First task was the awning. I’d ordered a set of instructions for it but they only arrived the day before and they gave, in great detail, everything about the awning and how to attach it to the side of your truck. There was nothing in it about how to put the stupid thing up though, so we were on our own, again! Still, taking it down at Pembrey had given me a better idea of how it should go and I suggested putting the ends on first. Chris was looking smug; “wasn’t that my idea at Pembrey???” Er, I do remember him saying something like that now he’d come to mention it. Fifteen minutes later and the awning was up and looking good! Chris even stopped telling people that it was his idea, eventually. We’d not long got everything set up and tidy when the heavens opened with so much rain that it ran under the awning and flooded everything that was led on the floor inside! Oh well. We spent most of the time keeping warm in the truck with the tv on, just chilling out. It was the Crazy boy’s turn to feed us so in the evening he lit the barbeque (despite the rain!) and set about cooking the fridge load of meat he’d brought for us all.
Saturday morning greeted us with a decent weather forecast for the day ahead although it was still damp on the ground. I signed on and watched the first practice and although there was some spray coming off the bikes tyres, I opted to leave the slicks on. I immediately felt at home, the bike felt great and I soon got into the flow of the circuit. I won here the previous year so my expectations were high and it was good to have a confident start to the day. The track continued to dry and by the time came for the ‘open’ qualifier, there were only a few damp patches left. The track was still cold though so I knew I’d have to be gentle with the throttle. I lined up 19th on the grid, right in the middle of the pack so I prepared myself for a tight squeeze through the first chicane! For the warm up lap we were sent off in groups of four but as I approached the chicane the guy ahead of me got it all wrong, gassed the bike too early and it spat him off leaving a bike spinning across the track in front of me! All I could do was sit the bike up and ride over the grass but with it so damp and boggy (and me on slicks!) I knew it could all end in tears; all I thought was that my whole weekend could finish right here and now; how I stayed on I’m not sure, maybe my winter off-roading with Geoff had helped but I survived and made it back to the warm up area, phew! I jumped off the bike to clean off some of the mud on the sides of the tyres and decided to go off the back of the grid. I just took it steady for a few laps, kept out of trouble and started overtaking people. It was certainly a relief to see the chequered flag!
Onto the first Sound of Thunder race. Only a qualifier but this would be the first chance of the weekend to push hard and to see who I needed to worry about in the final. As I lined up on my 2nd grid spot I realised there was no-one to my left; Deano must have had a bike problem. We did the warm up lap and still no Deano. The lights went out and I got a perfect start, driving hard away from the line, front wheel hovering and most importantly, I was first though the chicane. Gentle with the throttle on the first lap I got my head down and started pushing. Everything felt good, Spidey was just working so well. I didn’t look over my shoulder all race as I only needed a top four finish for a front row start in the final but I was a bit surprised that no one came alongside me. Not as surprised as I was when I crossed the line, took the chequered flag and looked behind to see….no-one! Turns out I won with a 13 second lead, awesome! Still, I was a bit disappointed that there was no welcoming committee when I got back in the pits and only mild congratulations from the team. Oh well, I was pleased, at least. A scan of the results sheet showed the final could be a different situation. Nigel Reed, last year’s overall club champion and now riding a very trick SV1000, had made his way through the pack from the back row to finish 2nd and his lap times were very similar to mine.
The near miss in the ‘open’ race earlier was enough to convince me not to risk it again so I sat it out and watched some of the action with the all-knowing Chris. Since his revelation over the awning, it seemed that everything he predicted came true, from who would win, to who would make a move up the inside on the next lap, to who looked like an accident waiting to happen (and then binned it in front of us a lap later)! It got to the point where I was wondering if he could scribble down a few potential lottery numbers for me!
Soon enough it was time for the SoT final. Deano had sorted his bike, although he was going to be on the back row of the grid, and Nigel Reed was alongside me as I sat on pole. Ricky and Geoff, neither of them riding this weekend, had volunteered to take the pit board along to the back straight, which was about the only place it was possible to see it, and I asked them only to show the gap I had on whoever was behind me. Another great start and I got straight down to work. I noticed the EFI light flash on as I came down the home straight but it went out and the bike felt fine. The lap board showed +1 and the following lap +3, business as usual, or so I thought. Again the EFI light came on and the bike seemed to miss , then clear, slowing me down slightly. I carried on and as I approached the lap board it read +1 and I could see Geoff holding up a ‘0’ waving it; eh, I thought what’s that supposed to mean? I soon realised that it didn’t mean I had a 10 second gap, that’s for sure: Once again as I rounded the top hairpin, the EFI light came on and this time the bike spluttered. Immediately I was passed by the big red SV of Reed, who had been catching me up as I had the problems. I was just thinking that I would have to pull in and loose any chance of points when I wondered if it was the quickshifter that was playing up. I flicked the isolator switch and everything started working again, phew! Right then, time to pull my finger out; I wasn’t going to settle for second. I pushed real hard and caught the wild-riding Reed up within a lap or so. He was pushing too so passing could have been a problem but I remembered what had happened at Pembrey and Chris’s advice that the best move would be up the inside in to paddock bend. I did a dummy run down the outside to fool him and on the penultimate lap I made my move; picking it up early out of the top hairpin, quick-action throttle against the stop, I drafted the SV down the straight, left my braking just later than normal and did a textbook move up the inside at paddock. I gave it my all in the final lap and didn’t see the SV again till I crossed the line in 1st and then looked behind, fantastic! This time as I pulled back in I was clapped and congratulated all the way and was welcomed back at the truck by the team, all grinning; what a brilliant feeling. Better still was seeing the result on the board showing me in 1st with the fastest lap of the race at 1.00.69, a second quicker than I had gone last year.
Saturday evening was nice and relaxing. Tracy knocked up sweet and sour chicken for us and later on we walked a lap of the track. The temptation to celebrate the day’s victory was resisted as I knew I had to do it all again the following day so, boring as it may be, we ended up having a reasonably early night. Not that I slept much. I seemed to spend most of the night recalling the races and visualising what I was going to have to do in the morning.
I got up early on Sunday and was greeted with clear blue skies and a bit of a frost. Sunshine and cold are always a good recipe for crashes so although I had planned on blagging an extra practice ticket, I decided against it. I hadn’t entered the ‘open’ race either today (for survival reasons!) so my first ride of the day would be the SoT qualifier but after the previous day’s results, I was confident. Confident or complacent? Hmm, we’ll see. As we had some free time in the morning and to add an air of professionalism, we stripped Spidey’s bodywork off and while Pete and Chris gave it a wash and clean up, I had a look at the quickshifter. There was nothing obviously wrong but I cleaned all the connections, reduced the sensitivity and re-set the unit. The shining bodywork was refitted and before long I was sat on the grid for the qualifier. Deano was here this time, keen to get a better result than before. The starting lights when out and off we went. Well, off they went. I bogged the motor down off the line and got left behind on what had to be my worst start ever! Maybe I was right earlier about being complacent. I was one of the last riders to filter through the narrow chicane and got badly held up going through it too. The first lap felt much quicker than it really was but my brain soon re-calibrated itself and I eventually started going at the sort of pace I knew I was capable of. Still, I needed to; the leading group had got away and if I was to have any chance in the final I really needed a front row start so nothing less than a fourth in this race would do. I worked my way through and eventually even closed right in on the leaders. The front three were all having such a close battle that there was no way I could get past one of them without taking all three so I settled for fourth. It was a big wake up call without a doubt and if the final ended in the same order, Deano would re-take the championship lead that I had claimed the previous day, something I definitely didn’t want!
We put a fresh slick on the rear, refuelled and polished the bike and with the revised running order for this year’s races, the SoT final came around pretty quickly. Time to show who’s boss. I shot off on the warm up lap and felt totally determined. The starting lights had broken so they were using a flag to start us this time. The red flag man moved to one side, Lance went, jumping the start as usual, the start flag dropped and I got it right. Lance in his keenness had pulled a huge wheelie and I passed him before the chicane as he had to shut the throttle to get it back in control. I took it steady round the first right hander (an easy place to highside) but from then on I was flying. Everything felt right. I was flicking the bike real fast through the esses, chucking it hard into the scary, no run-off left hander, throwing it over to the right for the hairpin, late apexing and getting on full throttle real early for the back straight. It was pulling to the red line in top before I had to brake real hard for paddock bend again and every time I accelerated hard, the front wheel would hover just a few inches off the deck showing I had maximum drive. I just kept my head down, lap after lap and was absolutely loving it. A couple laps to go and I could see Chris up on the bank with his arms outstretched to let me know I had a comfortable gap but I kept up my concentration and my pace and took the chequered flag once more, brilliant. The welcoming committee were ready for when I got back in and I felt totally elated; I need more of that feeling this year!
Two wins for me and two thirds for Deano over the weekend couldn’t be better for me and here I am leading the championship with 70 points against his 57 in second place. I know it’s a long season but I couldn’t wish for a better start.
So, once again we loaded up (taking the awning down in record time!) and headed off home and all the way back, even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Silverstone is our next stop. Now, Deano beat me there in the final round last year but my fastest lap was quicker than his (not by much I admit) so I need to stamp my authority on the proceedings. This is going to be one hell of a year…….