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06/05/02 Race 1 - Formula 400 Trophy Race. Wet and Misty. That is all I will say about practice, well when it started at 12 o'clock, 3 hours late. We ran on the Long Woodlands Circuit, which has not been used for 20years? The coure was ok apart from the 180' hairpin. This is not part of the full curcuit and was muddy and very slippy. I had 2 near spills in practice. In the race I got a flier and was 9th at the end of the first lap and sixth at the end of the second, passing Ian Hallam in the prosess. But ,and there always seems to be a but these days, that was as far as I got. Into the hairpin on lap 3 I ran a little wide and as the tarmac changed the front just tucked on me and I was down. Only damage was a broken rear brake lever and a little pride. Race 2 - Formula 400 Championship Race. Bit of a uneventful race for me really. Into the first hairpin on lap 1 was a bit frantic but after that again I just kept me head down, Dave Iron came passed on lap 2 on a mission and I made the dissision to ride for points on this track it was not worth risking. John Coughlan came passed on the straight on lap 5, that bike is just so quick. I managed to pass him back on the brakes and hold him of till the mountain but got a massive wheelie over the tiop and lost drive, a place and touch him all in one go, DOH!. So 5th place and my best result in New Era so far and just riding for pionts, there is more to come, trust me. 05/05/02 Race 1 - Formula 400 Trophy Race. Well my grid position nightmare of this season continued this weekend as for the two trophy races I would be starting from 35th on the grid out of 38 riders, thats the back row again! The start went OK and I made good progress in the first two turns and at the end of lap 1 I was about 12th.As the laps passed I managed to work my way up to a creditable sixth place on the final standings as the reg flags came out halfway round the final lap I did not get chance to make a last attempt to get into the top 5 which is my aim for this season in the New Era championships. Did have to pass 29 other bikes though! Race 2 - Formula 400 Championship Race. Grid position in this race is from your championship position so I was starting from 7th, a second row position. I got a very bad start in this one, as the lights turned green the bike bogged and had to clutch it to get going again. Then it thought it best go and did a monster wheelie and landed on top of Mike Rose giving him a big knock on the knee. This as a result put me in about 12th. For the rest of the lap I had a race with Paul Elliker, who nearly won in the trophy race but crashed heavily at the Goose neck on the last lap (what were you thinking Paul). At the end of the lap the reg flags came out again. On the restart I got a better start and was about 5th into the first turn. I just kept my head down and nearly kept 5th but Ian Hallam got passed me and that dropped me to 6th. I caught Tom Watchcorn on the last lap but then ran onto the grass on the aproach to the hairpin and lost any chance of gaining a place. So 6th and 10 pionts for my trouble. Equials my best result in this championship so far 14/04/02 Race 1 - Formula 400. As yesterday started from 17th on the grid, got a half decent start and picked of a good few riders in the first 3 laps. I must admit I was having a lot of fun and riding really well but again found myself all on me own in 9th place. On the last lap though I was catching Tom Watchcorn hand over fist and with the help of a handily placed back marker(???) I made my move at Mansfield and made it stick. But on the drag to the mountain Toms bike edged back in front and when I treid another move at the bottom of the hill I had the door well and propped shut on me and that was my chances of 8th gone. Bloody good fun though. This race was made a bit sad by the fact that both Dan Williams and Mark Castle , both good lads, ended up in hospital after seperate crashes. Hope you are on the mend soon boy's. Race 2 - Formula 400 Championship Race. Well this was the one of the best starts I have had in this season and got away well with the front row, past both Matt Doughty and some guy on a super quick ZXR400 and was in about 5th when at the end of the first lap out came the red flags, NO!!!!!!!. After a short break and a new warm up lap we were of again and this time got the worst start all year. Had a good few laps the caught up Mr. #50 on his rocketship straight line ZXR. But he was not using as much corner speed as me, I could not get close enough at the entry to corners to make a pass but was getting held up mid corner then losing drive onto the next straight only to watch this thing pull 10 lenghts on me. Very fustrating and ended up trying a move at the bottom of the mountain that failed and let Andy Kirkwood past me and into this now 3 way battle. The effect was now two fold and I was getting worked up. In the end made a very late braking attempt at the end of the back staight which I just could not hold to make the turn,( passed the both b4 I left the track though). Went for a look at the marshals hut and the tyre wall then thought best finish this race. Rejoined the track and finished 14th and still in the points. 2 points for all that effort is a bit rough but hell thats racing. 13/04/02 Race 1 - Formula 400. Grid postitions this weekend were a lot better than usual(thanks.). Got a flyer as the lights turned green and was about tenth as we entered Charles for the first time,started 17th by the way. By the end of the first lap I was 4th and living with the pace at the front. But as is the case at the moment I am losing 10-15 bike lenghts on the straigth each lap and as the lap go by I seem to slip down the order. Crossed the line 8th. Not great but not a total failure. Race 2 - Formula 400 Championship Race. Started from 5th on the grid and got well and truely bogged in at the first corner. In this race the grid is set from you championship postition so all the fast guy's are at the front. My bike is not getting of the line very well this season and as such I was made to pay the price. Worked my way up to 8th but got lost in a bit of no mans land after that and finished all on me own. But stayed shiney side up and with the motor in one piece, plus 8 championship points. |
