whoopsie!
 

that's me running off the track, onto the grass and into the gravel today at Snetterton.

At first I thought the gearbox had siezed but in hindsight it was finding a false neutral dropping from 5th to 4th at the end of the start/finish straight.

With no engine braking, I found myself coming in faster than I thought I could get it around. Two choices - try to make it around the corner anyway and go down on the tarmac, or stand the bike up and try to brake before reaching the gravel. I can't say I made the right choice as my plan didn't work, but the damage was limited to a bent brake lever, a kilo of gravel in the fins and bellypan and some grassy stains at strategic points. Top tip for the future - grass is softer than tarmac!

I was less fortunate than the bike. No broken bones but my ankle is doing a great impression of a balloon. Riding the 40 miles home from Antonye's probably didn't help either.
Said ankle is now elevated and I plan to be waited on hand and foot for the next few days. Can't guarantee to be fit for Cadwell but as much chicken soup as I can drink should help (does that qualify as cannibalism?!).

Piccies will be coming - Focused Events got the whole scene on camera. Unfortunately, the disc is in my bag downstairs and I don't think I can face the stairs for a couple of days....

Who is the designated muppet designer? You'll have to sort it quick as I fully intend to pass on the mantle on Saturday!:devil:

cheers, Chi

Blimey Chi, hope the ankle goes down.
Elevation, cold compresses & anti inflamatories.

Might be worth a check over at the local hospital? - nip down before the pubs turn out & say you 'slid over';)

Better safe than sorry:)

Need any help in fixing the bike?

C

Oh blimey - bad luck. Hope you're up and about soon.

Sorry to hear the news Chi, but at least you're OK ish and get to be treated like a MotoGP star at home in the build up to Cadders ;)

RICE

You should know what it means!

Well, I hope you're ok mate. And that you and the bike will be on the grid at Cadwell - be a shame not to be.

Get well soon mate.

Thanks Charlotte but incredibly the only thing that needs doing is a new rear brake lever! The can is dented but works although I was grinding it down in earlier sessions.

Domski, I get treated like that all the time - just thought I would give the masses a small glimpse into the rock star world of the chicken:lol:

Bugger Chi! You don't wanna do that! Can't believe you went hunting in the potato field!!:o

As CK says, keep it up (:o), loads of ibuprofen and absolutely no kick-boxing!:lol:

Take care and get well for the weekend, I'll expect to see you on the grid. :ninja:

Cheers,

Ali

That's a shame Chi, you probably could have got round-you can carry HUGE amounts of speed round that corner.

John

chi i'm not laughing:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

why wer'nt you on the DT:lol::lol::lol:

pmsl ..... i've been to your house and know EXACTLY who wears the trousers there .... :frog:

chi
 

moto gp and roket take stock

pics of the stack are the best mate get well soon fela

snetterton today
 

Roket roger on his first trackday binned his 996 but after supaglueing and ducktapeing the go grip he jumped on and got back out

Bit of a shoping list ,air tube, tank, seatunit,
clutchlever, clipon, foot peg, techmoto clutch cover.
still all on the bike but not so nice to look at.
saved the day that we could get him back out.

gravel
 

get them pics on here chi leg or no leg

chi, sorry to hear that mate.

hope your ankle is not too bad and you manage to make it to cadwell.

chi, at least youve got your crash out of the way the the rest of us have it to look forward to! I hope you recover enough to make cadwell on saturday

dave

still with bist missing of his bike!!

sorry to hear that mate, but glad the damadge is minimal.....see you on the grid at cadders ...........

Phil

thanks for all your kind words guys. As expected, the ankle feels much stiffer today with not much movement. Alternating heat packs and frozen peas are on the menu today.

TP - :lol: I'm also thinking maracas and those aboriginal rain tubes.

Monty, I know that's the fastest corner on the circuit but carrying 9,000rpm in top (with standard gearing) was a bit too brave for me. I had been going progressively faster round there but was getting close to the limits of my ability, track edge and the end can and this was much higher than I had done it before and without any power.

Mav, as soon as I hit the grass I was thinking how nice it would be if I was riding the DT!

Dibble - leave Morgan out of this. And it's houses (plural) if you don't mind!

I have also been remiss in not thanking Antonye for sorting me out for the whole day. The man is a star.

And finally really nice to meet Eric and Roger (Antony already has my tickets as they were in my bag the whole day).

Hope your fit for the weekend Chi, try to keep it up this time?

Hurry up and post the excellent pics from the photographer, you slacker!

The staff have seen fit to bring my bag upstairs so these will be posted imminently.

Still waiting for my new avatar....

aaargh!!!! Can't post the file.
If anyone else has been able to upload files then send me u2u with your email address if you can post it for me.

It's a shame because if you scroll through fast enough you can get it in real time!

You have a u2u!

Unlucky, but you've got your crash out of the way, hope you're ok for the weekend.

Nice grab rail by the way, you expecting to do celebrity rides:lol:

And not sure of your plans, but you won't get on a race track with two piece leathers.

WeeJohnyB

That's no grabrail - it's a race-developed aerodynamic spoiler and I won't tell anyone about the two-piece if you don't :devil:

while we're waiting for Antonye to work his IT voodoo, here's a teaser from earlier in the day. The end can doesn't look so nice anymore.

Here you go - in super slow motion action replay stylee!

cheers fella. Unfortunately the photographer ran out of memory at the end but you didn't miss much - just me on my back looking at the clouds for 10 seconds.

Bump ... in case you missed it :devil:

Anybody got a muppet avatar handy for Chi? :lol:

lol..............nice 1..glad u r ok though......................

For those interested, I've added some info about the day at Snetterton to the DD website -

http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/desmodue/?q=node/10

Feel free to add your own pictures and comments.

PhillC

nice one Phill

I know i shouldn't laugh... but top vid :lol:

glad you are ok though :)

Nice dismount - 9 out of 10 I think for artistic impression.
Hope your feeling better though now. :)

Thank you Lil and Lin.

s'funny that I did exactly the same maneouvre a dozen times in chamonix without a scratch.

So - you racing or not?

At this point I would have to say no.:(
If I am honest, it was not to be from the word go but there was a lingering hope that I would be walking by now.

I actually only managed to ride home from Antony's by leaving it in third gear. When I did have to change gear, I had to hook the top part of my foot under the pedal and jerk my knee up, resulting in the bike wobbling each time.

Despite standing up and limping around straight after the off and for the rest of the day, the swelling and pain kicked in in the evening and no walking since.

Disappointed? Massively
Annoyed? Undoubtedly
Preparing for the next round? Definitely

:( Sorry to hear that Chi.

Gutted for you!

Are you coming up anyway?

man that sux..............


not long till the next race..be here b4 you know it............

Phil