|
James Clamp - At - Mallory Park - Donington Park - Cadwell Park
 6 May Mallory Park: We had to work until 5pm the night before, fitting a replacement engine and arriving at the circuit at 11 pm in order to race in round 1 of the New ERA Superclub championships. The standard engine seemed to be running OK, especially considering that 72 hours earlier it was in a crashed road bike. In race one I got a good start but it seemed as though I had a gearbox with 6 gears and 12 neutrals, every time I changed gear I'd get a neutral. Needless to say I was lapped and finished in 27th place. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the gearbox but I felt the gear change travel was too great. We adjusted the linkage for race two but the problem became worse, I managed to finish two places higher in 25th.
7 May – Donington Park: Donington was the scene of my first 600cc race back in March of 2000 and I hadn't been back since. Having adjusted the gear linkage again we thought that the problem was sorted. Practice proved otherwise and I noticed that the gear lever stayed either up or down and didn't return to a central position after gear selection. In the pits we checked the gear selection shaft and found the splines worn down. When I selected a gear the linkage rotated around the shaft but barely moved it. Captain Bodge-it (my Dad) came to the rescue with an ingenious fix. He inserted sewing needles between the linkage and the shaft splines, tightened the down as hard as he dare then broke the protruding ends of the needles off. A little light dressing with a file and hey presto. Donington has larger grids (40 as apposed to 32 riders) than most and the competition was always going to be tough. After two hard races I was disappointed only to finish 35th and 37th respectively. My lack of circuit knowledge was a big factor in my low finishing positions.
12 May – Cadwell Park: One of my favourite circuits, but one that had proved unlucky in the past. Previously I had smashed my family jewels into the tank coming down from a monster start line wheelie and crashed a few corners later, and another time a blown engine ended my racing day early. I was hoping for better luck this time but for the first race I was at the back of the grid. The race only lasted for three and a bit laps due to a crash. In those laps I went grass tracking, took a chunk out of my left knee slider on the curb at Mansfield and pulled off a wicked out-braking manoeuvre at the left hander leading on to the mountain. Race two gave me a better grid position but a crash on lap one brought out the red flags. We were held on the start line for fifteen minutes in temperatures of 25 oC. I was boiling up in my leathers and I started to get a headache. When the race finally started again I felt really drained, maybe I should have pulled out but I pressed on the finish 28th.
13 May – Cadwell Park: If we didn't crash on the Saturday we didn't have to scrutineer again on Sunday so I managed to have a lie in. By the time my first race was due I was rested and relaxed and with a mid grid position I was hopeful of a better finish. I had received some tips from a seasoned 600 racer the night before and I put these into practice. I felt comfortable with some, but one of the suggestions, to keep the engine revs higher, felt odd especially given my recent engine blow-up. Either way something worked because I finished in 22nd for race one and two, in the process improving my personal best lap time by seven seconds.
Due to work commitments and the lack of funds we won't be racing until the end of June. I am in dire need of some financial support to keep on racing. To be competitive I need to get this engine tuned. Please, if you can help call 01760 338307 or 07887 903419.
Many thanks James Clamp
|
