Well, another year of racing has come and gone and what a year it has been. I started the year with a 2012 GSXR600 which I bought from a friend who had done the Manx GP and since moved away. It had all the right bits and was set up for road racing, which was what I wanted. I started the year off at Anglesey circuit in March with the Wirral 100 club for the first meeting and instantly felt at home on the Suzuki. Since racing at the Southern 100 in the Isle of Man in 2015, I had decided that I wanted to concentrate on the road racing rather than short circuit and so my next meeting was to be up at Oliver's Mount in Scarborouogh in April. Yorkshire Tyke from here also decided to have a go at Oliver's Mount and so we met up there. I had done my homework with onboard footage etc., but as is always the case, it doesn't really prepare you for the real thing. The weather was useless too but this didn't stop us both having a great meeting. There was however a great tragedy at the event where Billy Redmayne sadly lost his life in an accident there on the Sunday. I had got to know Billy at the Southern 100 and he was a top guy and definitely a star in the making. Following this meeting I did a couple of other meetings at Aintree and Tonfanau, simply to keep myself up to speed on the bike. June saw a return to Scarborough, where the weather was still mixed. Damp conditions there make it so slippery, in a way you simply don't get on a circuit. Never before have I had the bike sliding and spinning so much. It does take a bit of getting used to, especially at one section known as Jefferies Jump. It is a section just before the start/finish, under the trees and is 3 humps in the road, around a long sweeping right hander. The first one gives a wheelie, the second gives a bigger wheelie and the third gets you airborne. In the dry it is amazing and similarly in the rain it is fine, but I found that in the damp, hitting the second one flat out in third caused the bike to slide on landing, meaning you drifted towards the earth banking and very solid trees. Anyhow, all went well in practice and race one was a blinder, however, race two saw me lose the front coming into the left hander at the end of the back straight. Luckily it was a slow one, which is just as well, as the corner has a whacking great stone monument which you can slide into if you aren't careful. The bike slid to a halt just before this and I ended up at the foot of it, breathing a sigh of relief. The damage was fairly light and the bike was sorted for racing the following day, where I got my best result of a 4th place in the 600 B race. I decided to miss out the July meet at Scarborough as I had entered the Ulster GP in early August. This was without a doubt the biggest meet I have ever raced at and the best also. The organisation was spot on, the racing was immense, the help was something else again, the Irish love road racing like you would not believe and the weather was total crap, for practice and qualifying at least. I could go on for hours about it, but I won't. As with all road meetings, they do newcomers laps where you are lead around for 3 laps by an experienced racer. These went well for the first 2 but on lap 3 someone blew their engine half way around and left oil on the racing line for about 5 miles of the circuit. As it was raining, this just meant the oil spread right across the circuit in no time. The sessions were held off while this was cleared up and we then went out into practice and qualifying. It was still raining, so visibilty wasn't ideal, but I managed to get myself into 36th on the grid out of 84 for the 600 race. I had also entered the open race where you are up against the 1000cc bikes. I knew this would be tougher, as the circuit lends itself to the bigger bikes, but I still ended up 56th on the grid. Happy enough with all that. The actual races were like nothing else I have experienced. There are some seriously long straights, including one known as the Flying Kilo, which follows on from the start finish straight. It is dead straight for, yes you've guessed it, a kilometre. As you hit the start of it, you are on the stop in fifth gear and just knocking into sixth for the duration of the kilo. To be flat out for that length of time is something special. I got the old girl up to 161.4 through the speed trap at the end of the straight, which isn't bad for a stock 600 at all. The fastest 600 was William Dunlop at 174. In the 1000s, Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson were clocking 199mph....not too shabby. All in all though, it was an awesome experience and I can't wait to get back there next year and get some faster lap times in. My final meeting of the year was at Scarborough again, for the Gold Cup meeting. The big names were there again (The Dunlops, McGuiness etc.) and so the competition was even more fierce this time. The weather on Saturday was sunny for a change, which made for a dry track. I did however develop an overheat with the engine, which meant that as I was coming back into the pits, my bike was losing all its coolant. The radiator seemed to be clear, the water pump was behaving, so it was a mystery. It rained overnight, so Sunday's race was a wet one to start with, which meant that the bike didn't overheat in the first race, but by race 2 the sun was out again and it decided to lose coolant once more. I managed consistent top 10 finishes in all my races that weekend, which I was happy enough with considering the competition. The bike is going away for a full refresh over winter and I think a bit more power would be nice. It is currently running at about 118 at the back wheel, which is about right for a stock 600. The aim is 130hp with new cams and head work. It will also have the forks, shock and steering damper overhauled and new wheel bearings fitted to all three sets of wheels. Headstock bearing will be changed also. So, to sum up, I think it has been my best year of racing so far. I have found a genuine love of real road racing and can't wait to return. It has also however, been a tragic year, with the loss of 7 other road racers, including the super talented Billy Redmayne, Malachi Mitchell-Thomas and Ian Bell. A great loss to a wonderful sport, so thanks for the memories and laughs guys.
Great write up Robin! Glad you're having a ball doing what you love! I have a mate who won Preston and District 600 trophy, was due to do the Manx this year but pulled out due to lack of funds. He tunes bikes if you're interested. He squeezed 175bhp out of my 05 blade without even skimming the head, so very reliable. Frightens me these days to go any kind of speed on the road (potholes, horseshit, loose gravel etc), takes some balls to race on them! Well done mate!
Cheers for the offer of the engine guy, but I have already got it booked in with MSG Racing in Basingstoke. They seem to be well up to speed on GSXRs. As for the roads themselves, they aren't too bad really, but the Ulster did have some "interesting" bits where there was mud still on the racing line from a tractor, just as you go over Deer's Leap. It made it just that little more of a twitchy bum moment!
I have got to give it to you real racers , you are CRAZY , go and be more crazy and we will watch from behind the fence
Hahahaha!! Never thought of myself as crazy, but I can go with that I reckon! It honestly looks worse than it is, well, most of the time anyway! I shall give you a wave if you are at a meet, so come and say hi.
Awesome write up Robin. I was going to write up something similar from my first full season of circuit racing this year in the Scottish Super Stock 600 but just haven't found time to get it done yet. I'm sure you met a few of the boys from up my way (Dougie Shearer and Marc Ironside) at the events.. sounds awesome and may find the balls to give the road stuff a whirl one day!
Very nice feedback Robin, the only thing that is missing are a few photographs and a nice glossy cover..thanks for sharing
Nice one, glad you are out there doing it. Nothing quite like racing is there! I know Dougie well, met him at Scarborough and then also at the Ulster, top man.
