of Shell doing the most insane stoppie and praying that I wasn't going to wipe everyone out. Somehow we all made it.
That was it! Gloves off! Things got feisty and the slow rider that we'd caught suddenly woke up and was back on the pace. I was doing all I could to catch up. Meanwhile hebegb had carried out a fantastic overtake at Old Hall taking himself past all of us.
I pushed as hard as I could to catch up, but there was no way and then out of nowhere the really slow guy came steaming last at Clay Hill. No idea what had happened, but he was on fire and started dragging me back to hebegb. Last lap and I was resigned to a 3-0 defeat, but hoping I could finish close behind. The slow rider then lost the plot and ran straight on at the first chicane and let me through to an admirable eleventh.
3-0 to hebegb. Dammit
I managed multiple personal bests and bizarrely my best laps in all three races was the last lap. My final lap of race day was my best ever lap of Oulton Park at 1:50:271, so close to breaking into a race confirmed 1:40s.
All in all a great few days, honourable mentions go out to George26, Graeme4130 and curlie467 for their appearances
George, awesome riding and great to see him again
Graeme, thanks for the loan of the tyre warmers and gutted you couldn't make it back for the racing
Curlie good to see you're still following racing, even if it wasn't for you.
Anyway well done to hebegb. He beat me 3-0 in the races, but both of way outperformed our initial expectations. Now for Donington and the 1000km / 8hours 40min race in two weeks where we'll be teammates along with Fleegle.
Edited by Gavia on Sunday 16th July 18:08
great to see you guys there, and I was gutted not to be able to get back up for the racing Saturday
I heard it was raining Saturday morning, which made it even worse as I always go much better in the rain.
Anyway, family had to come first, although I found that a hard pill to swallow Friday night
See you all at Donington in two weeks time and well done for some great results yesterday
I heard it was raining Saturday morning, which made it even worse as I always go much better in the rain.
Anyway, family had to come first, although I found that a hard pill to swallow Friday night
See you all at Donington in two weeks time and well done for some great results yesterday
Not as exciting as others weekends here but I got my race licence on Saturday and what a f
king ball ache.
Friday was a classroom session at East Fortune. The instructor handed round sheets with flags etc and spoke about key rules, then a 16 question exam. It was piss easy tbh, but yet some chap had to ask every question to the group out loud then the instructor. He even asked a question that had just been asked by another but failed to listen to the answer then. Things like what does the yellow and red flag mean. Full of guys acting like they had been racing for years, going on about this and that. I just wanted to go fking home but these guys did their best to ensure we had to listen to them.
Got there for 7:30am on the Saturday, at East Fortune, the paddock is in the centre of the track. I'd been told that you cant leave until the end of the event, as my test was due to finish at 9:30 I didnt fancy spending 8 hours waiting about to get out. I parked the bike and trailer in the visitors car park outside the track with a 1/2 mile walk back. It wasn't raining 20 mins before going out so I left drys on. Soon as we went to go out it chucked it down. So much so the guy cancelled our test as he thought it was dangerous to go out on slicks. He urged me to change them, so I walked all the way to get my wets and the marshals wouldn't let me out. You have to cross the track, which is allowed at the end of sessions but apparently not.
I had to wait 2 hours before getting out to do 5 laps in the pissing rain on drys. I tip toed around the circuit, i mean I could have cycled it quicker, and that was it. There is your licence. They wouldn't let me race there after it as you need to give them 14 days notice, fair enough. So don't race till the 30th.
king ball ache.Friday was a classroom session at East Fortune. The instructor handed round sheets with flags etc and spoke about key rules, then a 16 question exam. It was piss easy tbh, but yet some chap had to ask every question to the group out loud then the instructor. He even asked a question that had just been asked by another but failed to listen to the answer then. Things like what does the yellow and red flag mean. Full of guys acting like they had been racing for years, going on about this and that. I just wanted to go f
king home but these guys did their best to ensure we had to listen to them.Got there for 7:30am on the Saturday, at East Fortune, the paddock is in the centre of the track. I'd been told that you cant leave until the end of the event, as my test was due to finish at 9:30 I didnt fancy spending 8 hours waiting about to get out. I parked the bike and trailer in the visitors car park outside the track with a 1/2 mile walk back. It wasn't raining 20 mins before going out so I left drys on. Soon as we went to go out it chucked it down. So much so the guy cancelled our test as he thought it was dangerous to go out on slicks. He urged me to change them, so I walked all the way to get my wets and the marshals wouldn't let me out. You have to cross the track, which is allowed at the end of sessions but apparently not.
I had to wait 2 hours before getting out to do 5 laps in the pissing rain on drys. I tip toed around the circuit, i mean I could have cycled it quicker, and that was it. There is your licence. They wouldn't let me race there after it as you need to give them 14 days notice, fair enough. So don't race till the 30th.
moanthebairns said:
Not as exciting as others weekends here but I got my race licence on Saturday and what a fking ball ache.
Friday was a classroom session at East Fortune. The instructor handed round sheets with flags etc and spoke about key rules, then a 16 question exam. It was piss easy tbh, but yet some chap had to ask every question to the group out loud then the instructor. He even asked a question that had just been asked by another but failed to listen to the answer then. Things like what does the yellow and red flag mean. Full of guys acting like they had been racing for years, going on about this and that. I just wanted to go fking home but these guys did their best to ensure we had to listen to them.
Got there for 7:30am on the Saturday, at East Fortune, the paddock is in the centre of the track. I'd been told that you cant leave until the end of the event, as my test was due to finish at 9:30 I didnt fancy spending 8 hours waiting about to get out. I parked the bike and trailer in the visitors car park outside the track with a 1/2 mile walk back. It wasn't raining 20 mins before going out so I left drys on. Soon as we went to go out it chucked it down. So much so the guy cancelled our test as he thought it was dangerous to go out on slicks. He urged me to change them, so I walked all the way to get my wets and the marshals wouldn't let me out. You have to cross the track, which is allowed at the end of sessions but apparently not.
I had to wait 2 hours before getting out to do 5 laps in the pissing rain on drys. I tip toed around the circuit, i mean I could have cycled it quicker, and that was it. There is your licence. They wouldn't let me race there after it as you need to give them 14 days notice, fair enough. So don't race till the 30th.
Nice work.king ball ache.Friday was a classroom session at East Fortune. The instructor handed round sheets with flags etc and spoke about key rules, then a 16 question exam. It was piss easy tbh, but yet some chap had to ask every question to the group out loud then the instructor. He even asked a question that had just been asked by another but failed to listen to the answer then. Things like what does the yellow and red flag mean. Full of guys acting like they had been racing for years, going on about this and that. I just wanted to go f
king home but these guys did their best to ensure we had to listen to them.Got there for 7:30am on the Saturday, at East Fortune, the paddock is in the centre of the track. I'd been told that you cant leave until the end of the event, as my test was due to finish at 9:30 I didnt fancy spending 8 hours waiting about to get out. I parked the bike and trailer in the visitors car park outside the track with a 1/2 mile walk back. It wasn't raining 20 mins before going out so I left drys on. Soon as we went to go out it chucked it down. So much so the guy cancelled our test as he thought it was dangerous to go out on slicks. He urged me to change them, so I walked all the way to get my wets and the marshals wouldn't let me out. You have to cross the track, which is allowed at the end of sessions but apparently not.
I had to wait 2 hours before getting out to do 5 laps in the pissing rain on drys. I tip toed around the circuit, i mean I could have cycled it quicker, and that was it. There is your licence. They wouldn't let me race there after it as you need to give them 14 days notice, fair enough. So don't race till the 30th.
Well done, Alex.
Whether or not it was a bureaucratic piece of non-sense in actuality, you've actually bothered your arse to put the time in to something, and now you've got a licence. It's a threshold moment.
You've similarly done it with a sense of humility, and without being a bullstter. So again, well done mate.
You're still a fking moany though.
Whether or not it was a bureaucratic piece of non-sense in actuality, you've actually bothered your arse to put the time in to something, and now you've got a licence. It's a threshold moment.
You've similarly done it with a sense of humility, and without being a bulls
tter. So again, well done mate.You're still a f
king moany though.Well done on getting your licence, it seems like a PITA, but at least it's done forever as long as you renew every year for £30.
Good luck with the race on the 30th. Get south of the border for the better tracks and endurance racing though.
Look forward to seeing you out here at some point.
Good luck with the race on the 30th. Get south of the border for the better tracks and endurance racing though.
Look forward to seeing you out here at some point.
Good to see everyone at Oulton 
. Bit of a hectic race weekend for me, I only picked the bike up from having new gearbox selector forks fitted on the way to Oulton, and on the previous day I had just taken a deposit to sell the bike so was considering just sitting out of the races as not to risk damaging the bike. But then I'd already paid my entry fees so I'd go do the test day and see how I got on. Met up with Hebegb and gavia on here and went to the pub on Thursday night. My highlight of the weekend was witnessing the following drunken bike crash on the ride home 
Then had a crap nights sleep in the back of my van on an air bed which decided to deflate during the middle of the night. Sat out the first session, then went out and wobbled round for a bit in the morning. Got into it a bit more in the afternoon and was doing fairly consistent 1:48s on my scrub tyres from Cadwell. Pushed on for one lap and my aim solo in predictive mode was saying 1:46.something when I was on the straight coming out of druids, then I had a bit of a moment where I got spat out of the seat coming out of Lodge corner so that messed that lap up and I called it a day.
Forecast for race day was changing constantly so basically decided if it was wet I'd sit out. Pissing down Saturday morning so I just watched qualifying. By the time race 1 came around there was a drying line and really I should have just gone out but by the time I'd stopped trying to decide what to do it was too late, so sat that one out too! Race 2 I started at the very back of the grid (40th), finished 24th but didn't get a single clear lap without anyone either holding me up a bit or having to overtake people, but somehow got the 19th quickest lap so started there on the final race. In race 3 I got a fairly decent start and was up to 13th on the first lap at one point. Then I made a proper schoolboy error and knocked it down an extra gear going into cascades, resulting in the rear stepping out massively on corner entry, and I got swamped by other riders and lost all my drive onto the straight, resulting in yet more getting past me. Rest of the race was ok, battles throughout so never got any clear laps as was in quite a big group of riders. After the first lap I regretted not sticking a new rear tyre on (the one I had on had done 4x races at Cadwell, all the test day at Oulton and the previous race too) as it was spinning up and not inspiring confidence getting on the throttle coming out of Brittens chicane or out of Lodge. But I was being tight and didn't want to spend money on a tyre for 10 laps then to give it away with the bike I'd just sold! Was 18th on the last lap, then going into brittens chicane I missed a downshift so went through it in 3rd and had no drive going out, meaning I got passed going into Hizzys and forced to go straight on so finished 20th. Disappointed with that but the bike was in one piece and had some fun, but reckon I could have finished around the top 10 if I had just got clear laps in but racing doesn't work like that.
Was my last race for the year as my new BMW won't be ready til November. Going to do a full season next year. Going to stop playing at it and invest a lot more in the best bike, proper race van etc. No point going racing then having a st nights sleep and not performing as well as I could etc! So all focus is going on next season for now 
. Bit of a hectic race weekend for me, I only picked the bike up from having new gearbox selector forks fitted on the way to Oulton, and on the previous day I had just taken a deposit to sell the bike so was considering just sitting out of the races as not to risk damaging the bike. But then I'd already paid my entry fees so I'd go do the test day and see how I got on. Met up with Hebegb and gavia on here and went to the pub on Thursday night. My highlight of the weekend was witnessing the following drunken bike crash on the ride home Then had a crap nights sleep in the back of my van on an air bed which decided to deflate during the middle of the night. Sat out the first session, then went out and wobbled round for a bit in the morning. Got into it a bit more in the afternoon and was doing fairly consistent 1:48s on my scrub tyres from Cadwell. Pushed on for one lap and my aim solo in predictive mode was saying 1:46.something when I was on the straight coming out of druids, then I had a bit of a moment where I got spat out of the seat coming out of Lodge corner so that messed that lap up and I called it a day.
Forecast for race day was changing constantly so basically decided if it was wet I'd sit out. Pissing down Saturday morning so I just watched qualifying. By the time race 1 came around there was a drying line and really I should have just gone out but by the time I'd stopped trying to decide what to do it was too late, so sat that one out too! Race 2 I started at the very back of the grid (40th), finished 24th but didn't get a single clear lap without anyone either holding me up a bit or having to overtake people, but somehow got the 19th quickest lap so started there on the final race. In race 3 I got a fairly decent start and was up to 13th on the first lap at one point. Then I made a proper schoolboy error and knocked it down an extra gear going into cascades, resulting in the rear stepping out massively on corner entry, and I got swamped by other riders and lost all my drive onto the straight, resulting in yet more getting past me. Rest of the race was ok, battles throughout so never got any clear laps as was in quite a big group of riders. After the first lap I regretted not sticking a new rear tyre on (the one I had on had done 4x races at Cadwell, all the test day at Oulton and the previous race too) as it was spinning up and not inspiring confidence getting on the throttle coming out of Brittens chicane or out of Lodge. But I was being tight and didn't want to spend money on a tyre for 10 laps then to give it away with the bike I'd just sold! Was 18th on the last lap, then going into brittens chicane I missed a downshift so went through it in 3rd and had no drive going out, meaning I got passed going into Hizzys and forced to go straight on so finished 20th. Disappointed with that but the bike was in one piece and had some fun, but reckon I could have finished around the top 10 if I had just got clear laps in but racing doesn't work like that.
Was my last race for the year as my new BMW won't be ready til November. Going to do a full season next year. Going to stop playing at it and invest a lot more in the best bike, proper race van etc. No point going racing then having a s
t nights sleep and not performing as well as I could etc! So all focus is going on next season for now Gavia said:
Nice one binreckon you'll buy an interim bike within a week
Tempted to, been offered a mint 675R for not much but then I don't know if I can be arsed with the hassle of selling it on in a few months. Will just wait and get the S1000 then get it out to Spain at the end of the year!Morning all,
Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
stew-S160 said:
Morning all,
Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
That's right. You can do the ACU through No limits, who I suspect will try and get you to join NLR, but then head off and join Bemsee or as many other clubs as you likeJust a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
stew-S160 said:
Morning all,
Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
You will be able to do it with No Limits or MSV and join any club you want. You will not get your licence until you are affiliated to a club.Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
The Bemsee weekend is much more thorough than the afternoon specials, not only getting you your licence but guiding you through the whole race weekend from scrutineering, race formation and starts
Fleegle said:
stew-S160 said:
Morning all,
Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
You will be able to do it with No Limits or MSV and join any club you want. You will not get your licence until you are affiliated to a club.Just a quick question, which I think I already know the answer to, but thought I'd ask anyway-
Want to go racing next year. Got my eye on a particular series within Bemsee. If I can obtain my ACU licence through, say, NoLimits (£130), I should be able to join Bemsee club and enter races?
Just I had seen Bemsee's 'race school' which sort of takes you from nothing, to racing with them over a weekend. Which is cool, but it's only in February.
The Bemsee weekend is much more thorough than the afternoon specials, not only getting you your licence but guiding you through the whole race weekend from scrutineering, race formation and starts
Thanks
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