Donington.

The race club hadn’t arranged a test day for this round and I couldn’t ride on the track day on the Friday because my bike is too noisy for Donington’s “quiet day” regulations. I don’t really understand how a race bike can upset anyone more than jumbo jets landing and taking off from East Midlands airport directly next door, but the local council deems fit to restrict the noisy days that the circuit is allowed. Madness.

 Anyway, I’d managed to get in from offshore on the Thursday afternoon so me and Rachel got the van and caravan loaded on Friday morning and set off just before lunch. The head wind all the way meant the journey took more than 4 hours, with the caravan swaying in protest behind the van all the way.

We got set up in paddock 1, after the YPMers had saved us a slot. Thankyou! I didn’t feel too bothered about the trackday as the weather was nasty and there were lots of people shaking gravel out of poorly looking bikes. Seems that riding in hail and snow storms can make people fall off!!

We spent the night in the caravan being grateful that we had no awnings or gazebos outside as the wind howled.

Morning greeted us with a taste of what the weekend had in store. Cold. Really cold.

I put the wet wheels into the bike after watching the track not really drying at all as the sun struggled to make any impact on the nights hail and snow. Although the track was wet, the sun was out so I rode down pit lane expecting slippery but predictable conditions. As we waited to be let out for qualifying, it started to snow and hail.

 As the race officials decided what to do, I rode back to my garage to pop the tyre warmers back on and see what was going to happen.

They let us out eventually, and I carefully felt my way around the circuit building speed. I was alone most of the session so I could try and judge just how little grip the tarmac was offering. The answer seemed to be approximately none!

 I qualified 13^th out of 28 riders, so I was pleased. Given that the session had been peppered with hail and snow, front of the 4^th row for my first MRO Supersport round was good.

 I watched the YPM race with a smile on my face, listening to the two strokes bark their way down the start straight. I didn’t envy the boys on road tyres one bit.

 After watching the sky for what seemed like hours, I ended up on dry tyres for race 1. I didn’t start well, thinking I’d jumped the start and got pushed really wide in turn one. The wet qualifying from the morning was no use to me as with the now dry tarmac the gears I was using before were all wrong. I finished the race in 16^th place, not particularly pleased as I felt I’d not really done myself justice. I’d been ready for more speed in numerous places but had no more revs left in the gear I was in. Better gear planning required for next race!

Race 2 and I’d got myself really focussed. I had the YPM crew cheering me from the pit wall and I’d already planned where I was going to gain speed. I got a better start and forced my line around turn 1. Short shifting allowed me to drive all the way through Craner Curves down to the Old Hairpin. The same tactic worked from the hairpin up to McLeans. When I think that the bike was screaming in 5^th, that was probably quite fast! I took 2 seconds off my best lap time and finished the race in 12^th place. My first MRO Supersport points! Very pleased.

Sunday morning was snow covered. I honestly didn’t expect to be racing at all. The sun broke through and it was another morning spent watching the sky as the weather changed quickly from bright sunshine to heavy snow in the blink of an eye. I’d put the wets in first thing, expecting nothing other that a slushy race 1. The club made some changes to the schedule and by the time my race had come round, the dry wheels were back in.

I started well again and got stuck into a big group going into the first turn. Snow kept spotting on my visor and my fingers gave me some amount of pain from being so cold but I picked up some speed in a couple of places and ended the race in 10^th place. A good result.

Unfortunately my second race on Sunday was the last one of the day, so lots of waiting was involved.

 We helped the YPM racers get packed up and leave, except Moose and Kev Porter who hung about to make sure my race went ok. Much appreciated lads.

I fretted about tyres more, before finally getting called to race. I rode round to the holding area and then onto the grid for the warm up lap.

When my row was flagged away, I pulled away as usual but the bike wouldn’t go. I think and hope I put my hand up as the rows behind me howled past. 7000rpm was as high as it would rev. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, but knew I couldn’t race with the bike like that. I pulled in at the exit of pit lane, thinking did I put fuel in, is there something wrong with the battery? Defeated and confused, I returned to the garage absolutely gutted. I took off my helmet, sat down and held my head in my hands as I knew a good finishing position was on the cards. I listened to the race start, utterly dejected.

Moose asked me what the grey switch was on the left handlebar that was in the “on” position. I told him it was the pit lane speed limiter that the rider who had the bike before me had fitted for racing in Europe. As it turns out, this switch had somehow been operated and was the only reason that the bike would only rev to 7K. I could have cried and Rachel actually did! Something so stupid that I should have spotted. I think I carried on swearing until halfway along the A14 on the way home. Needless to say the switch is now removed. A lesson learned the hard way.

All in all, a good weekend considering the conditions and that it was my first weekend at MRO level. A top ten finish was more than I expected, so overall I’m pleased.

Over and Out.

Sqwelch