Edit: sorry for the epic length, lots to say for my first race meeting!
The weekend was excellent with lots of close racing, some ups and downs but I finished on a high. Massive thanks to
Steve Piper Motorcycles for supporting me in my first year.
All week the excitement had been building for what would be my first ever race. After a manic dash home from work on the Thursday we finally got the van loaded and under way by 7pm. We rolled up at Brands near 9:30pm and once there was space in the back of the van we crashed out.
Friday Practice Day:
I got to grips with the bike and blew away the mental cobwebs. By the end of the day I was starting to get a bit overconfident and caught a slide coming onto Brabham Straight. I called it a day and went back to the pits to fit my new tyres ready for qualifying the next day.
Saturday Qualifying:
I went out to a damp track with a growing dry line. Taking it steady to start with I built up the pace and posted a personal best lap time of 58.2 seconds. This placed me 31st overall, 15th for the B&C race.
Saturday B&C Race:
I got a reasonable start but dropped down 1 place to 16th going into Paddock Hill. I can't describe how frantic it felt tipping into the steep right hander surrounded by other bikes, this will stick in my mind forever. I managed to hold my own for the first 2 laps and made a place up to 15th on lap 3 only to lose it again the next lap. Myself (73) Antony Clark (32) and Richard Willsher (34) battled it out for the remaining 4 laps, swapping positions and generally having the best ride of my life. Antony left the track on the last lap leaving Richard and myself to fight it out for 15th. Richard took the line 0.9 seconds in front of me. Fastest lap was only a 59.8 seconds which was a bit disappointing after beating that by a second and a half in qualifying.
I can't describe the feeling of finishing my first race, I came in laughing with a grin a mile wide on my face. I couldn't wait for my next race.
Saturday A&C Race:
Disaster! The heavens opened and lets say a poor tyre choice left me wobbling round on a warm up lap very nervous. My tyres were stone cold by this point after a lengthy wait in the holding area. After 3 slides in as many corners I pulled into the pits. Disappointed doesn't cover how I felt but I chalked it down to a learning experience and at least the bike and myself are still in 1 piece, "lives to fight another day" and all that. Fastest lap: errr I didn't complete one.
Sunday Warm Up:
A damp to wet track and my first ever time out on wets. Oh my god! The grip was fantastic from a fresh shiny set of Pirelli wets. Although only 3 laps long the track was starting to dry out a bit by the end so I backed the pace down to save the wets being shredded.
Sunday B&C Race:
The sun was out and a the track was glorious and dry. I was starting from 16th on the grid after coming off worse in my tussle with Richard Willsher in Saturdays race. A blistering start saw me into Paddock Hill in 12th position. This didn't last long as I lost a place into druids and another exiting out of Graham Hill Bend. I had a great battle for 14th with Matt Hinnells (82) and Steve Redhead (84). Steve left the circuit near the end of the race and I set about chasing down Andrew Bright (50). I was almost there when we crossed the line with less than 0.6 seconds between us with Matt Hinnells a mere 0.4 seconds behind me. A new best time for me with a fastest lap of 57.4 seconds.
Sunday A&C Race:
After my DNF on the Saturday I was starting from 30th on the grid for what was going to be another wet race. This was my first time out on wet tyres in a race so I was a bit nervous as we stopped in the holding area for another long wait. After another stonking start I piled into Paddock making up several places only to see a group of riders down and sliding into the gravel at the bottom of the hill. We managed 1 more lap before the race was red flagged.
Best of wishes and a speedy recovery to the chap who was carted off in the ambulance.
Sunday A&C Race Part 2:
The race was restarted and the sun was now out although the track was still soaking wet. The glare off the tarmac was horrible but that didn't stop the race being an excellent one. I was starting from the back again and made another good start passing 3 people, entering Paddock Hill in 22nd. I set about charging after those in front and managed to pass 3 more in the 5 lap race. I had almost chased down Tim Metcalfe (79) and Jamie King (76) who finished the race just in front of me. I'm sure with a few more laps I could have bridged the gap and got another couple of places. My first wet race and a best time of 1:03.3 which I'm happy with. I know I have more left in the rain and I'm sure next time I'll get far closer to my dry times with more practice on wet tyres.