Hi guys, it seems to have been quite a while since I have been on here, due to work, the band and most importantly, the racing. So I thought I would add a bit about the year so far. It has been a real year of highs and lows. I had my first meet at Anglesey in March, which went well. Oulton Park in April didn't go so well and resulted in a dislocated shoulder and a broken bike. Tonfanau in Mid Wales went brilliantly, but Anglesey in June resulted in another off in the final race of the weekend and a broken scaphoid in my wrist and a broken bike again. Luckily, the damage to the bike has on both occassions been quite mild really. This has meant though, that I have had to miss 3 races this year, so I am now still needing to collect a further 5 signatures to enable me to get rid of my novice licence and orange bib at the end of this year. I have planned the rest of the year around this though and all being well, I should manage it. The R6 has performed superbly and as a race bike it is truly superb. Running costs have been very good (crashing aside) and it has been ultra reliable. However, I decided to buy a newer model R6 with all the goodies on it and it is better still! The older model will be getting sold on to put funds back into the pot. It would make a great track day bike or even a race bike for the first year. I did a meeting at Anglesey circuit last Sunday, which was not only the first time on the new bike, but also the first time I had ridden since my last off. To say the nerves were going mad, is an understatement, but I got my head down and got on with the racing. My confidence has taken a bit of a knock, but it will come back over time. I have also decided to book some instruction to help with body position on the bike and make the change from road to track riding. I am out again at Anglesey in 2 weeks time, so hopefully, the weather will be kind and I can get the confidence back and more familiar with the bike. There have as I said been lows, but the highs more than make up for it. There is nothing quite like it: the adrenalin rush as you line up on the grid and head into the first corner surrounded by 35 other bikes; the satisfaction of crossing the line and getting the chequered flag; the support at the end of each race from the crowds and marshalls; the awesome people I have met and become friends with. It is truly a fantastic way to spend a day or weekend and long may it continue. I am more focused now on getting to the Manx GP in 2015.
If anybody can advise as to what the hell I have done with the images to make them appear so large and then double up, I would be most grateful!!
They are fine on my phone . I do my. first race in October I know late bit only just got round to it with holidays etc . I enjoyed reading this keep up the good work
Thanks for the write up / update Robin Glad you are still Buzzin on your racing as it can't be much fun taking a beating .The bike looks absolutely FAB good luck dude and look forward to seeing you again.
Thoroughly enjoyed that read Robin, it'll not be that long before your confidence is back in full mate. I've said this before on a trackday thread.....If you don't fall off once in a while, you're not trying hard enough!
Thanks for that, what are you going to be racing on this year and what club/championship are you entering?
How many trackdays did you do before you started racing rob??? I am considering it in the future. Great write up btw, bike looks lovely!!!
I did about 12 or so trackdays before I decided to start racing and haven't looked back since. The only advice I can give is go for it, it is truly epic fun!! Am made up that you are enjoying track riding, despite having your off. track riding does take over pretty much everything. I will start a thread giving a bit of advice, as a couple of people have asked about racing, so it may be useful.
It hasn't put me off at all. Gonna do a few days in fast this year and see how i get on. Is there guys who race that arent thay quick or are they all lunatics?
Don't be put off by it at all, you are doing the right thing in getting back out there. In terms of riders and ability, there is always somebody to race against, especially in something such as the 600 class. My mate I race with is 66 and is a good rider, but age is against him and his ability to move about on the bike, so he is going to be limited by this, but it doesn't stop him having battles toward the rear of the pack.
I wanna be in it to win it!! I'd be put off if I started racing too early and just came last all the time lol
What I would say is, spend as much time on track between now and your first race. Get into the fast group asap and tag along with some racers. It will give you a flavour of racing and how your pace is. Don't get disheartened though. A lot of the lads are half my age, but have only ridden on the track and does it show! They are truly awesome to watch. Seeing an R6 or ZX6r coming past you with the rear 6" out of line into a fast right hander is a truly awesome sight. Then watch it wheelie out the other side, while still leant over is equally awesome!!
An image from the last meeting at Anglesey, with my mate Mike following close behind. This was a meeting of trying to overcome the nerves following my big off the month before and the fact that this was my first time out on the new bike.
Now that I have got some sleep after a manic weekend of racing, I shall give a quick overview of the weekend. We arrived at Anglesey circuit on Friday and had a bit of a battle to find any garage space but eventually moved in with 4 other lads who were top guys. One of them even managed to get our bikes and gear put through scrutineering on the Friday night rather than having to rush through it all on Saturday morning. Very handy indeed! Anyway, it was going to be a two day meeting with the same layout on both days, which is handy as it meant that with it effectively being two separate race meetings, it would class as two separate signatures if all went well. We had our timed practice session at about 9.45 and got 8 laps in there. I got some really disappointing times as I am still struggling with my confidence, but I pushed on. Luckily, the promised rain held off until about 10.45, but the wind was something else again. Up the back straight (which isn't really a straight), it was hard to hold it on one line at times. Not what you really need when flat out in fifth gear and banked over! The heavens then opened and it absolutely chucked it down. There were a few postponements, but all races went ahead. I missed out my first race, as it was so wet and I decided that going out wouldn't have done my confidence any good. So, I put the time to good use and had a sleep in the caravan. This meant that there was a wait of about 4 hours until the second race of the day. By this time, the rain had eased off, but was still pretty heavy, so I thought I had to go out and get my signature for the day. A quick change to wets and I was good to go. The rain and wind were still giving it large as we headed out to the grid to do our sighting lap. I decided that dropping the clutch at the usual 10,000 rpm was probably going to get the rear out of shape big time, so opted for a more sedate 6,000 rpm. Off we went and the grip was good, a few twitches from the rear, but the sighting lap was done and we formed on the grid once more. Having got a pretty good start, I stayed with my tactic: Hold the throttle at 6,000, eyes on the lights, wait for the red lights to show and then get ready to fly once the lights went out. got a good start and held my place through the race. Not many issues, a few wobbles under braking and a few slides under power, but essentially, it was a good race. I came home with a terrible time on the clock, but I was happy to have got out and done it, chipped away at my confidence issues and survived. The main thing was getting the signature on my licence for the day. Sunday was a better day weather wise and it was the same format for racing: timed practice in the morning, a qualifying race just before lunch and then a championship race in the afternoon. The day went pretty well really, no major issues and had some good battles with people in all 2 races. Even though I had opted to start toward the back of the grid and hopefully take a bit of pressure off, allowing me to focus on what I needed to do and concentrate on lap times, I still had a blinding time. Wherever you are on the grid, there is always somebody to have a good battle with. So, I finished all my races on the Sunday, got the lap times down again, but still a good way off where I was 2 months ago. However, I know that with time, these will come back again, but most importantly, both myself and the bike were in one piece and I gained another 2 signatures on my licence. Only 2 more to go, before I get my Clubman licence. Roll on Tonfanau in Mid Wales this Sunday!
Cheers YT, I am determined to continue and get quicker and know that it is just going to take time. As for riding in the wet, it takes some getting used to. Watching the fastest lads in these conditions is just awesome though, how the hell they do it, I don't know!
Was watching some quick lads the last time I was at Oulton, throwing it down with rain and they had the front wheel pawing at the air coming down the start and finish straight then straight into knee down for the right hander! Don't know how they could see let alone ride like that!
Cheers Barney! It has been a real mix of highs and lows, but believe me, it is going to take more than a couple of offs to put me off. Hope you are keeping well and hope to catch up at Oulton before too long.
