Saturday morning was bright and sunny. I woke early and was up and ready and stood outside the race office at 7am waiting for Marion to arrive so I could sign on. The time dragged as I waited for practice at 9. I guess from the outside I seemed pretty calm and subdued, but inside, my mind was spinning. Should I take it steady, keep out of trouble and survive the day to grab the vital points I needed? The trouble with taking it steady is the possibility of losing concentration and making a mistake and also that fact that it would put me with some of the less experienced riders which could be more dangerous. The other option would be to push fairly hard all day, risky from the possibility of pushing too hard and crashing but good from a concentration point of view. As soon as I got on track for first practice, I decided on option two. Practice went without drama as did the Open qualifier and my fastest lap in the 1.02 bracket and a 6th place finish showed I was in good form.
By now, Team Spidey was beginning to grow: Crazy and Jo had arrived the night before and by now Amanda, Pete and Zoe, Sarah and Steve and Lee had joined the ranks. For the Sound of Thunder Qualifier Chris told me to enjoy myself but be careful. I only needed a front row start for the final and it wasn’t worth getting tangled up in a battle and risking a DNF. I took the advice on board. Mark Compton and Garry Smith had something to prove however. They were still close on points for second overall, so were on a mission to beat each other. I had an average start and they went straight ahead of me. Lap times were pretty slow, in the (1.03 bracket) as they battled ahead of me. I knew I could run a fair bit faster but to do that meant I’d have to overtake both of them at the same time (they were that close together!) plus didn’t want to show my hand to early. They spent the entire race tripping each other up and I found myself cruising around behind them for most of the race, crossing the line in a safe third.
I’ve never known a race day drag along so slowly! We fitted a fresh pair of slicks to Spidey and I just did a couple laps off the back of the grid of the Open final purely to scrub them in, then pulled in. The wait for the SoT final really seemed to take forever. In the meantime, Crazy Pete polished the bike while Chris went around the entire bike checking all visible nuts and bolts. I cleaned my visor, Chris checked the tyre pressures, Tracy had a little nap. I checked the tyre warmers were on. Lee double-checked the fuel. I laid out my helmet, gloves and earplugs on the table. We waited some more. I checked the tyre warmers were still on. Everyone was pretty quiet but everything was being readied in total perfectionism. As the time approached, I could feel butterflies in my stomach and I started to feel a bit queazy. It was like preparing for my first ever race all over again! I went to the toilet for the umpteenth time and got kitted up. Deep breaths. Chris, keeping an eye on the previous race to decide when to send me out, waved the signal. The tyre warmers were removed and the bike was fired up and lowered off the paddock stands, time to go. I headed up to the holding area as the whole team made the trek down to pit wall. By the time I’d ridden to my third position on the grid, the team had arrived, complete with Spidey banners, Spidey duvet covers, Spidey masks and the all important pit board. One quick warm up lap, was enough to get my heart pumping and we re-assembled. Lights on, lights off and away we go! A decent start by the front row riders meant we all arrived at the hairpin at about the same time. Compton and Smith were again on their personal battle so I settled in behind them in third. Once again I felt comfortable at their pace but they were still tripping each other up. The pit board told me we had a big enough gap over the 4th placed man so I decided to hang back a bit, quite convinced they were going to take each other out, and adamant I wasn’t going to get caught up in it. The laps clicked by, and I was pretty relieved to see the last lap flag finally being held out. By now, Compton had a few bike lengths on Smith who in turn had a few bike lengths on me. My third position was more than enough to seal the championship so all I had to do was follow them home. Nah, I wanted to take the title in style! I knew there would be a few back markers to contend with on that final lap but dug in deep for a final push. I started to reel in the booming Ducati ahead of me. My run up started at the old hairpin, I gained time through the kink and was right on his tail as we approached Honda curve, the final bend before the finish line. A backmarker ahead didn’t phase me and a pulled out of the Ducati’s slipstream and tucked in, throttle pinned and crossed the line in 2nd by a few centimetres, Yee Haa! I’d done it! I couldn’t really believe it and punched the air with delight. Team Spidey are the 2005 Sound of Thunder Champions! As I came back up the other side of the hairpin, I saw the team running across the grass for an impromptu track invasion, having leapt over the tyre wall! Then, at the place where we’d usually pull off the track to head back to the pits, Marion was stood in the track signalling me. She gave me a George-Cross flag (made by Ricky, it turns out) and told me I was allowed to do a victory lap! I have to say it’s not the easiest of things to carry while trying to ride but this was so cool. I had the whole track to myself, and everyone around the circuit was applauding, waving and the Marshalls were all waving their flags at me. I felt so proud and so high and I didn’t want that lap to end! As I came back around to the start line, the NG officials were all there to welcome me in as the champion with some inspired flag waving and my team were all waiting for me (having climbed back over the tyre wall!) as I pulled into pit lane. I felt quite emotional. I stopped before I got to them though as there was something I needed to do first. I parked Spidey up against the tyre wall, walked round to the front of her and gave her a kiss on the front of the fairing, just to say thanks for being such a brilliant bike. I turned round and was instantly mobbed! “Will that do?” I asked Chris, “Oh yes, I think that will do nicely!” he replied.
I felt a total hero walking back to the truck. Surrounded by my friends and being congratulated all the way back, awesome. As we arrived back at the awning, Chris produced a bottle of champagne and a huge trophy he’d had made for me and once I’d popped the cork and sprayed everyone (well, it had to be done!) I poured the remaining bubbly into the silverware and drank out of it, while I handed out the red Spidey Champion T-shirts.
I got changed out of my Champagne drenched leathers while the crew made some room in the awning; party time! Chris fired up the barbeque and started cooking to feed everyone, the music was turned up loud and beers were opened. Tracy had prepared some extra bits to nibble and then made it her mission to dance all night and grab anyone near her to get them dancing too. We all had a go at smashing the Spidey shaped Pinata I’d hung up in the awning, though it took a beating; Lee finally made it succumb and the resulting shower of sweets and party poppers it contained caused a complete frenzy! The whole evening was spent with everyone eating, drinking, singing, dancing and generally having a great time. The noise from our camp went on well into the night but even the security patrolman didn’t complain. It really was a fantastic way to celebrate the victory, thanks to everyone who came along and made the evening so special.
Sunday morning and I hardly dared open the door of the truck. Talk about the morning after the night before! There was stuff everywhere! Oh well, it was well worth it and plenty of helping hands soon had us looking shipshape again. No practice and the fact I hadn’t entered the Open race today meant I had plenty of time before having to get ready, which was a help too. Ricky however, had entered the Open race and Chris and I decided he needed to implement ‘The Plan’. It was kind of strange for me being stood on pit wall, helping with the pit-board and looking out for my bike on the track. The manic number shuffling and position counting to get Ricky to finish in 21st (to ensure a front row grid position in the B final) really made me appreciate Chris and the team’s efforts for me. The plan worked to perfection!
The SoT qualifier was next, time for my first ride of the day. In celebration of sealing the Championship the day before, I had been given special permission to run #1 on my number boards for the day (thanks mostly to Brian the scrutineer for arranging it with the race office), which we soon fabricated for the bike. Mark Compton had an idea to do something a bit different for this race too; Seeing everyone in their new Spidey T shirts, he suggested we hand them out to the SoT riders for the grid to wear them over their leathers! It must have looked strange to anyone looking on but as I formed up in pole position on the grid I felt incredibly pleased and proud when I looked behind to see a sea of red T shirts, ready to race! We got underway but I initially felt a bit rusty (no, not hung over!) even though I’d ridden the day before. I soon got into the swing of it though. Mark and Garry were running a repeat of the races the day before. Every other corner they were changing places and swapping paint ahead of me, forcing moves on each other and generally tripping each other up. I held back a little to stay out of potential trouble, safely having a gap over the guy in fourth. There was no let up to the shenanigans ahead of me and it got to the point where I was so convinced they were both going to end up in the dirt that I started planning my victory celebration when they handed me the lead! It didn’t happen, but my third placed finish was good enough for a front row start in the final, so no worries.
Mid way through the afternoon it started to rain. Not heavily, but enough to make the track damp. Ricky was getting ready for his B final and although he was running intermediate tyres, he was concerned at their lack of tread in the slippery conditions. I got together all the tools needed to change the wheels and asked Ricky to make a decision. The rain was still in the air and his answer was “wets”. Wheel changing has been rehearsed so often that it literally took a few minutes to fit the spare wheels and that done, I headed down to pit wall to watch the A final that preceded his race. I didn’t stay down there though. As soon as I got to where I could see the track, I realised it was mostly dry! I turned round and ran back to base. Running wet tyres on a dry track would have destroyed them in just a few laps so I told Ricky the news. Although we were running short on time, I convinced him to let us put the inters back on. He needed to get away fast on the dry track, so even if it started raining, the tyres would be warm enough to cope with the changing conditions. We sorted it just in time and I ran back down to pit wall as he headed up to the warm up area. Phew, Pete’s training must have been doing me some good after all! Ricky got a pretty good start, (as he was told!) and got his head down, trying to feel his way in the early laps on a slightly unpredictable track surface. He made his way up to second and was starting to build a gap behind him, when the heavens opened! The pace slowed but he kept out there and kept pushing, closing down the leader but running out of laps to catch and pass him. Still, a second place was a fab result and he rode really well despite the climate!
At least there was no questioning over what tyres to use in the SoT final. The rain stayed and the track was thoroughly soaked. We watched a couple of races in between but the spray from the bikes out there confirmed this was going to be a full wets tyre choice. I hadn’t used the new Dunlop wets before, so I was actually looking forward to it. I took up my position on the grid and although the warm up lap was useful to show where the deeper puddles were, it wasn’t enough to get a feeling for the tyres. I took in a bit too steady off the line for the start, and was slow into the hairpin, having no idea how much grip I had at my disposal. This caution let Mark Compton get away in the lead, and left me in fourth trying to see through the spray from the two bikes directly ahead of me. The tyres felt good and I started to pick up the pace. I edged past Garry Smith and up into third. A lap later I passed Chris Richardson and was in second. As I came round the last corner, I could see Mark at the other end of the start finish straight, my gentle initial laps having let him get away. Still, without the pressure of needing Championship points, I didn’t need a ‘safe’ finish so I decided to push and see just what the tyres could do. Turns out the tyres were absolutely fantastic! It is an odd feeling chucking a bike into a fast corner, knee on the deck in the pouring rain, barely able to see through your visor but the tyres handled it superbly. Despite the poor visibility, the one thing I could see was the rear of the 04 Aprilia getting larger ahead of me as I closed the gap! By the penultimate lap I was right on his tail. I made my move up the inside going into the fast kink and crossed the line in the lead as we started the last lap. I was just about to tip the bike into the hairpin when Compton’s bike was there up my inside! He’d outbraked himself but in doing so had totally blocked me. I followed him for a couple of corners, ready for a repeat of the move I’d made on him a lap earlier, but the slower pace of some of the other riders in the wet meant the track was full of backmarkers! My move through the kink was scuppered, so I only had one corner left to do something. As we approached the Honda Curve, again there was a backmarker in the middle of the track. Mark took the inside line, I took a deep breath and went the long way around the outside. I tucked in and pinned the throttle, inching closer, then alongside, then ahead! Unfortunately, I only got ahead after we’d passed the finish line but there were only a few millimetres between us. I couldn’t complain about finishing in second place, but I was well pleased with my fastest lap time, a 1.05.71! My overall lights-to-flag race time would have put me in the top ten in the dry race the day before too, very satisfying!
All in all, a brilliant weekend. A huge thanks to all the team for all the support and help throughout the year, it’s been a privilege having you behind me, but especially to Chris, not just for the help, advice and motivation, but for believing in me.
Oh and by the way, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!