Is here -
Desmo Due Website and pasted in below.
I’m going to start a week ago, just to help set the scene with my expectations for the races on Saturday. I, and a number of others, did a track day at Donny last Tuesday to get some track knowledge. I had an issue with the bike not starting but with the help of my sponsor on the phone, Sigma Performance, and Domski for lending me a charger we soon got the old girl going as it turned out to be a flat battery. So simple … but it made some funny clicking noises (solenoid). Anway, Focused Events had moved me from inters to novice so I did three novice sessions in the morning but just couldn’t get through any corner on a decent line with any pace. After lunch I asked to move up to fast and soon got some clean lines going and managed to pick up the pace. Best lap of the day was a 1:25.5 which I was reasonably happy with. Also because I had quite a few other laps in the 1:25’s and seemed to be able to put in 1:26’s comfortably. In the afternoon the bike started sliding more and more culminating in one huge slide out of the old hairpin which saw me nearly come off and my hand hit the killswitch. I also took the bike to Rockingham on the Tuesday last week and was sliding there too so – new tyres for me on Friday.
I arrived at Donny on Friday evening and was feeling good. Mike had saved a spot in the paddock for me and had taken my bike straight off to get scroot’d and I managed to get done before they finished up for the evening – thanks Mike.
Sat Morning – Raceday I changed the gearing in the morning because I felt that the 14/45 I was running on the track day was too short. I was feeling good because I felt that with the different gearing I could find about a second which would put me in the 1:24’s. Why? Because I was having problems in two key corners – the old hairpin and coppice (both leading out to fast bits where drive was key) and taller gearing would let me carry a lower gear into them. Thanks to Ian for lending me the sprockets and Rob for helping me swap them over. I went for 15/46 in the end but alas, I wasn’t to know whether it made much of a difference because it turned out that I didn’t get a fast dry lap in all day ….
Qualifying I went to start the bike and it just started revving its little nuts off! Oh no! We need to be out shortly. Fortunately Grahame Butcher and Rick from JHP were on hand to diagnose a broken throttle cable and lockwired it so it would move. The bike was ready. I was in the first group with the Sound of Thunder bikes. Once they FINALLY let us out of the holding area onto the track I got out into turn 1 (Redgate) and had a huge rear slide, and I was taking it so easy it’s not funny. I ended up with my foot down and on the rumble strip. Now I had to take it easy because these brand new tyres had never turned a wheel and they were obviously slippery. I tried to push as hard as I could without falling off to get the tyres up to temperature. I did this, and started to up the pace on lap two and had a few more slides. They needed more time. I spent the next two laps doing this and trying to pick up the pace and not slide too much when … the rain came down. And down with the rain went my chances of getting a half decent laptime and qualifying inside the top ten. My heart sank, I was completely gutted and I saw my chances of moving up in the championship this weekend dashed. I was feeling confident that in the dry on new tyres I’d be quick, and now I’d completely undone myself with a rookie mistake of not having those tyres scrubbed before the qualifying session.
I spent the rest of that session trying to get used to the wet conditions to see what I could do. It was very slippery, I locked the front up braking into the chicane at the end of Dunlop straight and it was so crossed up I heard the lock stops getting smashed into over the noise of the blood pumping through me. I had my foot down and I was sliding everywhere. That was a HUGE moment and I have no idea how I stayed on. I just took it easy from there and tried to bring it home.
I thought I’d only done a 1:50 and was at the back of the grid. Sorry to those around me who were trying to cheer me up, my big brov Mike Winter, Ian Leah, Flanks, Muttley, Rob (electricsheep) and all those who I’ve missed (sorry) but I was disappointed in myself for taking such a gamble. Sorry also to my sponsor – Sigma Perfomance, sorry Neil.
As it turns out, I somehow fluked a 1:34 and wasn’t at the back. It raised my spirits a little but I was still 23rd on the grid and a long way back from the people I needed to be racing. Worse than that, I now owed Tim (Rattler) £10 for him beating me in the qual session. Nice hot lap Tim, you went for it mate!! Feeling a touch better, I sourced a wire brush and scrubbed the rear tyre and did some of the front before Rob took over and finished it for me.
Race 1 I felt worse once we’d taken the grid and I could actually see how many people there were between me and where I wanted to be. I took it easy on the sighting lap, feeling for grip and thinking about how to approach the start. The lights go out and I get a reasonable start although Kev next to me gets a better one and goes through ahead. I manage to make places into Redgate but it was slippery on the exit for me and I still didn’t have confidence in the tyres so I didn’t push too hard. Over the next few laps I just tried to pick it up little by little and kept pushing until I slid and steadily moved my way up the field. I could see there’d been a few off’s and some of the faster guys weren’t going to finish so I was hoping I could get into the top 15 and try and salvage some points. I got past Chris Butcher and could see Tim (Rattler) and Nick (NBs996) ahead so I just kept pushing. Unfortunately for me I was a bit slower to react to the drying line than Chris and he started to carry a lower gear than me through the corners for better drive once the bike was up and he came back past me. I woke up to what was going on from then and started to do the same and then started to catch him up but it was too late. We were both catching Tim and Nick but the last lap flag came out and I knew I wasn’t going to get them in time and I wanted to make sure I finished.
There goes another £10 to Tim ….
Result – 12th. That’s ok, but not good and I’m still feeling that I ruined my Saturday on Friday when I changed the tyres … oh well. I had really benefited by a few people falling off and making my finish look better than it was.
I had a think about the race after that and thought about how I’d gone and what I could do in the same conditions in the second race. I just decided that I could get off the bike more so I can get in the throttle earlier, use a lower gear for better drive and just concentrate on better throttle control and brake later and harder. I was going to be more aggressive in the first two laps than in the first race and try not to get held up as much so I don’t lose as much time. Err … so that’s everything then! Knob!
Mission number 1 – Finish!!! Mission number 2 - Beat Tim!!!
Race 2 Got a better start than the 1st race and made more positions down into Redgate. I was generally more aggressive throughout the race and seemed to make places quicker. My fastest laptime from each race shows I was pushing harder in the second. I kept going and gradually getting on the throttle earlier and harder until I had a few big slides and just tried to maintain that pace. I had an interesting one coming around Schwantz curve when I could see Nick and Tim ahead and I was being greedy with the throttle. I could see them so I wanted them. I knew there was plenty of time but I managed to get Nick between McLeans and Coppice, but once he’s upright he accelerates quickly! Now I was closing on Tim but wasn’t close enough to have a go on the brakes for a lap until I took him in the chicane but messed up getting on the power to see him come back on me down the start finish straight. I’ll be buggered before I’m giving you another £10 Mr Rattler so I tucked in behind him and went late on the brakes into Redgate and put a tight pass on him. I was finally through. I got going after that as I could see a few more people I could get before the end.
I was catching Chris Butcher and Andy Roberts and the last lap flag came out. I thought I might be able to catch them as it looked like Andy was holding Chris up. Coming out of the old hairpin I thought they were just that bit much ahead and I was going to have to settle for where I was but Chris made a mistake on the brakes trying to go round Andy and allowed me to close right on the back of him. I tucked in behind through Coppice and made a plan to do him on the brakes into the chicane, I was so far off the bike around Coppice trying to keep it upright and just kept feeding the power in while the rear stepped out a little by a little – I NEED MORE DRIVE CAPTAIN!!!! So I did that and got past him before the braking zone fortunately, in fact I had got such decent drive that I had closed on Andy and started thinking about having a go at a block pass into the chicane to try and hold him off over the line. I wasn’t quite close enough unfortunately and had to let him go, in the interests of both of us staying on, and managed to hold off Chris over the line.
Result – 11th. Hrmmm, only one position better than the last race but everyone up front stayed on so it was better than it looked. But still not where I needed to be. I lost out in the championship today and it stings.
At least I beat Tim and now only owe him the £10. He can put it towards repairing the damage from his crash at Redgate after his flying qualifying lap, what a bummer after such a good lap. Nevermind. I want to do better than this and I’m disappointed that I didn’t. I don’t mean any offence to any other person based on their riding or grid position or whatever, I just have my personal expectations which I failed to meet. If I didn’t want to do better and get cranky with myself for not achieving them then I wouldn’t have the drive to keep pushing. Bear with me.
Thanks to everyone who came to support us. Even though it was wet it was fantastic to see so many people turn out to watch and lend a hand. I love this club!
On to Brands …
[Edited on 15-8-2005 by TP]
15-Aug-2005, 15:25 
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