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JAMES CLAMP – RACE REPORTS TO 01 MAY 2001
On 18th March I went to Mallory Park for round one of the New ERA Club Championships. The weather consisted of continual rain interspersed with sleet. I have only raced in the wet once before and I was less than confident with my abilities in the wet. A mid pack start in race one meant that as soon as the flag dropped the front rows disappeared in spray. By the first corner I was in 10th place but slowly more experienced riders overtook me and after ten laps I was glad to finish 20th.
The weather for my second race (for unlimited cc machines) was atrocious and my dad said not to bother; I decided to give it a go. The race was stopped after seven laps and considering I was up against R1's, GSXR 1000's and the odd 250 I did well to finish 21st.
The rain and sleet finally abated for race three although the track still had rivers running down it in places. I got a good start and was holding seventh for some time. Again my lack of confidence in the wet saw me lose places, eventually finishing 21st.
My next race was to be at Cadwell Park on 15 and 16 April. Unfortunately there were no spaces available for practice on the Saturday before so we elected to go to Mallory Park for Wednesday afternoon practice. The signs were ominous from the start, as a Formula 3000 car had dropped oil over most of the circuit in the morning session. I gingerly set off on my first session trying to work out how safe it was on the cement dust covered oil. After a few laps I was finding out that things weren't as bad as it looked when the rear end stepped out.I thought perhaps I was wrong about the grip and but, as I approached the hairpin I was 'black flagged'. I pulled off the circuit and I was immediately engulfed in white smoke. There was oil all over my legs and the rear wheel; oil was also dripping from the fairing.
When we got the bike home a look in the sump revealed gold coloured, bearing material. The engine is now with Chris Mehew who hopefully will be able to work his magic and recover it. In the meantime we're on the look out for a spare engine, suitable ones are available locally, but will cost in the region of £500, a fair bit more than we can afford at the moment.
My next race will hopefully be at Mallory Park for round one of the New ERA Superclub Championship on 6th May; followed the day after by round two at Donington
(assuming we've got an engine by then).
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