Round 11 - Snetterton 11 September 2001

Pre-Meeting 
After the Snetterton round earlier in the year I was dreading this one. The circuit favours those fortunate enough to have fast equipment as they  really make the most of those big straights. I was annihilated on the back straight by Lee Dickenson and Mike Hertzberg on board the rocket TZ ships at the earlier round at this circuit and you cannot compete against that advantage, no matter how good you are (Hee...Heee...just setting you up for the later bits).
With this in mind I set about the engine with the level of precision only known to NASA..........and...um me of course. Everything was cleaned, checked, dialled in and checked again. The squish was almost exact at 0.55mm, give or take a few hundredths and new pistons and rings were fitted to make the most of everything.

I must confess, I started my rain dance on Monday in anticipation of this weekend and looking at the weather forecast it was looking quite promising. Why rain? I knew that a good result could come my way if it rained, although a fast bike still goes fast on the straights. Hmmmm, in hindsight, maybe a 'plague of frogs dance' would have been more effective.

We set off on Friday night at around 7pm and eventually arrived at the very busy paddock at around 10.30pm. It was windy. I mean really windy and this time it was not Guinness related. We decided not to bother with the awning as that would end up imitating a kite in this weather.

As money is very tight....Sob....Sob....I hear you say, I decided to watch the BEMSEE club racing on Saturday and have a social day to enjoy the racing as a spectator without the nerves, the emotion and the endless walks to the toilet. I probably saved a few trees this day.

It turned out to be a great days racing in all classes, although the 600 that spilt it's guts at the Russell chicane would end up messing that corner up for the entire weekend.

Earlier in the day I had stripped the forks and replaced the 5wt oil with 7.5wt as I found the lighter oil was just not my bag Baby. The forks dived too quickly with the lighter oil, were easy to bottom even with a large amount of compression dialled in and the front never really felt planted.

For the ripples (glad I spelt that correctly) in turn one (Riches) I dialled a bit more rebound in so they reacted quickly to surface changes. This can make the bike feel harder at the front, but I like it well hard. Know wot I mean guv?

These ripples (Phew! managed it again) are daunting when you are committed as they upset the front and rear of the bike if caught in the wrong place. I watched Jeremy Goodall's bike patter over these bumps in the Powerbike class on Saturday and you could see air under both wheels on some laps while cranked over. Not pleasant to watch, let alone be on it.

Darren Jones and Jo arrived so I went over for a chat. He then moved the bike off the work table and said, "Have a go mate, it's got loads of grunt." So I cocked my leg over the armchair saddle, adjusted the family jewels, and took it for a spin around the outer paddock. This is the first 4 stroke twin I have ever ridden and I have to say it was very torquey. I can see the attraction....Honest! Cheers for that mate. Um......you can have a go on mine...............next year. Hee...Hee.........

Those of you who read Bike Sport will have seen the recent article regarding my retirement at the end of the season, which I have to say makes me swell up every time I think about it. My eyes that is!

I have since sold the bike to a chap named Steve Pond who will be picking it up after Mallory Park so I am treating it with kid gloves at the moment to ensure everything is top notch when he collects it.

Why retirement? Well after 4 great years at British Championships the credit card's can no longer handle the strain and it is proving to be a difficult task to keep my head above water while I am still racing at a very competitive level. I had hoped this year would be cheap (and easier), but although it is a third of the cost of a BSB meeting (overall running costs that is) there is no money left to make substantial payments off the money mountain. I alone am probably responsible for the interest rates changing in the Bank of England it's that bad.

It is a sad day for all of us involved as we are still a very competitive team, but maybe after a year out we will be able to return with a fresh slate, new machinery and start again, who knows. You can be assured it will be printed here though.

Anyway, I guess this is getting boring now, so onto the action...........Ok, onto the rest of the gibberish.

Sunday - Morning Practice (8 Mins.)
The first thing we noticed this morning was the wind. Boy oh boy was it gusty, and that's on the outside of the caravan! Inside was pretty bad too, but that's Murpheys law (no pun intended).

I had fitted final gearing at 16/36 with a standard box and this was overgeared. So much so that I was just getting to 12,500rpm before the braking markers on the Revett Straight and found I had another gear. Not exactly ideal, but the wind was immense.

I carried out a plug chop and examined the plugs back at the awning. We were short of time for a full strip down and the plugs indicated the bike was rich so I jetted down to 190/188 from 192/190 and also changed final gearing to 16/37 ready for the next session.

I turned the rear tyre around for the qualifying session as the left hand side hardly sees action at Snetterton and is the cause of many a highside exiting Russell Chicane where the left hand side of the tyre is cold. Today the oil from yesterdays 600 crash was still allowing the bike to spin up under hard acceleration which again made you treat this section with extreme caution.

Sunday - Qualifying (20 Mins.)
The revised gearing was much better and I was soon circulating in the 1:13's with the lap times getting slowly better as time passed.

I had one moment in this session with a slower rider who I almost rammed as he was cruising on the racing line and as I entered the Bomb Hole section I had expected him to move off line as he was on a slow down lap (or so I thought), but no, he just stuck on line and I had to take evasive action. When the time sheet was issued he was a full 10s off the Pole time and 5s off the 25th qualifying time which is frankly dangerous at this level.

I did have some fun with Vince Whittle who I got involved in a drag race along the Revett Straight just to see if my bike was performing better than at Cadwell. By the way, a drag race does not involve dressing up in women's clothes.............pity! My bike was holding it's own against Vinces JHA missile, until 6th, where Vinces bike just pulled a few lengths away, but not enough to prevent me from a braking manoeuvre.

Further into the session, thanks go to my old mate Ricardo Ballerini who looked behind and eased up to allow me through when I was on a hot lap. Many Thanks for that. A true gent.

20 minutes went by very quickly and I managed to get my times down to 1:13.38s which was good enough for 6th on the grid. My only problem was Jeremy Goodhall had set pole at 1:12.30s which was a reasonable gap. Dean Johnson had found some form (or was it horsepower as paddock gossip has indicated he is running a 'B' kit on the bike which explains the sudden transformation of speed) and secured 2nd with Mike Hertzberg taking 3rd and Derek Welch completed the front row line up.

The bike was checked again and it was still running rich. This would help to explain why it felt a little less sharp in 6th. I guess there was just too much fuel getting through. I jetted down to 185/188 for the race. The power jet cut-off was set at 12,500rpm so the bike will run a little leaner at the top to help it pull better.

We had very little time between qualifying and the race so it was all hands on deck to get a new rear 644 compound tyre on. Clive at Racing Lines did us proud and sorted the wheel very quickly. Many Thanks.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for us (depends how you want to view it) Lee Dickinson was rumoured to have seized in qualifying and was not listed on the grid which could upset the Championship standings if he never made it to the race. We just assumed he would be ready in time, although the lack of time available may make it an impossible task if the damage was crank related. I imagine the atmosphere was intense in their awning.

Sunday - Race (16 laps - 1.952 miles/lap)
Well it appeared that Lee's problem was too much to sort and he was not out to play. This meant that Jeremy who currently leads the Championship was now in a very favourable position to secure the Championship if all went well in the race. I know it sounds terrible, but I guess we were all doing the points sums on the grid as to what points are needed to secure what Championship position.

The warm-up lap went without too much drama and I was felling good. The bike was sharper with the leaner setting and the handling was sweet. I have never had it turning so good.

A small delay on the grid as Derek Welch replaced his clutch and held us up, but better to be there than sit it out.

Green and GO! GO! GO!

I had a reasonable start and managed to get past Andrew Sawford into Riches. It was here things were a little hectic and I was boxed in. I kept it nailed and shot between two bikes on the approach to Sear Corner. Hard on the brakes and down the Revett straight for the first time. 

Jeremy, Dean and Lee Hodge were up front and I was caught behind a couple of bikes which were soon disposed of. Unfortunately this had taken time and there was now a gap to Mike Herzberg which took a few laps to close.

Unfortunately Mikes TZ is a very fast bike and just pulled away on the straights, however I managed to pass him on the brakes into Sear and get up the straight before him. About half way down the straight he would shoot past (10mph or more easy) and pull away. I then had to catch him on the brakes and through the twisty bits. 

Lap after lap I passed him at just about every corner possible until I had to think hard how to get past him before the run to the Bomb Hole so I could get some distance between us through the bends so he could not pass me along the straight.

Finally I managed to get superior drive out of Sear and managed to stay with him until 6th gear where he pulled away, but the gap was far less than previous laps. I took a chance and braked at the 100m board. This was around 50m later than previous laps and I went into the Esses with a lot of speed. The word F......ck came to mind as I tipped the bike into the left, but I managed to shoot past Mike on the outside and as he tipped into the right hand section of this corner I was already there and getting on the gas. It is from here onwards where I knew I had superior corner speed (can I hear a trumpet blowing?) and gave it maximum concentration to keep the speed as high as I dared without crashing. Lots of drifting. Luvverly.
 
Not sure which corner (answers on a postcard to.........) A fast one though!

Down the start finish straight and for the first time Mike never made it past. GREAT! This was the break I needed to pull away, however I lost the front entering Riches for a split second and the front wheel tucked, but gripped again and although I drifted wide I had probably gone through the corner at least 5km/hr faster than before. The stain in my pants was living proof.

I could now see Dean leading Jeremy and I set about closing the gap by setting consistent low 1:12s laps. The gap was reducing slowly (bit like watching grass grow) and I was excited (or was it just foolish) to think I could catch them. Then, Bugger Me!

Derek Welch blasted past on his TZ along the start/finish straight and nearly ripped my leathers off in the vacuum caused by such speed difference.

I could not believe it. I had fought my way into a podium finish and had lost it along the straight.

As you can imagine I was not exactly happy with this and set about reversing the order. His bike is very, very fast on the straights, but I surmised he was weaker through the turns. On the last lap I gave it everything to close the gap and around Coram I closed a 30m gap and had built up so much speed that to get past on the approach to Russell Chicane was executed in the blink of an eye. I was jubilant that I had got the podium place back on the last corner of the last lap. Brilliant!

I got on the gas as early as possible exiting the chicane and felt I had 3rd in the bag, when just 20m from the line, WHOOSH! He just pissed past me on the straight (no need to even slipstream) and took the flag to finish 3rd. I tried to hitch a bungey to the rear of the seat and get a slingshot back, but my reactions were just too slow.

I was gutted............gutted.........gutted.............Words just can't explain how robbed I felt after such a last lap effort to close the gap he had opened out on the straights. OK, I was also jealous and wished I had that kind of power. Maybe if I graft a 500 engine into my frame? 

So 4th it was, but it has helped me to consolidate my 3rd position in the Championship after beating Mike and I may also be in for a shout of 2nd if Lee is unable to join in the fun at Mallory in a couple of weeks. 

Dean took the win with Jeremy 2nd and Derek 3rd. The fastest lap was set by Dean at 1:12.44s against my best of 1:12.68s which was pleasing considering the windy conditions. Without the wind I think I may have made it into the 1:11's which would have been great.

We are now 25 points behind Jeremy and 3 behind Lee, so anything can happen for the Championship at Mallory Park.

Thanks go out to Penny again for helping me all weekend in such horrible wind and to the chaps from the Dynotec team who helped with the awning when we arrived.

We are at Mallory Park on 23rd September for the final round.

It would be foolish to miss it!