Forgotten Era British Championship   - Cadwell Park - September 30th 2001

We were back to Cadwell for the third time this season and the last round of the Championship. After the disappointment of not scoring as many points as I had hoped last weekend at Snetterton we can only consolidate our position in the Classic Superbike Championship (second).

We set up camp on Saturday night and erected our race awning which complements our race transporter well in short our Ford transit and B & Q £34.00 garden gazebo.  It may not be the biggest van and race awning in the paddock but it suits our no nonsense approach to racing and we try very hard not to subscribe to the bullshit you can get wrapped up in. We don’t carry any dead wood or dreamers in the camp (anymore)!

So the camps all set up, Uncle Nigel main mechanic who’s been with us every trip this year, Dan Sayle chief runner, cleaner, fuel mixer and all round helper and my cousin Mark the team chef and dietician. He’s the one in the corner of the tent drowning in fat from the sausages and bacon. No word of a lie how four blokes can get through forty sausages and as many slices of bacon in two days (is that a healthy diet or what!).

Practice is always short at Cadwell and you have to be as cheeky as you can and push in as much as possible, lucky for me the bloke at the paddock gate, a Mr Paul Collins is a big Manx Grand Prix Fan and he can be quite blind or is it forgetful when it comes to me riding past him 3 or 4 times for practice sessions (Thank you Paul).

Practice was damp but a drying line was appearing until we went out for the first Classic Superbike Race. It poured down on the warm up lap as I lined up on row 4 for the start.

The flag drops and we were off. The visor is steamed up and covered in rain. The back wheel spinning 1^st gear 2^nd gear, 3^rd gear hard on the brakes into the hairpin, this is not funny I’m thinking to myself as a 350cc Yam dives up the inside of me as I’m turning the tap on really careful. Up round Charlie’s for the first time and I’m taking a wide line hoping to ride around the 4 bikes in front of me, SHIT! it steps out big time enough to warrant me dragging my feet on the ground into the next right hander, pick it up right, and drive it hard up the back straight.

I have a lot of confidence in the tyres at the moment. I’m running Dunlop 364s there a good all rounder and they cut through the water real good.

So lap one out of the way. The bike is sliding really good, in a funny kind of way it can be quite easy to ride in the wet you just have to know how far it will slide before letting go. There’s only Chris Pearson in front of me now and I’m telling myself to real him in and don’t chase him to hard. Into the hairpin for lap three and I could drive around him at Charlie’s, but the sensible side of me just tucks in behind and I wait until we get to Park Corner before making a move, I’m in front and a clear road so I put my head down have a look on the last lap at the hairpin, I’m well clear, just keep in upright now until the flag. Yes my first win of the season in the Superbike Championship.

This is a big confidence boost ahead of the second race. I’m sitting out of the open class races. The clutch has had a bit of a hiding and I don’t want to cook it. So on to the 2^nd Superbike race and a third row start. I didn’t get a great start, still raining as hard and I’m about 10^th into the hairpin.

A bit of work to do but confidence my is high. Into the first set of corners past a couple of bikes through Charlie’s and onto the back straight stuffed it up the inside going into Park I’ve just past five bikes on the brakes and as I tip it in there’s no way its going round, you just know your going to crash. The thing just did not grip. You’ve probably guest I’m on my ass by now. 

To sum it up a decent win the first race and three comers into the second and I’m heading for a early shower, so one week one and the RG is on the bench ready to have its engine lifted out, front brake leaver missing, the fibreglass is scrapped, but the worst of it is No2 carburettor got a clout and snapped the bell mouth off.