JPRacing

12/08/2015

Well I haven't done one of these for a while! Round 7 at Brands GP, the meeting that everyone waits for. Amazing track, and amazing weather, definitely a weekend to remember.

I turned up on Wednesday night having collected my suspension on the way to the circuit. Turns out my old stuff was truly laughable...and as such, Paul has borrowed the shock to show his mates so they can all laugh at it.

I wanted as much time testing the new bits as possible so I'd booked the track day on the short circuit for Thursday. Turns out I didn't feel the need to change any of the settings. I knocked 1.4 seconds off my personal best on that track layout getting down to a 53.1. 52's are there, just need to get the first half of the lap dialed in a bit more.

Friday was much the same, consistent 53's when I could get a clear lap, but as usual with test days there were a lot of bikes on track and it was mostly a game of survival. Again the bike felt planted and stable so I just left it alone.

Saturday didn't go according to plan. I wanted to get out at the front for qualifying in the hopes of following someone faster to drag my times down a bit. I forgot to put my transponder on so ended up having to do a lap of the pitlane to go and get it before I went out. We only got a lap in before the red flag came out, turns out one of my team mates had crashed on the fastest corner on the track, then been hit by a following rider. The guy that hit him is fine, but Taff broke both legs and is now recovering in hospital. All things considered they both got off quite lightly with it.

After the re-run of qualifying I ended up 16th out of 42, which was not part of the plan at all. The aim was top 10. I managed a 1:43.404.

In Race 1 I made my way up to 13th, though I didn't make it easy for myself after a poor start. I dropped my lap time down to a 1:40.859 though, which was a considerable improvement.

Race 2 was much the same, poor start, dropping from 13th down to 21st after running a wide line round Druids that happened to include curb and grass. I managed to work my way back through the pack and ended up 11th with a best lap of 1:39.962, almost a second quicker then the previous best as well as being one of only 6 riders to drop below the 1:40 mark.

Sunday morning and Race 3 looked positive after the times set on Saturday...until the start. Again I failed to control my track space and went from 11th down to 14th in the space of 3 corners. By the end of the race I'd climbed up to 6th, a best ever finish in the MRO series, with a 5th fastest lap time of 1:39.061, nearly another second faster than Saturday.

How could I possible mess up a start from the 2nd row of the grid? Easily. Back to 11th after the first 3 corners. I ended up 8th with my attempt to get 7th interrupted by a yellow flag at Clearways on the last lap. Lap times were more of less the same as Race 3, 1:39.272 being the quickest. Despite this being slightly slower than previously it made me 4th fastest in terms of quickest lap. Looking at the sector times also showed that I was 2nd fastest in sector 2, only 2 hundredths of a second off the fastest, and 3rd fastest in sector 3 down by 3 tenths, then a whole second back in sector 1, making me 11th fastest, so at least this demonstrates where my weak points are.

All in all it was a brilliant weekend again, lovely and sunny, fast racing, close racing, best ever results. Everyone I raced with, and everyone back in the paddock who supports us really make the meetings worth going to! Thanks again everyone!

26/04/2015

Round 1 at Brands Indy this year is something I'd like to forget really. I didn't feel the need to give a write up at the time for that reason. Long story short; testing was slow, didn't set a lap in qualifying for various self inflicted reasons, and then blew the engine up in the first race. See my point?

Round 2 at Snetterton this weekend was a little different. I started off testing at a fairly slow and awkward pace, struggling to get comfortable on the bike. I ended that day with a best lap of 2:20ish. Despite that I did start to feel more at ease with the bike.
At the end of the day I sat and watched my on-board footage back with Allan, and within half an hour we'd solved the age old mystery of why I can't turn corners. It's only taken 13 months to work it out.

So armed with the knowledge that I was turning far too slowly into corners I set out to drop my lap times a little bit. Qualifying was wet, so it didn't really give a very good gauge for the dry races that followed it. It was also red flagged after 2 laps...
Starting from 19th in Race 1 I dropped to 21st, with a best lap of 2:14.016, 6 seconds quicker than the previous day.
The 2nd race was slower, dropping back into the 2:15's and another place, down to 22nd.

The start of Sunday looked fairly miserable compared to the bright sun of Saturday, but despite this race 3 was an improvement. 22nd on the grid up to 18th with a 2:12.395 as best lap.
Race 4 was very similar in lap times doing a 2:12.331, but this time crossing the line in 16th.

As a whole the weekend was a drastic improvement, knocking 8 seconds off my times in bright sunshine on Friday compared with the cold windy conditions of Sunday. I feel far more comfortable on the bike now and hope I'll adapt quickly to life in the MRO championship.

As usual thanks a lot to Allan for generally being the presence in the garage that we all turn to when things go a little less according to plan, thankfully I didn't need to call on the mechanical skills this time out. Everyone else generally just makes the meeting what it is, without the atmosphere at Bemsee it simply wouldn't be nearly as fun a place to be.

09/10/2014

Final points table for the 2014 Rookie Minitwins. I placed 7th at the end of it.

09/10/2014

Final race of the year at Brands Hatch Indy. Fastest lap on the last lap.

Race 4 05/10/2014 Best lap on lap 10/10: 54.463 Last race of the year :(

09/10/2014

Oops moments.

The best of the worst (and less good moments) of the 2014 Bemsee Rookie Minitwins. After looking through it I might just skip Snetterton altogether next year.

09/10/2014

Unlike at Snetterton there was very little testing going on on the test day. After about 3 laps in the first session I found myself in the medical centre, more because I was too lazy to stand up than because I was actually injured though. For some reason after being flung from a motorcycle and rolling along the ground I just didn't want to get up very quickly, who'd have thought it?
I did get out for the afternoon sessions but it was a little busy with (rumor has it) over 50 bikes on track. I was also feeling a little uncomfortable both physically and mentally after the morning's shenanigans and pulled in early in every session. My exhaust also fell apart in the last session which didn't really help.

Qualifying was a little pointless, I did an out-lap and my exhaust fell apart again. I managed an impressive 1:06something, placing me 2nd from last.

As we were going out for Race 1 it decided we were far too dry. Ten minutes and a quick wheel swap later we were back in the collecting area. I maintain that I don't mind the wet, really, I actually don't dislike it...I'm just not very good in it at the moment. I was circulating dead last for about 7 laps then decided I really just didn't want to be riding and came back into the pits. To me this was almost impressive, as it meant I hadn't finished a single session on track all weekend thus far...

Race 2 was a bit better, I made a bit more effort and actually made it to the flag. The sun was a bit low and on the wet track it was a little blinding. By a little I mean when tipping into certain corners it was entirely guess work until you got to the apex, which on a wet track with other riders is a little unnerving. It was much better than Race 1 though, and I learned a little more about bike behavior and the limits of grip, which was the whole point of going out in the first place.

Race 3 on Sunday was nice and dry, but it was a little similar to Snetterton. I lost the front group then proceeded to go round and round in circles until the flag came out. You read that correctly, I made it to another flag! I did get into the 55's though which was a target of the weekend. I felt convinced after that race that I could do a 53.5 at least.

Race 4 was much the same as Race 3, though over-enthusiasm into Druids and a total inability to change down after Surtees played a bigger part than anything else. I managed a 54.463 though despite those little glitches, so I know for sure I've got at least a second more to gain with relative ease.

And that was that. My childhood dream to race motorcycles actually happening, and coming to the end of it's first year. A whole season completed. Including some new and awesome friends, some crashes, some grass tracking, some scary overtakes (giving and receiving), some videos and photos and even a couple of trophies! Now I've got to sort the bike out, I don't think anyone would argue it looks a little second hand, and somehow tolerate the cold winter months of no racing! Roll on next season and my first year in the MRO Minitwin Championship!

10/09/2014

I definitely spent the test day testing things this time, I don't think I managed to go one session without grass tracking! I also discovered I had a flat rear tyre as I tipped into Turn 1, possibly not the best place for that to happen. Luckily it didn't feel like throwing me down the road.

I had high hopes for some good results this weekend following the performance at Brands a few weeks back. Qualifying didn't do much to strengthen those following a crash at Williams heading out onto the back straight. It was identical to my crash at Donington, ran wide, tried to pull it back, didn't happen. Turns out closing the throttle completely mid-corner loads the front...who knew? It did take me most of the first rookie race and a few more similar moments to realise that though, despite being told by Allan. I think I ended up 9th Rookie and 28th MRO, not quite where I wanted or expected to be starting from.

Luckily the first MRO race was before the Rookie one so I had a chance to test the bike after it's little excursion, which was lucky because the exhaust wasn't connected properly. Back into the garage we go! Luckily it was just a lockwire fix.

In our first race I was immediately and substantially dropped from the leading group after about 3 corners which wasn't a particularly inspiring experience. I ended up having another test session as I circulated miles behind the guy in front and miles in front of the guy behind...on the upside that was some quality track time with no traffic! Despite my best efforts the other 3 races were more or less the same, I simply couldn't keep with them this weekend, the slightly more technical nature of the track showing weaknesses in my riding that Brands GP's flowing curves had hidden.

The rest of the MRO races were a little more interesting, more racing going on. Unfortunately that was right at the back.

I can honestly say I didn't achieve a single one of my goals this weekend; rookie podium, under 2:10 and top 20 MRO. I was just over 2 seconds shy of my lap time target which obviously didn't help complete the other 2 objectives.

I still had an awesome weekend though, with the lone track time helping me learn more in 2 days than I have all season so far. I take this as a foundation weekend that I can hopefully build from going forward!

It seems pretty difficult to have a bad race meeting...unless you leave in an air ambulance. Wishing Baz Chapman a speedy and uncomplicated recovery!

13/08/2014

Brands Hatch GP, 8th-10th August 2014.

13/08/2014

Race 2 on Saturday, crash included :)

Race 2 09/08/2014 Bemsee Rookie Minitwins.

13/08/2014

Well, what a weekend. I was full of optimism heading to Brands GP anyway, I mean there was never any doubt that I'd like the track. Fast, flowing, blind corners, wider than a green lane, what's not to love?!

Everything started off normal, signed on for the afternoon test sessions, started to get myself ready, when suddenly I was surrounded! Our little team had conspired to get me a quick action throttle for my birthday, which they thought they'd give me a day early (so I had some time to test it)! Honestly I've never had a group of friends do anything like that for me before, it was a bit overwhelming really! Due to technical issues it did take slightly longer than envisioned to fit, to the point where I only got out for one full test session, in a downpour, but it was enough. I got the feel for it pretty much immediately, and managed to bed my new brake pads in as well. A chilled out evening was definitely in order.

So, armed with some slightly tweaked forks, new brake pads and a new throttle it was time to get my head into gear. Up nice and early, shower, food, straight out on track on the mountain bike (for the 3rd time already) to get myself some reference points and work out some lines. After being out there for about 45mins I was joined by Paul, Danni and Emma; luckily Gabs came out as well to show us what we should be doing. PJ also joined us halfway round to give a little more input. I'm usually pretty quick to learn tracks anyway, but I was determined to put the time in off the bike to gain time on it later on. My effort didn't go to waste.

Qualifying was a rather daunting prospect. Cycling something at 10-30mph is fair enough, but approaching the same corner at over 100mph is a little different. My grand plan to go out with the fast boys at the front didn't really come to pass on account of my rather lethargic movement towards the collecting area. Instead I ended up tagged on the back of Rodders again. I followed him for a few laps, then when I was comfortable with the track, got past and tried to nail a few decent laps in. I was well outside my comfort zone at this point, and well determined to make use of my birthday present. My first lap was a 1:55 something, my last lap, which placed me 6th, was a 1:45.678, only 1.49 seconds off pole. So that's a 10 second improvement in 6 laps, not too shabby.

I wasn't all that happy when I came in after qualifying, still suffering the problems with right handers that have plagued my riding from day one, the only reprieve being at Donington Park. I'd already made up my mind that whatever happened I was going to go with the front boys off the start in Race 1. Which I did. Barely. I'm not ashamed to admit that I only just managed to hang onto the back of the front group, there was no chance of me improving on 5th place as I struggled to stay with them. Best lap was an improvement to 1:42.626, only 1.196 away from the winner at the end of the race, and 0.3 seconds off the fastest lap!

Race 2 was a slightly slower pace, but only because we were falling over each other, almost literally. I was having a battle with Stu for 4th, while Mason and Ollie were fighting for the lead, with Steve just chilling out in 3rd. I honestly thought Stu had committed su***de when I felt a nudge on my back wheel at over 100mph, how he stayed up I'll never know! We were back and forth all race, until the last lap, where I thought I could run hot into Graham Hill Bend and get the run on him down to Surtees, hoping to challenge Steve for 3rd by the time we got round to Stirlings. As it turns out the only thing that was running hot was my overcooked front tyre, which unsurprisingly didn't want to play ball. Down I went. I was actually happier with that race, despite not finishing. It's the first time I've been in a battle at the pointy end, and it was a good feeling! I think I did about £9 of damage to the bike, and nothing to myself.

Sunday was a bit of a step backwards really, I never got it together all day. The first race was a disaster and wet/dry everywhere, suffering massive front end shake on all the straights. It may have been me being an arse, or a bike issue, but either way I only got up to 11th, and that was mostly gifted. The second race was bone dry again, unfortunately that didn't seem to help much, my best lap was 3 seconds slower than qualifying, I didn't solve my right hand corner issue and a strong start eluded me as well. I got up to 7th, but I was 4 seconds a lap slower than the guys I'd been running with on Saturday...a little disheartening.

In summary, I can go fast, if someone is in front of me to follow. I need to learn to overtake. Wet weather is not my friend. Old tyres are not good for my health. I prefer steel brakes.

Thanks again to the racing family, not only for the throttle, the catering, and the spanner support, but for generally being around. Racing would be a lot less interesting without you lot! Thanks for a great Birthday as well!

10/07/2014

My armoured slippers have arrived! (and they actually fit as well).

29/06/2014

Donington Park GP, 21st-22nd June 2014