Cadwell Park 2018
Friday 5th October 2018
Arriving at 1.45 Friday morning, later than expected due to part of the A1 being closed and there being a ridiculous diversion which we eventually ignored, we found that Graham and Janet had done the business space wise and we were as near to the circuit as possible.
Alan had some track time booked and had a bit of practice before the onslaught of the weekend.
That evening fog developed and it started to rain. I woke several times in the night concerned about the gazebo in the wind. The door had unzipped during the night and would need pegging down before bed on Saturday.
Saturday 6th October 2018
8am the fog was clearing but it was pissing down and still very gusty. Alan decided to take it very easy in qualifying/practice even if it meant starting nearly at the back of the grid. There was a lot of standing water on the track and by the second session oil had been dropped on the track making it lethal.
Alan’s group were being held so Chris came back for the starter and a stand and waited with him. The rain showed no sign of stopping and we’d already had a call for volunteer marshals. Of all the days to be short. The weather was going to put off anyone who was sane.
The delay for oil was pushing the schedule back more and more as the morning progressed and the races were sure to be shortened.
By 4.45pm the rain stopped for half an hour. I feel Cadwell should pay more attention to the wet and seriously flooding parts of the track instead of turning our close to the track paddock area into pretty parking for the staff and visitors. More lanes of scalpings or tarmac should break up the two vast fields which remain for us to camp on so the riders don’t have to cross large areas of muddy grass when the weather is bad. Thanks to Graham we have been able to set up the gazebo opposite a three metre piece of hard-standing with a rubber mat down to bridge the gap.
Both Gav and Alan completed the day with both themselves and their bikes intact and Sunday’s weather was going to be dry and warmer.
Sunday 7th October 2018
Sunday was dry and warm. The boys did brilliantly. Gav finished the weekend third in his Championship and Alan finished third in the 750 Race of the Year, and first in the 1300 Race of the Year having fried the clutch leaving the grid at the start of the race.
We are very proud of them both.
Thank you to Simon Morris and Tony Finch for sponsoring Alan by covering his race entry fees. Thank you to Richard Peckett for the loan of the RPS and providing the spare parts. To Chris for the work on the RPS and keeping it running and to all the team for their hard work throughout the year, we could not do it without you.
We’ll be off to the dinner-dance and prize-giving on December 1st, where Chris will kick up some dust at the AGM re practice/qualifying and we’ll sit at the table of champions.
Sorry this is so short and basic. Lots of stuff happening recently and at the moment.
LSW
Arriving at 1.45 Friday morning, later than expected due to part of the A1 being closed and there being a ridiculous diversion which we eventually ignored, we found that Graham and Janet had done the business space wise and we were as near to the circuit as possible.
Alan had some track time booked and had a bit of practice before the onslaught of the weekend.
That evening fog developed and it started to rain. I woke several times in the night concerned about the gazebo in the wind. The door had unzipped during the night and would need pegging down before bed on Saturday.
Saturday 6th October 2018
8am the fog was clearing but it was pissing down and still very gusty. Alan decided to take it very easy in qualifying/practice even if it meant starting nearly at the back of the grid. There was a lot of standing water on the track and by the second session oil had been dropped on the track making it lethal.
Alan’s group were being held so Chris came back for the starter and a stand and waited with him. The rain showed no sign of stopping and we’d already had a call for volunteer marshals. Of all the days to be short. The weather was going to put off anyone who was sane.
The delay for oil was pushing the schedule back more and more as the morning progressed and the races were sure to be shortened.
By 4.45pm the rain stopped for half an hour. I feel Cadwell should pay more attention to the wet and seriously flooding parts of the track instead of turning our close to the track paddock area into pretty parking for the staff and visitors. More lanes of scalpings or tarmac should break up the two vast fields which remain for us to camp on so the riders don’t have to cross large areas of muddy grass when the weather is bad. Thanks to Graham we have been able to set up the gazebo opposite a three metre piece of hard-standing with a rubber mat down to bridge the gap.
Both Gav and Alan completed the day with both themselves and their bikes intact and Sunday’s weather was going to be dry and warmer.
Sunday 7th October 2018
Sunday was dry and warm. The boys did brilliantly. Gav finished the weekend third in his Championship and Alan finished third in the 750 Race of the Year, and first in the 1300 Race of the Year having fried the clutch leaving the grid at the start of the race.
We are very proud of them both.
Thank you to Simon Morris and Tony Finch for sponsoring Alan by covering his race entry fees. Thank you to Richard Peckett for the loan of the RPS and providing the spare parts. To Chris for the work on the RPS and keeping it running and to all the team for their hard work throughout the year, we could not do it without you.
We’ll be off to the dinner-dance and prize-giving on December 1st, where Chris will kick up some dust at the AGM re practice/qualifying and we’ll sit at the table of champions.
Sorry this is so short and basic. Lots of stuff happening recently and at the moment.
LSW
Mallory Park 2018
Thursday 6th / Friday 7th September 2018
We were still in Tesco at 11pm Thursday, but finally managed to get on the road by 12.15am Friday. We arrived at the circuit at 2.50am, but couldn’t get through the gate to the track/paddock. We unloaded the bike, set the alarm for 7am and went to sleep.
When we woke the gate was unlocked. We waited until 8.30am and no official arrived so we let ourselves in. Chris sat on the RPS and coasted down the track to the paddock entrance, just managing to keep up enough speed to complete the journey.
I towed the caravan to the spot we were going to park in and realised it had lost a piece of bodywork since Newport Pagnell. One can only hope it didn’t hit anyone.
As well as Mallory being extremely smelly, as usual, it was extremely windy in the paddock and the ground was very steep. We spent three-quarters of an hour getting the caravan level and Chris decided to keep the movers on in case the hand-brake failed. The gazebo was a nightmare. We took ages to put the sides on it but we couldn’t do up the zips. There was no way the thing would survive. I have bruises down my forearms from the struggle. We ripped the sides off again and I tied the frame to the armco barrier while Chris went off to speak to the French guys who had a garage. Garages! Who knew!
While Chris was gone a huge gust blew someone’s gazebo across the paddock which, on it’s way, collected the RPS and knocked it over. So that isn’t as pretty as it was when we arrived. Bloody typical. Alan does almost a whole season on it without a scratch and its taken out by some toss-pot’s tent. The gazebo owners had gone out for the day leaving it held down with their petrol container, which was as good as worn knicker-elastic in that wind. We had to dismantle the thing and stuff it under his caravan. Chris went to see the bloke later in the day who said he was sorry. Personally I think an offer of compensation would have been nice, although Chris probably would have declined it.
We managed to pack away our leaping gazebo frame and headed for the garages leaving the stink of sewage behind. Being beyond the foot bridge and the med centre we were a bit out on a limb there so it was very quiet from noise and visitors. The garage was small but perfectly formed and once Chris had done a circus act putting up some lights we moved in. All of us had our caravans lakeside with a view from Gerard’s to Edwina’s. It was idyllic. Our stretch of pit wall was beyond the start line so for the first time we could watch the bikes leave the line. We will definitely always have a garage if we get Mallory again.
At midday Chris and I finally had our first food and cup of tea since Thursday night and I went to sort out the inside of the caravan and make it nice.
The weather that evening was much calmer and we were expecting rain in the early hours.
Saturday 8th September 2018
Our lovely little garage is transformed by the front door being rolled up and we spilled out into the pit lane. We are close to noise-testing but I’d rather have that than be back in the paddock.
In the 1300s Alan had a dry qualifying – 57.511 6th on the grid and 2nd in class - and was getting used to the new brakes and tyres and being able to fully open the throttle – Chris adjusted it after realising Alan had never been opening it fully as it made his wrist hurt.
Bearing in mind that the riders have to bed in brakes, wear in tyres and test the bike after any work done on it and try to achieve a good qualifying time in the same session it is not at all surprising that you get a load of really horrible injuries taking place as a result of the riders having to try so hard and crashing.
Steve Panter escaped injury after entering the esses and braking and finding he had none – the pins had come out.
Gav crossed from the garage to the pit lane and immediately it started to rain. The track was slippery and he played safe, but still got 7th in class.
Alan showed total incompetence colouring in the race schedule and put Gav in the 1300s. Sofia can do it next time.
A very wet F750 qualifying with a best lap of 1:12.996 put Alan 5th in class. Rob Wittey!! In the rain! He was SO quick. I don’t know how Emily can watch.
1300s – Alan led for a couple of laps which kept him ahead of Graham Williams and finished 1st in class with a 56.027 and Graham 56.940.
125s – Wet for Gav again but he finished 5th in class and stayed on and didn’t break down. He’s got to keep the points coming in.
F750 – Very wet. Alan didn’t want to slide so he did a steady race and finished 4th in class. He went from 18th on the grid to finish 8th. His average on his best lap was 80.57mph. He was so nearly 3rd.
1300s – Dry track. 6th on the grid. Finished 2nd and 1st in class. Best lap 55.660 and Gav finished the day holding onto his 5th in class.
Martin arrived in time for lunch. Last week he was bitten on the calf by a Shih tzu – shit by name, shit by nature. As a result Martin could not drink the lovely wine I bought him as he’s on antibiotics.
Sunday 9th September 2018
Pretty wet and windy night. I’m glad we put the extra guys on Martin’s tent and, once again, so grateful for the garage.
Away from the toilet area this is suddenly my favourite meeting of the year, and no gazebo to put away, although I’ll have to do a bit of mending on it when before Cadwell.
Gav is busy this morning changing the gearing and wheel on the MT.
F750 - Half damp, half dry track. Alan had a big slide at Gerard’s. Finished 3rd in class. best lap 56.684.
I went to put the toaster back in the caravan and returned to a deserted garage. Major Chaos and friends were quivering in the pit lane having been driven out by a hornet. It was huge! Martin bravely went in and took a photograph of it.
1300s – Wow! a very exciting race. Absolutely wetting ourselves. Lost Graham Williams just at the end. 1st in class and finished 2nd. Best lap 55.632.
125s – Gav staying constant with another 5th in class. He hasn’t raced here before and we think he’s doing better than he thinks he is.
F750 – 2nd in class and under the lap record with a 55.00!
1300s – 1st in class and finishing 1st! (I like this fully open throttle thing we’ve finally got going on here.) Average speed 88.07mph.
125s – Gav pulled out all the stops and got 4th in class which takes him back to 3rd in the championship.
F750 – 1st in class to finish the weekend in style.
With Cadwell still to go Alan has won the 1300 championship and has come second in the F750 championship. He can do the races at Cadwell as practice for Race of the Year on the Sunday.
Well done, Alan!
Thank you to all the team for your input this season. I am proud of us all.
Lovely to see Paul Potter and family over the weekend. Paul got third prize on whatever it was he rode on the Saturday. We saw him briefly later in the day when he called by the garage to pick up his nappies but he didn’t make it back for the sloe-gin.
Marshal Neil was with us in spirit as he is going to become a Grandfather any moment. We missed you Neil.
Oh, and Neil, for Cadwell, don’t forget to bring back the hot-water bottle, Dearest.
LSW
We were still in Tesco at 11pm Thursday, but finally managed to get on the road by 12.15am Friday. We arrived at the circuit at 2.50am, but couldn’t get through the gate to the track/paddock. We unloaded the bike, set the alarm for 7am and went to sleep.
When we woke the gate was unlocked. We waited until 8.30am and no official arrived so we let ourselves in. Chris sat on the RPS and coasted down the track to the paddock entrance, just managing to keep up enough speed to complete the journey.
I towed the caravan to the spot we were going to park in and realised it had lost a piece of bodywork since Newport Pagnell. One can only hope it didn’t hit anyone.
As well as Mallory being extremely smelly, as usual, it was extremely windy in the paddock and the ground was very steep. We spent three-quarters of an hour getting the caravan level and Chris decided to keep the movers on in case the hand-brake failed. The gazebo was a nightmare. We took ages to put the sides on it but we couldn’t do up the zips. There was no way the thing would survive. I have bruises down my forearms from the struggle. We ripped the sides off again and I tied the frame to the armco barrier while Chris went off to speak to the French guys who had a garage. Garages! Who knew!
While Chris was gone a huge gust blew someone’s gazebo across the paddock which, on it’s way, collected the RPS and knocked it over. So that isn’t as pretty as it was when we arrived. Bloody typical. Alan does almost a whole season on it without a scratch and its taken out by some toss-pot’s tent. The gazebo owners had gone out for the day leaving it held down with their petrol container, which was as good as worn knicker-elastic in that wind. We had to dismantle the thing and stuff it under his caravan. Chris went to see the bloke later in the day who said he was sorry. Personally I think an offer of compensation would have been nice, although Chris probably would have declined it.
We managed to pack away our leaping gazebo frame and headed for the garages leaving the stink of sewage behind. Being beyond the foot bridge and the med centre we were a bit out on a limb there so it was very quiet from noise and visitors. The garage was small but perfectly formed and once Chris had done a circus act putting up some lights we moved in. All of us had our caravans lakeside with a view from Gerard’s to Edwina’s. It was idyllic. Our stretch of pit wall was beyond the start line so for the first time we could watch the bikes leave the line. We will definitely always have a garage if we get Mallory again.
At midday Chris and I finally had our first food and cup of tea since Thursday night and I went to sort out the inside of the caravan and make it nice.
The weather that evening was much calmer and we were expecting rain in the early hours.
Saturday 8th September 2018
Our lovely little garage is transformed by the front door being rolled up and we spilled out into the pit lane. We are close to noise-testing but I’d rather have that than be back in the paddock.
In the 1300s Alan had a dry qualifying – 57.511 6th on the grid and 2nd in class - and was getting used to the new brakes and tyres and being able to fully open the throttle – Chris adjusted it after realising Alan had never been opening it fully as it made his wrist hurt.
Bearing in mind that the riders have to bed in brakes, wear in tyres and test the bike after any work done on it and try to achieve a good qualifying time in the same session it is not at all surprising that you get a load of really horrible injuries taking place as a result of the riders having to try so hard and crashing.
Steve Panter escaped injury after entering the esses and braking and finding he had none – the pins had come out.
Gav crossed from the garage to the pit lane and immediately it started to rain. The track was slippery and he played safe, but still got 7th in class.
Alan showed total incompetence colouring in the race schedule and put Gav in the 1300s. Sofia can do it next time.
A very wet F750 qualifying with a best lap of 1:12.996 put Alan 5th in class. Rob Wittey!! In the rain! He was SO quick. I don’t know how Emily can watch.
1300s – Alan led for a couple of laps which kept him ahead of Graham Williams and finished 1st in class with a 56.027 and Graham 56.940.
125s – Wet for Gav again but he finished 5th in class and stayed on and didn’t break down. He’s got to keep the points coming in.
F750 – Very wet. Alan didn’t want to slide so he did a steady race and finished 4th in class. He went from 18th on the grid to finish 8th. His average on his best lap was 80.57mph. He was so nearly 3rd.
1300s – Dry track. 6th on the grid. Finished 2nd and 1st in class. Best lap 55.660 and Gav finished the day holding onto his 5th in class.
Martin arrived in time for lunch. Last week he was bitten on the calf by a Shih tzu – shit by name, shit by nature. As a result Martin could not drink the lovely wine I bought him as he’s on antibiotics.
Sunday 9th September 2018
Pretty wet and windy night. I’m glad we put the extra guys on Martin’s tent and, once again, so grateful for the garage.
Away from the toilet area this is suddenly my favourite meeting of the year, and no gazebo to put away, although I’ll have to do a bit of mending on it when before Cadwell.
Gav is busy this morning changing the gearing and wheel on the MT.
F750 - Half damp, half dry track. Alan had a big slide at Gerard’s. Finished 3rd in class. best lap 56.684.
I went to put the toaster back in the caravan and returned to a deserted garage. Major Chaos and friends were quivering in the pit lane having been driven out by a hornet. It was huge! Martin bravely went in and took a photograph of it.
1300s – Wow! a very exciting race. Absolutely wetting ourselves. Lost Graham Williams just at the end. 1st in class and finished 2nd. Best lap 55.632.
125s – Gav staying constant with another 5th in class. He hasn’t raced here before and we think he’s doing better than he thinks he is.
F750 – 2nd in class and under the lap record with a 55.00!
1300s – 1st in class and finishing 1st! (I like this fully open throttle thing we’ve finally got going on here.) Average speed 88.07mph.
125s – Gav pulled out all the stops and got 4th in class which takes him back to 3rd in the championship.
F750 – 1st in class to finish the weekend in style.
With Cadwell still to go Alan has won the 1300 championship and has come second in the F750 championship. He can do the races at Cadwell as practice for Race of the Year on the Sunday.
Well done, Alan!
Thank you to all the team for your input this season. I am proud of us all.
Lovely to see Paul Potter and family over the weekend. Paul got third prize on whatever it was he rode on the Saturday. We saw him briefly later in the day when he called by the garage to pick up his nappies but he didn’t make it back for the sloe-gin.
Marshal Neil was with us in spirit as he is going to become a Grandfather any moment. We missed you Neil.
Oh, and Neil, for Cadwell, don’t forget to bring back the hot-water bottle, Dearest.
LSW
Donington Park 2018
Thursday 2nd August 2018
After taking an hour and forty minutes to do forty miles the pace picked up and we arrived at the circuit at 5pm. Due to a track event we who had garages booked would not be allowed in until 8pm.
The view from where we are parked up is like Italy which was good as that’s what we’d got to look at for the next three hours.
Chris very quickly got restless and decided to unload the RPS and push it to scrutineering wearing the paddock stand round his neck. I told Lou he was on his way in case he had a cardiac arrest as it was uphill all the way.
Well, the ‘you can get into the circuit at 8pm’ was bollocks. We got to the garage at 9:20pm. And when they did start to admit us, people who’d just arrived were being let in before us! We didn’t eat until 10.45pm.
Friday 3rd August 2018
Having the extra day this meeting meant there was a non-qualifying practice first thing. This was handy for Alan as he felt the bike was missing and came in for Chris to check it. Finding nothing Chris opened it up to ten and held it there. That seemed to clear away the cobwebs and RPS was ready for first timed practice.
I am always grateful to Sarah for each meeting’s worth of Alan’s track time info but so long has passed since Donington that it is particularly invaluable for this diary as I can’t remember a thing.
Qualifying practice for the F750 went well with Alan coming 8th out of 41 and finishing 4th in class with a fastest lap time of 1:22.568.
In the 1300 Alan felt the RPS was missing again and finished 14th out of 24, 6th in class. Fastest lap time 1:27.242. Chris found one of the plugs was a little sooty but there was a small weep from the rocker box to keep an eye on but apart from that all seemed to be okay.
Certainly in the first F750 race the bike ran well with Alan finishing 6th, 4th in class. Best lap 1:21.268.
In the Post Classic 125s Gav did a 1:34.279 in the fourth lap. He always comes in shaking his head but he would grid up in 13th place out of 26 and that can’t be bad.
In the 1300 Alan finished 6th, 2nd in class and when Alan came in I tried to lip-read what he was trying to tell Chris amidst the terrible noise around us. It was either pissing or missing... it was missing. Some electrical component was breaking down and having back to back races made the problem start towards the end of the second race each time. Chris replaced the ignition but it was quiet time so he would have to wait until morning to test it.
Post Classic 125s and Gav was disappointed with his 8th in class. Pretty much the same lap times, but it’s a war out there in the 125s.
That night the drunks were out of order. The men and women who think it’s okay to argue and shout for three quarters of an hour once they’ve been turned out of the club house. Some bloke got his knickers in a state because another had shown him disrespect! What would they know about respect! They come out of the bar and go back to their camp, wake everyone up, then play their crap music and talk bollocks loudly and bore the crap out of us with their inane drivel. How many of these who are racing would pass a breathalyser the next morning? The CRMC is so particular about safety. Well, some of these drunks are out with your loved ones on the track. The people with generators are made to turn them off at 11pm and someone should police the drunks and throw them out if they also don’t shut up at that time. We all spend a lot of money for the racing year and if you are constantly knackered from not getting enough sleep it does not help with safety or success. I’m all for people having a good time but it’s a race meeting not a bloody party so piss-off piss-heads.
Saturday 4th August 2018
Alan missed practice so Chris could strobe the RPS so the F750 warm-up lap would be the moment of truth.
F750 – Red-flagged for a rider stopped on the track. This was really unfortunate as Alan was 3rd in class. A big high-side for Alan in the re-run held him back but he stayed on and finished 4th in class.
1300s – A great race and a 2nd in class, starting 15th on the grid and finishing 5th. Best lap 1:21.253. Chris seems to have sorted the ‘missing’ problem.
In the next F750 it was looking like Alan was going to finished 2nd in class until he had to take avoiding action and went on the grass. He finished 5th in class, but did a fastest lap of 1:20.887! George broke his arm in that race.
Richard and Sandra Peckett were at the circuit this weekend and Alan was doing well. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, and a dry track.
We had the ‘noisy bikes’ a couple of garages away from us and it was painful. What’s that all about? They sound dreadful, and there’s all these blokes standing right next to the things, with no ear protection and no sense, oohing and aahing. Don’t let them do it, girls! It makes their already selective hearing even worse.
Gav’s chain came off during his race and chewed the sprocket giving him something to do that afternoon. He just shook his head and got on with it.
Prize-giving was excruciatingly embarrassing for Alan. We’ll have to make him a little mask or some Elton John spectacles.
Sunday 5th August 2018
1300s – These nine lap races seem to go on forever. We can hardly bear the excitement. A great 2nd in class to start the day.
1300s – I could hear the Majors in the stand on the other side of the track from our garage!
Post Classic 125s – What an amazing race. In the tower Graham and Jono were going mental. In all the mayhem Gav finished 4th in class and knocked two seconds off his previous times with a fastest lap of 1:32.032. A smile at last from Gav.
Some guys came into the garage to look at the RPS and pointed out there was a puddle under it. Chris had forgotten to open the petrol cap and the tank had pressurised itself. Petrol had found a weak spot and was dripping out steadily. Gav came over and blew into the tank with a tube so Chris knew where to put the weld. It did it again before the day was through.
Final races:
F750 – 3rd in class. Alan is 2nd in the championship.
1300s – 2nd in class. Alan is 1st in championship.
Post Classic 125 – 3rd in class – well done, Gav. He is now 2nd in the championship.
We’re so proud of you both.
(Can you tell the dinner’s almost ready?)
Catch you all at The Big Toilet – that’s Mallory to those who’ve never been camping in their sewage.
LSW
Darley Moor 2018
Friday 6th July 2018
Leaving at 9am we thought the traffic would be a little dodgy but we had a really quick journey with one stop at the services near Donington.
The usual annoyances along the way; the Commonwealth Coaches driver who drove very slowly for miles in the middle lane and the Audi owner who prevented anyone entering the remaining caravan bay at the services because he wanted to leave his car in the shade.
This weekend Chris planned to fit the North’s wheels with his newly made magnesium hubs with aluminium nipples. It all to do with reducing the unsprung weight. He’ll be testing them at the Beezumph next weekend.
He ordered them while he was still racing but never got to use them. Chris is extremely excited about riding at the Beezumph and he plans to do a track day at Cadwell in September.
We arrived at the circuit at midday and I had a look round to assess the advantages and disadvantaged of parking to the left or the right of the road. Chris gets very irritated that I need about ten minutes to do this but it is really important to everyone’s comfort and our proximity to the spectating areas around the track. So if you’d all tell him to wind his neck in and shut up about it I will hopefully continue to find the team a good spot to settle in. Shade won my vote in the end and we spread out under the trees.
Gav and Lou arrived and Gav slipped into the first of his outfits of the weekend. He set off to do his scrutineering wearing a mid-blue boiler suit while Lou got to work prepping the bus for the weekend, which takes a while when one is it doing by one’s self.
Lou passed the gazebo asking where the nearest water was. I said there was a tap outside the toilet block and off she went. It was only when she came back sometime later with two containers full that I realised that it would have been nice of me if I’d gone with her and helped. Sorry Lou. Next time.
Scrutineering over for the day, Gav shed the overalls and put on a pair of abstract patterned Bermudas and a T-shirt and Marshal Neil pulled up in his car to go shopping as I’d forgotten to bring coffee. We sat in the car while Neil fiddled with the Supermarket Ap which immediately said ‘welcome to Oulton Park’. He decided to use the sat nav and off we went.
The supermarkets don’t half shut early in the country! After several circuits around Ashbourne town centre and a reasonable amount of swearing we were directed to an Aldi, our favourite, and it was open. After a quick fuel stop we returned to Darley and spent a sociable couple of hours with the team before bedtime.
Saturday 7th July
Gav, sporting lightweight taupe Italian cut trousers and a crisp, white, flowing, half-placket shirt and technical officer’s sleeveless high-vis, headed off to noise-testing. By the end of the weekend his shirt looked as white as when he’d put it on. I don’t know how he managed it.
There was a cool breeze blowing and, with all the windows open, my caravan was icy cold. It was lovely.
The PA was not all that good and we were to have trouble understanding the calls once bikes had started.
This weekend everything was about keeping cool and well watered. Alan was hiding behind his car and moving round it to dodge the sun until he ran out of space. The RPS back tyre was hotter than he would get it all weekend.
Sarah started her log book and put on the live timing as Alan headed to the holding area for the F750 practice/qualifying.
Alan got in four laps, qualifying third, before pulling over with oil on the foot peg. The ride back in the recovery van was perilous for Alan as he had to sit on the bike and hold it up as the van bumped and rocked its way to the paddock. He had to put his hand on the side of the van so he didn’t drop the bike.
Kevan started cleaning parts of the bike while Chris changed the rocker feed again as it wasn’t sealing. Kevan hitched up the sides at the back of the gazebo to cool the place down and I gave Alan a towel to recline upon between races.
By 12.30pm the sun was over the trees and we had shade for the rest of the day which was a mercy and Gav told us, frequently, about the colour of his wee. He said that it was a nice colour.
Alan qualified 18th on the grid in the 1300s and Gav 11th in the 125.
Alan led for a lap and a half in race 1 F750, then George overtook and kept in front. Alan finished 3rd and 3rd in class.
Race 1 1300s – Alan finished 14th and 2nd in class.
Race 1 MT125 and Gav led for two and a half laps and finished 3rd in class. Fastest lap 1:08.
In race 2 F750 Alan said he wanted to find the limit. He found it at Paddock corner where he left the seat. Pants still pure, he finished 5th in class and 5th on the track.
Gav really pushed himself in his second race and got a 2nd in class.
Race 2. 1300s. DNS> The bikes were re-gridding after the warm up and as the flag was just about to drop the RPS clutch cable snapped and Alan immediately raised his arm. The start line marshal just stood there doing nothing so the riders who weren’t able to see Alan’s raised arm started to leave the line. Everyone was shouting ‘Stop! Stop!’ and the red flag was put out. The other marshal started on Alan and shouted ‘Push it. Push it’ and Alan said he couldn’t as he had no clutch and it was in gear. For a short while there was mayhem. We noticed on Sunday there were five marshals on the start line instead of two!
Once the bike was back Chris, hoping the nipple had a little of the cable still on it, started fishing about through the side of the casing with a magnet but eventually gave up. He and Alan laid the bike on its side and once the cover was off Chris found it.
All Saturday we had Marshal Neil opposite our spectating spot. He was in a Faraday cage and looked like an orangutan. When the safety car did a lap at the start of racing and all the marshals have to show their flags, Neil stuck the flag through the hole in the cage and dropped it and could only point at it from inside the cage as the car went by.
Sunday 8th July
Today Marshal Neil has changed his job description to Recovery Support to give his wrists a break from flag-waving. He thinks it’s giving him arthritis.
Race 1 F750. Alan came 3rd in class. Alan’s fastest lap 1:05. Alan adjusted his position on the line so he could see the flag properly as they were a bit tightly packed on the grid.
Race 1 1300s. Graham Higlett’s bike broke as he went for the line. Gary Porter pulled in at the Hairpin. Alan took full advantage and got a 3rd in class.
Race 2 F750. I don’t have a time sheet for that.
Race 2 1300s. Four laps in there was suddenly a huge cloud of dust at the end of the first straight. A rider had crashed and the race was red-flagged. There was oil to be cleaned up before Gav’s race could go out so they called it at four laps and Alan got 1st in class.
Another spectacularly good weekend of results from Alan.
Gav has moved up to being in 2nd place in his championship and Alan is 2nd in the F750 and 2nd in the 1300s.
Thank you team for helping us look for the mislaid van key.
Beezumph next weekend at Anglesey, then Donington in mid August.
Major Chaos wish Cormac a speedy recovery after his endurance accident.
And Neil, don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
Leaving at 9am we thought the traffic would be a little dodgy but we had a really quick journey with one stop at the services near Donington.
The usual annoyances along the way; the Commonwealth Coaches driver who drove very slowly for miles in the middle lane and the Audi owner who prevented anyone entering the remaining caravan bay at the services because he wanted to leave his car in the shade.
This weekend Chris planned to fit the North’s wheels with his newly made magnesium hubs with aluminium nipples. It all to do with reducing the unsprung weight. He’ll be testing them at the Beezumph next weekend.
He ordered them while he was still racing but never got to use them. Chris is extremely excited about riding at the Beezumph and he plans to do a track day at Cadwell in September.
We arrived at the circuit at midday and I had a look round to assess the advantages and disadvantaged of parking to the left or the right of the road. Chris gets very irritated that I need about ten minutes to do this but it is really important to everyone’s comfort and our proximity to the spectating areas around the track. So if you’d all tell him to wind his neck in and shut up about it I will hopefully continue to find the team a good spot to settle in. Shade won my vote in the end and we spread out under the trees.
Gav and Lou arrived and Gav slipped into the first of his outfits of the weekend. He set off to do his scrutineering wearing a mid-blue boiler suit while Lou got to work prepping the bus for the weekend, which takes a while when one is it doing by one’s self.
Lou passed the gazebo asking where the nearest water was. I said there was a tap outside the toilet block and off she went. It was only when she came back sometime later with two containers full that I realised that it would have been nice of me if I’d gone with her and helped. Sorry Lou. Next time.
Scrutineering over for the day, Gav shed the overalls and put on a pair of abstract patterned Bermudas and a T-shirt and Marshal Neil pulled up in his car to go shopping as I’d forgotten to bring coffee. We sat in the car while Neil fiddled with the Supermarket Ap which immediately said ‘welcome to Oulton Park’. He decided to use the sat nav and off we went.
The supermarkets don’t half shut early in the country! After several circuits around Ashbourne town centre and a reasonable amount of swearing we were directed to an Aldi, our favourite, and it was open. After a quick fuel stop we returned to Darley and spent a sociable couple of hours with the team before bedtime.
Saturday 7th July
Gav, sporting lightweight taupe Italian cut trousers and a crisp, white, flowing, half-placket shirt and technical officer’s sleeveless high-vis, headed off to noise-testing. By the end of the weekend his shirt looked as white as when he’d put it on. I don’t know how he managed it.
There was a cool breeze blowing and, with all the windows open, my caravan was icy cold. It was lovely.
The PA was not all that good and we were to have trouble understanding the calls once bikes had started.
This weekend everything was about keeping cool and well watered. Alan was hiding behind his car and moving round it to dodge the sun until he ran out of space. The RPS back tyre was hotter than he would get it all weekend.
Sarah started her log book and put on the live timing as Alan headed to the holding area for the F750 practice/qualifying.
Alan got in four laps, qualifying third, before pulling over with oil on the foot peg. The ride back in the recovery van was perilous for Alan as he had to sit on the bike and hold it up as the van bumped and rocked its way to the paddock. He had to put his hand on the side of the van so he didn’t drop the bike.
Kevan started cleaning parts of the bike while Chris changed the rocker feed again as it wasn’t sealing. Kevan hitched up the sides at the back of the gazebo to cool the place down and I gave Alan a towel to recline upon between races.
By 12.30pm the sun was over the trees and we had shade for the rest of the day which was a mercy and Gav told us, frequently, about the colour of his wee. He said that it was a nice colour.
Alan qualified 18th on the grid in the 1300s and Gav 11th in the 125.
Alan led for a lap and a half in race 1 F750, then George overtook and kept in front. Alan finished 3rd and 3rd in class.
Race 1 1300s – Alan finished 14th and 2nd in class.
Race 1 MT125 and Gav led for two and a half laps and finished 3rd in class. Fastest lap 1:08.
In race 2 F750 Alan said he wanted to find the limit. He found it at Paddock corner where he left the seat. Pants still pure, he finished 5th in class and 5th on the track.
Gav really pushed himself in his second race and got a 2nd in class.
Race 2. 1300s. DNS> The bikes were re-gridding after the warm up and as the flag was just about to drop the RPS clutch cable snapped and Alan immediately raised his arm. The start line marshal just stood there doing nothing so the riders who weren’t able to see Alan’s raised arm started to leave the line. Everyone was shouting ‘Stop! Stop!’ and the red flag was put out. The other marshal started on Alan and shouted ‘Push it. Push it’ and Alan said he couldn’t as he had no clutch and it was in gear. For a short while there was mayhem. We noticed on Sunday there were five marshals on the start line instead of two!
Once the bike was back Chris, hoping the nipple had a little of the cable still on it, started fishing about through the side of the casing with a magnet but eventually gave up. He and Alan laid the bike on its side and once the cover was off Chris found it.
All Saturday we had Marshal Neil opposite our spectating spot. He was in a Faraday cage and looked like an orangutan. When the safety car did a lap at the start of racing and all the marshals have to show their flags, Neil stuck the flag through the hole in the cage and dropped it and could only point at it from inside the cage as the car went by.
Sunday 8th July
Today Marshal Neil has changed his job description to Recovery Support to give his wrists a break from flag-waving. He thinks it’s giving him arthritis.
Race 1 F750. Alan came 3rd in class. Alan’s fastest lap 1:05. Alan adjusted his position on the line so he could see the flag properly as they were a bit tightly packed on the grid.
Race 1 1300s. Graham Higlett’s bike broke as he went for the line. Gary Porter pulled in at the Hairpin. Alan took full advantage and got a 3rd in class.
Race 2 F750. I don’t have a time sheet for that.
Race 2 1300s. Four laps in there was suddenly a huge cloud of dust at the end of the first straight. A rider had crashed and the race was red-flagged. There was oil to be cleaned up before Gav’s race could go out so they called it at four laps and Alan got 1st in class.
Another spectacularly good weekend of results from Alan.
Gav has moved up to being in 2nd place in his championship and Alan is 2nd in the F750 and 2nd in the 1300s.
Thank you team for helping us look for the mislaid van key.
Beezumph next weekend at Anglesey, then Donington in mid August.
Major Chaos wish Cormac a speedy recovery after his endurance accident.
And Neil, don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
Oulton Park 2018
Thursday 24th May 2018
Once we’d got past Heathrow we had a most reasonable journey considering it was verging on a Bank Holiday weekend and Half Term.
Arriving at 3.55pm we were turned away from the circuit and told to wait elsewhere until 5.30pm and thirty yards away we managed to totally pull off the road and park up. The tiny lanes very quickly became lined with racers’ vehicle and trailers parked on the road.
At 4.45pm a police bike passed us and at 5pm a circuit car drove up and signalled we could go into the circuit. We were only the fifth vehicle to enter the paddock and as it was very hot we settled under the shade of some large trees where there was a strip of grass perfect for Martin’s tent.
We took a long time to set up as the gazebo was showing signs of wear and tear and needed attention.
Gav and Lou arrived late evening towing Chris' trailer with the Rob North and Gav’s bikes on it. It had been a long day so we headed to our beds as soon as we could.
Friday 25th May - track day
I was woken at 4.20am wishing I’d packed a twelve-bore. The trees, while offering us shade, housed a nest of young and hungry jackdaws which clucked loudly until they were fed. Barely two hours later they were hungry again. I stuffed my chain-saw earplugs further down my ears and thought of jackdaw pie and chips.
We’d had a lot of rain by the time everyone was up and it kept going until around 2pm; the gazebo protesting and pouring little riverlets of water onto the chairs and their unsuspecting occupants. We re-proofed the roof in 2017 and I am sure it is condensation running down the roof seams from boiling the kettle and people breathing as it is only the living-room end of the gazebo where it happens.
Neither Chris nor Alan had been to Oulton before and it was a shame it was such a filthy day. The boys got soaked very quickly and Chris had to wring out his socks and underpants at the end of the day. He said there’s nothing like having your special areas sitting in wet pants for eight hours. Chris and Alan said they were only just starting to get the hang of the track by the end of the day, it was so complicated.
It’s ten years since the CRMC was last at Oulton Park. We were not allowed to race two days in succession here, so Sunday would be a Family Fun Day with entertainment laid on, also there would be only three races per class this meeting. Personally I could have done without a day doing nothing on the Sunday.
The track is nearly three miles long and very technical. Chris and Mark George were talking and described it as Cadwell Park on steroids. Lots of blind crests and elevations.
Marshal Neil Boorman was intrigued to be back at Oulton. It was here ten years ago he first caught the classic racing bug. He became a marshal and he knows the circuit well. It was for him a weekend full of nostalgia. During the track day the Majors were checking out the best places to spectate from so they were ready for Saturday.
Friday evening everyone went to walk the track and I stayed to prepare some supper. I’d left the saucepans at home and Rod lent me his pack of pots which were perfect. It was lovely to have a warm and dry evening.
An early start Saturday meant we couldn’t stay up too late but we all had a catch up in the gazebo which was like a laundry by then and Alan and Jade headed off to their hotel, and to try to dry his gloves and boots.
Saturday 26th May
Qualifying/practice F750. On a dry track Alan completed four laps and the RPS cold air feed hose came loose, got trapped between the fairing and the steering lock and he could only steer one way and had to fight his way back to the paddock. He achieved 8th place on the grid with a 2.07:396. 4th in class.
Gav finished his qualifying with a 3rd in class; a good start to what we hoped would be a meeting to make him forget the other two meetings. (oops. I’ve just reminded him)
Qual/practice 1300s. Alan qualified 16th with a 2.07:907. 3rd in class. He said it was scary (though he was one of the very few to not duck his head as he went under the bridges).
F750 race 1. Alan started 8th on the grid. Finished 7th. 4th in class. Best lap 2.01:569
1300s race 1. He made up ten places in the first lap and finished 1st in class with a fastest lap of 2.03:065. Graham Higlett had gear box trouble, poor chap.
At prize-giving that evening Alan and Gav were cheered extremely loudly by the team. Alan was hiding outside when his name was called and quickly shot off again, thoroughly embarrassed.
We stayed up later that night and Alan presented Chris with the hipflask he’d won. Chris was terribly touched and he filled it with sloe gin and ceremoniously passed it round.
We had the day off Sunday. Martin went home as he was doing a bike run on the Monday and Chris and I went shopping for Gav’s 'one day before his birthday’ BBQ that evening.
Chris plugged my mobile into the invertor in the back of the van and, thinking he’d finished, I pulled down the back door with all my strength as he came back round and stuck his head under it. He went down like a sack of spuds and saw tweety-birds. He’s still got the lump on his head.
That evening Gav and Chris manned the BBQs and Lou and her friend had prepared all the trimmings and we had a super meal.
Lou had said how good the showers were and had checked out the mens’ too; only realising her mistake when she saw a row of urinals on the wall. The showers were fine but the drains need cleaning so that your feet don’t end up ankle deep in water.
Monday 28th May
F750 race 2. Alan was really getting the hang of it now. Starting 6th on the grid he finished 6th and a brilliant 3rd in class with a best lap of 1.59:295. I couldn’t help but notice the extremely relaxed style in which George H-R crossed the line three and a half seconds in front with his left hand resting on his thigh.
MT 125 race 2 and Gav kept up the good work with 4th in class after some scary moments.
1300s race 2. Alan said he did not get a good start. During the first lap George’s XR69 seemed to pressurise the oil system and laid some oil on the track. Realising there was a problem George pulled over but a number of bikes went down and John Warwick’s bike burst into flames. Alan, just going under a rider in the chicane, slid on the oil, nearly lost it and went onto the grass. If he’d been on the racing line he’d have been off. I was watching the race from the pit wall but the Majors were all in the stand where the incident happened and saw it all.
I watched the remaining riders re-grid. They sat sweating in the hot sun, Alan holding the throttle with his left hand as he had repetitive strain injury in his right wrist and was trying to save it.
Chris arrived with the starter and there was a delay while the track was cleaned.
In the re-run Alan finished 1st in class, starting 16th and finishing 6th! with a best lap of 2.01:217.
F750 race 3. Started 5th, finished 6th, 3rd in class with a brilliant best lap of 2.00:350.
Gav got another 4th in class and was a second quicker every race and went up two places in the championship, and stayed on. An excellent weekend for Gav.
1300s race 3. Alan, his right wrist just managing to last, got another 3rd in class with a best lap of 2.01:535.
Gav finishes 4th in the MT125 only six points off 3rd place.
Alan lies in 2nd place in the F750 and 2nd place in the 1300 – he’ll have to keep doing it now. Don’t use your wrist until next month for ANYTHING, Alan. Nothing is as important as this.
We got home at 10pm and had to detach the caravan to get it into our road. Then the mover started to play up and we had to push the caravan up the last bit of the drive. The left mover’s motor was working but the gear box had broken so Chris has had to order another.
Thank you Sarah for the race info.
See you all at Darley Moor in July. And Neil - Don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
Once we’d got past Heathrow we had a most reasonable journey considering it was verging on a Bank Holiday weekend and Half Term.
Arriving at 3.55pm we were turned away from the circuit and told to wait elsewhere until 5.30pm and thirty yards away we managed to totally pull off the road and park up. The tiny lanes very quickly became lined with racers’ vehicle and trailers parked on the road.
At 4.45pm a police bike passed us and at 5pm a circuit car drove up and signalled we could go into the circuit. We were only the fifth vehicle to enter the paddock and as it was very hot we settled under the shade of some large trees where there was a strip of grass perfect for Martin’s tent.
We took a long time to set up as the gazebo was showing signs of wear and tear and needed attention.
Gav and Lou arrived late evening towing Chris' trailer with the Rob North and Gav’s bikes on it. It had been a long day so we headed to our beds as soon as we could.
Friday 25th May - track day
I was woken at 4.20am wishing I’d packed a twelve-bore. The trees, while offering us shade, housed a nest of young and hungry jackdaws which clucked loudly until they were fed. Barely two hours later they were hungry again. I stuffed my chain-saw earplugs further down my ears and thought of jackdaw pie and chips.
We’d had a lot of rain by the time everyone was up and it kept going until around 2pm; the gazebo protesting and pouring little riverlets of water onto the chairs and their unsuspecting occupants. We re-proofed the roof in 2017 and I am sure it is condensation running down the roof seams from boiling the kettle and people breathing as it is only the living-room end of the gazebo where it happens.
Neither Chris nor Alan had been to Oulton before and it was a shame it was such a filthy day. The boys got soaked very quickly and Chris had to wring out his socks and underpants at the end of the day. He said there’s nothing like having your special areas sitting in wet pants for eight hours. Chris and Alan said they were only just starting to get the hang of the track by the end of the day, it was so complicated.
It’s ten years since the CRMC was last at Oulton Park. We were not allowed to race two days in succession here, so Sunday would be a Family Fun Day with entertainment laid on, also there would be only three races per class this meeting. Personally I could have done without a day doing nothing on the Sunday.
The track is nearly three miles long and very technical. Chris and Mark George were talking and described it as Cadwell Park on steroids. Lots of blind crests and elevations.
Marshal Neil Boorman was intrigued to be back at Oulton. It was here ten years ago he first caught the classic racing bug. He became a marshal and he knows the circuit well. It was for him a weekend full of nostalgia. During the track day the Majors were checking out the best places to spectate from so they were ready for Saturday.
Friday evening everyone went to walk the track and I stayed to prepare some supper. I’d left the saucepans at home and Rod lent me his pack of pots which were perfect. It was lovely to have a warm and dry evening.
An early start Saturday meant we couldn’t stay up too late but we all had a catch up in the gazebo which was like a laundry by then and Alan and Jade headed off to their hotel, and to try to dry his gloves and boots.
Saturday 26th May
Qualifying/practice F750. On a dry track Alan completed four laps and the RPS cold air feed hose came loose, got trapped between the fairing and the steering lock and he could only steer one way and had to fight his way back to the paddock. He achieved 8th place on the grid with a 2.07:396. 4th in class.
Gav finished his qualifying with a 3rd in class; a good start to what we hoped would be a meeting to make him forget the other two meetings. (oops. I’ve just reminded him)
Qual/practice 1300s. Alan qualified 16th with a 2.07:907. 3rd in class. He said it was scary (though he was one of the very few to not duck his head as he went under the bridges).
F750 race 1. Alan started 8th on the grid. Finished 7th. 4th in class. Best lap 2.01:569
1300s race 1. He made up ten places in the first lap and finished 1st in class with a fastest lap of 2.03:065. Graham Higlett had gear box trouble, poor chap.
At prize-giving that evening Alan and Gav were cheered extremely loudly by the team. Alan was hiding outside when his name was called and quickly shot off again, thoroughly embarrassed.
We stayed up later that night and Alan presented Chris with the hipflask he’d won. Chris was terribly touched and he filled it with sloe gin and ceremoniously passed it round.
We had the day off Sunday. Martin went home as he was doing a bike run on the Monday and Chris and I went shopping for Gav’s 'one day before his birthday’ BBQ that evening.
Chris plugged my mobile into the invertor in the back of the van and, thinking he’d finished, I pulled down the back door with all my strength as he came back round and stuck his head under it. He went down like a sack of spuds and saw tweety-birds. He’s still got the lump on his head.
That evening Gav and Chris manned the BBQs and Lou and her friend had prepared all the trimmings and we had a super meal.
Lou had said how good the showers were and had checked out the mens’ too; only realising her mistake when she saw a row of urinals on the wall. The showers were fine but the drains need cleaning so that your feet don’t end up ankle deep in water.
Monday 28th May
F750 race 2. Alan was really getting the hang of it now. Starting 6th on the grid he finished 6th and a brilliant 3rd in class with a best lap of 1.59:295. I couldn’t help but notice the extremely relaxed style in which George H-R crossed the line three and a half seconds in front with his left hand resting on his thigh.
MT 125 race 2 and Gav kept up the good work with 4th in class after some scary moments.
1300s race 2. Alan said he did not get a good start. During the first lap George’s XR69 seemed to pressurise the oil system and laid some oil on the track. Realising there was a problem George pulled over but a number of bikes went down and John Warwick’s bike burst into flames. Alan, just going under a rider in the chicane, slid on the oil, nearly lost it and went onto the grass. If he’d been on the racing line he’d have been off. I was watching the race from the pit wall but the Majors were all in the stand where the incident happened and saw it all.
I watched the remaining riders re-grid. They sat sweating in the hot sun, Alan holding the throttle with his left hand as he had repetitive strain injury in his right wrist and was trying to save it.
Chris arrived with the starter and there was a delay while the track was cleaned.
In the re-run Alan finished 1st in class, starting 16th and finishing 6th! with a best lap of 2.01:217.
F750 race 3. Started 5th, finished 6th, 3rd in class with a brilliant best lap of 2.00:350.
Gav got another 4th in class and was a second quicker every race and went up two places in the championship, and stayed on. An excellent weekend for Gav.
1300s race 3. Alan, his right wrist just managing to last, got another 3rd in class with a best lap of 2.01:535.
Gav finishes 4th in the MT125 only six points off 3rd place.
Alan lies in 2nd place in the F750 and 2nd place in the 1300 – he’ll have to keep doing it now. Don’t use your wrist until next month for ANYTHING, Alan. Nothing is as important as this.
We got home at 10pm and had to detach the caravan to get it into our road. Then the mover started to play up and we had to push the caravan up the last bit of the drive. The left mover’s motor was working but the gear box had broken so Chris has had to order another.
Thank you Sarah for the race info.
See you all at Darley Moor in July. And Neil - Don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
Snetterton 2018
Thursday 26th – Friday 27th April 2018
You leave at 9.30pm all smug, expecting to have an easy journey and they go and shut roads you need to use. The M11 was shut between J8 and 10 and we wanted J9. Our diversion took us almost into Colchester!
As we were sitting for an hour waiting to come off the M11 Graham Redrup phoned to say part of the A11 was closed. We had to go to Braintree and head for Bury St Edmonds.
We got to bed at ten to four. It was raining and cold and it seemed to take longer than usual to get the caravan sorted. I have a broken right thumb and getting the RPS out of the caravan was tricky but it eventually came safely down the ramp with only minor excruciating pain inflicted on me. Then it rained a lot.
The team arrived during Friday and there was plenty of room for all.
Graham had spread himself out wonderfully selfishly and we were able to have cars parked around us to tie the gazebo to as the wind increased over the weekend.
A reasonable quantity of oil was spread on the circuit during the Friday test day and it was to affect the meeting’s riders most of the weekend.
Saturday 28th April 2018
Raining. So glad we’re not on grass. The mud!! Those poor bastards.
Gav was very brave and was the first to fire up his bike in the paddock. It’s always nerve-wracking when no-one amongst us can agree on the time it can happen.
Gav slid off in qualifying/practice but still qualified 3rd. His black patent rain suit has lost its newness.
Alan Qualified 15th out of 26 with a 1.58 in the 1300s and 16th out of 26 with a 1.58:754 in the F750s.
It was horrible out there; slippery and cold and wet. Alan’s boots and socks were soaked by the end of qualifying and we tried to tempt him into a pair of Chris’ but he never got around to it.
There were long oil-spillage delays and Sally Russell voice came over the PA and pleaded “would you all check your oil lines are done up!”. Come on boys. It’s not rocket science.
Alan, to get more practice, had booked the four races in the 1300s. He set off to the holding area for the first one and we met him as he was heading back to the gazebo; white smoke pouring out of the silencer. Chris put his hand over it and said it wasn’t oil but thought it was to do with there being so much rain. Alan managed to get out on the track for the sighting lap but came in having seen the oil pressure warning light come on. He had a long push to get the bike level with the holding area then Chris took over and got it back to the gazebo. The fairing was full of water and the collector box was sitting in it and creating masses of steam. The oil pressure warning light came on due to the huge quantity of water making a connection between the two terminals of the switch.
Gav started fourth on the grid in his first race and finished third. His highest ever.
In his first wet F750 Alan, 16th on the grid, Finished 14th and 4th in class.
Second 1300s and the rain stopped for a while but on a still wet track and starting 26th, due to the DNF, Alan cruised through the pack to finish 15th and 3rd in class with a fastest lap time of 1.51:423.
Race 2 in the 125s, Gav slid off again in the wet and is now buying his brake levers in pairs. It was very unfortunate because there were so many DNFs Gav could have got a 1st in class and Lou experienced feelings which were alien to her and I knew exactly what she was suffering. Gav said his leathers are now Kawasaki-green with a hint of tarmac.
We were having a longer break than expected from the rain but there had been mass fallers. Alan said really enjoyed his 2nd F750 race. On a drying track, starting 15th, he finished 6th; 4th in class with a fastest lap time of 1.45:239. A brilliant win by Graham Higlett. Lou and I were on the pit wall leaning out and Rob Whitty shot past nearly taking our heads off. Actually, some of his leads this weekend, particularly in the wet, were nothing short of phenomenal. Marshall Neil arrived for supper and said there had been seventy crashes that day, twenty-six of them at Brundles.
Sunday 29th April 2018
There’s no Brendan and Cormac this weekend. It is always strange without them.
It started sort of dry and Gav had a solo practice first thing on his second bike.
Alan was 13th on the grid in the third 1300s on a dry track. He was 2nd in class when the race was black-flagged. They were held on the grid and the RPS needed re-starting. Chris had been in the holding area with one of the bike’s stands but was some distance away so Alan headed back to the gazebo, leaving a kind stranger holding the RPS. I handed him the spare stand but Chris had arrived by then. When Alan got back to the bike everyone had gone except for the bloke holding up the RPS.
When the race was re-run Alan, having started 13th on the grid, finished 7th: 1st in class! Fastest lap 1.28:845!
Gav was relieved to bring the bike home safely in the 125s and got a 4th in class. He was beginning to make up for the disastrous start to the meeting.
The air temperature was bitter in the afternoon and, tired of hiking to beyond the holding area, I started watching from the hill just beyond the start-finish straight. It was painfully cold up there.
Alan was really going for it and, making the most of a dry track, he really went for it. There’s serious competition in the F750 but, starting 7th, he finished 3rd with another 1st in class. Fastest lap 1.36:509.
It was not to be a good weekend for Gav as, in his third race, his gear-box return spring went. He was already feeling bruised and sore from his offs and this merely rubbed salt into the wound.
The fourth 1300s was in the rain starting with the track half dry. 10th on the grid and finishing 13th Alan got another 4th in class in tricky conditions. Fastest lap 1.39:904.
I had been packing like fury all afternoon and, except for, the tool and spares boxes, which Martin always thought should stay out until the bike had well and truly left for the final race, the gazebo was ready to come down.
Alan had oil on his boot when he came in from the previous race and Chris did his ‘shoe-shine’ thing; giving Alan one boot much shinier than the other. He had a quick look at the bike but didn’t find anything and said he’d check the head at home when he gave the RPS its between-race service.
Alan left for the holding area and Graham and I decided to watch from the pit wall.
Starting 2nd on the grid Alan was 1st in class when he got the ‘Stop Now’ flag. The RPS had a fractured rocker feed. I feel sure he would have got another 1st in class had he been able to finish the race. Alan is currently 2nd in the F750 and Gav is 6th in the 125MT. I still think this will be the best year for Gav; he’s just had an unfortunate start to the season.
It was lovely to see Marshal Ron at the meeting and to have him spend Saturday evening with us.
Thank you, Sarah, for emailing me copies of the pages of your results book. It makes all the difference to the diary.
Great to see Martin Pink who joined us on Sunday to keep his hand in. Let me know next time and I’ll get you a ticket.
Thank you, Graham and Janet for your parking and choice of camp and to all who are Major Chaos for making it such a great weekend.
And Neil – don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
You leave at 9.30pm all smug, expecting to have an easy journey and they go and shut roads you need to use. The M11 was shut between J8 and 10 and we wanted J9. Our diversion took us almost into Colchester!
As we were sitting for an hour waiting to come off the M11 Graham Redrup phoned to say part of the A11 was closed. We had to go to Braintree and head for Bury St Edmonds.
We got to bed at ten to four. It was raining and cold and it seemed to take longer than usual to get the caravan sorted. I have a broken right thumb and getting the RPS out of the caravan was tricky but it eventually came safely down the ramp with only minor excruciating pain inflicted on me. Then it rained a lot.
The team arrived during Friday and there was plenty of room for all.
Graham had spread himself out wonderfully selfishly and we were able to have cars parked around us to tie the gazebo to as the wind increased over the weekend.
A reasonable quantity of oil was spread on the circuit during the Friday test day and it was to affect the meeting’s riders most of the weekend.
Saturday 28th April 2018
Raining. So glad we’re not on grass. The mud!! Those poor bastards.
Gav was very brave and was the first to fire up his bike in the paddock. It’s always nerve-wracking when no-one amongst us can agree on the time it can happen.
Gav slid off in qualifying/practice but still qualified 3rd. His black patent rain suit has lost its newness.
Alan Qualified 15th out of 26 with a 1.58 in the 1300s and 16th out of 26 with a 1.58:754 in the F750s.
It was horrible out there; slippery and cold and wet. Alan’s boots and socks were soaked by the end of qualifying and we tried to tempt him into a pair of Chris’ but he never got around to it.
There were long oil-spillage delays and Sally Russell voice came over the PA and pleaded “would you all check your oil lines are done up!”. Come on boys. It’s not rocket science.
Alan, to get more practice, had booked the four races in the 1300s. He set off to the holding area for the first one and we met him as he was heading back to the gazebo; white smoke pouring out of the silencer. Chris put his hand over it and said it wasn’t oil but thought it was to do with there being so much rain. Alan managed to get out on the track for the sighting lap but came in having seen the oil pressure warning light come on. He had a long push to get the bike level with the holding area then Chris took over and got it back to the gazebo. The fairing was full of water and the collector box was sitting in it and creating masses of steam. The oil pressure warning light came on due to the huge quantity of water making a connection between the two terminals of the switch.
Gav started fourth on the grid in his first race and finished third. His highest ever.
In his first wet F750 Alan, 16th on the grid, Finished 14th and 4th in class.
Second 1300s and the rain stopped for a while but on a still wet track and starting 26th, due to the DNF, Alan cruised through the pack to finish 15th and 3rd in class with a fastest lap time of 1.51:423.
Race 2 in the 125s, Gav slid off again in the wet and is now buying his brake levers in pairs. It was very unfortunate because there were so many DNFs Gav could have got a 1st in class and Lou experienced feelings which were alien to her and I knew exactly what she was suffering. Gav said his leathers are now Kawasaki-green with a hint of tarmac.
We were having a longer break than expected from the rain but there had been mass fallers. Alan said really enjoyed his 2nd F750 race. On a drying track, starting 15th, he finished 6th; 4th in class with a fastest lap time of 1.45:239. A brilliant win by Graham Higlett. Lou and I were on the pit wall leaning out and Rob Whitty shot past nearly taking our heads off. Actually, some of his leads this weekend, particularly in the wet, were nothing short of phenomenal. Marshall Neil arrived for supper and said there had been seventy crashes that day, twenty-six of them at Brundles.
Sunday 29th April 2018
There’s no Brendan and Cormac this weekend. It is always strange without them.
It started sort of dry and Gav had a solo practice first thing on his second bike.
Alan was 13th on the grid in the third 1300s on a dry track. He was 2nd in class when the race was black-flagged. They were held on the grid and the RPS needed re-starting. Chris had been in the holding area with one of the bike’s stands but was some distance away so Alan headed back to the gazebo, leaving a kind stranger holding the RPS. I handed him the spare stand but Chris had arrived by then. When Alan got back to the bike everyone had gone except for the bloke holding up the RPS.
When the race was re-run Alan, having started 13th on the grid, finished 7th: 1st in class! Fastest lap 1.28:845!
Gav was relieved to bring the bike home safely in the 125s and got a 4th in class. He was beginning to make up for the disastrous start to the meeting.
The air temperature was bitter in the afternoon and, tired of hiking to beyond the holding area, I started watching from the hill just beyond the start-finish straight. It was painfully cold up there.
Alan was really going for it and, making the most of a dry track, he really went for it. There’s serious competition in the F750 but, starting 7th, he finished 3rd with another 1st in class. Fastest lap 1.36:509.
It was not to be a good weekend for Gav as, in his third race, his gear-box return spring went. He was already feeling bruised and sore from his offs and this merely rubbed salt into the wound.
The fourth 1300s was in the rain starting with the track half dry. 10th on the grid and finishing 13th Alan got another 4th in class in tricky conditions. Fastest lap 1.39:904.
I had been packing like fury all afternoon and, except for, the tool and spares boxes, which Martin always thought should stay out until the bike had well and truly left for the final race, the gazebo was ready to come down.
Alan had oil on his boot when he came in from the previous race and Chris did his ‘shoe-shine’ thing; giving Alan one boot much shinier than the other. He had a quick look at the bike but didn’t find anything and said he’d check the head at home when he gave the RPS its between-race service.
Alan left for the holding area and Graham and I decided to watch from the pit wall.
Starting 2nd on the grid Alan was 1st in class when he got the ‘Stop Now’ flag. The RPS had a fractured rocker feed. I feel sure he would have got another 1st in class had he been able to finish the race. Alan is currently 2nd in the F750 and Gav is 6th in the 125MT. I still think this will be the best year for Gav; he’s just had an unfortunate start to the season.
It was lovely to see Marshal Ron at the meeting and to have him spend Saturday evening with us.
Thank you, Sarah, for emailing me copies of the pages of your results book. It makes all the difference to the diary.
Great to see Martin Pink who joined us on Sunday to keep his hand in. Let me know next time and I’ll get you a ticket.
Thank you, Graham and Janet for your parking and choice of camp and to all who are Major Chaos for making it such a great weekend.
And Neil – don’t forget the hot water bottle, dearest.
LSW
Pembrey 2018
Thursday 29th March 2018
Welcome to Major Chaos’ first year of racing. Starting at Pembrey before March is out generally means we get a good soaking and the forecast was promising us just that. However, the weather was kind when Chris and I arrived at the circuit. Sunny and still – what more could we ask.
We set up camp in a perfect spot on tarmac in the paddock with plenty of room for the other team members.
Marshal Neil joined us for afternoon tea and the Kidwells arrived before midnight - I took a photo of the garage section of their race bus as there was some extraordinary packing involved there, with two bikes amidst it all!
A lot of rain fell late evening and during the night and many people, arriving in the dark, unwittingly drove their vans and caravans onto the grass and there they stayed until the tractor pulled them out in the morning.
This year the CRMC supplied generators. They were randomly placed on the grassed areas in the paddock and, like wasps to jam, the late comers were attracted to them. If they were lucky enough to have got most of their vehicle off the road before they sank into the mud they were happy to leave it like that until the end of the meeting, then ask around for bodies to help them push. Kevan and Chris did a remarkable job with the collection of hook-up leads we had between all of us as we were some distance away from the nearest generator. When eventually it fired up, we were pleased to be that distance away.
We are now sponsoring a marshal while we are racing. Ours is Neil Boorman. You can sponsor a marshal in many ways. We like to keep ours warm, comfortable and well-fed. We have a fleece inner for him to put into his sleeping bag and, during the cold meetings, a hot water bottle to keep him snug at night – any little thing to make the grottier race meetings easier for him to bear. We are rewarded by his love and appreciation and wonderful stories of his life and entertaining anecdotes. Sorry we’ve nabbed the best one but there are plenty of other marshals to choose from.
Friday 30th March - Test day
Gav was out first in the wet and bravely stripped off in the gazebo. His little nipples pinged out as he gasped at the cold air hitting him. He had a good test day and just had to put the bike on the bench to check a weep in the base gasket which he decided to change.
First time ever on the RPS, on a damp track, Alan took it steady for his opening laps then his sister, Sarah, started to note his lap times.
First session – lap 3 1.32:30 second session – lap 3 1.19:26 third session – lap 3 1.17:02 fourth session – lap 3 1.19:80
4 1.31:22 4 1.22:06 4 1.15:06 5 1.15:10
5 1.29:27 5 1.20:74 5 1.15:33 8 1.14:20
6 1.29:18 6 1.18:14 7 1.15:95 11 1.14:88
8 1.28:00 9 1.17:67 8 1.14:48 14 1.15:25
9 1.28:40 10 1.17:61 9 1.14:29 16 1.13:10
11 1.16:10 17 1.13:03
Alan decided to miss his last session due to an oil spillage. This was due to someone neither tightening nor lock-wiring their gear-box drain plug. It was a shame because Cormac had offered to lead Alan for a few laps in the last session.
Alan did say he thought he’d have got the hang of the RPS after a few months and I thought ‘that’s going to be a bit boring but whatever it takes....’. Having seen his test day progress I think he enormously under-estimated himself.
After lunch Marshal Neil went to his tent for a nap. I decided to read my book in the caravan, woke up three hours later and prepared supper. We’d eaten by 6.30pm. Lou, who spent the afternoon in a similar fashion to myself, was surprised that we’d already got supper out of the way. Normally we get it around 9pm. Things are looking up! Chris, who’d been on the go all day, was absolutely knackered and we all had an early night.
Saturday 31st March
More rain overnight leaving huge stretches of water in the paddock. ‘Timed Practice’ first thing - (don’t get me going on that subject) so it sets the positions for the first race, and each race after that you start on the grid in the position you achieved in the previous race.
After only a couple of sessions, a side-car dropped such a massive amount of oil round the track, qualifying was suspended while a clear-up was put into motion. It took so long to clean the track Gav and Alan didn’t get out until after lunch. The race schedule was altered in an effort to fit it all in by the end of the weekend. If you have seen ‘The Meaning of Life’ by Monty Python, it was a bit like the ‘putting your clothes on the lower peg’ sketch.
I must get the boys to pick up three time-sheets from now on so I can get Gav’s qualifying and race results. Gav said he was disappointed with his qualifying so he might not mind it not being mentioned this time. I will get my act together next meeting Gav.
Alan / qualifying practice F750. Having done a 1.29:123 in the first lap Alan qualified with a 1.13:688 in his seventh lap, qualifying 9th out of a grid of 18.
Alan / qualifying practice ACU race. His first lap was a 1.21:332 and he qualified with a 1.12:476 in his seventh lap, qualifying 19th out of a grid of 24.
Due to the oil delay there would be only one race for each class that day. Gav and Chris went to fire up the MT which hydraulically locked and split the barrel. Gav got out his spare bike, swapped its wheels for his no. 1 bike’s and booked a practice for Sunday morning.
In his first Classic 1300 Cormac lost the clutch on the 930, due to the nut on the end of the gear-box main-shaft coming undone. It’s a shame, because he would have cleaned up in that race.
In the F750 Alan was disappointed in his start, but it was the first ever he’d done on the RPS. He started 9th on the grid, finished 6th, 5th in class. Fastest lap 1.09:626 (Alan. You were the only person who was disappointed. The rest of us were going crazy). What a superb start to the weekend!
We had a team gathering that evening and we all headed off to bed as the rain came down.
Sunday 1st April
I have never watched so much racing in my life and I only missed one of our boys’ all weekend. That one happened to be one Gav was particularly proud of and I was cleaning the caravan’s toilet at the time. I was sad to admit it to him, but these things have to be done if you are storing your duvet on it when travelling.
Alan, in the King of Classics (which in previous years was the ‘National’ and then the ‘UK Classic’) 19th on the grid, finished 13th, fastest lap 1.09:604.
F750 6th on the grid, finished 4th, 4th in class.
Sprinkles of rain as the RPS was fired up for Alan’s last F750 at Pembrey. It was coming down steadily by the time he was five laps in. 4th on the grid, led for a lap and a half, he got such a good start, finished 5th, 4th in class. Fastest lap 1.14:048.
Chris’ prep on the RPS was, as usual, second to none. The only thing he did to it was space out the gear-linkage, as one of the rods was touching the gear-box casing. Being on botty-wiping duties, helping Brendan and Cormac, manning the starter in the holding area, Chris spent the three days dashing about like a mad thing.
The standings in the 125MT JL 25 25 25 = 75 and in the F750 OL 25 20 25 = 70
MJ 20 13 10 = 44 CC 20 25 20 = 65
RB 0 20 20 = 40 GH 16 16 16 = 48
Gav 0 16 16 = 32 Alan 11 13 13 = 37
Thank you to Tony Finch for moving his camper and trailer so that Brendan and Cormac could fit in. Tony sponsors Alan by paying for the first four meetings’ entries.
Thanks go to Kevan, Lesley, Jade, Sophia, Sarah and Lou for all their help over this weekend. Sarah provided all of Alan’s race data which was so helpful in the diary.
And to Kevan who’d just got in the dry of his caravan and then we got him a good soaking as he kindly went and jump-started Chris’ van.
Thank you Lou for the Easter presents.
Thank you Cormac for taking the team’s photo in the rain. I’m not sure if he needs glasses or there was rain on the camera lens but it’ll do for now.
Major Chaos would like to tell Richard Peckett how great it is to have the loan of his RPS, without which none of this would be happening. Thank you Richard for your support and also to Sandra for supporting Richard!
Photos will be uploaded very soon.
Next up – Snetterton.
Lastly, I would like to mention that Ashley, our web-master, whom many of you know, is now a Bachelor of Science with honours. We are not worthy to kiss the hem of his lounge-trousers and thank him for doing the website for us during the time he was doing his thesis. Well done Ashley. I am proud of you.
LSW
Welcome to Major Chaos’ first year of racing. Starting at Pembrey before March is out generally means we get a good soaking and the forecast was promising us just that. However, the weather was kind when Chris and I arrived at the circuit. Sunny and still – what more could we ask.
We set up camp in a perfect spot on tarmac in the paddock with plenty of room for the other team members.
Marshal Neil joined us for afternoon tea and the Kidwells arrived before midnight - I took a photo of the garage section of their race bus as there was some extraordinary packing involved there, with two bikes amidst it all!
A lot of rain fell late evening and during the night and many people, arriving in the dark, unwittingly drove their vans and caravans onto the grass and there they stayed until the tractor pulled them out in the morning.
This year the CRMC supplied generators. They were randomly placed on the grassed areas in the paddock and, like wasps to jam, the late comers were attracted to them. If they were lucky enough to have got most of their vehicle off the road before they sank into the mud they were happy to leave it like that until the end of the meeting, then ask around for bodies to help them push. Kevan and Chris did a remarkable job with the collection of hook-up leads we had between all of us as we were some distance away from the nearest generator. When eventually it fired up, we were pleased to be that distance away.
We are now sponsoring a marshal while we are racing. Ours is Neil Boorman. You can sponsor a marshal in many ways. We like to keep ours warm, comfortable and well-fed. We have a fleece inner for him to put into his sleeping bag and, during the cold meetings, a hot water bottle to keep him snug at night – any little thing to make the grottier race meetings easier for him to bear. We are rewarded by his love and appreciation and wonderful stories of his life and entertaining anecdotes. Sorry we’ve nabbed the best one but there are plenty of other marshals to choose from.
Friday 30th March - Test day
Gav was out first in the wet and bravely stripped off in the gazebo. His little nipples pinged out as he gasped at the cold air hitting him. He had a good test day and just had to put the bike on the bench to check a weep in the base gasket which he decided to change.
First time ever on the RPS, on a damp track, Alan took it steady for his opening laps then his sister, Sarah, started to note his lap times.
First session – lap 3 1.32:30 second session – lap 3 1.19:26 third session – lap 3 1.17:02 fourth session – lap 3 1.19:80
4 1.31:22 4 1.22:06 4 1.15:06 5 1.15:10
5 1.29:27 5 1.20:74 5 1.15:33 8 1.14:20
6 1.29:18 6 1.18:14 7 1.15:95 11 1.14:88
8 1.28:00 9 1.17:67 8 1.14:48 14 1.15:25
9 1.28:40 10 1.17:61 9 1.14:29 16 1.13:10
11 1.16:10 17 1.13:03
Alan decided to miss his last session due to an oil spillage. This was due to someone neither tightening nor lock-wiring their gear-box drain plug. It was a shame because Cormac had offered to lead Alan for a few laps in the last session.
Alan did say he thought he’d have got the hang of the RPS after a few months and I thought ‘that’s going to be a bit boring but whatever it takes....’. Having seen his test day progress I think he enormously under-estimated himself.
After lunch Marshal Neil went to his tent for a nap. I decided to read my book in the caravan, woke up three hours later and prepared supper. We’d eaten by 6.30pm. Lou, who spent the afternoon in a similar fashion to myself, was surprised that we’d already got supper out of the way. Normally we get it around 9pm. Things are looking up! Chris, who’d been on the go all day, was absolutely knackered and we all had an early night.
Saturday 31st March
More rain overnight leaving huge stretches of water in the paddock. ‘Timed Practice’ first thing - (don’t get me going on that subject) so it sets the positions for the first race, and each race after that you start on the grid in the position you achieved in the previous race.
After only a couple of sessions, a side-car dropped such a massive amount of oil round the track, qualifying was suspended while a clear-up was put into motion. It took so long to clean the track Gav and Alan didn’t get out until after lunch. The race schedule was altered in an effort to fit it all in by the end of the weekend. If you have seen ‘The Meaning of Life’ by Monty Python, it was a bit like the ‘putting your clothes on the lower peg’ sketch.
I must get the boys to pick up three time-sheets from now on so I can get Gav’s qualifying and race results. Gav said he was disappointed with his qualifying so he might not mind it not being mentioned this time. I will get my act together next meeting Gav.
Alan / qualifying practice F750. Having done a 1.29:123 in the first lap Alan qualified with a 1.13:688 in his seventh lap, qualifying 9th out of a grid of 18.
Alan / qualifying practice ACU race. His first lap was a 1.21:332 and he qualified with a 1.12:476 in his seventh lap, qualifying 19th out of a grid of 24.
Due to the oil delay there would be only one race for each class that day. Gav and Chris went to fire up the MT which hydraulically locked and split the barrel. Gav got out his spare bike, swapped its wheels for his no. 1 bike’s and booked a practice for Sunday morning.
In his first Classic 1300 Cormac lost the clutch on the 930, due to the nut on the end of the gear-box main-shaft coming undone. It’s a shame, because he would have cleaned up in that race.
In the F750 Alan was disappointed in his start, but it was the first ever he’d done on the RPS. He started 9th on the grid, finished 6th, 5th in class. Fastest lap 1.09:626 (Alan. You were the only person who was disappointed. The rest of us were going crazy). What a superb start to the weekend!
We had a team gathering that evening and we all headed off to bed as the rain came down.
Sunday 1st April
I have never watched so much racing in my life and I only missed one of our boys’ all weekend. That one happened to be one Gav was particularly proud of and I was cleaning the caravan’s toilet at the time. I was sad to admit it to him, but these things have to be done if you are storing your duvet on it when travelling.
Alan, in the King of Classics (which in previous years was the ‘National’ and then the ‘UK Classic’) 19th on the grid, finished 13th, fastest lap 1.09:604.
F750 6th on the grid, finished 4th, 4th in class.
Sprinkles of rain as the RPS was fired up for Alan’s last F750 at Pembrey. It was coming down steadily by the time he was five laps in. 4th on the grid, led for a lap and a half, he got such a good start, finished 5th, 4th in class. Fastest lap 1.14:048.
Chris’ prep on the RPS was, as usual, second to none. The only thing he did to it was space out the gear-linkage, as one of the rods was touching the gear-box casing. Being on botty-wiping duties, helping Brendan and Cormac, manning the starter in the holding area, Chris spent the three days dashing about like a mad thing.
The standings in the 125MT JL 25 25 25 = 75 and in the F750 OL 25 20 25 = 70
MJ 20 13 10 = 44 CC 20 25 20 = 65
RB 0 20 20 = 40 GH 16 16 16 = 48
Gav 0 16 16 = 32 Alan 11 13 13 = 37
Thank you to Tony Finch for moving his camper and trailer so that Brendan and Cormac could fit in. Tony sponsors Alan by paying for the first four meetings’ entries.
Thanks go to Kevan, Lesley, Jade, Sophia, Sarah and Lou for all their help over this weekend. Sarah provided all of Alan’s race data which was so helpful in the diary.
And to Kevan who’d just got in the dry of his caravan and then we got him a good soaking as he kindly went and jump-started Chris’ van.
Thank you Lou for the Easter presents.
Thank you Cormac for taking the team’s photo in the rain. I’m not sure if he needs glasses or there was rain on the camera lens but it’ll do for now.
Major Chaos would like to tell Richard Peckett how great it is to have the loan of his RPS, without which none of this would be happening. Thank you Richard for your support and also to Sandra for supporting Richard!
Photos will be uploaded very soon.
Next up – Snetterton.
Lastly, I would like to mention that Ashley, our web-master, whom many of you know, is now a Bachelor of Science with honours. We are not worthy to kiss the hem of his lounge-trousers and thank him for doing the website for us during the time he was doing his thesis. Well done Ashley. I am proud of you.
LSW