Castle Combe Grand National

[ogden]

Plug time:

This time next week it's the Grand National bike meeting at Castle Combe, near Chippenham. The only two-wheeled race meeting at Combe this year, it also happens to be the next round of the North Glos road race championship.

The event's running all weekend, with races and parades on Saturday and Sunday. As well as (most of) the usual club races there'll be classic races courtesy of the Lansdowne Classic series, featuring pre-1963 GP bikes ridden by names you might have heard of (Mike Edwards included); British F2 sidecars, featuring all those blokes you saw on the podium at the TT; Parade laps from the likes of John McGuiness and Steve Parrish; Paddock displays of classic and modern machines... a proper old two-wheel festival kind of thing.

Oh, and the star attraction: Me, being a hero. Or a zero. Or maybe just sitting in the paddock glaring at a black Yamaha that won't work, wishing I'd picked a cheaper, easier hobby.

All that for a tenner a day, plus an extra tenner if you want to camp. It might not even rain.

Planning to be there on Saturday with my lad. Might even try to convince his mum that he's old enough to ride pillion to get there if it's dry. What race are you in, we'll keep an eye out for you.

[ogden]

Originally Posted by JonSV

Planning to be there on Saturday with my lad. Might even try to convince his mum that he's old enough to ride pillion to get there if it's dry. What race are you in, we'll keep an eye out for you.

PI 700 on a black R6 running number 49. I shouldn't be too hard to spot, I'll be wobbling round at the back wearing a natty orange bib.

I'll be there marshalling both days. I'll give you a wave, but you might not recognise me amongst every other orange-clad numpty doing the same.

[ogden]

You're not numpties. You're just a bit odd. Spending two days at a circuit and neither racing nor drinking all day. That's just weird.

Still, glad you do it, otherwise we wouldn't be able to.

How did you get on in the races? We saw you in the Saturday qualifier but had to leave before the race, must have been a late finish after the delays. Looked like you were going OK in the qualifier. We did wander round the paddock looking out for you as my lad wanted to sit on a race bike, but didn't spot you amongst the masses. He did get one of the sidecar riders to let him sit in the passenger "chair" so that cheered him up. It was a good day's racing in the sun.

[ogden]

I was a bit hard to find in the paddock. I was facing inward on a grass area, nowhere near tarmac.

Grid positions went 44, 42 and 35, so worked my way up. Got absolutely murdered by the likes of Potchy though - amazing what a deficit of 100bhp and a lack of talent can do. Great weekend though.

My sunburn is rather better than my race results...