Aintree - British Forgotten Era Championship - June 16th 2001

Aintree is another place I had never ridden before, which is surprising because it is so close to us in Mersyside, but the Forgotten Era Championship had brought me there, and Stewart Smith had also decided that I should have a run out on the 250 as well.

Daniel was with me on the early boat over and Dave and Nigel were following on later that night. There were quite a few Manxies going over including Nigel Beattie, and I had heard it was a fast place which would suit the RG.

Disaster struck on the way from Heysham to Stewart's when the van broke down (again) on the motorway. It took us ages but we managed to get it running and got over to get the 250. I have to say that it was immaculate and I was really looking forward to having my first run on it. As we now know, the manx is off for this year, so it is unlikely that I will get to ride it again now.

We got to the track after that without any more complications and set up camp. Dave and Nigel were on their way now, but by the time they got in to Liverpool and made their way up to Aintree the gates were locked and they ended up sleeping in Nigel's little Volkswagen van, which I don't think they were impressed about, but made us laugh nevertheless.

I wanted to get as much practice as possible, and when the race day came we were up early and ready to go. The boys kept pushing the bikes to the front of the pack before each practice session and I must have ended up with more practice laps than anyone else. The RG was going OK but as usual I was struggling to get it stopped, but the little Honda felt totally alien to me. Shaun Brown has been riding it all year, with some good results, but he has it set up totally different to me, with the front end really high. Stewart was reluctant for me to alter it, with Shaun going to ride it the week after, so we made do.

At this meeting I got a ride in the Club Forgotten Era Class as well as the Championship so it would mean I got out on the RG four times.

The first race was a total disaster, and my riding had reverted back to the old days. My head wasn't in gear for some reason, and I ended up on the grass early on and pulled off shortly after well down the order. It was the first time Stewart had seen me ride, and I don't think he had expected to see anything like that!

The next race was the first Championship race which was the important one. I got a good start and worked my way up to second and held on for a comfortable finish. Lea Gourlay won again and to be fair he easily took this one, but I was confident that through the day I would improve and perhaps push him later on.

Next up was the first 250 race which my fellow Manx Grand Prix rider Nigel Beattie won. I found it hard going to be honest, but was slowly getting the hang of it and ended up eleventh. The bike was certainly quick, but it was eight months since I had sat on one, and it needed setting up for me, so I can't complain too much.

In the second Club Race, I again finished second to Lea but was much closer this time, and was certainly starting to find my way round. I was looking forward to the last one, and I was determined that I was going to give him a real run for his money.

Before that though, I had to go out on the 250 again, and although Stewart had seen that I could ride a bike after my earlier exploits, I wanted to give him a decent result on his bike before the Manx. Lap by lap I was getting quicker, and all I needed was some mileage to have been able to push with the leaders.

I finished ninth in the end, but it was a very close race and I could have easily finished fifth or sixth and Stewart was pretty happy with how things were going. I'm positive the bike was quick enough to win the Manx on, but we'll just have to wait until next year now to find out I suppose.

So before heading for home, there was the matter of the final Forgotten Era Championship Race. Every meeting I can run with Lea and lap as fast as him, but I'm still struggling to put that form together for a series of laps which is what he is doing.

I got a good start and was leading and felt good, even though Lea was right on my arse. He got past me after about two thirds distance, which I though would be OK, because I was better than him on the last part of the circuit, and I though about leaving my pass until the last lap.

However, Lea is a quality rider who has proved his talent at Supercup and MRO level and he knows what he is doing. He kept just enough distance on me going into the last lap, meaning that I had to push that bit harder to just keep with him. Two corners from the finish I lost the back end big time, and he was gone. Another second place and I'm comfortable in second in the Championship as well, but I'm going to have to nick a win soon!