| Crashwell Park...
Firstly in comparison to poor NealC I really have no rights to grumble but I must admit I left Cadwell in pretty poor spirits.
Even the 'race 3 but keep 2 best results' format could not save me from coming away with a 0 points and the obvious conclusion that any slight chance that I could win the championship in my first year or even finish in the top 3 are now gone.
In race 1 I kept losing the front at Charlie's, not sure if it has anything to do with the 7kg bias of weight on the rear of my bike and that its a fast down hill off camber or that as Ron and NealC noticed I was cutting in too hard to apex late. Anyway after 8 laps I thought that I could get it home if I kept putting my long leg out and going round like a tripod!
Anyway in the end it wasnt Charlie's that caught me out, but in an effort to stay towards the front I was pushing quite hard around Chris curve and the front got away briefly. I managed to keep it upright but couldnt scrub off any speed and ran well wide. I could see I would have to go grass tracking over the apex and prayed for an even surface but as I reached the crest and saw the bumps I realised I was out of luck!
I bumped my way across the grass and nearly made it back to the track but then the rear shot out and I went tumbling. Fortunately for me Neal and Phil missed me and I was fine apart from a bruised knee and rib.
While the damage looked realtively slight and with the help and parts from half the paddock (huge thanks to PaulP, AndyC, NealA, Nog, NealC, Phil (and family!) KevE and Ron) we couldnt get the bike going for race 2 due to a stubborn clutch master.
I wrote-off day 1 and decided I would do my best to get what points I could on Sunday.
In the morning I scrubbed in a new front in practice but found that the gear sector was sticking when shifting down which meant I had to knock it back into the middle after shifting. While a bit of a concern I knew I had to get some points so I went out to race and after the warmup lap before the race I felt poisitive.
When the lights went out my start wasnt too bad and I felt really good. I widend my line through Charlies on Rons suggestion and already the front felt more planted. Sadly when I approached the right of Park corner and tried to shift down a gear the box went from 5th to being locked in neutral. I chucked my hand up and kicked and pulled at the selector but no use it was locked in place.
After all that what have I taken away from it all? Well firstly that the DD paddock is full of a really decent crowd of guys willing to go well above and beyond to help a fellow racer.
Secondly, perhaps part of learning to become a decent racer is that when I have a race and my bike starts telling me "Im struggling to keep the front stuck" I should listen and back off 5% get home and bag some points. If I had done that I could have just gone into race 2 with a good bike and a better strategy.
Many thanks again to all those that helped me get my bike going. Also wish NealC a speedy recovery and hope the other fallers arent too sore.
Last edited by Simps : 22-Aug-2011 at 11:17. | 
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