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Mark Castle Pre Season Report
Mark has been busy pre season.
BRITISH SUPERMONO CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS EVENING. 24.01.04
 Saturday the 24th of January was the evening of the Supermono Presentation, which is always a good do. We made our way to Dunstable on the Saturday afternoon and had time to go to the Gym and even a swim and a sauna. It’s a great opportunity to get together in what’s really an unusual setting for a group of bike racers, It’s sometimes hard to recognise people though when they’re suited and booted and not in leathers and helmets!! We had a great meal and during the formalities I went up for my Trophy for finishing third in the Aircooled Class in 2003. After that it was chance to party for the night and have a natter about plans for the year.
Well done to everyone who received awards and thanks to all the people who support the Supermono class.
For more Supermono details see www.supermononewsletter.co.uk
RON HASLAM RACE SCHOOL, DONINGTON PARK. 15.02.04
In October last year the Ron Haslam Race School invited CV’s from riders who would be interested in instructing at the Donington Park based school. I sent off my details and eagerly awaited a reply. At the beginning of January this year I was asked to attend a Seminar, which was held on the 15th February for current instructors and those new faces who had expressed an interest in the job. It was a good day and a chance to meet lots of new people from all kinds of racing backgrounds.
We listened to a very informative presentation from a regular customer to the school, with his expectations of the organisation and the instructors. After Ron had detailed a few changes to the race school and invited questions from the attendees, we had a practical first aid demonstration which was a reminder that by taking this role on there is a great deal of responsibility and a duty of care whilst tutoring someone in at a race school.
It’s now a case of waiting for a call to attend one of the sessions at Donington and be assessed by Ron or the chief instructor on my ability to ride and also to interact with customers in a professional manner, which is acceptable to the Race School.
NEW ERA PRESENTATION EVENING. 21.02.04
The New Era Presentation evening was held at Daventry so we made our way down on the Saturday afternoon and had a walk round Daventry once we’d checked in, I was a bit worried as they’d not registered my reservation when I booked in January but fortunately they still had some room.
There was just time for a pre dinner drink before going to the main room for the meal. I went up for my 4th place trophy after the meal and ceased the opportunity to catch up with some old sparring partners who I’d not seen for a while.
MIKE HAILWOOD FOUNDATION TRIP, ISLE OF MAN. 27, 28 & 29.02.04
Leading up to visiting to the Isle of Man at the end of February I’d been busy organising this year’s trip from the English side of the water to coincide with the Irish invasion of the Isle of Man.
The Mike Hailwood Foundation support newcomers to the Manx Grand Prix by sponsoring trips to the Isle of Man, these trips give the selected newcomers an opportunity to get an insight into the TT mountain course, before venturing out onto it at the event itself. Hopefully this promotes good results for the riders but most importantly safety.
This year I decided to put an advert in Bikesport news to make people aware of the trips and understandably I’d been inundated with calls. Unfortunately there’s limited space and resources so I produced a CV sheet, which each rider filled in, ultimately it is the Hailwood Foundation’s decision as to who attend the trips. However it’s my job also to let people down. So with the riders chosen and the ferry and B&B booked and a car organised it was time to go.
It was planned for the guys to arrive at my house in Cheshire during the Thursday evening as we were booked on the 2:15am Ferry from Heysham, but I had a phone call from Andy Cotton from Poole in Dorset to say that it was white over with snow, I began to wonder if we’d ever get there!! Parry Randles arrived from Barwell in Leicestershire, then Andy and his father Eric arrived, relieved to have had such a good run up the country considering the weather. Finally Bret Crossley turned up from Leeds. After introductions it was time to leave so we loaded up the car and head off for Heysham, by now it was snowing really heavily and the journey to the docks is and epic in itself….
We tried to sleep on the boat bit it wasn’t very successful, we arrived on the Isle of Man before dawn on the Friday and with nothing open the best thing to do was to go for a lap. I headed along the prom and up to the grandstand to start a lap from the beginning. The first lap really was a corner naming exercise and a chance for the guys to ask any questions and generally have a look at the track. It was just daylight by the time we got back to Douglas so we went to the Mereside Hotel where Paul the owner very kindly made us some breakfast, which we were very grateful for.
We set off and did another 4 laps by the time the Irish boys arrived in the afternoon, building up the information with every lap, discussing lines, breaking markers, turning points etc. We all went for lunch at the Hawthorn, then did a couple more laps before coming back to the hotel for a freshen up, prior to going to the Phil Hogg auction at the Imperial Hotel.
Saturday morning began early with a photo at the Hailwood Centre, behind the grandstand, with the representatives of the Manx MCC and Marshals. Then a chance for the guys to swap between the 4 instructors, especially if they had particular experience on different machinery, which would better suit the new riders. A lap on a 250 or 400 is different to a lap on a 600 or 750 for example. Another 6 laps were driven during the course of the day including stopping to get out and have a look at some of the corners in greater detail.
The weekend culminated in a Chinese meal on the Saturday evening and a few drinks afterwards. For the English party it was an early start on Sunday and the ferry home straight after breakfast, the Irish group stayed on until the afternoon before flying home. All in All it was a very worthwhile weekend for the new riders and also a good opportunity for myself to recap and rethink the 37 ¾ mile circuit. It also feels very good to be putting something back into the sport by helping the newcomers in this way.
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