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NEMCRC @ East Fortune – 8th & 9th October 2011
My main goal for the last round at East Fortune was to make sure the bike was still in one piece after the meeting lol Stuart from YPE had checked the bike over so I was confident that the fuelling/electronic problems had been fixed J
I woke up on the Saturday morning to a horrible morning, kinda rainy drizzly L wets on and we were ready to go (: so I went out for free practice and my knee was killing me! (I fell the week previous not gonna tell any more :L) was mega sore round the left handers but I kinda just had to git my teeth and go (: so the bike felt a bit better, still stuttering a little bit but I think that was the traction control kicking in round the slower corners so I was pretty happy. I knew for qualifying I had to go out near the front and make sure I got a clear lap (: I went out the gate and was right behind bruce which was exactly where I needed to be coz I always go quicker when I have someone to chase (: I did 3 or 4 laps behind bruce and felt pretty comfortable and then he pulled in. I decided I’d do just a couple more laps just to try and get some more feel from the bike and strangely enough I went quicker lol so the bike felt good and I was on pole by a second so I was pretty chuffed! J A massive thanks to Stuart at YPE for all his help.
For race 1 on Saturday it was those horrible half and half conditions and the weather hadn’t made up its mind either looking like it could rain or dry up at any minute lol so I went for an inter back and wet front tyre just so I wouldn’t rip up the only back wet I had for the week end lol I looked like it could be a good call for the first couple of laps. Decent start away in 3rd, kinda dropped off the leaders a bit but then as the inter started to get more and more grip I started pulling in the leading 2 (: I got right up to the back of bryan and yes, it started raining again! Dammmm!! Wasn’t very impressed lol the tyre started to cool and felt pretty horrible! So I just rode in the last few laps and got a safe 3rd place! I was happy in 1 respect with a good 3rd place but on the other hand I knew I could have pushed for the win so that was a bit frustrating.
For race 2 there was no debate, it had just chucked it down half an hour before my race so it was wets all round and I was pretty happy with that (: I got a good start from pole and was straight in to 2nd place behind bruce and feeling good. I went for a move in to the hairpin and ran a touch wide and thought I could nail it next lap, but I sat up at the end of the back straight and my visor just completely fogged up! Raaaaagin! I tried opening the visor but the rain was smashing my face and at 1 point I even pulled in to the side at the straight to try and clear it! Worst feeling ever! The rain was streaming down the inside of my visor and I was actually peering out a little square of clearness at the side of my helmet lol it actually got so bad I said to myself if this isn’t the last lap im pulling in, so I was lucky it was the last lap and I got another 3rd. again I should have been happy but I was actually gutted I couldn’t race for the win when I knew I had the pace to push bryan and bruce. And it turns out it was the seal along the bottom of the pinlock that burst therefor steaming up my visor! Never mind, there was always tomorrow! (:
After the disappointment of Saturday I was up for the races on the Sunday! I was pretty happy it was dry and couldn’t wait to get out! I got a pretty good start by my standards and passed bruce on lap 1 going round the esses to take the lead (: I took a few laps to get n to it and bruce was right on my back wheel! I could hear him at most of the slow corners! Lol but then as I started to push harder and harder I took a quick look at the pitboard and It said +5! I was cheesin and could see bruce getting further back as I was coming out the hairpin, and at 1 point I couldn’t see anyone! (: coming round on to the last lap it was nice to see +20! Lol the less I was pushing the harder it was to concentrate but I got to the flag and got my first win on the 1000!! Was mega chuffed but I knew I was gonna have a fight in the next few races!
The next 2 races were pretty much identical, decent starts, and away in 2nd chasing the bmw! My knee was starting to hurt in the later laps of race 2 so topped up on pain killers I was feeling much better in the later stages of race 3. I knew it was going to be hard to pass bruce coz his bike just has the legs over mine down the straight and I’ve got to work hard through the corners to keep in the slipstream down the straights. But going in to the last couple of laps we were starting to hit the back markers and I managed to get right on the back of the bmw going in to the last couple of corners. I had a go up the inside in to the hairpin but both of us ran a touch wide and Bruce led through the chicane and won by 0.3 of a second! Dam! Lol
The last race of the year was the Melville vs north east inter-
A massive thanks to Brenda Mitchell Motorcycle Law Scotland, Gary Clark from Allan
McDougall Property & Stuart from YPE for all their help and support this year-
Onboard camera action can be found on youtube @ yamahaboy79
Knockhill MotorSports Club -
Well after getting the bike sorted at east fortune I was really looking forward to knockhill and trying to run with adi and bruce when I went out for the 10 min warm up on the Saturday night I could immediately tell something wasn’t right with the bike. It wouldn’t drive out the corners and sounded very different when I was off the throttle down shifting. I was very worried but there wasn’t much me and dad could do when it’s fuelling problem or an electronics problem. Not good at all. I was talking to Bruce and Adrian and they kinda gave us a rough idea as to what the problems could be and I was just going to have to do my best until stu from ype came up to have a look.
In warm up the problem was getting worse, when I was getting on the throttle nothing would happen then booom! the bike would take off and it was away. Really not good to try and ride like that but never mind. For the qualifying session stu and dad went to watch at the hairpinand I was trying to give him a kinda rough area as to where the problem was in the rev range and he was working on the fuelling to try and fix the problem. Knockhill let me out for 1 lap at the back of a practice session for another class and immediately it felt better! I qualified 4th on the grid which was front row and a result for me considering the bike issues.
For the first race I was away decent and 4th in to duffis, moved up to 3rd at mcintyres and held a solid 3rd for most of the race with Donald right on my back wheel. It wasn’t a great day weather wise but I was still running 51’s which I was mega chuffed with considering the issues which were still there in race 1. I started trying too hard and I was starting to get arm pump with a couple of laps to go and Donald came past which wasn’t a great shock lol I was happy with a 4th and stu was again working at the laptop for race 2 ;D
It looked a bit like it was going to rain for race 2 which was meant to be a 10 lapper (: I wasn’t too fussed as it was the same for everybody and the bike once again did feel better (: I was having a bit of trouble shifting from 3rd to 4th gear coming down in to the hairpin which again stu sorted on the laptop after the race. I was in 3rd after the first couple of laps and then started closing in slightly on bruce and adi in the lead and then it was starting to spit with rain which isn’t great when you are running full slick tyres lol I was going round wondering how long they were going to let the race run with it starting to spit more and on lap 7 the officials red flagged the race and I ended up 3rd
Again we adjusted the fuelling for the last race of the day which was a 15 lapper. For race 2 the bike felt better from clarkes to the hairpin and duffis but it still didn’t feel right round mcintyres so stu adjusted again, I didn’t get the best of starts but still ended up 3rd for the first part of the race and the bike did feel a little better but I just didn’t have to pace to run with bruce and adi. They started to pull away and that left me and Donald to battle for 3rd. he ended up mugging me on the brakes in to the hairpin and then I was leading the drag race to the line but I had a massive wheelie shut the throttle and Donald beat me by like 0.01 of a second! Lol hopefully get bike sorted for eastfortune and see if we can run with bruce (: 3rd in the knockhill superbike championship and a mega thanks to stu from ype power for helping me . Wot a difference he made.
East Fortune 10th & 11th September 2011
Well for the last east fortune round of the year I was actually pretty nervous coz I could actually win my first big bike Scottish championship my plan was just to go out and ride exactly the same as I had all year, give it my all and see what happens (:
For the free practice session on the Saturday morning, typically it had rained and was a kinda mix of damp and wet lol so I went out on wets and run round and was feeling pretty decent so after a couple of laps I pulled in (:
For the qualifying session it was the worst type of conditions possible, the crappy not wet not dry kinda weather L not good! But I went out with my intermediate tyres on, went out and dad told me to follow the other championship leaders, but they went out on dry tyres and it had started to spit with rain… so I was riding round myself and ended up on pole for the week end by 1.5 seconds! Lol so just trying to ride smooth worked
So I was lined up on pole for the 1st race of the week end and it was kinda dry :L lol but as usual I got a really bad start lol but I managed to fight my way through some of the guys and ended up in 3rd place by half race distance so Bruce and Mick had cleared off and I was just trying to ride my own race while Bry, Adi and Donald were fighting behind me lol but I ended up in 3rd place at the flag and the 1st formula bike which was exactly what I needed to do! what wasn’t good though was my bike didn’t feel as sharp and crisp as it usually does, we were confused L but then big tree was saying his bike felt the same. Kinda slow and sluggish :/ hmm not good but it was just affecting me so it wasn’t too bad.
Again for race 2 I didn’t get the best of starts and had to use my elbows to get into the top 5 lol so I was working my way forward when I started struggling to find gears going down the back straight. This wasn’t good! I managed to get up to 4th but the top 3 were miles ahead! L I felt like I was trying but I couldn’t get any closer to the leaders! And I was losing so much down the back straight with my selector issues! L gutted! But again I was 1st in the Melville class and 4th overall in superbike (: so the results werent too bad! All we had changed between race meetings was adding a bit of seat foam to try and give me a bit more leg room and we reckoned that this was stopping my foot from cleanly selecting the gears so we moved the lever up 1 spline and was just gonna have to try it Sunday morning
I went out in the morning warm up and immediately the bike felt so much better! Much
sharper and crisper and I wasn’t having the same problems with the gears! Result!
So I was buzzin for the races! I got a decent enough start pushed passed a few riders
at turn 2 and was behind Bruce and Mick! It was awesome to follow those guys and
just see where they were quicker, and on lap 5 they managed to pull a bit of a gap
on me. I knew that if I didn’t push the whole way this was going to be a mega long
race so head down and I set the fastest lap of the race J haha 59.3 so I was right
on the back of Bruce again and keeping with their pace (: I could see on Bryans pit
board that there was only 2 laps left so I was kinda looking either way if I was
going to be able to make a move on the last lap. All the 3 bikes are pretty evenly
matched so it was really tough trying to pass but the 3 of us barrelled in to the
hairpin 3 wide lol. Bruce flew up the inside of mick they ran a touch wide, I cut
it back and cracked the throttle wide open, all 3 bikes were wheelie-
All I needed to do in race 2 was beat mike Keith and I would win the formula Melville championship and the super bike cup championship so I was pretty nervous! I got a pretty good start by my standards :L and was away with the front couple of guys (: by the time I passed Adi and Bruce, Mick was gone! There was no way I was catching him (and he almost beat the lap record!!!) so I was just trying to stay ahead of Bruce and Bryan. It was a long 8 laps but I was still in 2nd when I crossed the line and I was champion amazing! My 1st championship since mini bike days! And it felt good since it was on a 1000cc bike! and the hizzy race was still to come!
For the hizzy race your grid positions are drawn out a hat, it’s the fastest 40 riders
over the week end in 1 race, and yup I was on row 9!!! I was last on the grid! Hahahahaha
it was always gonna be a big ask when Mick is on row 1, Bruce row 4 and Adi row 5,
dammm!!! I got a mega start and flew past most of the 600 guys and then wheelied
passed some more heading down the back straight! Lol the 600 looks so slow compared
to the zx10! so I was inside the top 10 by lap 1 and then worked past Adi, then Bruce,
then big tree and the next thing I knew was I was in 2nd place in the hizzy race!
Hahahaa! Row 9 to 2nd in under 5 laps! I was trying to kinda pace myself coz this
was a long ass race and I knew if I was trying to ride flatout for 18 laps id never
be able to hold on till the end so I was just trying to ride smooth, break gently
and try not to tense up so Bruce came past and I was tagging on the back of him when
I started missing gears again! Ragin!!! I thought Adi was going to run in to the
back of me at 1 point! L totally gutted and turns out it was something to do with
the angle of the rear sets that we changed to try and help my positioning on the
bike and the quickshifter! Massive thanks to Stuart for sorting it-
Melville Motor Club – East Fortune 13th & 14th August 2011
So the zx10 was fixed for east fortune (: massive thanks to Kircaldy Kawasaki and Stuart from YPE for helping us get the bike ready in time! Heading in to the week end I was pretty nervous as I knew I had to keep it on 2 wheels this time! Lol but I was pretty excited to get back out but for the first practice session the conditions were horrible! I’m lucky enough to have 3 sets of wheels (slicks, wets and intermediates) so when its these horrible half and half conditions I I can run with the inters (: as it turned out the bike felt good right from the start even though it was catapulted through the gravel at knockhill L it was a horrible drizzly rain for the practice so I went out and doddled round on the inters and had no problems (: I was going quicker than the guys on the wets so was pretty pleased and knew if I qualified good I could hopefully run near the front all week end (:
The qualifying session was delayed coz of a stupid sidecar dumping oil the full way round the circuit! Gutted! And yep it was right on the racing line so when we went out it was horrible! Track was dry but if you went on the cement dust the bike was spinning like hell! Not good! But I was still on the front row with a 5th place qualifying so wasn’t too worried hopefully there wasn’t any dusk for the races!!!
Both races on the Saturday were pretty much exactly the same for me lol I got decent starts in both and was away behind Mick Torks and Bruce (: I was happy sitting in behind them coz they were dragging me away from the rest who were behind me (: in the end they had a little more speed than me so I was happy to settle for 2 safe 4ths and that put me in 1st for both the Melville races (: I think in both these races my fastest time was 59.1 seconds so I was doing exactly the same lap times as the previous round job done for 1 day
Misson for Sunday was exactly the same as the Saturday, stick behind the leading 3 superbikes and try and win the Melville class. For race 1 I got a good start and was away in 3rd Bruce passed and I was back in 4th right behind the leading 3! exactly where I needed to be until I caught my knee on the inside of the kerb at the esses and jarred my knee really bad! I was going down the straight trying to feel my leg to see if I still had a slider coz I couldn’t tell as my leg was numb lol dammit! So I dropped back a bit but still a safe 4th and a Melville win
For race 2+3 I was feeling a bit better, knee wasn’t too bad and a new back tyre so I was right on the leaders again :L right behind Mick Bruce and Torks and basically just trying to sit behind them and see where they gain on me I was happy to sit where I was and brought it home in another safe 4th and another Melville win 1 more race like this and I was happy! So it started the same as race 1 and 2, decent enough start, and try and follow. This race was only 6 laps due to time and it passed so fast! Felt like we had barely started and that was it finshed! Mick flew away and I was behind Bruce in 4th again :L lol but another Melville win so basically I had done all that I was hoping for over the week end! Got a new lap record for the Formula Melville even though the conditions wern’t really perfect so yea job done! Roll on the last round of the year!!!
North East@ Knockhill 23rd & 24th July 2011
Well my objective for knock hill was to get back in to the 51’s and hopefully keep Adi and Bruce in my sights! This week end was just a play week end for me and a chance to use my quick shifter for the first time! ( A massive thanks to Stu at YPE for settin up the bike ) So I was totally buzzin to get back out on track! In the first practice session I couldn’t get the hang of the quickshifter at all! It was so weird being able to keep the throttle pinned wide open and change up the box at the same time lol but in the qualifying session I was starting to get the hang of it and I got a few laps in and I was provisional pole! Wooooo! Then there was a red flag incident. So the mess was cleaned up at the chicane and I went back out behind Adi and we went much much quicker and I ended up 4th on the grid with a 51.9! Objective complete lol but I still knew I could get quicker lap times in the race (:
So we lined up for race 1 and I was on the front row with Bruce Adi and a bsb guy so I was in good company lol I got a pretty good start, passed Bruce at the bottom of Duffis and was sitting in 2nd (: I drove past the bsb guy coming in to the hairpin and I was leading wooooooo! I led for a few laps and then bruce came past so I was just trying to follow Bruce but made a few mistakes and he got away a little bit but I managed to fend off adi for the full race and ended up 2nd! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Race 2 was pretty similar except I was away in 3rd right on bruce and adi! We were setting a decnt pace and I was in the 51’s again (: my fastest was a 51.5 my fastest lap around knockhill (: so at about half way Bruce passed and clipped the curb at clarkes and went down! Ouch! But I was still behind Adi in 2nd and he got a slight gap so I settled for a safe 2nd (: really happy with the week end so far thankfully Bruce was unhurt.
My plan for the Sunday was pretty much the same as the Saturday, get a tow from the front 2 guys then I would have a gap for if I started to feel a little tired. So that’s exactly what happened. I passed Adi for 2nd and then caught Bruce! But just as I got to Bruce I started getting arm pump L so Adi came back past and I had to settle for a safe 3rd (: and I got in the 51’s again (:
So far so good and I was loving the 20+ degrees in the sun at knockhill! Was awesome!
Except even knew tyres were sliding about! Lol but anyways another good start in
race 4 and I was away with the leaders again (: I was getting used to trying to run
the pace of the front guys (: and every session I was getting used to the quickshifter
and feeling more comfortable on the bike (: so even with old-
I was really looking forward to another good race in the last race of the week end, I seen the side cars coming so it was time to go down to the holding area but the tyre warmer stuck… so I was starting from pitlane… so I was really fired up for the race! The last rider went under the bridge and they let me go, I was passed 2 rider at the bottom of duffis, round the outside of 1 going up to the chicane, round the outside of another exiting the chicane and up the inside of another into clarkes. So after that I was passing 1 rider a lap and I was then up to 4th place (: I caught 3rd going on to the last lap went right round the outside at the bottom of duffis and up the inside for macintyres.. I was passed but then lost the front and next thing was I was sliding toward the gravel L gutted! For such a stupid little crash it made a big mess. Crappy way to end such an awesome week end! L hopefully have everything sorted for eastfortune, just go out and enjoy it (:
A massive thanks to Dad n Sammi, Kirkcaldy Kawasakii & Stuart at YPE for trying to get my bike sorted.
Knockhill June 25th 2011
Well after a good day at east fortune I was really looking forward to the next knockhill championship race! I was to get a 15 min practice on the Friday night as it was a Saturday race day but there was a big accident so I only got 2 flying laps! but in those 2 laps I managed to learn that my new leathers were too stiff to use on race day and my brakes were still crap! Lol so I was still bedding in the pads in the warm up on the sat morning when it was pouring down with rain! And I was out on intermediate tyres! Bad move but didn’t wanna spend all the money swapping tyres and wheels to just have to do it again for the next session! Turns out I didn’t put wets on for qualifying and it was the total opposite!!! Lol everyone was in the same boat so I went out behind Adrian and Bruce and got a decent time on lap 2 and just came in, didn’t want to wreck a good set of wets! So I ended up 3rd behind the 2 front guys in the championship! Not a bad result! Lol
So away out we went for the first race and I was on a new set of slicks! Rolled up to the front row, looked left and it was Bruce and Adrian, to the right MikeKeith, and behind was Dennis Hobbs and tree! Wtf was I doing here! Lol anyways I continued my beastin starts and was away in 3rd through the first corner! Passed mike at turn 3 and was right behind Bruce! Had an awesome race with Bruce even passing him briefly into the hairpin! I passed him coming out of Clarkes and he out braked me again, I tucked it up the inside and wheelied on the way out and Dennis drove straight passed the pair of us!!! Lol awesome racing! So I ended up chasing down the front 2 for the full race and ended up 3rd right on Bruce and less than 2 seconds off a bsb evo rider! No bad in my books lol and I got in to the 51’s!!!! first time in the 51s round knockhill on a 600 or a 1000!!! Buzzin! Hoping for more of the same in race 2!
So again I got a decent start but had to pass a few riders to get up too 3rd or 4th by the end of lap 2 and was again right behind clarkey bruce and dennis! it was starting to spit and I think dennis was a bit hesitant and came in so I moved up to 3rd! I was loving the racing but I had a bit of a slide coming out of clarks and thought hmmmm bit of a gap calm it 3rd will do! I was only 2 seconds behind Adrian at the flag and in a decent 3rd place so was mega chuffed again! Roll on race 3!
So for race 3 I slipped on a new rear slick and was ready to go! ;D it was starting to spit at the start so I was a bit hesitant with it being a brand new slick :/ but away we went again and I was in 3rd again! Lol right on the leaders but it was really starting to spit and I could see everyone was starting to cool it and slow down a bit and after lap 5 it was cancelled :/ bummer!!! I was enjoyin it as well! But the decision was made to abandon the race as it was really a crappy situation part dry parts wet raining here no there so really not good! Sensible decision in my mind so good call (: roll on ef and t in the park in 2 weeeeeeks! Wooooooooooooo!
North East @ East Fortune 28th & 29th May 2011
Well eastfortune started off pretty rubbish tbh but got better as it went on (: looked
like it was going to be a half and half day all day Saturday… dry yes wet yes damp
no! worst type of conditions possible especially when you are running slicks! So
it was dry-
But I only got an out lap in qualifying before it started spitting and yep I was on full slicks… just magic! So I pulled in…. only for the rain to stop track dry and I ended up on the 5th row of the grid and in about 20th place or something like that… and with my starts it looked like I’d be about last into turn 1 lol!
To my surprise I got a total beast of a start and was inside the top 10 by turn 1! Go meeee! Lol shame that was where my luck ended… I just couldn’t get in to the race L just everything felt wrong, the zip on my leathers came down just a tiny bit but made them start flapping when I sat up, and then my dog tags came out the top of my leathers and starting hitting the side of my helmet! Just couldn’t concentrate, not a good race but ended up 8th so shouldn’t have been too annoyed…
I was pretty pumped up for race 2 and it felt so much better! Back row to inside the top 10 by turn 1 again and I was away! I felt like I was kinda pushing but wasn’t really gaining on the leaders but I didn’t mind coz I was much closer to them than in race 1 and knew a good night’s sleep would sort my head lol Sunday could only be better….
I was feeling much better for the Sunday and knew I could run with the leaders if it was dry (: but It was that nervy rain that was kinda messing me up! It would hammer down for like 20 seconds and within 10 mins be bone dry again! Only in Scotland!! But anyways another cracking start and I was riding much better! I picked my way through and was right on the 2 leaders in 3rd when my arm started to pump up so I dropped back a little bit but was still happy with 3rd and a big improvement on Saturday!
What was up with my starts btw!!! 4 crackin starts out of 4! Yeeeeehaaaa! and after a close call with Bryan and flying Yamaha r1 at railway I was away in 5th again! But after the incident the leaders had a big gap in front of me L I actually thought on lap1 this could be such a boring race! Lol but I caught them within a lap!! Wow! So I passed Bryan down in to the hairpin, then Alan again in to the hairpin on the next lap, then Mike 2 laps after that at snake and I was right on Bruce and dicing for the win! Wow! So I caught right up to him and nailed him at snake and was away in the lead! :D I was like what the hell do I do now? I’ve never had no one in front of me to chase hahaha so I led for 2 laps and going on to lap 9 I caught a backmarker at pates, messed up my drive and Bruce flew past down the straight! Dammmmm! So I was right on him again but he rode defensive on the last lap and beat me by like a wheel! Lol! Mega good fun and I proved that I can run with these guys so I was pretty happy! And I went faster in that race when it was blowing a total gale than when it was sunny at the last round! Mega chuffed! But still 1 race to go and I was itching to get back out!
5 ace starts from 5 and it was the same as in race 2 but I was behind Bryan! so I managed to get up to the back of him and passed him coming of snake but my rear tyre was totally knackered! I had the traction control on the lowest setting and it was cutting in everywhere! Not good! At one point I had the throttle wide open and the bike wasn’t moving forward! Lol felt really weird but I was still in 2nd until Bryan came back past but I pulled the exact same move and I could hear him at every corner right behind me! Lol but I beat him over the line by like 0.1 seconds so I was mega chuffed with another top 3 so from a week end which started out looking so crap it turned out really good! Well happy with the zx10! It will probably look a little strange the next time it’s out as its away getting painted!!! Wooooo!
Knockhill 24th April 2011
So at knockhill I didn’t go out on the Saturday coz it was absolutely chuckin it down! Like really bad even for knockhill! Lol so it was the first round of the knockhill motor sports club and I was actually pretty nervous having not raced round knockhill for almost 7 months after I missed the last 2 rounds after the eastfortune crash! So we had a 25 minute practice/ qualifying session and the bike felt pretty good (: I done 4 fast laps at the start when the tyres felt good and I wasn’t tired and yep the stupid timing people didn’t activate my transponder…. Yup gutted doesn’t really cover it ! I was following tree so it must have been a pretty decent pace and it counted for nothing ! So I went back out and really struggled to get back in to a rhythm L so ended up down in 8th on the 3rd row :/ not great but just had to make the best of it it was a pretty disappointing turnout of only like 13 bikes but I was happy with the pace I was setting in the 1st race was doing 52’s which was a second quicker than the crappy qualifying session so wasn’t too bad but again got a crap start and as it was only a 8 lap sprint race I managed to get back up to my qualifying position of 8th so was pleased with that but knew i could run quicker.
The 2nd race was the same story but managed to latch on to tree for a few laps and got a comfortable 7th so was starting for the 2nd row for the big 15 lapper race at the end of the day…
I knew this was going to be pretty tough work so I tried to pace my self at the start so my arms wouldn’t pump up and that plan worked I was slowly catchin tree at about lap 10 but my legs were starting to hurt – apparently this bike racing stuff is hard work but with 3 laps to go I got really bad cramp in my left leg!!!! I was going in to the hairpin trying to stretch my leg! – that will look rather strange on the tv when motors tv show it! but another 7th or 8th in the big race and I was pretty chuffed I was only 1 of the 2 stock bikes running in beside the superbike class so it wasn’t a bad week ends work roll on the motor fair at knockhill in a couple of weeks then down to eastfortune for northeast round! Bring it on!!
East Fortune 16th & 17th April 2011
After croft I was out the next 2 weekends again and was looking forward to a good week end down at eastfortune (:
Again heading in to practice and qualifying I didn’t really know what to expect but
what I did know was it was going to be tough! I was racing in the formula Melville
class which runs with the superbikes so I was pretty pleased to end up qualifying
in 10th and at the good side of the grid on the 3rd row not bad since there was 5
rows of bikes! Lol I knew I could be up there if I just got some decent starts so
coz I wanted a good start I didn’t get 1 lol both races on Saturday were exactly
the same crap-
So for Sunday I was equipped with a new set of slicks and ready to do battle with the big boys again I was fairly surprised that I actually managed a couple of decent starts (makes a change lol) up the outside and round the outside at pates and we were away again! Flat out brake flat out brake turn flat out brake turn…. That’s pretty much how it feels to race a 1000 round eastfortune lol so again the same as Saturday I was chasing tree and dunc and it was pretty much the same results I knew we were going quicker tho coz the leaders were just coming round the hairpin as I was coming in so I wasn’t far away which was really encouraging J another couple of top 10’s and I was well chuffed with my week ends work and to top it off I was 4th overall in the formula class and ended up getting 40 quid in prize money! Result! Roll on knockhill
Croft – 8th to 10th April 2011
After getting a taster for the bike at ef and khill I was buzzin for croft and really get some good track time on the bike!
We arrived at croft and man was it hot!! We travelled down on the Thursday and got the bikes out and the garage all sorted! Sweet! Friday morning and the sun was out again! We got the bike all warmed up and ready to go and then it was that time again (: helmet on and rolling down the long ass pit lane at croft we got noise tested just before we go on track and the zx10 just passed! 106 db haha loud or what! But anyway away we went and man is croft a fast track! Fast but the first thing I noticed was man is it bumpy now! Especially the fast and very scary corners over the back section lol
So last week end I was out with James Westmoreland and loris baz…. This week end it was John Kirkham and John Hopkins!!! Epic! I even managed to follow him for a couple of laps at the start before he started trying lol was mint tho!
So anyway a full day riding in the scorching sun and shredding tyres around croft = amazing!!! We managed to get a rough idea about gearing etc so I was looking forward to Saturday even though I had no idea what to expect as it was my first race lol
Sat was here and its race day! Waw was I nervous! But an excited nervous (: I went out in the practice and just tried to find my way around with the big boys and done the same in qualifying: D I felt like I was doing a decent pace but wasn’t expecting much when I came back in so it was a nice surprise that I ended up 5th on the grid in my first 1000cc race!!!! Front of the 2nd row and mega excited about the race J
So I pulled up to my 2nd row grid position and looked back to see another 40 guys behind me and was like oh dear lol then I realised I was sitting on the grid for my first race f the season and hadn’t even done a practice start…….. Lol this could be interesting to say the least haha game on!
Well I may have qualified well but my start was terrible!(and that was an understatement lol) but I picked my way through and had a decent race and ended up 7th mega happy for first race
My 2nd race went exactly the same lol terrible start pick my way through and end up 7th 2 7th thatll do me just grand
After the results on Saturday I just wanted to race! I knew I could run the pace near the front if I could get away with them off the start and that’s the exact opposite of what happened lol another crap start and picked my way through too 6th getting there and nearer to the front than yesterday! Good result
by the start of the last race I was starting to get tired after all the racing done so far L I knew it was going to be a tough and long 8 laps so was going to have to dig deep and try my best so for a change I was away in about 9th passed a few guys on the first lap and was in about 7th J another few guys passed and was catching a group in front of me! I just kept my head down and a guy in front crashed and then the leader crashed and I realised I was in 4th!!!!!!!! I had a suspicion that the new ace leader jumped the start so I thought I might be in for a podium but wasn’t too sure so I just dug deep and chased the 2 guys in front of me I caught them with about 2 laps to go I tried passing them in to tower and slide wide and that was it game over as they 2 pulled a wee gap on me L my arms were really starting to hurt so I kept it cool and brought it home for a safe 3rd awesome!!!
Loved every second of the first race on the zx10 mega! Roll on eastfortune!
Knockhill – 1st April 2011
Well as we would have expected we turned up to the bsb test day at knockhill and surprise surprise rain rain rain! Coz it was a bsb test I was out with loris baz and westy on the rob mac Yamaha’s oooft they are fast but I managed to follow westy for a few laps so I was happy I had the traction control on full again coz it was wet but yet again it was hopeless! Cutting the ignition from the hairpin all the way to duffis! And it felt mint when it was sliding from Clarkes all the way to the hairpin lol awesome! Had a decent day getting a feel for the bike in the wet (: roll on croft!
East Fortune March 2011
Well this was my first shot on the new 2011 zx10r Kawasaki and I aint gonna lie I was absolutely crapping myself (: suppose being nervous was a good thing. I was working sat morning so headed down to eastfortune at 11am to see my dumbass of a little sister do her assessment to be a sidecar passenger hahaha and she was awesome actually (: but I was called to the race office and the Melville club knew this was my first shot on a big bike so they kindly asked if I would like to go for a run round while some of the novices were doing there assessment. This was probably a good thing coz I had no time to get nervous or worry… it was back to van tyre warmers on for half an hour kit on bike warmed up and away! I still had the standard road tyres on so was more nervous about them than the power of the bike lol so away we went and got a few laps in before some novice tried to be a hero and decked it at the esses! Ouch! I know how that feels….
So first impressions were …..”HOLY SH*T!!!!”
The zx10 is so frighteningly fast in a straight line and it the way it drives out the corners compared to the 600 is just WAW!
Just a huge thank you before I forget to my dad for building such a mega fast bike lol (and mum for paying for it lol)
So the Saturday sessions calmed my nerves a little and I was buzzing for the Sunday
Sunday was dry again bit windy and both the over 600 groups were just infested by novices!! This didn’t bother me too much till I so nearly ploughed straight through a guy on a gsxr 1000 at the end of the back straight! I actually thought f*ck that’s it season over! But I don’t know how but slammed the brakes on swerved a little and brushed the back of his seat unit with my arm and came straight in to the pits lol at this point I still had the bike on the highest setting on the traction control (its now on the lowest setting lol) so I decided to go back out in some clear track and see how setting 2 felt compared to the highest setting what a difference! Night and day! On setting 3 it would cut in everywhere and would barely let the bike move in 2nd/3rd gear…. Hopeless! So we went to setting 2 and the bike would kinda stutter a little grip wheelie then we were away awesome!
So baring the novice incident amazing first ride on the 2011 Kawasaki zx10r! Mega thanks to mum dad and Melville club for letting me out on the Saturday: D
Knockhill – 1st April 2011
Well as we would have expected we turned up to the bsb test day at knockhill and surprise surprise rain rain rain! Coz it was a bsb test I was out with loris baz and westy on the rob mac Yamaha’s oooft they are fast but I managed to follow westy for a few laps so I was happy I had the traction control on full again coz it was wet but yet again it was hopeless! Cutting the ignition from the hairpin all the way to duffis! And it felt mint when it was sliding from Clarkes all the way to the hairpin lol awesome! Had a decent day getting a feel for the bike in the wet (: roll on croft!
