Jenny's Journal
News and updates from Jenny
01/07/08 16.34pm Mallory Park Round 6 British Supersport Championship
After a good weekend at Snetterton two weeks ago I was really looking to getting stuck in a Mallory, I knew it would be tough with only 32 spots on the grid available due to circuit being so short and new it would be close on lap times but never the less I was looking forward to the weekend
First Practise
First practice went well and I set a time of 1:101.415 in the dry conditions around the 1.41 mile Mallory Park circuit to place in 31st position
Second Practice
We had no sooner left the pit lane in second practice when the heavens opened, I came straight back in as did everyone else and went straight to our awning to change wheels to wet's, we put them in and I went to sticker them up with our tyre stickers for the weekend but realised we only had 3 front tyre stickers left and thinking we needed one for the race which I later found out we didn't, I decided to sit out second practice to save the sticker and save wasting a set of wets also.
First Qualifying
First qualifying on Saturday was dry and I provisionally qualified in 34th place improving my lap time to a 100:500
Second Qualifying
Second Qualifying was also dry and I was trying my hardest to improve my time to get on the grid. Only a few laps in Chris Martins engine blew up leaving a trail of oil into the first corner and we all had to wait in the pit lane for the track to be cleaned up. The session got underway again a few minuets later and after getting used crossing the dust from the cleaned oil spillage at the first corner i got my head down to try and qualify. It was going well but I got stuck for a few lap right at the end behind a slower rider, I saw the two minuet board as I crossed the line and knowing I had only two laps left to put in a great lap time I lined the rider up in front for a pass into Edwena's, it all went well but as I was about to tip in I saw another wheel on my inside, it dropped back so I went for the corner but must have just trailed the brake that bit longer and lost the front. Despite my little off I set a good lap time of 59.940, which I was pretty chuffed with, but such is the level of competition this year I only managed to qualify in 34th place.
Warm up/ the race
Luckily for me Ashley Beech and Marshall Neil were both unable to compete due to bike problems and I was able to sneak onto the grid for the race.
Warm up went ok with no dramas and I was all set for the race.
It rained just before the start of the race and we only had intermediates with us on the grid so they went in despite the track being properly wet. I set off really steady, I'd not ridden in the wet on inters so didn't know what to expect, I was really pleased to have made it onto the grid and just really wanted to finish the race and let everyone in front fall off.
The race went pretty good, I enjoyed the last few laps when the track was being to dry and I finished in 23rd overall and 7th in the cup increasing my points tally to 27 and have now moved up to 8th overall.
16/05/08 19:23pm Snetterton Round 5 British Supersport Championship
I had a great weekend at Snetterton, everything went really well and my bike was flying!!! I qualified in 33rd position out of 40 on the grid with a time of 1:10.098 taken from the dry first qualifying as the second session on Saturday afternoon was wet.
I had a little off on the first lap of warm up on Sunday morning as I fell victim to the usual cold tyre high-side out of the Russell’s chicane, luckily there wasn't much damage to me or the bike and everything was good for the race.
I made a great start keeping out of the way of a crash behind me into the first corner and was up to 29th on the opening lap.
I had a great race battling with fellow cup riders Ross Walter and Dean Hipwell and I finished in 25th in the end and 5th in the cup, increasing my points to 18.
28/05/08 20:06pm Donington Park Round 4 British Supersport Championship
First Practise
First practice at Donington went well, we left the bike set up the same as Oulton and everything seemed ok and I was 36th fastest.
We went to change tyres for 2nd practice and whilst waiting for them to be done I thought I'd be cheeky and go and ask if I could get some advice from someone at Ten Kate about suspension, it's not everyday you have the World Supersport and Superbike Championship winning team in your paddock and I thought I might as well ask, nothing ventured nothing gained!
As it turns out they have a full time person to help with customers bikes and as mine is a Ten Kate Honda all be it a 2006 one they where really happy to help, which was fantastic!
Ruger from Ten Kate was the nicest bloke in the world! amazing helpful and he gave me a lot of advice and help, he changed my suspension completely to something they would use and even fixed a part in my front forks that was broken. He came back after every session to see how things went and if I was having any problems at any points around the track. I was amazed at how helpful he was, they have a fantastic philosophy and methodical approach to racing at Ten Kate and they want to give anyone who buys one of their bikes all the help they can to get the best from it, to look after it and so you can achieve your aims in racing, which is great!
Second Practice
I went out in second practice with the new suspension set up and the bike felt loads better, I had loads of feel from the front and rear where as before the bike was much like the 125 where you just can't feel anything, you just have to throw it into a corner and hope the tyres grip
The new feel gave me more confidence during braking and acceleration.
1st Qualifying
It had forecast rain all day for Sunday but it held off until the afternoon and we had a dry first Qualifying.
I'm still getting used to the bike but the new suspension set up gave me more confidence and i managed to go a second quicker than in practise and qualified 35th out of 40 on the grid
2nd Qualifying
Second qualifying was wet and although we could not improve on times I went out for a bit of wet practise as it had forecast rain for the race. I took it pretty steady as people were crashing all over the place with 12 fallers in all and I didn't want to come off and give us a load of work to do for tomorrow so just rode round for the full session to get used to the tyres and try our new wet settings
The Race
I was really chuffed to qualify and to not be on the back row, I was pretty relaxed on the start line as I've pretty much got nothing to loose and just a lot to learn and hopefully gain, it was my first start on the CBR and I made a good one getting passed a few riders off the line, I was really pleased as I hadn’t got a clue how it'd go. The race itself was great fun a few off the riders I passed on the start got back passed me but I ended up in a three way fight on the last lap and finished in the middle just sneaking passed one rider at the hairpin, I kind of new he was going to out brake himself there I could see it coming so just waiting for him to do it and snuck passed!
I finished in 32nd position but with the disqualification of Rea and Pitt was promoted to 30th and 9th in the Cup gaining 7 points.
I'm really happy to get my first race out of the way as now I know what to expect, I feel really good on the bike and am getting quicker every time I go out on it so I'm just really looking forward to Snetterton in two weeks!
06/05/08 21:06pm Oulton Park Round Two British Supersport Championship
First Practise
First Practise at Oulton was my first time out on the bike in the dry proper, I'd been out at Mallory and had a few laps in the dry at Oulton the week before but I'd been riding the bike with bent front forks whilst I was waiting for new one's to be delivered, it's seems a bit mad to be testing the bike knowing the forks weren't working but with so little time to prepare for Oulton I figured any track time was good, we got the new forks in time for an afternoon test at Mallory the Wednesday before Oulton which was great to be able to ride the bike knowing the suspension was working as it should and I had a great wet practice.
I was chomping at the bit to get out there for a proper go on the bike in amongst the Supersport runners, and to be let loose with the bike working as it should in the dry, It was good to see how I and the bike compare to the bikes out there and to be fair my bike is great!!! it's quite fast and is up there with everyone else even though it is two years old now.
Second Practise
I'm on a massive learning curve with the new bike as set up is really important, we left the bike as Arron had it last year for the first practise session, he has it set up quite hard, it seemed good but I didn't know if it was good or bad for me so we tried standard settings for the second practice session which are much softer, I didn't really get on with them at all, but again I don't know if it's down to my riding style and if I should have it softer but as I preferred the harder set up we just opted for that for qualifying as we didn't really want to still be experimenting with set up whilst trying to qualify.
First Qualifying
I had a great first qualifying, it was wet - I started off quite slow but as my confidence grew in the Pirelli wets I started to put in quicker laps, the grip from them is amazing and I had no moments at all and I ended up 33rd.
Second Qualifying
I was hoping it was going to stay wet for second Qualifying but it dried up and I new I'd have my work cut out to make it onto the grid, I'd only managed 1:47 in practice in the dry and I needed to be in the 1:45's / 1:44's really to get on the grid, I managed a 1:46 but it wasn't enough to get on - gutted. There is so much to learn about the bike and the tyres, there's loads more to come from me I just need to catch up with time on the bike so that’s the plan between now and Donnington
We're so far behind in terms of just purely riding the bike as we haven't had it that long so I'm not too disappointed with not getting on the grid, my times are close and I've got loads to learn yet so I'm really looking forward to getting in some track time and getting back out there at Donnington.
I have to say a massive thanks to Mark Cooper, Steve Bradley and my brother James for getting me out there, it's been a tough few weeks trying to get everything togeather and I'm just mega chuffed we're finally sorted and up and running, so thank you!!!!!
.JPG)
01/05/08 22:44pm - All set for Oulton
We are already to get going at Oulton Park this weekend, I had a couple of tests on the bike, the pics below are form a dry Mallory Park on the 23rd of April and a wet Mallory yesterday. I had loads of fun on the bike and although I was running on a pretty old and used set of wets I was amazed how grippy they are!!! I have a lot to learn for sure as a few other riders where out there showing me the way to go but it was alot of fun despite the down pour and I'm really looking forward to getting out there at Oulton!!
Picture courtesy of Thomas Embleton
11/04/08 23:24pm - Thank you
A big thank you to Steve Dewick for becoming a sponsor and donating via paypal donate, thank you!!!!
11/04/08 22:23pm - Oulton Park ACU test day
I have managed to buy a CBR 600 Supersport bike with the fantastic help of Mark Cooper owner of Hollins Strategic Land and today was my first run out on the bike since we got it last Tuesday, Oulton is only a few miles away from me and one of my favourite tracks so perfect for my first go on the bike. The forecast was for rain all day but luckily it didn’t and the track dried up after the first sessions, it was pretty cold and a little damp still around Druids but I had a great run out on the bike, I really enjoyed getting to know it. I came in after the third session and we noticed the fork seal leaking on the right hand side, it was leaking all over the brake calliper and would have got onto the disc so we decided to attempt to get it fixed by borrowing Marks car (thank you!) and dashing off to Maxton's who are not far from Oulton but they were unable to repair it and there wasn't enough time to get back to our workshop to fix it ourselves so I missed all of the afternoon sessions, but never the less I really enjoyed the time on the bike and can't wait to get back out on it again!!!!
29/02/08 17:37pm - New plans for the 2008 Season
Well there's only six weeks to the start of the season and the funds could not be found to run in the Speedfreak team, so I have decided to go it alone again and even though there is not much time I'm going to do my best to sort a 600 ride for myself, I'm so focused on changing class that although it'll be really hard to get everything together I won't give up trying and I'm just looking for sponsorship to help, I have a plan, my 125 to sell and a sponsor to help buy the bike so I hope I can get everything together with not much time to go. I'll keep you posted with developments :)
Jen x
28/01/08 18:37pm – Plans for the 2008 Season
I've had an interesting winter and things aren't sorted yet, I was lucky enough to go on a Track day at Oulton Park courtesy of the Speedfreak Race team riding one of their R1's and also lucky enough to be taken along to Cartagena in Spain for a track day as part of Enzo Di Clemente corporate hospitality type track days, which was a fantastic experience and my first ever track day abroad, I got to ride one of the Speedfreaks Superstock R1's and Shoey’s ex World Supersport R6 which I managed to crash on the first lap ooppss! The bike was fantastic and still really quick even though it is a few years old now.
I got to ride around with Sean Emmett and Shoey who are both excellent riders and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
Plans over the winter have been to join forces with the Speedfreak Team and their sponsors Ice Valley and we are still currently working to gain enough sponsorship for our plans.
I am pleased to say that my sponsors from last season are still with me into this and I have to express my gratitude to them for a fantastic season last year and for everything they have done for me.
Thanks to: Dave and Kaye at Tamworth Auto Electrics
Mark Cooper at Wainhomes
Mark and Lis of BSBstar.com
Frank Pate at Infinity Gp Racing
Goodman Harvey
and
Brownfield Solutions
I hope 2008 will be just as good if not better!!
I'll keep you posted on any developments but here’s hoping we can find the additional sponsorship we need.
If anyone would like to sponsor myself please get in touch by email or phone and I will be happy to discus all and every aspect and will send you out a portfolio pack if required.
22/10/07 20:37pm - Mallory park race of the year
The race of the year was a pure dream come true for me, for me to get to ride Chris Walkers bike out of anyone’s at the end of this season, I didn't think was possible! it has been amazing and I am extremely privileged that Rizla Suzuki gave me the opportunity and experience of riding one of their Superbikes and I have to say I loved it!!! I've totally got a taste for Superbikes. The bike felt amazing and I felt totally at home on it, it felt like it was mine - I wish it was.
I would have loved to have had more time on the bike, in total I'd had just over an hour on it before racing it and I was getting to know more each time I rode it. Some more experience on a 1000cc would have helped also, I've had a bit of practice with the Speedfreaks R1 Superstocker I got to ride at Donington and Brands which helped 100% but I wasn't up to speed on that yet, still learning, but never-the-less I really enjoyed riding and racing the Superbike. I'd have loved to have done something stunning and stuck it on the front row but it's a huge learning curve to race a Superbike especially coming from a 125 background.
But I did learn a lot from the experience not only from riding the bike but also from the team and Cal gave me some good advice which I really appreciated.
The whole Rizla Suzuki experience was great, Steve and I got to stay with the team on Saturday night and being with them on Sunday was really great, they were very relaxed, methodical and professional, their whole set up is perfect and everyone in the team just gels together to make the whole thing work.
I qualified 22nd on the grid for the race, I now I could have done better with a bit more time and I found it hard to come into the pits mid qualifying and then try to do a one off fast lap, I’m used staying out and just trying to go quicker lap on lap. Cal did an amazing job and it impressed me how relaxed he was yet could just go out there and break the lap record it was amazing.
I finished in 20th place after a really good battle with another rider which was really good fun and made the race so enjoyable, I was buzzing when I came back in I'd had such a good day, a good race and enjoyed a completely unique experience. I know I can go a lot faster on a 1000 with more practise and I was disappointed that I just couldn't be really good straight away but I know more track time is needed, however the whole experience was great and one which I really appreciated was given to me.
This is me in 2000 when I had just started racing - dreaming of riding Chris Walkers GSXR 750 Superbike
I was and still am a major Stalker fan.
Reality in 2007, racing Chris Walkers Rizla Suzuki GSXR 1000 - unbelievable.
Picture courtesy of Paul Pearson www.bsbsuperbikes.co.uk
22/10/07 19:53pm - Brands Hatch Indy Round Thirteen British 125gp Championship
Wow what a couple of weeks I'm so shattered! It's been manic but good, it started off with the run up to brands, I had high hopes for Brands it being the last round of the championship and all and I'd decided that I was just going to go for it win or bin, it was the first time back around the short circuit with my new engine kit so I new before I got there I could go faster than last year, I so badly wanted a front or at least second row start, and with all this in mind I went on a training mission before the weekend which with hindsight probably wasn't the best thing to do but I couldn't stop thinking about the weekend or the following weekend so instead of just thinking about it I went out training. I went for a run on Wednesday night after work thinking I could get a good nights sleep and be ok for the ride down to Brands on Thursday and be ok for the weekend, even though I’ve been tired for what seems like forever!! But it’s hard to sleep when you keep thinking about riding around a track, what your going to do and where, the best bit is when your just drifting off to sleep and suddenly you loose the front or high side and wake up with a start, it’s so real when you do it but funny when you realise it’s not real!
I had the opportunity to ride the Speedfreaks Yamaha R1 at the weekend also which was very cool!! I managed to qualify on it this time all be it second to last but I was there for the race and that was the main thing. I had two identical major slides (well they felt major to me) coming out of Clearways, one in the morning practise when I ran onto a damp patch, it just came round to the left really slow and not knowing what to expect I just waited for it to sort itself out, which it did without any fuss it was great! If I’d done that on the 125 I’d have been on my arse. The second was in qualifying in the dry and it did exactly the same thing. I recon that’s one of the best parts of racing having a moment or a crash but it all being ok it’s great!!!
Things didn’t go that well on the 125, I went loads faster than last year but still only qualified in 23rd place, I was gutted, I tried really hard but just got frustrated and tense and subsequently rode rubbish, I got stuck behind people all of the time although that’s no excuse. I wasn’t happy with my qualifying on the Superstocker or the 125, I knew what I wanted to do but just couldn’t do it for whatever reasons. I know I was tired even though I was trying to convince myself I wasn’t and I just wanted to do that well that I put myself under a lot of pressure at the weekend and I think just too much, it’s bizarre racing is all about how you feel in your head and if it isn’t right you just don’t ride right, I wanted it to be right and was trying but just didn’t get there.
I enjoyed the race on the 125 I made good starts better than normal we put jn a new clutch and clutch centre which made all the difference, one of my strong points used to be my starts and it was nice to get back to that, something I’d not really had all year. The race got red flagged just under half way through and I made my best start in the second half getting up to 12th from 20th in the first lap but unfortunately I got full on t-boned at Druids a couple of laps in and ended up in the gravel, luckily the bike was rideable and I restarted although I was a lap down by the time some marshals and I had empted the belly pan of gravel. I really wanted to finish the race I knew I couldn't get a result so it was mostly to do a burn out on the slow down lap, it’s the only race I’ll do one because normally I’m saving the tyres for the next round! The piston ring broke last year so I didn’t get chance so it was nice to do a couple this year!!
The superstock race was ok, I duffed up one rider on the last lap but that was no consolation for generally qualifying rubbish and racing rubbish, I know I can do a lot better, I kind of hoped I could just ride it and be good straight away but it wasn’t going to happen, I put a lot of pressure on myself and was quite stressed over the weekend and I don’t think that helps, practise makes perfect and that’s what I intend to do!!!
Just hope it’s not too cold over the winter!!
06/10/07 10:26pm - Rizla Test
I can’t believe I got to ride a Rizla Superbike!, I am really lucky!!!!!!!!
And the great thing is I get to ride it again!!!!
I absolutely loved the bike!
I still have a lot to learn about riding it but the time I had on it was great, it steered really well stopped really well and the acceleration was amazing. I would love to have a few more goes on it to learn how far I can push it, as I didn't really try to push it on my first run out, but my next go on it will be at the Race of the Year! so i’m just going to try and learn some more about riding it as quickly as possible during practise and qualifying and see how it goes in the race.
Picture courtesy of Paul Pearson www.bsbsuperbikes.co.uk
26/09/07 7:45pm - First Rizla Suzuki Test
I get my first run out on the Rizla Suzuki next week! I can't wait! It will be amazing just to sit on the bike never mind getting to ride it!! I'll let you know how it goes!!
26/09/07 7:04pm - Donington Park Round Twelve British 125gp Championship
I had a good weekend at Donington Park, it was my first race back at the track since getting the new engine kit for my bike generously bought for me by Mark and Lis of BSBstar.com.
The improvements in my bike made it possible for me to go 2 seconds a lap faster than I had managed before and I qualified for the race in 11th place.
Race day came and as I rolled out of the pit lane to form up on the grid it became apparent I had a problem, the clutch was slipping like mad, I had done two practice starts in the morning warm up and it must have fried an already very old clutch.
I did the warm up lap and it was the same, I was hoping it might improve as I have had clutch slip before that will go after half a lap when it has got some heat into it, but it hadn’t gone, I wasn’t very optimistic for the race and had visions of me coming into the pits after a couple of laps but once I made the start and had done a few laps it didn’t seem so bad and my bike wasn’t loosing too much on speed so I stayed out and managed to finish in 15th place. I’m determined not to be disappointed by anything and look on the positive side so although it was a mistake not to change the clutch earlier on, a lesson was learned and I still managed to finish the race and pick up one point. I’m just looking forward to Brands I can’t believe it is the end of the season already!
I also had the opportunity to ride a Superstocker at the weekend for the Speedfreaks race team. I had a bit of a nightmare before hand as I thought I could get the money for the ride but then realised I couldn’t, luckily however Paul from Speedfreaks let me ride the bike anyway and I really enjoyed it. I was really chuffed to be 20th in first qualifying which was my first ride on the bike in the wet but was then gutted not to squeeze on the grid after the second dry qualifying.
I snuck out in warm up on Sunday (which I found out later I wasn’t aloud to do oops!) and I went two seconds faster than I had in qualifying and would have been on the grid, gutted!, I loved the bike and could have done with a couple more sessions to get used to it a bit more but nevertheless I really really enjoyed riding it and appreciate the opportunity, I hope I get to ride it again!
I have to say a huge thank you to Dave and Kaye from Tamworth Auto Electrics for the tyres for the 125! Thank you!
26/09/07 6:22pm - Cadwell Park Round Eleven British 125gp Championship
Sorry for the late race report from Cadwell I've been mega busy and haven’t be able to find a bit of time to update till now.
Cadwell is such a great unique track, I like it a lot! I qualified in 13th place on the grid for the race and was hoping to make amends for my pretty average starts I've been having of late, one of my strong points used to be my starts but for some reason it just wasn't happening. I made a good start this time though and was quite happy but the two riders in front of me made a bad start, Initially that was good as I was going to go in between them but then they moved together and I couldn't squeeze through I had to shut off and that set me up for the whole race, once you've shut off you can't get the speed back and people just fly past, gutted! I managed to finish in 13th but was disappointed as I could have done better.
12/08/07 11:50pm - Croft Round Ten British 125gp Championship
I had a good weekend at Croft, I managed to qualify in 8th place and was really chuffed to have a second row start, I was pretty nervous for the race but tried to concentrate on my game plan, but it went totally out the window as soon as the lights went out!! I made a pants start and lost some places, I managed to fight off a rider behind me who was trying to get past and I was catching back up to the riders who had got past me on the start but then I lost the back coming out of the hairpin on lap three, I had always been careful coming out of the hairpin because I had seen so many people crash coming out but I managed to do it as well, gutted, luckily my bike was ok and I jumped back on, I was last but with the safety car coming out a lap later I could catch back up to the last man and start picking some off as soon as the pace car came in, I got passed 13 riders and finished in 23rd place in the end. I enjoyed the race despite crashing, it was fun overtaking people and I learnt a couple of things which I think would have helped me even more during qualifying which I’m going to take with me to Cadwell and hope I can do ok there!! Looking forward to it, Cadwell is such a great track!
24/07/07 7:59 pm - Mallory Park Round Nine British 125GP Championship
It was an extremely sad weekend at Mallory Park with the loss of Superbike rider Ollie Bridewell during practise on Friday.
Everyone new Ollie really well, he was light hearted and funny but took his racing seriously, he was extremely talented and had a bright future in front of him. I will miss him greatly; I have seen him and his brother Tommy grow up; they were club racing when I began and his father helped me with my bike when I was starting out. Ollie always spoke to me when we met in the paddock and I enjoyed reading about’ Ollie’s World’ in motorcycle racer magazine.
He was a great asset to the racing fraternity and he will be sadly missed. My deepest sympathy goes out to his brother and team mate Tommy, his parents, the rest of his family, the NB team and his friends.
With the terrible track conditions and the loss of Ollie all practise was rightly abandoned. It took until Saturday afternoon for the rain to subside and the track to become safe to ride and practice got underway at around 2pm, we had a 30 minuet practice session and with no time for qualifying it was decided that grid positions would be determined by championship position.
We had another 30 minuets practise in the morning on race day which was dry. I was 11th on the grid for the race but had fuelling problems, I was pretty sure the main jet was partially blocked as my bike was running weak on full throttle and cutting out intermittently. I was hoping it would clear during the two warm up laps and it seemed to get better but sitting on the grid the bike was spluttering on full throttle I was revving it to get it to clear but it didn’t. At the start of the race I couldn’t pull of the line properly and the bike was still cutting out on full throttle so I just came in.
Brad cleared the main jet and I went back out, I was 4 laps down but thought I might as well get in the track time and finished the race in 30th position.
18/07/07 11:38 pm - Oulton Park Round Eight British 125GP Championship
I qualified for Sundays race in 13th position, I was hoping it would be wet and it was! not surprisingly!!
I made a good start and got up to 9th in the race and was catching up really quickly to two riders in front, Robbie Stewart had gone onto the grass in front of me and dropped back but after a couple of laps he came flying past round Island bend I followed him around the hairpin but he high sided on the way out right in front of me I hit his bike and went down but luckily my bike was ok and I got straight back on, I got up to Druids then the red flags came out because of another crash.
I got back to park ferme and thought I had finished in 9th but when we got the sheets it had me down as a DNF, I was gutted, we went to see the time keepers and they checked I was back on my bike, I had lukily passed sector two which registered me as on my bike before the red flags came out and they amended the results for a 4th time! (There had apparently been a lot of complaints about the race result).
Andrew, June, me, Chris and Brad
01/07/07 9:10 pm - Knockhill Round Seven British 125GP Championship
I was looking forward to Knockhill and wanted to do really well, I went out in first practice to sort out a couple of corners which I new I was slow on and ended up loosing the back end at the top of the John R Weir Chicane and went straight on into the gravel and straw bails; not a good start but I knew what I had done wrong and sorted it out for the rest of the weekend.
I knew first qualifying was going to set the grid for the race as it had forecast rain for the afternoon and it was looking likely so I tried really hard to get in a good time but I was mindful of not crashing as I didn’t want to waste the session and not qualify in a good position at all, I also found it a bit difficult getting past the slower riders, I just seemed to get them all in the wrong places and wasted loads of laps. It must be really hard for the front runners but they still manage to get in a good time so I think I just need to be a bit more forceful and barge my way passed. I qualified in 14th, I wasn’t happy with that but I only needed a few tenths to be 9th it was really close.
As forecast it rained for the second qualifying, I went out to get in some wet practice as it had forecast rain for Sunday and I ended up 7th fastest.
I really wanted to be fastest but again I was mindful of not crashing as I have had three get offs in a row and I hate wasting track time, sitting at the side watching after you have made a mistake is the worst feeling especially as we don’t get that much time on track anyway.
Warm up was also wet and I used the session to bed in a new set of wets, but luckily for the race we got the only dry track time after a huge delay in the morning/early afternoon after a massive rain shower that flooded the track.
I made an ok start in the race and was up a couple of places on my start position but I got stuck behind a rider on a much quicker bike and I couldn’t hold onto him on the straights even in the slip stream for an over take on the brakes. Two riders got passed me and I fought back but they got away and I was still stuck behind the same rider for most of the race until eventually I got passed at the hairpin, I pulled away from him and did my fastest lap on the second to last lap but it was too late to catch up to the other riders and I finished in 13th place.
I was a little disappointed as I had the potential to do a lot better but my bike had been slow all weekend and although the track is only small the two best overtaking points are after the two straights but I just didn’t have the speed to get close enough to pass.
We’re going to rebuild the motor in between now and Oulton and try and find a bit more speed. I’ve ordered new wheels as my front has a slight buckle in it and the rear one is standard, I’m hoping they turn up for Oulton and it will help a bit!
I’m still trying to get enough to get some new forks, keep fingers crossed!
Huge thanks to Dave and Kaye from Tamworth Auto Electrics for the tyres at the weekend. Thank you!
25/06/07 7:23 pm Thank you!
A big thank you to Amanda sloan for becoming a sponsor and donating via paypal donate, thank you!!!!
20/06/07 8:32 pm - Mondello Park Round Six British 125GP Championship
I was doing really well at the start of the weekend, I was third fastest in first practise in the wet conditions, I really wanted to be fastest and saw my opportunity in second practice with the track drying, but I lost the front on the first lap and slid off, I went to get back onto the bike but the steering damper had popped out of it’s mounting bracket and I couldn’t turn the bars, I deicide to make an attempt at running back to the pits for an allen key so I could take the damper off and be able to get back on the bike and luckily they let me across the track to get to the pits and get back to my bike which was amazing!
I took the steering damper off, tucked it down my leathers with the allen key and rode back to the pits, Brad fixed it back on and cable tied up my rear brake lever which was dangling and I set off with 2 and a half minuets to spare, I thought I’d at least get one timed lap in but they ended the session early, bummer!
I was desperate to make amends in 1st qualifying but everyone was telling me I went out to fast in the 2nd practise so I decided to take it easier to start off with in the 1st qualifying and build up gradually, I was getting confidence back in the front and seeing how much I could push it on the brakes as I was making up loads of time on the brakes but lost the front again, I managed to remount this time straight away but by the time I’d been back to the pits and got going again it was to late to build up to a fast lap plus I didn’t want to drop the bike again so I only ended up 19th, I knew I had another opportunity in the afternoon, but it rained heaver in-between the sessions and the track was soaking and there was no chance of going faster I still tried to be fastest and ended up 8th quickest in second qualifying.
We had left the suspension set up for the dry and we’re sure that’s why I came off in 2nd practise and 1st qualifying, we changed it for second qualifying and it was better but it was hard to get back to the limit as I didn’t want to waste the session with another crash.
Sunday was dry and we got an extra 5 minuets practice during warm up in the morning. I made a really good start in the race and got up to 14th on the first lap I was in a good battle with a few riders when the safety car came out. We all bunched up and our group turned into 6 of us, I made a good pass at one point passing two riders into the last corner but on the last lap coming out of the second corner I stuck my bike into one too higher gear and lost all my momentum and the two riders got back passed me, I was going to have a go at the three in front of me on the last lap but had to instead try and regain my two lost places and I just managed to get back passed one on the line to finish in 12th position, I was annoyed with myself to have made the mistake and a bit disappointed but I was glad I got back passed at least one rider, and considering where I started I was happy(ish) with 12, to finish the race and pick up some more points.
Just hope I can qualify better at Knockhill!!
Can’t wait already!
Keep you posted.
20/05/07 11:30pm - Snetterton Round Five British 125GP Championship
I was looking forward to Snetterton it is the first time I’d get to use my new kit properly around the track.
1st practise started off ok but about 15mins in my bike started spitting water from around the radiator cap. I came into the pits and we assumed it was just coming out of the overflow as the water level looked ok in the rad and the temperature on the bike was ok, I went back out but the water leak soon turned into a mini fountain and the temperature started to increase so I pulled in again. Brad stripped the bike and we found that the head insert in the cylinder head had cracked which was pressurising the radiator and causing it to blow past the cap.
We changed the head insert and 1st qualifying on Saturday went ok, I qualified provisionally in 11th place with a time 0.7 sec faster than last years qualifying which was ok.
I’d hoped to have gone quicker in second qualifying but I only got in one lap and my bike started to detonate really badly, we run the 125 two strokes as lean as possible to get the most power and speed, some detonation or pre-ignition is ok but too much eats into the piston and can cause a seizer, so I came into the pits and we changed the main jet in the carburettor for the next size up, I went back out but it was much the same so I came back in and we changed it again, I went out with just 5 minuets of the session left and unfortunately in amongst a load of traffic which was quite manic as everyone was everywhere, and my bike felt quite slow, so I didn’t mange to get a clear lap to try and get in a good time, fortunately though I only dropped one place to qualify in 12th overall.
We cleaned the carb and checked everything over but couldn’t come up with an explanation for the sudden detonation problem; the only thing we could think of that was different was the new tin of fuel I had just opened for second qualifying so maybe it was that? Ian at Atol check it for me and it was ok and with no other explanation we decide to leave the bigger main jet in for the race to keep it on the safe side and hope we didn’t have it too rich that the bike would be slow down the straights as speed is really important at Snett.
By the time the race came I was promoted back to 11th on the grid as a rider in front could not make the start.
I made a good initial start but then the bike bogged and I lost a couple of places, but I was in amongst the leading pack, I got passed the rider in front and was going to go for another rider but I noticed my bike was detting is brains out again I road round for a lap deciding what I should do then decided I should come in as it wasn’t worth wrecking the new piston we’d just put in or risk a seizer and wreck the cylinder, I came in and we changed to a bigger main jet again and I went back out but I only did two laps and the exhaust silencer snapped off so I pulled back in, downer! But at least we had found the cause of the mysterious detonation problem, the centre of the exhaust silencer must have snapped during second qualifying and so the packing inside was causing an obstruction making the bike detonate.
I'm looking forward to Mondello and hope to make the most of the gap inbetween then and now to hopefully get in some track days.
Keep you posted.
10/05/07 7:10pm - Oulton Park Round Four British 125GP Championship
Oulton Park weekend went well, I was 9th in first practice, 8th in second practise and qualified in 10th postion on the grid.
I was kind of hoping for a wet race but the last time it was wet at a British round I fell off so I was quite happy to take it as it came on race day, warm up was a bit damp and I was 3rd fastest so was still hoping it might rain but as it turned it was dry.
I didn’t make a good start this time around as I moved a bit on the grid and had to pull the clutch back in to stop and just as I did everyone went, I was sure I’d got a jump start but luckily didn’t. I managed to hang onto the riders in front of me, but again I made some mistakes as soon as I began to think about what I was doing and I let a couple of people passed, I kept on yo yo-ing I’d catch up a bit then make a mistake and loose the ground I’d just made up, I put the bike in the wrong gear around the hairpin and had to slip the clutch loads to get out of the corner and I stuck it into neutral again going into Hizzy’s (I’d done it twice in qualifying), I finished the race in 11th just managing to fend off another rider to the line.
11th is ok it’s more points and a finish but I still want to do better so I’m going to try and sort out my problem with making mistakes, it’s all physiological!!
Thanks to Dave and Kaye owners of Tamworth Auto Electrics for the tryes at the weekend, thank you!!
30/04/07 8:55pm - Silverstone Round Three British 125GP Championship
We had a bit of a disaster weekend at Silverstone, first practise was not much fun as I had to run the bike in and my gearing was way off, also we had changed the front brake master cylinder after Thruxton in an attempt to cure a really bad chatter problem I’ve had which I get when I’m braking really hard into slow corners, however the new/second hand master cyclinder we put on was rubbish! We changed the cylinder again for second practice but unfortunately my brake seized on solid after Abby on the first lap so I completely missed second practice.
With the brake sorted for qualifying I was looking forward to getting in some laps and trying to improve on my times from last year but unfortunately I tangled with Michael Wilcox on the first lap, I was half a bike length behind him as we came up to Luffield he got held up a bit as he was going around the outside of other riders, I had kept up my speed and thought I might as well go around the outside of all of them as we peeled into Luffield, but just before the corner Michael swung left to take a sweeping line for the corner I didn’t expect him to do it and he had no way of knowing I was on his outside and we hit, I think Michael would have got away with it but my leg got trapped between his sub frame and back wheel, and so we both came off.
My bike was taken back to scrutineering and Brad managed to fix it with 5mins to spare of first qualifying so I got in three laps to qualify 29th. Second qualifying was also a disaster, the bike flooded just as I was about to go out and it took us 20mins of the session to fix it, I got out for the last 10mins and qualified in 25th, pretty rubbish but at least I was on the grid.
I had a fairly good race, I made a really good start and got up to 17th on the first lap, I was in 14th for a while and trying to keep up with the rider in front but I made some mistakes in doing so and three other riders caught me up, one of them passed me but I managed to pass him straight back, but then another got passed and I nearly got punted off the track going into the fast right before Becketts by another rider, letting yet other one through, I had to catch them back up and tried a do or die into Abby on the last lap, I got pasted but went in way to hot and nearly ran off the track letting him back through, I tried to catch back up again for a go into Luffield or the chicane but just couldn’t get close enough so I finshed 16th in the end. It was fun fighting with the other riders though and I’m happy to have finished considering all the problems we’ve had over the weekend.
Roll on Oulton!
Huge thanks to Chris (the roaming marshal) not only for giving me some money towards my racing but also for giving me a lift back to the pits after my crash in qualifying, thank you!! And thanks to John Reynolds and Rizla Suzuki and everyone who asked on my behalf to get me a ride on the back of the two seater Rizla Suzuki! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16/04/07 6:59pm - Thruxton Round Two British 125GP Championship
I really like Thruxton it is a great track but normally an engine wrecker as our little 125’s are flat out in 6th for so long, but this weekend heralded a change in fortunes for us as we had no engine trouble at all, which is very unusual but very welcome!! We ran the bike nice and rich all weekend to avoid any seizers and to try and avoid a repeat of last year when the cylinder head cracked.
I managed to go a lot quicker than my times from last year and qualified in 14th, although I would have liked to have qualified better as now things are going well I'd really like to be the sharp end of the grid. I'd been hoping to go a bit quicker in second qualifying and better my 11th place I had provisionally qualified from the first session, but again I had trouble with my second qualifying, just trying to hard and messing everything up totally.
I made a good start in the race from my promoted 12th position on the grid after 2 riders didn’t make the start and managed to get away with the main pack, I was in eight for most of the race and got into a fight with the same rider that I was fighting with at Brands, we had a lot of fun and were swapping places all the time but I just managed to fend him off to the finish and retain my 8th place. I pretty happy with the result, it’s nice to finish the race with no engine trouble, great to get a good result from 12th on the grid and good to get some more points in the championship!
Huge thank you to Lis and Mark at BSBstar.com for the tyres for the weekend, I’m extremely grateful!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!
I’m really looking forward to Silverstone in two weeks, will keep you posted!!!!!
10/04/07 9:50pm - Brands Hatch Round One British 125GP Championship
I had a good weekend at Brands Hatch, the full circuit at Brands is one of my favourite tracks and the weather was surprisingly really good as you’ll probably know!
Practice went well with a 7th and 6th place and I set a personal best lap time, 1st qualifying also went well, I shaved a few tenths of my practice time to qualify provisionally in 7th and set my best lap time which was a 1:36.6, one second faster than my best from last year.
I wanted to go faster again in second qualifying and try to get into the 1:35’s which was realistic as my ideal lap time in 1st qualifying was a 1:36.2 but I think I just tried to hard, I was all over the place missing apexes and totally messing up every lap, I was still in 9th on the grid but right on the last lap of qualifying two riders just snuck in front of me and I ended up 11th, it was still my best qualifying but I really wanted to be on that second row, next time maybe!
I initially made a good start but the bike bogged as I let the clutch out and I lost quite a few places, I was on the back of a group of about 8 riders who where just beginning to pull away from the rider in front of me, I didn’t want to let them go so managed to get past and try and catch them back up but I had a slide coming out of Druids and ended up in a battle with the rider I’d just passed, I could follow him easily but when I was in front of him and trying to pull away I made quite a few mistakes with another slide at Druids, I nearly lost the front at Sheene Curve and then I stuck it into neutral round Stirlings and lost a full 2 seconds on the second to last lap letting the rider I was in a battle with get away and despite trying to get the two seconds back on the last lap I had to settle for 14th place in the end.
I am a little disappointed to only finish 14th after such a good practice and qualifying but am really happy not to have come off as I nearly did 4 times in the race and I am also really happy that my bike didn’t break down, this time last year the big end bearing seized, so to finish was good, to get points was even better and I am really encouraged by my lap times at Brands and so I am really looking forward to having another go at Thruxton this weekend!!!!!!
I’ll update you as soon as I can after the race! So please check back here!
Big thank you to Lis and Mark from BSBstar.com! Dave and Kaye Holland from Tamworth Auto Electrics for the tyres, and to Mark Keen from KRP for helping me with my set up and for lending me the front forks for the weekend, THANK YOU!!!!!!!
See you at Thruxton!
22/01/07 6:22pm - Spares for sale
I'm flogging some of my spares please click this link for info.
12/10/06 11:07 pm - Brands Hatch round 13 British 125gp Championship
Sorry for the lateness in updating my journal, since we got back from Brands on Tuesday our workshops been mega busy with loads of work to do, it's been sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, can't wait for a holiday!!!
It wasn't a great weekend for me at Brands, practise and qualifying weren't to bad with a forth row start qualifying 15th on the grid not ideal but not too bad, it rained for the race which was great news for me, as I like the wet, we went off on the warm up lap and everything was ok, I made a good start again and got past a few, but my bike died on the second lap, it didn't feel like it seized, just lost power, a fuel or a spark problem. Total gutted! We stripped the bike straight away and found that the piston ring had broke, it's just one of those things, it was nothing we could have foreseen. It was a new ring that had just done a few miles in the warm up so it should have been ok.
Looking on the bright side it's good it happen then rather than earlier in the year because it wrecked the cylinder and at least I have all winter to get it fixed!!
Can't wait till next year! Already!
I’ll keep you posted on what's going on over the winter.
Jen .x.
18/9/06 11:58 am - Silverstone Round 12 British 125gp Championship
I qualified 20th after having a bit of trouble in second qualifying and not being able to improve my time from first qualifying, I’d got out with a group which seemed to be messing each other up and myself so I decided to come into the pits and go back out to get some space on the track. When I came in I was told that I’d been under observation for excessive smoke coming from the bike, we found that the oil catch tank was full and overflowing onto the exhaust pipe, we had to drain the tank and clean off the oil, I set off again, I did one lap to warm the tyres then went for a good lap but I got held up by a rider exiting the pits, the next lap someone high-sided in front of me at Brooklands, then the next lap someone did exactly the same thing in the same place which messed up that lap, then the last lap I messed up by leaving the bike in too higher gear going into Priory and lost all my drive coming out. Total bummer!
The bike seized in warm up on the last lap, so we put a new piston in for the race, I didn't get much time to run it in but it seemed to be ok. I got a great start and got up to 14th but when we were following the safety car which came out on the second lap of the race after a three man crash at Abby, I think the piston may have just nipped up a touch despite trying my hardest to keep it full throttle as much as possible to avoid it seizing. I could tell something had gone wrong when I went through Bridge towards Priory whilst following the safety car but I didn't have much choice other than to ignore it and hope for the best but it seized up proper going into Abby after we had resumed racing, I pulled in the clutch but my clutch had been sticking all weekend and so it still locked the back wheel and spat me off, gutted!
I’d only just painted my new faring as well last week, gutted, it didn’t last too long!
Oh well, onwards and hopefully upwards at Brands Hatch in two weeks!!!!!
Keep you posted!!!!
18/9/06 11:51 am - Cadwell Park British 125gp's Round 11
I haven't managed to find any time to update my journal from Cadwell so though I'd do it now before I don't get chance again. So sorry for the delay!
I Qualified 16th at Cadwell, which was ok but not good enough as far as I was concerned so I wasn’t too happy and was praying for rain for the race, I got my wish as it chucked it down as we sat on the grid. After a panic to change tyres and a few delays the race got under way, I made a really good start and was on a mission to get passed as many people as early on as possible, I'd got passed 6 by the time we'd come to Hall Bends, I was desperate to get to the front as quickly as possible and thinking I could get passed the rider in front into the hairpin I aimed to get along side him through the flick left before the hair pin but I just went to quick and lost the back, I didn't think I'd over cooked it so maybe it was just slightly slipperier under the trees, that’s what I recon anyway! Wasn't my fault honest!
The Cadwell weekend was a really sad affair not only was it the anniversary of the terrible accident which claimed the life of Chris Jones but we also lost another great rider during the Saturdays Supersport Qualifying session.
I, my team and my family all offer our deepest condolences to Ashley Martin’s family and friends.
The Martin family have asked that anyone wishing to make a financial donation contribute to the fund already established to promote safety and medical equipment within the British Championship known as the Chris Jones Memorial Fund.
There will be Chris Jones Memorial Fund charity (CJMF) auctions on both the Saturday and Sunday (30 Sept/1 Oct) of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship finale at Brands Hatch in the Adrenalin X building, adjacent to the Kentagon Restaurant, everyone is welcome and all proceeds will go to the CJMF fund which aims to provide essential medical equipment for the BSB paddock and beyond. For more details please visit www.motorsportvision.co.uk/brands-hatch/news.
21/8/06 06:12 pm - Oulton Park- Nantwich & Cheshire club.
Woohooo, I won my first race of the year!!! I wish it had been a British round though! I managed to claim pole position in lovely damp conditions during the 15 minuets practice in the morning, I made a good start in the race and led into the first corner and managed to pull away and win by over 12 seconds in the end setting the fastest lap on the way. The track was soaked as it had been raining pretty much all day, which suited me as I quite like the wet!
I'm really chuffed to have won as there was prize money and I got a free set of tyre's which all helps towards the British rounds! I also had chance to try out my new front brake which was good and I have now had some wet practice on the bike with the new suspension set up, so it's all good!!
Really looking forward to Cadwell, hopefully everything will go well!!
Keep you posted!
15/8/06 07:44 pm - Croft, round 10 British 125gp Championship
I’ve done pretty rubbish at Croft the last two times I’ve raced there but I was hoping that I could do better now my bike is much improved. And thankfully I did. I went faster than I did last year by two seconds to qualify 14th on the grid (much better than the 38th I qualified in last year!)
I got away well at the start of the race and up into 12th on the first lap, I was in 11th on lap 7 and gradually catching the group in front. Someone came off at Tower Bend promoting me to tenth (nice of them) but unfortunately I too came off later in the lap at the hair pin, I must have just trailed the brake too long and lost the front, although I didn’t feel as if I had done anything different to the lap before, total bummer, I tried to bump start the bike but the clutch lever had broke and it just didn’t want to fire up when I jammed it into gear, gutted! But that’s the way it goes and there’s no point being down about it, at least the bikes ok and it’s not too long to Cadwell!!!
I’ve got a new front brake caliper which should hopefully be better and should be on for Cadwell so that will also help. It’s unbelievably great to get the bike up to spec it’s so important at this level as everyone got good kit and it’s just too hard to do well if you’ve not got it. I’ve been trying so hard for ages to be in the top 15 regularly and now I can. Top 5 next hopefully!
Thank you again to Steve, Andrew, Lis and Mark for everything!
I’m racing at Oulton on Saturday!
Let you now how it goes.
3/8/06 05:03 pm - Oulton Park Round 9 British 125 gp Championship
The changes to my bike were instantly noticeable at Oulton, the cornering especially, it was so much better than at the last meeting we did here at the beginning of the year in May, round 4 of the championship. Before the bike used to run wide and even more so when I got on the gas and especially around the fast corners like Island and Druids but now it was holding a tight line even with the gas on, it was so much better and I was able to carry a lot more speed. It was good to go back to the same track for a direct comparison of one set up to the other. I did a 1.52.156 lap to put me 15th fastest in 1st practice despite only getting three laps in after I was punted off at the hair pin and I improved in second practice to a 1.51.449 and remained 15th.
First qualifying also went well and I qualified in 15th place with a 1.49.339 lap, faster than I’d been around the track before. I was hoping to improve in second qualifying, I seemed to get someone in the wrong place on every lap and only just got a good lap in on the final lap of the session of a 1.48.989 and just scrapped into 13th place on the grid by 0.001 of a second!
We didn’t get much of a warm up in the morning as it was squeezed into 8mins, I did a practise start at the end as normal and found that the clutch was really grabby so we changed it for the race so I could get off the line ok.
I got away well due to the new clutch and got up to 12th on the first lap, I tried to follow the riders in front hoping they would tow me along. I was setting ok lap times and managed to pull a gap on the riders behind me, I continued to pull away and was in a good comfortable 9th place on the last lap, luckily for me the 3rd and 4th place men came together on the last lap at Lodge and I snuck though to take 7th just infount of them after they had re-mounted.
7th is my best result and I’m really happy, I’m pleased with my lap time also, I did a 1.48.066 in the race which was over 3 seconds faster than I’d managed at the beginning of the year and it’s getting closer to the front runners which is the most important thing. It's totally down to the new kit Mark and Lis bought for my bike and the help Mark at KRP gave me with the suspension, my bike is totally different and 100% better than it was and I’m really, really, really happy with it.
I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has helped me, to Mark, Lis and Mark Keen and a special thank you to Andrew for the tyres and spares he bought for me at the weekend THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
And a thank you to Mark Keen again for lending me a radiator for the race. (After holding up all weekend mine started to leak again just before the race, bummer).
Hopefully I can continue to improve, I’ll try anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17/7/06 12:41 pm - Knockhill round 8 British 125gp
I had a good weekend at Knockhill, the circuit is even better now they've resurfaced it and improved the curbs. Everyone was going quicker than last year and I managed to do a 55.3 second lap in qualifying compared to a 57.9 last year. I was hoping to go faster in the second session of qualifying but my bike seized when it over heated and I didn't get to improve my time, so I qualified 18th on the grid. We fitted a new piston and cleaned up the cylinder ready for practice on Sunday. We discovered the water pump impeller shaft had broke so replaced that also. After running the new piston in during Sunday's practice session we stripped the bike again to check it over, rebuilt it and ran it to check everything was ok and discovered a leak on the radiator. We spent a good 2 hours chasing the leak and it was getting close to the start of the race, so we had a bit of a panic thinking we might not get it fixed in time but luckily we did, although as I was sitting on the grid it was just leaking a tiny bit but not enough to affect the bike's running temperature thankfully!
I had a good race, I'd made a good start and had a good fight for most of the race with two other riders, I just manged to hold them off to finish in 9th at the end. It was a really good race and loads of fun.
I just want to say a huge thank you to Andrew for the tyres and for the spares needed at the weekend, Thank you!!!!!!
26/6/06 08:18 pm - Snetterton round 7 British 125gp Championship
The Snetteron weekend ended up being a bit of a learning weekend although I was hoping I was going to jump back on my bike and be right up the front straight away. My bike is pretty much completely different to how it was when rode it at Oulton Park and it took most of the weekend to get it set up, we changed the gearing and jetting every time I went out until we finally got it pretty much right by practice on Sunday morning. I had a couple of problems over the weekend and only qualified 22nd although I went faster than last year. My clutch started slipping on the sighting lap for the race and I though I wouldn’t be able to race but it luckily stopped after the warm up laps and it didn’t slip again during the race. I finished 16th which I’m pretty disappointed with, I lost three places at Sear’s corner when someone came off and I had to avoid his mud guard, it took me the rest of the race to catch back up and get back passed and up to 15th. I though I had 15th place but was just piped over the line after the drag down the start finish straight, so I ended up 16th, bummer.
Looking on the bright side though I’m mega chuffed with my bike it’s really good now it’s sorted out, I’m happy we’ve now got settings to work from and I’ve had chance to get used to how it feels with the altered suspension, so roll on Knockhill!! Can’t wait!!!
I have to say a big thank you to Mark from KRP for all his help with my bike and to Andrew for helping me out with a new quick shifter and other broken parts at the weekend, and for tyres, so thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
And also to Mark and Lis again for the new kit, my bike was flying at the weekend for the first time ever, it’s great to finally have some descent kit, thank you!!!!!
5/6/06 09:05 pm - Mallory Park round 5 and 6 British 125gp Championship
I got to ride the KRP prepared bike again at Mallory Park. I didn’t get to race it at Mondello Park so it was great to get the opportunity to ride it again at Mallory. (Thanks to Mark at KRP!!)
I qualified 14th for the races on Sunday, in the first race I got a puncture 8 laps in and had to retire.
The second race went better and I finished 11th, my best result of the season so far, although I was still disappointed as I desperately want to be a lot higher up the grid.
I’m back on my own bike at the next round at Snetterton and it will be good to see how my bike now compares to the rest with it’s new engine parts.
Photo by Chris Martin.
26/5/06 08:18 pm - Mondello Park round 5 British 125gp Championship
You'll probably know that all the races where cancelled on Sunday due to heavy rain and track flooding. But I did get to ride Mark Keen's spare KRP (Keen Race Preparation) bike in practice and qualifying which was a great experience, not only to ride a really good bike which handle's, stops and drives better than my own, but also to have been in the team itself, to see how the bikes are immaculately prepared, to be able to learn more about bike set up and to be able to take advantage of the data logging that is on all of the bikes.
1st practice was ok but I had to restrain myself as the bike needed to be run in, I could have thrashed it towards the end of the session but I didn't notice Mark waving his hands at me telling me to give it full beans (I'm pants at looking at the pit wall!!!) so I got the first opportunity to give it some stick in second practice which was cool! until it started to spit with rain, bummer. 1st qualifying was pretty good until half way through when I had a problem with the bike. So 2nd qualifying was pretty much my first full session on the bike.
I went over a second faster than I'd been around the track before but I ran out of time to go any faster, I ended up 19th and was pretty disappointed as I knew I could have gone a lot faster as I was still getting used to the bike and just needed a bit more time.
However Mondello’s never been my best track and as we didn’t get to race on Sunday there is a possibility I might get to ride the bike again at Mallory Park, I hope so!!!!
I have to say a huge thank you to Mark Keen for letting me ride his KRP bike at Mondello, thank you!!!
And I hope I will get to ride it again at Mallory. :)
16/5/06 07:18 pm - KRP bike!!
I get to ride a KRP (Keen Race Preparation) bike at Mondello Park, how cool is that!!!
Dan Linfoot who rides for KRP is racing as a wild card in the 250 gp at Le Mans, so there is a spare bike floating about and I have been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to ride it at Mondello Park, thanks to Mark Keen -thank You!!
8/5/06 08:18 pm
We went to run in the new cylinder and parts on my bike yesterday at the Anglesey circuit. Everything went ok, we ran it in in the morning and then gave it full stick in the afternoon, the new cylinder feels really good but there wasn’t any other 125’s there to compare it against, so I’m looking forward to Mondello to see how it goes. Thank you again to Mark and Lis for the new kit!!
I started to alter the suspension a bit in the afternoon to try and get the bike steering a bit better as it was not so good at Oulton, especially around the faster corners. I went a little bit too hard on the front and lost it on the bumps around school corner, oops! seriously embarrassing on a track day!
The bike was ok though, just a bent handle bar, my leathers took most of the punishment as I was under the bike, I changed to my old wolf ones and was able to get out for the rest of the sessions.
2/5/06 08:18 pm - Oulton Park round 4 British 125gp Championship, 1st May 06
I have finally got my first points of the year! I finished 13th at Oulton Park after starting last for the race, I qualified 21st but wasn’t aloud out of the pit lane before the start of the race. There is a five-minute window to get out of pit lane from the time it opens to it closing. Normally, if you get out straight away, there is time to do a lap, drive through and do another lap before going to the grid. I had on the right choice of tyres for the race but it had been a quick change from wets to slicks before the start and the tyre warmers had only been on for a couple of minutes, so I though I’d do the two laps and get some heat into them rather than sit on the grid. A lap of Oulton Park would have been two and a half minuet’s maximum, including leaving pit lane so there was defiantly plenty of time for me to drive through and do another lap but they wouldn’t let me out, bummer!
Never the less I am quite chuffed with 13th and I’m looking forward to Mondello.
I picked up some new parts for my bike courtesy of Mark Bradshaw and Lis Blaber, so thank you very very very much to them!!! and I’m looking forward to seeing how the bike goes with the new bits at Mondello Park.
26/4/06 08:18 pm - Thruxton round 3 British 125gp Championship
Thruxton is such a great track, especially on a 125, but it's also a 125 engine wrecker and this weekend was no exception, last year my bike seized three time in the same place, Church corner is taken virtually flat out in sixth on the 125, we must be doing at least 115mph through it, it's one of my favorite corners for sure, but from then on it's up hill and usually against the wind, my 125 is still in sixth and does it's best to get up the hill and just manages to rev out before the top, then I totally shut off and break heavily for the chicane before the start and finish, this was the point at which my bike would seize last year, but surprisingly I had no such problems this year except for one partial seizure in second qualifying, so all was looking good, I qualified 19th, 3 seconds off pole and was looking forward to the race after going faster in warm up than I did in qualifying. I made a good start and by lap 7 was in 15th place, just in the points again, when my engine died in the chicane before start and finish, I slipped the clutch and it came back into life but was really slow, half way around lap eight I noticed the high temperature warning flashing at me, the bike was at 120 degrees over double what it should be, the bike was getting slower and it was terminal, I pulled into the pits, race over for me again, gutted!!!! We stripped the bike when we got back and found that the cylinder head insert had cracked causing the bike to loose it's water and loose compression.
I'm hoping I'll have some luck at Oulton, fingers crossed!!
12/4/06 10:33 am - British 125gp Round 2 Donington Park
Have just got 5 mins to update you, we're on a short week as we're off to Thruxton on Thursday and work is really busy!!! loads of stuff to do and no time!! its good though.
I qualified 17th for Sundays race, after a dry first qualifying and was 3rd fastest in a wet second qualifying. I was hoping for a wet race but didn't mind either way.
It was dry in the morning on Sunday but threw it down about mid dayish, sleet and hail stones, nice! so it was a definite wet race. I made a good start and passed a few off the line, my plan was to stay on and avoid anyone that fell off and just try and make it to the finish and hopefully a good result. We all bailed into the first corner and I had a good fast line right round the outside, I was just thinking this'll do when someone highsided next to me and slid directly into my path, I had to brake to avoid him, he was about 2 inches from my front wheel and as he slid I had no choice but to go on the grass to miss him, I didn't want to loose anytime but as I tried to get back on track the bike just slid out, it broke the faring and bent the brake lever so I couldn't get back on, I was so gutted, it was another really good opportunity for a good result wasted, but thats racing and we're at Thruxton soon another one of my fav tracks so hopefully things will go ok there!
I have to say a huge thank you to Vivaldi Racing!!! for their help and for cheering me up on Sunday after the disappointment of the day.
and
Thank you to Paul!
Photo by Paul
26/3/06 08:18 pm - Andrew and Chris at Brands
26/3/06 08:18 pm - 125gp Round 1 Brands Hatch Indy
I've finally found a few minutes to update my journal and let you know how things went at Brand Hatch for the opening round of the British 125gps.
Everything went well in practice, first practice was damp and I was 8th fastest, second practice was dry and I moved to 24th fastest, I was still using slicks which I raced on last year and have used for testing and for the race at Anglesey last weekend so they were well passed it. I had a new pair on for qualifying courtesy of Andrew Hensley (thank you), the first half of 1st qualifying was wet but the track soon dried and I came into change to the new slicks with just 6 minutes left of the session, it took me a couple of laps to scrub them in and then go for a lap but I ran out of time to get in a clear lap and ended up 22nd, I was a bit disappointed and my bike was well down on the speed traps just 31st fastest. We decided to try the standard Honda cylinder for 2nd qualifying as it couldn't have been much slower.
My bike was higher up in the speed traps in the second qualifying up to 23rd fastest, and I managed to qualify 22nd out of 43 with a 51.768 lap, 2.315 seconds off pole, I was still a little disappointed but optimistic for the race.
The race was wet, I got up to 19th and was catching a group of riders in front when my bike lost loads of power going down the start finish straight, it felt like it was going to seize, I carried on but every time I wanted full power it wasn't there, I decided to stay out anyway and try and finish the race but with three laps to go it seized going into druids, I was in 14th place and would have got my first points of the session, gutted!
I'm going to try and get my bike a bit faster for the next round and keep trying to get some more sponsors so I might be able to buy a kit cylinder soon, fingers crossed!
I have to say a big thank you to Chris and Andrew the marshals for their continuing support and Chris's donation which I'm going to put towards a new piston, and thank you to Morty and Brian who watched me brake down at Druids in the race and also gave me some money towards repairs thank you!!
The next round is at Donington Park on the 7th-9th April I'm really looking forward to it and am hoping for a better result.
21/3/06 04:41 pm
I had a good race day at a sunny Anglesey circuit on Sunday. The 125 class had two 10 lap races of the 1.7km circuit, I really wanted to win both races but had to settle for two 3rd places, although I was chuffed to get the fastest lap of the day for the class of 49.026sec. which was 9 tenths of a second faster than I'd been around the circuit before and 2 tenths of a second off the lap record for the 125's which is a 48.8 lap set by Rob Butterworth in 2002.
I also ran the bike on the test day on Saturday which gave me good track time to check the bike was running ok after it's partial seizure at Oulton last Saturday and to run in a new Honda cylinder which is going to replace my Wrathal tuned one when it finally gives up. Hopefully the Honda cylinder will be just as good as my current one once it has been tuned. I'm still on a tight budget at the moment and a Honda one is a lot cheaper than a kit one and it should hopefully be just as good once it's tuned, soon see!!
I'm looking forward to Brands Hatch next weekend for the first round of the British 125gp's.
13/3/06 10:49 am
I love track days they're great!! The first couple of session were wet which I don't mind and it was about 9oc not too bad. We jetted the bike really rich to compensate for the cold and the bike was running well, it felt a bit smoother with the new cases and seemed to be pulling better out of corners but it's hard to gauge as there weren't any other 125's to compare it against. The track dried pretty quick and I got a couple of dry sessions in, I ran the bike on Optimax fuel to save on cost and the bike seemed to be running ok still, just detting a bit more frequently so we jetted up again to compensate. One of the sessions was red flagged and as I pulled in the bike died, we checked the spark and took the head off to check the top of the piston, it was really rich so didn't think there would be anything up with the piston itself, we put it back together but the bike still wouldn't run, we stripped it again and found the piston had seized a touch on the exhaust side and stuck the ring, there was a touch of chrome missing off the exhaust bridge already from last year and it had taken a bit more off, gutted. It was too late to sort the bike out so I missed the last three sessions which was a bit of a downer, but other than that it was a really good day!
I'm off to Angelesy next weekend, will keep you posted.
3/10/06 04:20 pm
We're off to crash test the bike in the rain at Oulton tomorow!!!!! will update you on monday how it went.
26/2/06 08:18 pm - The season starts soon
Preparations for the start of the season are going well, the engine is now rebuilt with brand new crank cases courtesy of Infinity GP racing and I am hoping to be out on a track day soon!! can't wait!!
The new crank cases:
