|
It’s Never Easy at the TT - 2004
 Rider: Mark Castle.
Bike: S&S Tuning; Rye By Post Yamaha R6.
Race: Production 600 TT
Preparations for the 2004 TT began some months ago to try and ensure a stress free fortnight, but as usual nothing runs smoothly….
Problems began when I sent off my entry forms for the Manx Grand Prix way back in April. The TT entry had long since closed and I’d already had notification of my acceptance, which I thought was for the Production 600 TT, Upon receipt of my Manx entry, Caroline Etherington from the Manx Motorcycle Club swiftly phoned me to ask why I was entering the Manx when I’d been accepted for the Junior TT, if I did the Junior race it would mean that I could never go back to the Manx GP!!!!! I would have to withdraw from the event, gutted was not the word.
It transpired that there had been a mistake made when filling out the entry forms and so I had been entered for the wrong class. After many phone calls between myself, Kev spurr of S&S Tuning my sponsor and the Manx Motorcycle club all seemed to be lost…….However help was at hand in the form of John Richards who runs Pro Superbikes. He’d got an entry for the Production 600 race but had no bike, the club said we could do a change of rider, things were looking up, but I could only do it when we got to the Isle of Man and there were no guarantees that they would accept our entry. So we had to get everything ready and go to the Isle of Man, on the off chance that we might be able to change the rider when we got there!!!!
A test session at Mallory on Wednesday proved very worthwhile as I was very rusty, even after riding a fully tuned R6 at last years Manx this bike was still very different to my little 400.
In the meantime I’d been caravan hunting and managed to borrow one off a friend with a view to buying it after the TT, which was great. So I was spending my time cleaning out and loading the caravan ready to go.
Brian Wyles travelled up to my house from Somerset on Thursday 27th May. We hitched up the caravan to Brian’s van, but not before nipping to my local for last orders!! We set off at 10:30am on Friday 28th with an uneventful journey to the Isle of Man.
More troubles lay ahead though on arrival, with the mix up over entries I had withdrawn my entry for the Junior and confirmed I would be doing a change of rider once on the island as the race office had advised however, all my details had been withdrawn from the paddock entry list and if you name isn’t down you aren’t getting in!!!
It’s hard enough to get a spot in the paddock without having to wait till last to get in so I wasn’t amused. Fortunately the Race Office was still open the girls in the office quickly organised the paperwork so that I could get in and set up. I managed to find a good spot in the bottom field and set up camp for the fortnight. To top off a very long day, I had a terrible night’s sleep, it rained during the night which is quite soothing in a caravan, until the rain stops and it drips onto the roof off the trees…not soothing at all!!!!!
Saturday was a busy and stressful day not to mention the fact that I still wasn’t entered for the TT. My first job was to find John Richards and get him to the race office, which was already open for signing on. John had to fill in the change of rider form as an entrant and had to withdraw one of his riders who he had no production bike for.
The alteration had to be authorised by Neil Hanson, who is the Clerk of the Course for the TT and it seemed to take forever. Eventually it came back ok but they were the worst few minutes of my life I then had to re-enter for the production 600 class and fill in a new set of entry forms, the whole process took more than an hour.
By the time I’d got through scruitineering with my kit and transponder I had missed the morning riders briefing which I was hoping to go to. This meant that I had to hang around the paddock to attend the later one in the afternoon. I really needed to do a lap of the circuit, even though I’d been over in February with the Hailwood Foundation I still needed a refresher in my own mind, especially as there were reports of lots of resurfacing work leading up to the TT.
 I busied myself until the riders briefing, then set off on the road bike, with the intention of going up to the pit garage to make sure Andy March of S&S Tuning was ok with the race bike, and then go for a lap. However by the time we’d done the last checks on the race bike it was nearly time for scruitineering so instead of going for a lap I loaded the bike into the van with Andy and headed back to the paddock. We arrived at scrutineering just as Kevin Quirk a scrutineer and also member of the Hailwood Foundation opened up the second bay, so we got through nice and early and parked up behind the TAS Suzuki’s in Parc Ferme.
This was the first opportunity I’d had to relax in ages and I went for a shower to freshen up before practice.
It had rained throughout the morning but had fortunately dried up by the afternoon; however the wind was quite strong which can be cause for concern on the mountain circuit. We made our way to Parc Ferme and when the gates opened the bikes poured onto Glencrutchery road. When the dust had settled I was in the second pairing right behind Arhcibald and Anstey.
The session started a little bit late, I had new tyres and brakes, even my leathers were new and needed breaking in, so first practice was a fairly steady affair. I was being blown around a fair bit though by the wind and I found myself really having to fight with the bike. At the end of lap 2 Ryan Farquhar came past me whilst turning into Governors Dip, which made me loose concentration and also my balance, I had to quickly stamp my foot down to catch the bike!!
The 2nd lap was my fastest at 104.10 mph, which I was happy with for the first practice. Whilst checking the bike over we noticed that the rear sub frame bolts had stripped in the frame and worked loose, no wonder the bike felt like it was moving around!! Having no practice on the Sunday we hit the town Saturday night and had a lazy day on Sunday including a run out on the road bikes to Ballaugh for lunch and a sit in the afternoon sunshine, whilst Andy repaired the sub frame ready for Monday’s practice.
On Monday I put new number boards on the seat unit of the race bike as the regulations had changed from the original rule of having to use a standard number plate to carry the race number.
My practice speed increased to 108.92mph but even though it was a perfect evening with no wind I was still being really mauled on the bike. By the second lap I was totally shattered and my throttle wrist had pumped up to the extent where I could hardly hold on anymore, I certainly didn’t have the power to brake sufficiently so I just cruised home.
On reflection afterwards I hadn’t eaten properly all day and you just can’t expect to hold up to that sort of exertion without stocking up before hand. The other factor affecting me was that my leathers just didn’t fit quite right. My sleeves were too long and were pushing my gloves off my hands and the hump on the back was elasticated with a slit across the front, which caused it to fill with air and act like a parachute every time I moved off the bike. On the approach to a corner, when you’re going flat out even on a standard R6 and you only weigh 63kg believe me it’s quite a force trying to drag you off the back and it’s really unsettling, not to mention the fact that it tore at all the muscles in my right shoulder.
The first job on Tuesday morning was a visit to Sam at Celtic in Ramsay for some advice regarding my leathers. We decided to remove the hump and alter the sleeve length and collar. I finally got out in the van for 2 laps and it’s amazing how much the surface had changed since February, I’ll never come over to race and not go for a lap round first. It’s just impossible to see the patches whilst on the race bike. We called at the pit garage where Andy had fitted new brake pads, which were a different compound as the others lacked feel. We also decided to fit a smaller rear sprocket to calm the bike out of the corners.
My practice time was 108.35mph I set off nice and steady, mindful of the new front pads, however I was really struggling with my shoulder and my wrist pumping up, at least I wasn’t being dragged off the bike anymore, but the damage had already been done and I really needed some time to rest and recover. I over shot at Sulby Bridge because I didn’t have the power to brake hard enough, to slow down in time for the turn in.
 Another problem that was apparent was the bike bucking over the jumps and wheelies, and also on the drive out of corners, this was the rear shock complaining. From cold there was too much rebound damping and when it got hot there wasn’t enough, which caused the instability, another reason why I was tensing up and fighting the bike, imagine exiting a corner flat out in top gear and the bike bucking and fighting as you try and straighten up, no wonder I was exhausted!!! At debrief with Kev Spurr I explained what was going on and it was decided to fit an Ohlins rear shock for Wednesday night practice.
On Wednesday I had a much-needed lie in and rested for the day, I went to see the Physio at the Hailwood Centre who worked wonders with my shoulder, which was in quite a state.
I was nicely relaxed by evening practice and in near perfect conditions I lapped at 112.32mph on my second lap. My one goal for the TT was to match the times I’d done in the Junior race at the Manx GP in 2003 on the tuned R6, that time was 112.39mph, I think that’s close enough…and it was in practice too. What a difference an Ohlins makes!! At debrief we decided to give Thursday practice a miss and get some further rest, we obviously had a set up which worked and didn’t need to push it for the sake of it.
Practice was cancelled on Thursday due to the inclement weather, I had more Physio and in the evening went to the Joey Dunlop Foundation Chat show at the Villa Marina, they asked for all TT riders in attendance to go up on stage at the end, it was great to be up there with Palmer, Martin, Lougher, Britton, Frost, Farquhar, Beattie, Finnegan, Sells and Costello to name but a few.
Friday’s practice was a very busy affair with everyone missing out on Thursday and for some it would be the last practice before the Formula 1 race on Saturday. There were also a few yellow flags out on the circuit, which slows the lap time down considerably. I lapped at 108.37, which I was happy with considering the traffic.
My mechanic Andy Tim Grimes came across on the afternoon of Wednesday 9th June, so I went to collect him off the ferry. There was a 2-lap practice after the racing for the Production 600 and Senior bikes, which was an opportunity to scrub a new set of tyres in for Friday. I found that I was held up a lot by heavy traffic and didn’t get a clear run and once again there were some yellow flags about. My wrist had pumped up again which was annoying me. My fastest lap was 109.98mph.
I had a lazy morning on Thursday; I had to get to the bottom of what was causing my wrist to pump up and decided to look at the armour in my leathers. When I removed the armour it was the hard plastic type and was putting pressure on my wrist. We decide to go for a lap in the van and call in at Celtic on the way. Sam supplied me with some T-pro armour that he fits into his suits, and my leathers were a lot comfier and less restricted. Mike, Eddie and Andy were arriving Thursday night to do my fuel stop so I decided to call my friend Sandy who said I could stay over, which would free up space in the caravan and hopefully I’d get a better night’s sleep before the race.
Even though I slept in a proper bed and not in the caravan and I was able to have a bath for the first time in a fortnight I had a really restless night. Andy Tim picked me up early from Sandy’s and took me back to the paddock. I had a shower in an attempt to wake up. The bike went through scrutineering fine and the guys sorted the fuel for the pit stop. Then as if my nerves weren’t tested enough it rained again. I thought that the race would be delayed to give the road a chance to dry out but there were no announcements to say otherwise. I really couldn’t decide about which visor to use as occasionally the sun was beginning to shine through the heavy cloud. I made the mistake of putting my mirrored visor on, I was still adamant that it would be delayed and would run in perfect sunshine!!
By the time the race began I was more nervous than ever before. I was so far back that I had time to listen to a spectators radio as the leaders went through Glen Helen about 9 miles out on the course, eventually as the queue neared my start number I climbed on the bike and took some very deep breaths.
I set off from the start no problem but at the top of Bray Hill the wind caught me and blew me off line, I went all the way down the hill on the right hand side of the road not the left. My brother was watching at the bottom and apparently I made the loudest scrape as the bike bottomed out in the dip, I refused to shut off though!!
 I collected myself and calmed down, it was quite damp under the trees and the new rain flags were put to good use. It was really patchy damp so it was hard to judge, not to mention my vision being impaired by my dark visor. In the corners the racing line went from wet to dry, it was really unnerving to say the least and took total concentration. I approached Ballacraine, which is a third gear right-hander, I turned in on a dry road but the exit was wet. That bit you don’t see till you’re committed!!! As soon as the bike hit the water, both wheels slid and the bike dropped onto my leg, which was under the bike as we slid out towards the wall. Amazingly the tyres found a dry patch, gripped and the bike stood up!!! I really thought I’d crashed big time, apparently so did the marshals as they’d already got the yellow flags out expecting carnage. The race from then on changed to just riding safely and not anticipating dry roads, at least not for the first lap.
The next few miles were really quite wet and I wasn’t chancing anything, we’d agreed that I would fuel on the first lap of three and I couldn’t wait to get to the pits.
The climb over the mountain was troubled by the wind; I was struggling to pull top gear and kept entering corners with the bike over revving because I’d changed down too many gears. I had to short shift into top so I knew where I was. I pulled in for a very swift fuel stop thanks to Eddie, Kev and Andy; I didn’t say a word though, as I was in stunned silence!!!
The next lap was really difficult and I didn’t enjoy it particularly but I kept telling myself to relax and by the time I came onto the final lap I’d settled into it and felt like I’d really began to make progress, helped by drying roads and a better understanding of where the worst of the wet patches were. As I came down off the mountain I‘d already talked myself home and made the simplest mistake of the TT course by loosing concentration. A minor altercation at Governors Dip caused by looking over my shoulder at a rider I’d passed coming down off the mountain cost me valuable minutes and probably a lot of positions!!! I crossed the line to finish in 52nd place making up 17 places from my start number of 69 and amazingly just crept into the Bronze replica times, with a race average of 107.74mph.
I parked the bike in Parc Ferme and went to get changed before making our way to the beer tent for a well-earned drink. The presentation was later in the day behind the Grandstand but because there were so many replicas they didn’t have enough so I’ve still not got mine yet.
Now I’m really looking forward to the Manx Grand Prix in August, I can’t wait to go round the course on my RVF 400 again and the thought of riding a proper tuned R6 again is fantastic. I’ve learned some valuable lessons by doing the TT, which will all help to completing a successful Manx.
Huge Thankyou’s to….
Kev Spurr and Andy March of S&S Tuning for preparing the bike so well and looking after me like uncles!!!!
Pete Grant of Project Bikes for supplying all the parts for the race bike.
Vic of Rye by Post for his sponsorship to do the TT.
Jackie and Caroline of the Manx MCC for all their help.
John Richards of Pro Superbikes for sorting the entry at the last minute.
Derek and Kath Grimes for their kind donations.
Sandy Miller for letting me stay in a decent bed.
Kevin Quirk and Adrian Earnshaw of the Mike Hailwood Foundation for all their support
Charlene, Billy, Stevie, Tracey, Andy Tim, Eddie, Mike and Davo for coming to the Isle of Man to help and support me at the TT.
|
