| Skidlids Cadwell report
OUCH
DNF, DNF, DNF = Zero points
Best lap of 52.5 secs
Sat pm untimed practice 14/43 gearing 54.37 sec laps did 5 befor pulling in with glazed front brake pads
Sun untimed practice--- different pads and 14/41 gearing, damp track, excellent session, no idea of lap times but not important, thanks to Paynep (Paul) for the loan of the rear sprocket as I had loaned mine to Chris woods during Saturday afternoon
Timed practice 55sec 22nd place on the grid, still on 14/41 gearing I had turned the tickover up to try and stop the bike bogging down out of the hairpin but as I currently have no rev counter I had set it a bit high and going through the old hairpin I was unable to hold a tight line as it kept pushing me wide onto the outside kerb.
Race 1, good start, was really getting into the grove and around 13th place running 52.68 sec laps then on lap 7 as I came over the mountain I arrived at Hall bends with the brake lever coming back to the bars, no way was I going to make the bends so I looked for the longest run-off route and headed for it, so it was across the grass on the left across the track and onto the grass on the right to end up in a heap on the floor. No real harm done except to the points tally, all I had to replace was the clip-on bar, luckily it wasn't the whole clip-on as Fil2 had already had my spare set.
Spent the lunch bike replacing the bar and reseating the exhaust, dumped the front fully floating cast disc incase this was the cause, concensus of opinion was that it may have knocked the pads in. Bact to the scrutineers to get the bike checked.
All ok so ready for race 2, not such a good start but not bad was again settling down in to a flowing rythem when on lap 5 I nearly overshot Barn corner, quick squeeze of the brakes along the start finis straight and it was confirmed, so I didn't even attempt the hairpin and just rode through the cones and onto the main circuit. At a safe distance and on the hill at coppice I stopped then found I was rolling backwards as the front brake was doing nothing. Cut the engine and leave it in gear and use the clutch as a brake, park it against the tyre wall on watch the rest of the race. Best lap was a 53.42 as I was braking early everywhere as I was no longer confident in the brakes, rightly so as it turned out.
As we were getting a 3rd race (non championship) it was a chance to try something else, on went a new brake mastercylinder and some newly aquired Shell DOT5.1 brake fluid.
I got a lousey start I could swear a few jumped the start, Myself and Senna3 nearly had a coming together as we exited the chicane for the first time as we tried to avoid Multi600 on his Multistrada, after that it was a matter of slowly closing the gap on James Thompson on his Big bore 600SS, all was going well with laptimes down to 52.5 secs when again the brake lever started coming back to the bars, so I pulled off the track at the bottom of pitlane, even by the time I got back to the van I still had no brake pressure.
so 3 race starts, 3 DNFs and only a couple of dozen laps of the woodlands circuit completed.
Paynep had also suffered problems all day with brake pressure problems and had also changed the disc, fluid and mastercylinder. So we both need to get to the bottom of this problem as I was lucky to only crash the once, Fil to had a similar problem on Saturday but that appears to have gone away after I bled his brakes up for him.
Worse still was the way the 620s passed me down the straight, they went past a fair bit quicker than the bigbore bikes which means I'm going to be onto a right hiding at Castle Combe and Snetterton, so I think I'll be doing a rain dance, no point praying for it as that didn't work this weekend.
Like to say thanks to the following my pit crew Dallas and Adrian for helping out, ChrisP for also joining the pitcrew,Senna3's wife Trudi for the endless cups of tea and coffee, Paul Payne for the loan of the rear sprocket, my old race buddy and guy who introduced me to the DSC, Glyn Hinsley who popped along with his wife Kirsty on Saturday evening, also to Scott and Jackie from Reservoircogs who also came along to lend their support. Thanks to Monty for hauling all those lovely Shell freebies to the circuit the brake fluid came in very handy.
And not forgetting a big thanks to all the DSC members who came along to give us all support, terrific turnout and makes one proud to be a member  | 
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