SV650.org - SV650 & Gladius 650 Forum - View Single Post - 2nd race report

03-10-10, 09:43 PM

If I'm honest, this race report starts on Thursday night when I left work early to get home in case the brake pads I'd ordered had turned up and ended up at the sorting office for collection.

In the end, a wasted trip as First Class post had failed to deliver (pun intended) after 5 days although my shiny new riv-nut setting tool had arrived which was going to come in handy.

So, the bike got an oil change, the wets from Oulton were swapped for dry tyres and a few little jobs were done to get the bike ready.

Everything loaded and we're off. I work a half day on Fridays so the plan was to leave after work and head straight to the track. I managed to find a suzuki dealer just outside of Basingstoke who had the pads I wanted so at least I could replace the paper thin things on the bike.

Got to Thruxton in the rain and got scrutineered on Friday night so one less job in the morning. Unfortunately there isn't room for me and the bike in the back of the van so it spent the night in the rain whilst I got some sleep which was only punctuated by waking up as new racers arrived so that I could make sure they left space next to me for my fellow racer who was turning up the next morning.

The morning was foggy which delayed practice by a few hours and at one point I was pretty much the only bike in the paddock with dry tyres on. It paid off though as the sun came out and things were looking up. There are some advantages to being the last practice after all.

Between trying to bed in new brake pads, learn the track and avoid the wet patches (which scared the life out of me) I had an interesting practice. Not feeling too confident for the racing later in the day but at least my brakes should work.

On the grid for the qualifying race and as I'd got my entry in early I was in 11th spot, right in the middle of the minitwins. Due to timing issues we were once again in with the Sound of Thunder bikes so I was resigned to being lapped again.

The lights changed, I wheelied (need more practice) and we were away with me losing a few places off the start. It was completely dry now and I managed to tag onto the back of a small group of mostly minitwins and a 675 and started to learn my way round. There were a few places where I needed to be more confident but at the end I overtook a couple of people who'd passed me at the start including a Sound of Thunder bike and ended 11th so at least i hadn't lost any places and I didn't get lapped either. Happy days.

Come the race I was absolutely buzzing with excitement. Not a good start though, I managed to wheelie (again) and stall on the formation lap which must have given the guy behind me a heart attack. The start was another mess up but no stalling and I joined in the first corner melee.

Once again there was a group to tag onto and I managed to catch and pass another bike onto the start finish straight in front of the crowds so I was well pleased with that. Not so happy with the missed gear that let him past again later in the lap but I managed to pass him a bit further round and did my best to catch the small group ahead who'd got away after my missed gear.

I was still losing time in the lap though but made up some ground braking into the chicane at the end of the lap. It was all going ok until I got lapped by the leader of the Sound of Thunder. He came past me on the lap and as I crossed the start finish straight I passed the waved chequered flag. Race over I thought so I rolled off and toured round. It was only as I reached the end of the lap expecting to get waved into the pits that i realised that I shouldn't have paid any attention to the flag and I'd wasted a lap of racing. I spent the next lap which was then my real slowing down lap kicking myself and wondering if i'd let anyone past. Lesson learnt.

The result of all this was an 11th place so not the top ten I was hoping for but looking at the lap times I was quicker than the group in front of me and catching them right up until my dismal last lap when i though it was all over. Probably because I had a clear track and wasn't defending positions but encouraging enough.

Looking at my tyres I'm making the most of them so now i need to learn to hang off the bike more and to learn to commit to the fast corners where I'd been losing time. A spring set for my weight and some track time playing with settings is going to be invaluable. At some point I might even get my knee down.

Didn't get chance to meet many new people on this event but had a good laugh in the bar after the race and hopefully made a few new friends.

Silverstone next for the last round of the season and to say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement.

This bike racing lark is brilliant.

Jody.

03-10-10, 09:43 PM	#1
harry_hyde Guest Posts: n/a	2nd race report - Thruxton Park If I'm honest, this race report starts on Thursday night when I left work early to get home in case the brake pads I'd ordered had turned up and ended up at the sorting office for collection. In the end, a wasted trip as First Class post had failed to deliver (pun intended) after 5 days although my shiny new riv-nut setting tool had arrived which was going to come in handy. So, the bike got an oil change, the wets from Oulton were swapped for dry tyres and a few little jobs were done to get the bike ready. Everything loaded and we're off. I work a half day on Fridays so the plan was to leave after work and head straight to the track. I managed to find a suzuki dealer just outside of Basingstoke who had the pads I wanted so at least I could replace the paper thin things on the bike. Got to Thruxton in the rain and got scrutineered on Friday night so one less job in the morning. Unfortunately there isn't room for me and the bike in the back of the van so it spent the night in the rain whilst I got some sleep which was only punctuated by waking up as new racers arrived so that I could make sure they left space next to me for my fellow racer who was turning up the next morning. The morning was foggy which delayed practice by a few hours and at one point I was pretty much the only bike in the paddock with dry tyres on. It paid off though as the sun came out and things were looking up. There are some advantages to being the last practice after all. Between trying to bed in new brake pads, learn the track and avoid the wet patches (which scared the life out of me) I had an interesting practice. Not feeling too confident for the racing later in the day but at least my brakes should work. On the grid for the qualifying race and as I'd got my entry in early I was in 11th spot, right in the middle of the minitwins. Due to timing issues we were once again in with the Sound of Thunder bikes so I was resigned to being lapped again. The lights changed, I wheelied (need more practice) and we were away with me losing a few places off the start. It was completely dry now and I managed to tag onto the back of a small group of mostly minitwins and a 675 and started to learn my way round. There were a few places where I needed to be more confident but at the end I overtook a couple of people who'd passed me at the start including a Sound of Thunder bike and ended 11th so at least i hadn't lost any places and I didn't get lapped either. Happy days. Come the race I was absolutely buzzing with excitement. Not a good start though, I managed to wheelie (again) and stall on the formation lap which must have given the guy behind me a heart attack. The start was another mess up but no stalling and I joined in the first corner melee. Once again there was a group to tag onto and I managed to catch and pass another bike onto the start finish straight in front of the crowds so I was well pleased with that. Not so happy with the missed gear that let him past again later in the lap but I managed to pass him a bit further round and did my best to catch the small group ahead who'd got away after my missed gear. I was still losing time in the lap though but made up some ground braking into the chicane at the end of the lap. It was all going ok until I got lapped by the leader of the Sound of Thunder. He came past me on the lap and as I crossed the start finish straight I passed the waved chequered flag. Race over I thought so I rolled off and toured round. It was only as I reached the end of the lap expecting to get waved into the pits that i realised that I shouldn't have paid any attention to the flag and I'd wasted a lap of racing. I spent the next lap which was then my real slowing down lap kicking myself and wondering if i'd let anyone past. Lesson learnt. The result of all this was an 11th place so not the top ten I was hoping for but looking at the lap times I was quicker than the group in front of me and catching them right up until my dismal last lap when i though it was all over. Probably because I had a clear track and wasn't defending positions but encouraging enough. Looking at my tyres I'm making the most of them so now i need to learn to hang off the bike more and to learn to commit to the fast corners where I'd been losing time. A spring set for my weight and some track time playing with settings is going to be invaluable. At some point I might even get my knee down. Didn't get chance to meet many new people on this event but had a good laugh in the bar after the race and hopefully made a few new friends. Silverstone next for the last round of the season and to say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement. This bike racing lark is brilliant. Jody.