Buff British Supermono Championships Rounds 11 & 12, Brands Indy,
26th/27th September
Thanks
to our great friend Tim Drummond (T.D.Heating) we were treated to a pit
garage for the final 2 races of the season, sharing with Aaron's
long-time racing buddy Jack Drummond on his 2008 Yamaha R1. Steve
arrived with the bike early Saturday morning, and promptly whizzed it
through Scrutineering before changing the gearing to suit the very short
Indy circuit. That in itself caused Steve a major headache, shortening
the gearing so much hadn't given Steve enough adjustment in the chain
and had shortened the wheelbase significantly. Steve managed to get the
bike sorted with moments to spare, but we were in the pit garages , so
for once there wasn't a blind panic (usually from dad!) to get Aaron out
for the 20 minute Qualifying session. The session appeared to be going
very well, Aaron was fluctuating between 2nd and 4th places with 10
minutes gone, but came into the pits to report some serious front end
chatter into both Druids and Graham Hill Bend. We were sure it was down
to the shorter wheelbase affecting the geometry of the bike, but as
Aaron still felt he could ride round it to the end of the session he
took to the track again, now down in 5th place. Aaron put in a flying
lap at the end to bump him back up to 2nd place, with the unstoppable
Mark Lawes taking Pole. We got the bike back, and after a de-brief with
Aaron made some changes to the wheelbase and front end set-up. All that
was required to secure 3rd in the Championship was two solid race
finishes, and Aaron knew he had out-qualified the danger men, surely
nothing could stop him now??
Race 1
Aaron
got a great start for the first 18 lap race, and for the first 4 laps
was in a real dice for the lead between him, Mark George, Dijon Compton
and Mark Lawes, who began to break away from the chasing pack at about
half distance. Dijon went out of the race with mechanical
problems, which left Aaron in a fantastic 3rd place behind Mark George
and Mark Lawes. Towards the end of the race Aaron's pace dropped
dramatically, we were sure he had a problem and was nursing the Rotax to
the finish line. He was caught and passed by an off form Michael Payne,
but managed to hold onto 4th place to score good points. He was now 18
points ahead of his closest rival for 3rd in the Championship, Mark
George, so even if Mark won the second race, Aaron only needed to score
8 points (8th place) on Sunday to secure 3rd. Aaron's problems in the
race were mainly from the front end, but he also had a problem with the
rear coming round on him off the throttle into the faster corners,
leading to a very scary race. We sat down and thought long and hard
about what set-up to go for next, and after some useful info from Mark
Sadler at GO Racing Developments, we decided to drop the rear ride
height and compromise a little on the wheelbase. We also fitted a new
rear tyre (all the paddock support truck had was a really soft
Bridgestone, which was wider than the Dunlops Aaron had used all year)
and thanks to Tim Drummond we duly had it fitted to the Dymag Carbon
rear wheel and put everything back together ready for the 5 minute
warm-up on Sunday morning. We had changed so much about the bike that it
could go either way really, Aaron would either love the bike or hate it,
we were sure we'd done the right thing, all we could do now was wait!
The 4 laps of morning warm up on Sunday went
spectacularly well, Aaron lapped as fast as he had in the 20 minute
Qualifier on Saturday, and we were ordered on his return to the garage
to just put fuel in it, because it felt almost perfect!
Race 2
The bike was a little "fluffy" off the line this time,
and saw Aaron enter Paddock in 8th place, but by the time he had rounded
the 2nd turn at Druids he was already up to 4th, but more importantly up
with the same leading trio as Saturday's start. Early on Aaron seemed to
be just sitting back a little, just as he had at Snetterton as Dijon and
Mark George scrapped it out for 2nd place behind the disappearing Mark
Lawes, but with about half of the race gone he closed the battling duo
right down, and passed Dijon up
the
inside at Druids. A real battle then followed between Aaron and Mark
George right to the end of the race, with Aaron settling for a safe but
valuable 3rd place behind Mark, ensuring he retained his 3rd place in
the British Championship overall standings! Highlight of the day for
Aaron, apart from his girlfriend (and newest member of Team Azmanracing)
Laura turning up from the Royal Veterinary College in Potters Bar to
surprise him on the day, was the
winners lap of honour in the open top parade truck!
We were all over the moon that Aaron had managed to
keep a cool head and his mind on the job all weekend, even when the bike
was trying to throw him off at almost every turn!! Our very small and
underfunded Team, have gelled brilliantly all year, Steve Burge has been
fantastic, as a very busy man he has dedicated so much of his time (and
money!) to try to provide Aaron with a competitive bike, and while the
little air-cooled Rotax has never really had
race-winning pace, a great Team
effort
has seen Tekmotive/Azmanracing pull off something
very special this year. We believe the bike is now
up for sale, so that Steve can fund a new project for 2010, we all hope
it's next owner rides it as hard and gets as much pleasure out of it as
Aaron has.
Our plans for 2010 are coming together, with a planned
move into the MRO Minitwins looking the most likely. Mark Sadler from GO
Racing Developments and Tim Drummond are planning to build a machine
capable of winning the Championship at Aaron's 1st attempt, but we can't
rule out a return to the Supermono class in the near future, watch this
space for news as it happens!!
Buff British Supermono Championships Rounds 9 & 10, Snetterton, 5th
& 6th September
Steve arrived at the circuit early Saturday morning,
but due to work commitments he hadn't had chance to finish prepping the
bike after Cadwell. We got the bike through Scrutineering, then Steve
set about repairing the clutch, as the face plate had cracked, and
fixing a few other little problems. As hard as Steve worked, Aaron still
missed the whole of the Qualifying session as the bike wasn't ready, so
we had to get permission from the race organisers for Aaron to start off
the back of the grid. The Supermonos were called to the holding area as
Steve was trying to start the bike. The clutch wasn't properly adjusted,
but the bikes were heading onto the grid so Aaron jumped on and made off
for pit lane. When he got to pit lane the clutch was dragging badly, and
Aaron couldn't stop the bike from stalling. We quickly made an
adjustment, and started the bike with Perry Goldstein's starter rollers,
but the race had already started, and the leaders had already come into
view at Coram!!
Race 1
Aaron
wheelied onto the track from pit lane the task ahead looked impossible.
He was more than half a lap behind the rider in last place, on a bike he
had not done a single lap on so far, which also happened to have a
suspect clutch. What followed was an impressive display of cool-headed
hard riding, which saw Aaron make it up to 8th place at the chequered
flag, only 8 points, but considering all things a fantastic end to a
very stressful day!! Steve stripped the bike after, and made sure
everything was sorted ready for the 5 minute warm-up on Sunday morning.
Race 2
The
warm-up went very well, Aaron was second fastest and looked much more
confident, although he would again start off the
back of the grid. Aaron got away OK, and was up to 7th place on lap 1.
He made it past Perry Goldstein on the next lap, then a race-long battle
ensued between Aaron, Ivan Porter and ex-British Champion Mark George.
Aaron passed Mark into the Esses on lap 7, and squeezed past Ivan on the
following lap at Riches. For the last two laps Aaron managed to pull
away from Mark and Ivan, and was closing in on 3rd place Jeff Claridge,
but the chequers were out before he could catch him, leaving Aaron in a
very hard-fought 4th place.
This up and down weekend has left Aaron still in 3rd
place in the British Championships overall, with his nearest challenger,
his 2007 Team Psyclo team mate and good friend Jeff Claridge, just 13
points behind, which has set up a rather tasty final two races of the
season to be held at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on September 26th/27th.
UEM European Supermono Cup, Cadwell Park BSB, August 29th/30th
A late addition to both the European and British
Supermono calendar meant Aaron would once again get to perform in front
of the heaving BSB crowd, but this time at his self-confessed least
favorite circuit, Cadwell Park. Aaron was all set to miss this event due
to a shortage of cash (with the nest round of the British Supermono
Series just 6 days later) but Steve Burge once again stepped in to save
the day, very kindly offering to pay Aaron's entry fee.
Qualifying 1
Steve's very kind gesture seemed to make Aaron
ultra-determined to put on a good show, we know the pace of Steve's
air-cooled Tigcraft Rotax isn't quite on the pace with the best bikes
and Teams in the class, but Aaron was on a mission to prove that a
massive effort from him could put the bike on the front row again. Aaron
attacked the tricky Lincolnshire circuit like he'd never done before,
not holding back anywhere, and for almost the whole session he held
second place behind current European Championship leader
Manfred
Kehrmann. Aaron was simply scary as he scraped exhausts and bodywork
everywhere searching for that elusive pole position, then with just 30
seconds of the session to go he set off on a flying lap with a clear
track ahead, having stayed out for the whole 25 minute session. As he
came back over the Mountain and into Hall Bends he looked blindingly
quick, something which was confirmed as BSB commentator Fred Clarke had
to interrupt reading out the final positions to announce that Aaron had
took over a second off his previous best on that final lap and taken
provisional Pole Position. That moment alone was just reward for all of
Steve's hard work, and Aaron's patience and dedication to the cause, a
perfectly executed plan on Aaron's behalf and some awesome riding. We
were all in agreement, Aaron had probably taken Steve's little Rotax
round his bogey circuit as fast it could possibly go, and on a machine
nowhere near the spec of the other front runners, had done himself and
his Team proud, all he needed to do was hatch a plan for Q2 on Sunday!
Qualifying 2
It was cooler for the 9am Q2 session, and it
looked like Aaron would easily be able to protect his Pole Position, but
with just 3 minutes to go Kehrmann went 0.3 seconds faster than Aaron's
Q1 time. Aaron had done the whole session without his on-board lap
timer, but was still lapping consistently fast. He came into the pits to
find out how much faster he needed to go, and went out with an out lap
and a flying lap to go, sadly his flying lap was ruined by a touring
Henk From on the run to the Mountain, and although his time was close,
and would've got Pole had he not got held up, he had to settle for a
very impressive 2nd place on the grid for the race later in the day.
The Race
The
one thing Aaron was yet to accomplish this season on the Rotax was to
get the thing off the line when the lights go out! This time he got it
spot on, as the pack roared off the line Aaron slotted into 4th place
behind reigning European Champion Lex Van Dijk, with Michael Payne and
Mark Lawes just ahead. Aaron went for an audacious move into Charlies 1,
but was passed back by Lex on the Park Straight, only for Aaron to ride
round the outside of Lex at Mansfields and pass him into the Chicane.
This time Aaron made the move stick, and pulled away from Lex to chase
down the leading pair. Aaron was still just managing to hold onto the
leaders in 3rd with 5 laps gone, but there seemed to be a problem with
the Tigcraft Rotax, Aaron's sector times were OK, but his speed trap
times were well down on the 2 riders in front, and he was
being caught fast by Pole sitter Kehrmann, who passed
Aaron on the Start Straight on lap 6. Aaron was
still lapping within a second of the leaders but
was
almost
2 seconds off his Qualifying pace. With a safe 4th overall in the bag in
the Euro race (3rd place in the British) Aaron maintained a good 5
second gap over 5th place man Lex to the finish. His frustration at not
being able to convert his best Qualifying of the year into his first
race win was clear for all to see. It transpired that 4 out of the 5
cush drive studs in the rear wheel had sheared off, meaning not only was
Aaron lucky to nurse the bike to an impressive 4th place, he was very
lucky to finish the race at all. Mark Lawes was dominant once again with
the win, with Michael Payne and Manfred Kehrmann in 2nd and 3rd. We left
the circuit pleased with how the weekend had gone overall, but Aaron and
Steve need some good fortune (instead of bad!) to ensure that
Aaron and Team Tekmotive hang onto their 3rd place in the British
Championships with just 4 races remaining.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buff British Supermono Championships Rounds 6 & 7, Brands Hatch GP,
July 25th/26th
A planned afternoon test day on the Brands Indy
circuit to try out a new set-up following the handling problems from
Snetterton didn't go at all to plan. A fractured oil tank in the first
session put paid to that session and the next as Steve frantically
worked on the bike to get Aaron back on track, then the heavens opened
just before the final session washing out any chance of any decent track
time, so the bike was cleaned down and prepared for Qualifying on
Saturday.
Qualifying
Aaron had another very impressive session, seemingly
not fazed by Friday's problems he held 2nd place on the grid until
Michael Payne once again pipped him, but he still started from the front
row in 3rd place to continue his 100% front row record for 2009, with
runaway Championship leader Mark Lawes on pole, and a hard-charging Jon
Good looking fast in 4th.
Race 1
Aaron
got off the line OK, and was with the leading bunch of riders for the
first couple of laps. Mark Lawes and Michael Payne
slowly started to pull away, and left a monumental tussle between Aaron,
Mark George and Jon Good behind them, but this battle was certainly the
highlight of the race. for the whole race the 3 racers swapped
positions, and it looked like it was Aaron who had the pace to come out
on top, but as the three riders came back into view on the final lap it
was Mark George who had his nose in front, with Jon & Aaron both looking
for the drive out of Clearways to get the slipstream to the finish line.
Unfortunately Jon highsided right in front of Aaron, leaving him
to take avoiding action to miss both Jon and his bike as they bounced
across the track. So it was Mark Lawes who took the win, with Michel
Payne in 2nd, and Mark George in 3rd, with Aaron dejected in 4th,
wondering what he has to do to get a slice of good luck!
Sunday Warm Up
Aaron looked really fired up on Sunday morning, but
the oil tank on the Tigcraft Rotax fractured again mid-session, covering
the bike in oil and leaving Steve with plenty to do to try to perform a
suitable repair ready for the race.
Race 2
Steve's
temporary repair to the oil tank was the best he could do with the time
and materials available, so we all had everything crossed for the race.
Aaron didn't get off the line at all well, and gave himself a mountain
to climb. He made it up to 5th place and was chasing down 2007 team mate
Jeff Claridge. He caught & passed Jeff, but looked uneasy as he kept
looking down at his bike, the oil tank had fractured again and was
dripping oil onto the left hand side of the bike. Aaron looked
determined to stay out on track, and swapped places with Jeff for the
next couple of laps, but with just 2 laps remaining, and Aaron looking
like he would salvage at least a very credible 5th place, the throttle
cable snapped on his machine and he came to a very dejected standstill
at Graham Hill Bend. The top 3 across the line were the same as Race 1,
but the DNF meant that Aaron, although now up to 3rd in the Championship
standings, was now being closed down by several riders who had had
better fortune.
Next up is another combined European and British
round, to be held at Aaron's bogey track Cadwell Park. He's never
enjoyed the very narrow and tricky circuit, but as Steve has offered to
help out financially and cover Aaron's entry fee, he has promised to do
all he can to get Steve's bike back to the front again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UEM European Supermono Cup, Snetterton BSB, June 19/20/21
There
was a lot of excitement surrounding the UEM European Supermono Round at
Snetterton, Aaron's local circuit. Not only would Aaron be competing for
an overall place in the European Cup race, but all of the UK registered
riders would score points towards the Buff UK Championships (Aaron was
lying 5th coming to Snetterton, so he needed a good ride to improve his
Championship position, although he would be up against all of the top UK
& European Teams, boasting some very exotic machines, and really fast
and vastly experienced Supermono racers. Steve had been very busy since
Anglesey, working on the front end problems Aaron experienced, prepping
the bike and fitting brand new bodywork. Friday was a bit of a panic,
Aaron was expected at signing on and clothing Scrutineering at 15.00,
and riders briefing at 1600, but was kept at college in Coalville,
Leicester until 11.45, and had to pick up his leathers from Hideout in
Essex on the way. Aaron arrived at the circuit with minutes to spare,
but to his credit the new mature Aaron took it all within his stride.
Friday, Qualifying 1
The
session didn't get under way until 17.35, Aaron settled into a steady
rhythm, and seemed to be just eyeing up the competition. With 10 minutes
to go Aaron had set the 10th fastest time, but on his next lap put a
flyer in, which elevated him to 4th and the front row. On the next lap
he came into the pits, and was really surprised that he had put a good
lap in as the rear of the bike seemed really unstable. Steve made a
couple of suspension changes and sent Aaron out again, but as he took to
the track the session was red-flagged with 3rd placed Lex van Dijk
tipping off heavily at Russells, and the unlucky Perry Goldstein, who
had just bumped Aaron off the front row, crashing heavily at the
Bombhole, almost writing off his Dieterman KTM. With Perry unable to
compete for the rest of the weekend, Aaron was elevated back to 4th
place and yet another front row start, with Lex van Dijk in 3rd on the
beautiful Over Yamaha, UEM European Cup leader Manfred Kehrmann in 2nd,
and the UK Series leader Mark Lawes (both on Pami BMW's) in a different
class on pole.
On closer inspection of Steve's little Tigcraft, we
noticed some broken/worn parts on the swing arm linkage and suspension
linkage which, with the help of Dave Bennett, Mick James, and the
brilliant guys at the TAG Triumph Supersport team we managed to sort
before Q2 on Saturday. Steve also made some changes to the rear
suspension, hopefully we could use Q2 to get the bike dialed in ready
for the big race on Sunday.
Saturday, Qualifying 2
Unfortunately Q2 was a wash-out, a heavy downpour just
before the session saw parts of the circuit under water. By the time the
Supermonos were allowed on circuit the session had been reduced to 15
minutes, so Aaron decided to save the bike for Sunday as he wouldn't
have been able to push hard enough in the tricky conditions to test the
new suspension settings. Nobody improved their times from Friday, so it
was "as you were" for the race, and a fantastic front row start for
Aaron and Steve's little air-cooled Tigcraft Rotax.
Sunday, Race Day
The weather looked very changeable for the race, it
looked as though it could rain at any moment as we prepared for the
10.55 race. On a sad note, Steve's brother Mick was due to race this
weekend on his Hossack TM 600, but problems in both Qualifying sessions
meant he wouldn't start the race, hopefully he'll get the bike sorted
before the next round at Brands Hatch in July.
We
enlisted the help of Mick and our good friend Andy Pickles to haul of
our wet wheels, tools, stands, etc down to pit lane in case it rained,
we would then get just 8 minutes to change the bike to a dry set-up
before a restart. Luckily the rain held off (although we were all
convinced the wet would be a good leveler, and had Aaron down for a win
in the wet!!), and the two warm up laps got under way under gloomy
skies. Seeing Aaron close up on the massive Eurosport TV screen, on the
front row, and in such good company was a very emotional moment for us
all. Aaron appeared to move early to anticipate the start, but got his
timing wrong as the lights went out, leaving him swamped into
Riches. Aaron had dropped down from 4th to 13th in one lap, a good
result from there looked impossible in such a quality field. Aaron
battled his way through to 5th place overall by half race distance, but
we noticed his lap times were tailing off, the rear end problems had
returned, as the harder he pushed the worse they got. Aaron kept an aye
on his pit board to protect his 5th place (and 2nd place in the UK
standings), and nursed the bike home for a very impressive 5th place
overall. Aaron said after the race that the bike feels fast enough to
win on, we just need to sort out the handling issues, he wants
to go round the corners faster, but at the moment the bike has other
ideas!!
Steve has now taken the bike away to investigate the
rear end before the next round at the superb Brands Hatch GP circuit on
July 25th/26th, where we can hopefully come back stronger and challenge
for that elusive top step of the podium. Aaron now lies in 4th place in
the UK standings, and is only 4 points off Dijon Compton in 3rd place.
Aaron commented after the meeting :-
"This weekend was incredible, I'd like to say a
massive thank you to everyone who turned out to cheer me on from the
Russells Chicane, I hope it was an enjoyable experience for all. 5th
place in the Euro race and 2nd in the UK Series was a great result
considering the bike's current handling problems and my lack of time on
the bike, hopefully a race win isn't too far away now!! I have to also
thank Dave Bennett, Mick James, and the TAG Triumph 600 Supersport Team
for helping to get me on track for the race on Sunday, and BSB
Commentator Fred Clarke for doing such a great job of raising awareness
for the RedR UK Charity over the weekend. Being part of the Supermono
paddock has got me enjoying the racing experience again, I'm not
sure where this will lead to in 2010, but for now I'm very happy to race
Steve's fantastic little bike in such a competitive Series - ROLL ON
BRANDS HATCH!!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buff British Supermono Championships Rounds 3 & 4, Anglesey Coastal,
May 23rd/24th
We'd barely had time to dry out after our soggy
Cadwell weekend as we set off for what should've been a chilled-out 6
hour trip up to Anglesey for Rounds 3 & 4 of the Buff UK Supermono
Series (although the Great British Bank Holiday exodus turned it into a
grueling 8 hour slog in heavy traffic). It was almost midnight by the
time we had put the awning up and unpacked the van in very windy & wet
conditions, and settled down to another night in the back of the
Transit.
Thankfully Saturday morning was much better, there was
still lots of cloud about and it looked almost impossible to predict the
weather, but it was a dry start as Aaron took to the track on his
pushbike to familiarise himself with the layout of the stunning "Coastal" circuit
(Aaron would again be on the back foot a little, with most of the front
runners attending a trackday on the Friday). Aaron went out for the 15
minute "Free" Practice session, which was red-flagged after just 2 laps
due to a fallen rider, but the wait in pit lane saw Aaron's bike
overheat & foul the spark plug, meaning he wouldn't get any more laps in
before the 20 minute Qualifying session. With just 2 laps under his belt
on a circuit he'd never ridden before, getting a good grid slot seemed
like a mountain to climb, but Aaron is maturing with every ride this
year, and seems to be able to take disappointment in his stride now, and
concentrate on the job in hand.
Qualifying
Aaron set off steadily and stayed out for the whole
session to get as many laps under his belt as possible. He appeared not
only to click with the circuit almost instantly, but he also seemed to
be riding with a new-found confidence. Aaron took a bit of a breather
towards the end of the session, something he learned from Qualifying at
BSB last year, and wound Steve's little Tigcraft Rotax up for a couple
of quick laps to finish the session, which would see him on the front row again in 4th place
with a 1:16.702 lap, 1.9 secs off pole sitter and multiple European
Champion Mark Lawes on the Team James Pami BMW, but only 0.5 secs off
2nd place Michael Payne, on Aaron's old 2007 Tigcraft/Nova Honda 450.
Race 1
For once Aaron got a great start, and after avoiding a
first corner crash involving Perry Goldstein was holding his 4th place
and was up with the leading 3 riders. The red flags came out for Perry's
incident, and at the restart Aaron got caught in some 1st corner
bunching, pushing him back a couple of places. It took him a couple of
laps to pass Tom Blackwell and Aria Lane, but when he did the leading 3
riders Michel Payne, Dijon Compton and Mark Lawes had broken away. Aaron
had a lonely race to a very credible 4th place, reducing his fastest lap
to a 1:15.576, only 0.2 secs slower than 2nd placed man Dijon Compton.
Aaron was frustrated at not being able to race the top 3, but was very
positive about both his and the bike's pace, hopefully Sunday's race
would bring better fortune.
Race 2
Conditions were perfect for Sunday's race, very warm &
sunny, and after enjoying a trouble-free Warm-Up session first thing, he
was in a very confident mood for the race. Aaron got off the line OK,
and after a tough couple of laps he was back up to 5th and in a 5 bike
battle for the lead. Aaron struggled to keep up on the fastest bits of
the track, but was able to catch up in the tighter more technical parts,
he was particularly impressive through the Corkscrew, but it looked as
though his little air-cooled Rotax just didn't have the legs to improve
on his 5th place. Dijon dropped back from the leading 3 towards the end
of the race, and Aaron sensed another place was up for grabs, but after
closing him right down, Aaron came across some backmarkers and was
prevented from making a last-gasp move for 4th place. The pace for Race
2 was so much quicker than Race 1, and Aaron managed a best lap time of
1:14.726, lapping in the 1:14/1:15's for the whole race. Mark Lawes won
both races, and looks as though he is going to be hard to beat this
year, but Steve plans to squeeze some more power out of the Rotax, and
shave a little weight off the bike before the next round.
Race 2 highlighted some handling issues which
prevented Aaron from going considerably quicker than he did, which will
be addressed before the next round (the BIG ONE!), the combined
UK/European Supermono Round to be held the Snetterton BSB meeting on
June 19/20/21. Aaron's new-found confidence in front of his home crowd
should spur him and the Team on to push for that elusive podium, one
things for sure, Tekmotive/Azmanracing will give him the very best
chance possible to shine. Free Practice will be held at 17.35 on Friday,
Qualifying at 17.25 on Saturday, with the Supermono UEM Cup Race at
10.55 on Sunday, just before the start of the main BSB Event
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buff British Supermono Championships Rounds 1 & 2, Cadwell Park, May
16th/17th
Although Cadwell has never been one of my best tracks,
I just couldn't wait to jump on Steve Burge's Tekmotive Tigcraft Rotax
and get back racing again, after a 7 month lay-off. I would be on the
back foot from the start, as most of the front runners had done a track
day on the Friday in conditions very similar to those on Saturday, but
Steve has always been adamant that there would be no pressure to get
results, as these British rounds were just serving to get me up to speed
for the two European rounds we will be contesting this year. (Tracktime
will be minimal though, as my tiny budget and Steve's work commitments
will mean there will be little or no chance for any practice days)
Saturday
There was no Free Practice session, which was a bit
disappointing, so it was straight out for a 20 minute Qualifier. Track
conditions weren't great, most of the circuit was wet, but there was a
dry line forming towards the end. It's fair to say that for most of the
weekend I struggled top get used to the size and handling of the tiny
Minimono, a world away from the R6 I rode last year. By the end of the
session I was beginning to test the limits of the tyres, and as nobody
had passed me I thought I must've done OK! When I got back to the awning
I was pleasantly surprised to find I was on the front row, 3rd fastest,
a position I would have for both Saturday's & Sunday's races.
Conditions improved for Race 1, and although a brief
shower on the way to the holding area gave me something to think about,
a dry set-up seemed the way to go. I've never done a race start on this
bike before, and boy did it show! There was so much power off the line
that I found it hard to keep the front down to drive up into Coppice,
and ended up back in 10th
place. In the dry conditions I felt completely
outpaced, we had opted to gear the bike up quite a bit, which hadn't
worked as I was geared wrong for most of the corners now. When I
eventually started to find a bit of pace on lap 3, I was hampered by a
slipping clutch which got much worse as the race went on. I made it up
to 7th place, but on lap 8 the bike stopped (fuel starvation) as I
climbed the Mountain, so that was that. I watched the final 4 laps from
the top of the Mountain (very scary!!), and wondered if we would be able
to get the bike ready for Sunday's action.
I shouldn't have worried on that score, Steve and the
bike's previous owner (Richard Rowley) were already stripping the bike
as I got back to the awning. The clutch was fried, so the clutch out of
the spare engine was fitted, and the fuel problem was traced to a kinked
fuel line, a new piece of pipe was fitted and the bike was prepped ready
for Sunday. The best thing about the Supermono paddock is that there is
always a constant source of help and advice from fellow competitors and
Teams, and I was really grateful to Steve, Richard and everyone else who
pulled together to make sure the bike was fixed.
Sunday
We
got a 15 minute Warm Up session on Sunday morning in very wet
conditions, and straight away the bike felt very strong on a very wet
track. Just 3 laps in however, the fuel line kinked again and I came to
a halt at the bottom of the Mountain. Richard managed to source some
armored fuel pipe (which wouldn't kink) and I did a rain dance, as I
felt that at this early stage of the season I had a much better pace in
the wetter conditions. (I'm still trying to ride the bike like an R6,
which really isn't working, but I will get to grips with a Mono again,
it's just going to take me a few sessions to get dialled in).
The race was wet, but with a drying line appearing,
but I fluffed the start again, this time dropping down to 12th place as
we crossed the line. This time I decided to just relax and get
comfortable before I started to pick off the riders ahead of me. By the
end of the race I was really enjoying myself, and was wishing I had
opted for slicks as the track had a good dry line now. It was great to
be actually "racing" again, after spending all of 2008 just trying to
qualify, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like!! I'd made it up to 6th
place when the chequers came out, and was lapping faster than the guys
in 5th and 4th, but was a little disappointed to have been beaten by
riders I had beaten back in 2007 on my little Tigcraft Honda 450. I
starting to believe that the older air-cooled Rotax will prove a very
strong motor, and when I've blown the winter cobwebs away with a few
more sessions, I expect to be challenging for podiums at least.
This weekend (May 23rd/24th) we are off to the
Anglesey Coastal circuit for Rounds 3 & 4 of the Supermono Series. I've
not ridden the circuit before, and not doing the Trackday on Friday will
put us back a little, but the Anglesey circuit is very new, so it should
be a fairly level playing field.
Race photos to follow shortly
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back on track for 2009!!
The Winter break for Aaron this year has been truly
awful, usually he has pre-season testing to look forward to, and getting
his bike prepared for the start of a busy season, but after his decision
to quit on financial grounds, he's been concentrating on his
Apprenticeship with Volvo Trucks which is now in it's final year, but
without his racing "fix", he's been a nightmare!!
Aaron
recently received an email from Steve Burge, brother of Supermono racer
Mick Burge, who Aaron raced against in 2007 on his little Tigcraft Honda
in the British Supermono Championships. Steve, a former racer himself,
had decided to dust off his leathers and purchased the ex- Richard
Rowley Tigcraft Midimono, a slightly bigger 125 based machine, running a
tuned Rotax 640cc motor. Steve recognised Aaron's efforts in his
Rookie Supermono year back in 2007, and initially offered him the bike
to contest the UK Round of the European Supermonos at the Snetterton BSB
meeting in June. Since then, his brother Mick has had to pull out of the
first couple of rounds due to his partner expecting a baby, so Aaron has
now been offered the bike, complete with full support, for the whole of
the BSA 2009 season, as Steve will now ride Mick's fantastic little TM-engined
Hossack 600, at least for the first few rounds.
Aaron is now fully focused on the season ahead, back
in training, and ready to repay Steve's generosity with the kind of
results we all know he's capable of. We're not sure how the air-cooled
Rotax will fair up against the BSA front-runners (in particular the
water-cooled KTM's), but with similar weight (just over 100kg), a
cracking chassis, but more power and torque than Aaron's old Honda 450,
this should provide Aaron with an excellent opportunity to show what he
has in his locker!!
Mick
recently brought the bike over to Snetterton for a shakedown test, and
although Aaron was a bit "rusty" after 5 months not riding, on a very
crowded, windy, wet and cold track, we got a brief glimpse of what to
expect from bike and rider in the months ahead, and it looks fantastic!!
Aaron loved the bike, with a few more miles under his belt, we can see
no reason why he shouldn't be challenging for podiums from the off.
Steve has plans to make the bike even lighter, and has now taken the
bike away to prep it for the first round at Cadwell Park on May
16th/17th. You can see more of the bike and Mick's Hossack
here.
The bike will run in
Tekmotive livery, a company who
have supported Mick throughout his racing career, and will also display
the Redr UK logo,
a charity which Steve is very passionate about (Registered Engineers for
Disaster Relief). It's hoped that Aaron's presence on the Supermono grid
will raise awareness (and cash) for this very worthy cause. We're off
now to plan the season ahead, please keep coming back to visit our site,
2009 looks like it could mean a return to the podium for the "Azman"
thanks to Steve and Tekmotive - BRING IT ON!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Brands Hatch Indy - 10/11/12 October
I
won't dwell too long on the final BSB round, of what has been a very
disappointing season personally for me. A massive over-subscribed grid
(yet again) of 57 entries, with only 37 allowed to start meant
qualifying would be split into 2 groups, and the promised
"non-qualifiers" race on Saturday would now not happen due to time
restrictions. All things considered, I wasn't expecting to miss out by
much, but to be just 1.7 seconds off pole position (such is the quality
of this class this was only good enough for 45th place, just 0.3 seconds
off a grid place) certainly gave me hope for the future, my times
weren't bad, just not good enough for this class! That was that then,
the year finished just as it started, just missing out by the tiniest of
margins yet again on a chance to race in front of 40,000 BSB fans. With
the better funded riders able to use their full allocation of new tyres
over the weekend (about £1000 worth of rubber), I'd raided by bank
account but was only able to afford just the one set for the whole
weekend, another reason why, in my opinion, we just don't have anything
like the kind of package needed to compete at such a high level.
In
order for me to compete at the front of this class in 2009, I would need
to secure Sponsorship funding to the tune of £30,000, which would allow
a new 2009 bike, a full allocation of tyres, and a comprehensive
season-long testing program. The problem here isn't that I don' t know
what I'm doing, I'm fully aware of what's required to compete at this
level, but it can't happen without the right kind of financial backing,
and in these tough times, that's just not going to happen for me.
Right now I'm considering bringing my 8 year racing
career to an end, I don't feel I'm ready to hang up my leathers yet, I
feel I've so much more to offer this great sport, and so much more I
could learn, given the chance, but I can't allow my parents to burden
themselves with any more debt on my behalf, so it appears retirement is
my only option, until I can find a way of funding my racing myself.
I've had a blast over the last 8 years, I've met many
great friends, experienced massive highs and lows, racing really has
changed my life for the better (more than anything else, as a teenager
growing up in the 21st century, it's kept me out of trouble!!) I have to
say a massive thanks to all who have helped me, whether it be financial
or product support, or even just a kind word of encouragement, far too
many to mention, but you'll all know who you are, I couldn't have done
any of this without you, THANKS !
Azman #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Silverstone - 26/27/28 September
Silverstone is one of the circuits I've never raced
at, as it never appeared on the New Era calendar, but the track is
steeped in racing history and I couldn't wait to get out there. Our
Technician Mark Sadler was at Silverstone 10 days ago, and reported back
that 30+ of the riders out of the 51 strong entry were present at a
Trackday I couldn't afford to attend. By the end of the day most of the
riders had got their times down to good qualifying times, meaning I
would face another uphill battle if I was to make the race on Sunday,
having never even been through the gates to spectate at Silverstone,
never mind race there.
Free Practice
After
my visor fogging problems at Croft, I took the decision to contact Ian
at Nevis Marketing about changing to Shark helmets, he was only too
pleased to help out, and straight away I noticed how much quieter and
draught-free the helmet was. My first couple of sighting laps went
without drama, but as I tried to up the pace to keep up with the lads
who had been to the circuit previously, I soon realised the size of the
task ahead. Quite a few of the faster corners were not making sense,
with the bike drifting wide as I tried to carry too much corner speed. I
finished the session in a lowly 47th place, a long way off even making
the top 40. We made a couple of suspension changes after, and I rode
around the spectator areas on my scooter for a while, trying to see
where I was going wrong.
Qualifying 1
Conditions were perfect, warm and sunny, as I tried to
up the pace. I tried to stay with some of the front runners, but they
were so much faster that I just kept making mistakes. I needed to chill
out and think about my laps, but such is the pressure of qualifying in
this class, things just didn't feel good. I took 2 seconds off my times
from the morning, and was still almost 2 seconds away from qualifying
for Sunday's race, but after chatting to a few riders who had seen me on
track, I got a few useful pointers and feeling confident I could pull
this off.
Qualifying 2
Just
28 laps of Silverstone under my belt, and trying to qualify in one of
the most closely fought Championships in the World - talk about being up
against it!! With half of the session gone I pitted to see how I was
doing. I had shaved another second off my times, but everyone else had
gone quicker. With just 8 minutes left I took to the track in the frame
of mind I had been searching for all year, confident and calm. My last
four laps were a 1:36.0, 1:35.5, 1:35.3, and a 1:34.8, only good enough
for 42nd place, just 0.2 seconds off the grid. I was gutted to come so
close again and still not get out to race, but when I saw that I'd gone
from being over 6 seconds off the top spot in Free Practice, to less
than 3 seconds off Pole in Q2, taking over 4 seconds off my lap times, I
just had to accept that I'd once again been incredibly unlucky,
and move on to the next round. I had however posted a time which
would've qualified me for the 100cc Superstock race, such is the pace of
the 600 Superstock class!!
Right now I'm holed up in my Coalville digs feeling
sorry for myself, as I'm away at college for the next 2 weeks (no luxury
of testing or preparing for the final double header at Brands Indy for
me, it's back to the real world!). I'm trying to get permission from
Volvo to finish on Thursday so I can drive to Brands from here,
otherwise I'll have to miss at least Free Practice. There is a monster
entry promised for Brands, split into 2 groups such are the numbers, so
I'll have to work extra hard here to make sure I make it to Brands on
time.
Aaron
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Croft - 12/13 September
After
not qualifying yet again at Cadwell Park, I decided to contact ACU
Riding Coach (and good friend of mine) Mike "Spike" Edwards to see if
there was anything he could do to help me turn my season around, and
boost my confidence before the long trip up to Croft. I enjoyed many
battles with Mike last year on the Supermonos, and have an enormous
amount of respect for him, so I was chuffed when he invited me down to
Snetterton, where he was racing at a Classic Bike meeting on a pair of
Manx Nortons, so that we could have a chat about the way forward. Mike
was great and soon put my mind at rest, he gave me loads of constructive
advice and riding tips to try for when I got to Croft, just chatting to
Mike started me believing in myself again. We made plans for Croft, but
ultimately it would all be down to me, and how I could use Mike's ideas
to get to grips with another new track for me.
Free Practice
I tried new steering, braking and acceleration
techniques during the session, which was held in dry conditions, and
felt more confident with the bike straight away. Although I had visited
the Croft circuit once before, way back in 2005 on the Stealth Racing
Honda 125, nothing seemed familiar on the R6, but I worked on my laps
and was pleasantly surprised that I was in the top 40 by the end of the
session, even though I felt I hadn't put a really good lap in, and knew
I could go a lot quicker.
Qualifying 1
As
we waited for our session to start the clouds began to gather, the
weather forecast had said rain all weekend, and I was hoping it would be
that way as I felt I had a better chance in more tricky conditions now I
was beginning to grow in confidence. Just 15 minutes before the start of
qualifying the heavens opened, so it was on with the full wets, a couple
of adjustments to the suspension, and off we went to splash around in
the rain. Sadly, and for the first time this year, the damp
conditions led to my visor misting badly for the last 15 minutes of the
session, leaving me frustrated at not being able to push on safely, as I
couldn't see my braking and turn-in points at all. Luckily I managed to
sneak onto the grid in 37th place, not what I had hoped for as I felt I
had loads more to come from me & the bike, but at least I was
provisionally on the grid. We dried my helmet out overnight, put a new
visor in and hoped for a better Q2.
Qualifying 2
Conditions
were not good on Saturday, the rain had stopped but it was very damp &
humid, so we did some extra work on the helmet to hopefully cure the
misting problems, and although it was fine for the first few laps, my
visor soon began to mist again, this time the problem was even worse. I
came into the pits, frustrated at not being able to see where I was
going, but with the session reaching it's climax, and everyone going
faster, I had no option but to go out & give it my best shot. I kept
checking my pit board, and when I saw that, with just 2 minutes
remaining I had slipped out of the top 40, rage took over and I pulled a
quick lap from nowhere, qualifying in 38th place. I was far from happy,
I felt both me and the bike were capable of qualifying in the top 20 in
those conditions, but riding fast with a badly misted visor is the
scariest thing I've ever had to do, and I have no wish to go through
that experience again!
The Race
You'd think, after struggling to qualify all year,
that I'd be happy to be on the grid - far from it. All of Mike's advice
had helped me transform my whole outlook on my racing, I wanted and
expected to be mid-pack, back row of the grid just wasn't good enough
anymore. I made a good start and felt really fast going into the first
few corners, but the pack in front was bunching and I couldn't find a
way through. By the time I had got by the slower riders the guys I
needed to be with had got away. I pushed hard to try to catch them, but
we were all running at the same pace, so I just kept my head down and
ended up having a very lonely end to the race. I sat my fastest lap on
the penultimate lap which proved I never stopped trying, but even though
I finished the race in 33rd place I couldn't hide my disappointment.
To race competitively at this level everything needs
to be right, you can't leave anything to chance. Every round we
experience a different disappointment, which is only making me more
determined to get it right. The next round is Silverstone, a circuit
I've never visited before, and although most of the riders in my class
will have tested there in the weeks running up to the meeting (a luxury
I just can't afford), I'm determined to do everything in my power to
prove that I've turned a corner.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Cadwell Park - 23/24/25 August
With 57 entries and only 36 allowed to start the race
on Monday, Aaron would have to out-qualify 21 quality riders just to
make last place on the grid, such is the strength and depth of this
incredibly difficult class. Aaron is still suffering from a lack of
confidence, and is still struggling to adapt his style to suit his
120bhp R6, but with every outing on the bike he learns a little more,
it's just going to take time for him to be competitive in such a hard
class. Turning up to compete at this level on such a tiny budget, and
going home most weekends without racing due to massively over-subscribed
grids has hit Aaron hard, but he's not a quitter and is adamant that he
will figure it all out soon. Spike Priestley joined us again, this time
for the weekend, and his upbeat and positive approach is very
refreshing, and has certainly lifted Aaron. We have now been joined in
the awning by good friend Jack Drummond, who has split from JX Kawasaki
and will now contest the rest of the series onboard an '08 R6, prepped
and looked after by Mark Sadler from GO Racing Developments. Mark is
also on hand at meetings now to help Aaron & Jack with post-session
de-briefs, providing us with more constructive feedback and enabling us
to make significant changes to bike set-up. The newly-formed Team
has already gelled really well, we've all been best friends since Aaron
and Jack's Conti Cup days, and the rest of this year should finally see
both Jack and Aaron begin to realise their true potential.
Free Practice
The session was going really well until front runner
Lee Johnston crashed literally inches in front of Aaron as they came
over the Mountain together. Luckily Lee was OK as Aaron managed to avoid
both him and his stricken bike. Aaron pulled in complaining about
chatter under heavy braking into Mansfields, Mark made an adjustment and
Aaron stayed out for the rest of the session. Aaron seemed to be riding
really well, but was second slowest through the speed traps, a
combination of Aaron's lack of confidence getting on full throttle, and
a significant power deficit compared to the predominantly 2008 models in
the class. Aaron finished the session well, but would need to improve
his lap times in Qualifying by at least 2 seconds if he was to
comfortably make the cut, he would have to dig really deep in an attempt
to get to grips with both the circuit and the bike.
Qualifying 1
Aaron started the session well and soon settled into a
good rhythm, but the session was stopped just 10 minutes in when fellow
R6 rider Andy Yelland crashed heavily in front of Aaron on the entry to
Hall Bends. It would appear that Andy's timing transponder holder jammed
in his steering as he came over the Mountain, preventing him from
turning the bike into Hall Bends, and sending him straight into the
metal Armco. Aaron narrowly missed Andy's bike as it bounced back onto
the circuit, but we were all really worried as Andy lay motionless on
the grass. It looks like Andy will be out of racing for some time as
he's suffered a broken Femur and arm, and a cracked hip, we all wish him
a full and speedy recovery. When we got to Aaron in pit lane he was
visibly shaken by his second "near miss" of the day, but with 15 minutes
of the session left he knew he had to once again stay close to some of
the quicker riders to get a tow for a quicker lap time. Aaron made it
into the top 40 with minutes to go, but had dropped to just a second off
qualifying in the dying laps. Aaron sat down with Mark afterwards, it
would appear he was really struggling to turn the bike as he upped the
pace, so that night we adjusted the ride height on the rear shock to
cure the problem and prayed for a dry Q2.
That
evening everybody turned out to support the CJ Fund Charity Cycle race.
One of Aaron's oldest friends from his minimoto days, Chris Jones,
sadly lost his life at Cadwell Park in a BSB GP125 race in 2005
aged just 14, and ever since the CJ Fund, formed in his memory, has
worked incredibly hard to improve the medical facilities at BSB
meetings. The cycle race is an annual event, it was hilarious to see so
many people turn out in fancy dress all in aid of such a great cause.
Spike represented Azmanracing, aided by his good friend Stella Artois!
Qualifying 2
Nobody slept well Sunday night, laying awake as the
rain thundered down on the caravan roof all night. It was still raining
at 9am, but the first session was put back by half an hour to give
circuit staff time to clear standing water off the track. In order for
Aaron to qualify track conditions would need to be as good or better
than 1st qualifying, so things weren't looking great, it would appear
we'd be undone by the weather again, and the mood in the awning was
gloomy to say the least.
The
circuit had begun to dry by the time Aaron took to the track, on a full
dry setup. The bike handled much better thanks to the changes we'd made,
but there was no more than a thin dry line on a few crucial parts of the
circuit, making it impossible to really push for a flying lap. Aaron
left his flying lap until the very last minute, but was pushed wide by
another rider at Mansfields in a really hard move, ruining his lap as he
was forced onto the wet part of the track. Aaron was left frustrated at
missing the cut again, and although we knew qualifying here would be
almost impossible for him, he felt the changes we made to the bike
would've seen him qualify had the circuit been dry. It's been great
having Spike and Mark around, Mark has been great helping Aaron with the
technical side of his riding, and Spike is so knowledgeable and full of
enthusiasm, it's fantastic having people who are so positive around
Aaron when things aren't going to plan and he needs a pick-me-up.
It's Croft next, a flatter circuit which Aaron has
visited once before back in 2005 on his GP125, but he's really looking
forward to this one, there will be fewer track "specialists" there
compared to Cadwell, and he's hoping to repay the faith put in him by
all those around him.
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Oulton Park - 18/19/20 July
This was our second visit of the year to the fabulous
Cheshire circuit, and as Aaron had qualified first time around only to
be taken out at the first corner on the first lap of the race, he was
hopeful of a good result this time around. The bike was also in it's new
livery - a fresh look in white, and a superb finish thanks to an old
school friend of mine, Andrew Webb, who runs a local business fixing and
spraying race cars and bikes.
Free Practice
We decided to try a different gearing option in a bid
to make the bike more rideable, and although the bike handled better
than it did on his previous visit, we had no lap times to compare the
bike's performance as our timing transponder fell off the bike on lap 2,
and the on board lap timer failed to register any times. Overall the lap
times looked slower than last time, so Aaron opted to keep the gearing
as it was and go for a good lap in first qualifying.
Qualifying 1
It
soon became apparent that the change we made to the gearing wasn't
working, as Aaron pushed harder the bike became more difficult to ride,
and Aaron's lap times were well down on the ones he posted on his
previous visit. Once again Aaron hadn't posted a time to get him in the
top 40 and on the grid, but he was confident that reverting back to the
original gearing option would allow him to put in a qualifying lap. For
the first time this year I blamed myself for letting Aaron down badly,
track conditions would need to be perfect for Q2 in order for Aaron to
make the grid, but the session was scheduled for 9am, and I lay awake
all night listening to the rain pouring down, certain I had ruined
Aaron's chances of getting a race.
Qualifying 2
A welcome sight in the morning was our old friend
Spike Priestly, who was Aaron's mentor and head of the British Minimoto
Racing Association, and was instrumental in Aaron's success early in his
racing career. The bad news was that the track was very wet, Aaron
attempted to go out on dry tyres as he needed to post a good lap time,
but conditions were just not good enough. We put a wet front in later
on, but the track was wet in some places and dry in others, making it
impossible to get a good lap in. So that was that, dad screwed up and
than we were undone by the weather yet again. Aaron's confidence is
certainly down after so many disappointments this year, he's becoming
increasingly demoralised at not being able to qualify, and is frustrated
at the lack of time he has had onboard the R6. It's Cadwell Park next,
not one of Aaron's favorites as it requires a very aggressive riding
style, something he's not yet mastered on the 600.
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round - Snetterton - 13/14/15 June
This should've been Aaron's finest moment - years of
watching his heroes battling it out around his local circuit, now he was
to take to the track himself. The weekend got off to the worst possible
start when, after just 10 laps of free practice, and with Aaron already
showing the sort of pace which could see him scoring his first points of
the year, he suffered a massive highside as he exited Russells chicane.
Aaron jumped up straight away, but once out of harm's way, he slumped to
the floor in agony. Aaron was taken to the Medical Centre and was
attended to by Toby Branfoot and the fantastic MSVR Medical staff. After
a very thorough check-up he was advised to rest (he had suffered severe
bruising to his hip and thigh and was in considerable pain) and return
later that day, when a decision as to whether he would be allowed to
ride in Qualifying would be made. On a positive note, the few laps he
managed saw him lap Snetterton in a PB, putting him 33rd fastest.
Qualifying 1
Just 5 minutes before the session was due to start
we were treated to a heavy rain shower, leaving us stranded in the
awning with a dry set-up, and the session already under way in wet
conditions. Aaron opted to change to wet tyres as the rain started once
more, but by the time he had made his way through the paddock and onto
the track it was almost dry. With just a few minutes left Aaron pitted
and we put a dry front in, leaving him just one flying lap to post a
decent time. Although he managed a quicker time it was only good enough
for 44th place, his wet front tyre shredding on a bone dry track.
Qualifying 2
Conditions
were almost perfect for the 25 minute session, but Aaron hadn't
slept well and was in a lot of pain following his crash on Friday, he
was cleared at the Medical Centre to ride, but looked really tense on
the bike as he sat waiting for the session to start. The session didn't
go as planned, Aaron looked really out of sorts and failed to even match
his time from Friday, leaving him in a lowly 50th place and not
qualified. We all really felt for Aaron, racing at BSB has been a
lifelong dream for Aaron, but his first big crash on the R6 had battered
him both physically and mentally, now we have to rebuild and come back
fighting. Thanks to all of our friends and family who turned out to
support Aaron, he's promised to be back at Snetterton in 2009 - he has
some unfinished business to take care of!
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round 4 - Donington Park - 24/25/26 May
It was back to basics from now on - prior to this
event, and with the help of Mark Sadler (GO Racing Developments) we put
all of the bike & suspension settings on Aaron's R6 back to how they
were for pre-season testing in Spain, hopefully the excellent base
settings we used there would give Aaron a better feel for the bike.
Since the very first round Aaron hasn't been riding the bike with the
amount of confidence needed to be competitive at such a high level, we
found that TK Racing had made quite a few changes during the first 3
rounds,
especially to the front end, and although changing the bike back to our
original settings would
mean making some fairly extreme changes to the set-up, it was a gamble
Aaron was prepared to take. Donington is a track Aaron has ridden a
couple of times (he had a 100mph highside at Hollywoods on a GP125, a
terrible race on his CB500, and a 4th place last year at the British
Supermono Series, where he struggled with grip problems for the whole
race), but he's never raced on the GP circuit, and I think it's fair to
say that out of all the tracks Aaron has raced at, this has been his
"bogey" track. Nobody understood better than Aaron what was required
from him to turn his season around, this would have to be an inspired
ride.
Free Practice
It
was early afternoon when Aaron took to a dry but windy track, and after
a couple of laps to get used to the new settings, Aaron showed the kind
of potential we have all been waiting to see. After spending most of the
session just outside the top 20 riders (with a total of 52 on track), he
finished with a 1:41.861, good enough for 16th place and just 2 seconds
off the fastest time of the session. This was an amazing turn around for
us all, the mood in the Azmanracing camp lifted instantly, Aaron had a
big smile on his face, but only one thing was on his mind, and that was
to make sure he qualified later that day, as the 2nd Qualifying Session
on Sunday was forecast to be wet, meaning if he didn't do it at his 1st
attempt he wouldn't make the 40-strong grid for Monday's race.
Qualifying 1
After practice we sat down and planned a couple of
changes to help Aaron turn the bike a little easier, but the weather
conditions were worsening, the wind had picked up and where we were in
the paddock now resembled a scene from Lawrence of Arabia, the bike,
tools and everything else in the awning were constantly being covered in
grit, it would almost be a relief to get some rain just to lay the
dust!! Aaron was comfortably in the top 40 for the whole session, but
got a bit bogged down towards the end of the session when he got
involved in a tussle with TK Racing's new rider, British Supersport
rider Jack Groves, Aaron assumed that Jack, with his extra experience
racing at this level, would tow him along to a good time, instead he
seemed to be getting held up in his fastest sectors, meaning he didn't
improve on 34th place. Aaron was annoyed with himself for letting
himself get sucked in to a battle in qualifying, rather than back off
and find some clear track - another lesson learned and put down to
experience!
Qualifying 2
The
rain did indeed reach us before Aaron took to the track, so it was full
wets and out for some wet track time. Aaron has had very little time on
a 600 in the wet, especially at somewhere like Donington which is
notoriously "vague" in the wet. Aaron came back in half way through the
session, and said he'd like to push a little harder as the bike felt
really good, but for the last few laps the rain came down harder. It
didn't stop him improving his times by a second a lap on every lap, and
Aaron seemed happy with 32nd position, confident there would be much
more to come if the race was wet on Monday, but he would've preferred
another dry qualifying session as he was sure he could've put himself
further up the grid. Paddock life has improved ten-fold since Mark
Sadler and our good friends Tim & Jack Drummond joined the JX Kawasaki
600 Superstock Team (Jack is returning from injury after breaking his
leg in his first ever British Supersport 600 race 2 years ago), even
though we are on rival machinery we have been made to feel very welcome
by Team Owners Axel & Janet, and I suppose you could say Aaron has been
"adopted" by this fantastic little Team!! Axel is an ex-GP500 racer, so
it was nice to hear some glowing compliments regarding Aaron and his
riding skills, a real confidence boost and a much needed pick-me-up for
young Aaron. The one thing Axel
is certain of is that Aaron needs time to learn and grow into this
unbelievably hard class, but he is certain Aaron will be a front runner,
he just needs to believe in his own ability.
Race Day
We
were greeted by a dry but even windier day, conditions were not at all
good with the wind affecting quite a few of the faster corners. Aaron's
10 minute warm-up session was a disaster, Aaron's plan to get his head
down and test another couple of changes we made after Q2 came to nothing
as the slipper clutch in his R6 destroyed itself as he exited pit lane.
As we took the bike back to the awning it was now a race against time to
get the bike fixed before the race, as Aaron only had me (Dad) as
mechanic, and very few spare parts due to our dwindling budget. When
Axel learned of Aaron's latest spate of bad luck, he kindly offered to
sort the bike out in the JX Kawasaki awning, where Mark Sadler would
work on the bike if I could source the parts. I scoured the paddock for
the bits we needed, and after visits to Raceways Yamaha and British
Supersport rider Craig Fitzpatrick we were in possession of everything
we needed to fix the bike. Mark and JX rider Phil Atkinson had the bike
fixed in no time at all, it's so refreshing to find that, even at this
level of competition, there are good people willing to give up their
valuable time to help out rival competitors.
As we made our way down to the pits for the race there
were a few spots of rain in the strengthening wind, I was praying the
rain would pass as I would only get 6 minutes to change both wheels if
the race was declared wet, something I would struggle to achieve even on
a good day and with no pressure, but I was lucky to have the help of
Aaron's cousin Ian and his dad Tivvy to help out getting everything down
to the pits.
Aaron
got a good start as the lights went out, he still needs to perfect his
technique if he is to make up places at the start, but he is at least
holding track position. The race was stopped early on when Phil Atkinson
had a coming together with AJ Johnson at the Melbourne Hairpin, and the
grid reformed for a reduced 11 lap race. Aaron made more places up at
the start this time, but was forced backwards with some really harsh
moves on the 1st lap. This is something Aaron has to improve on if he is
to make his way up the field, but after the race he said he didn't want
a repeat of Oulton where his race ended on lap 1, he just wanted to
finish a race! Aaron had a race-long tussle with Jack Drummond, Jack
Groves, Jon Railton and Mike MacLean, with Aaron leading the pack on lap
6, only for him to get spat out of the seat when he had a huge "moment"
coming out of the very fast Macleans. At the flag there was only half a
second covering Aaron Jack & Jack, with Aaron finishing in 29th place, a
massive improvement on his season so far.
All at Azmanracing now feel that our season is finally
under way, Aaron is now much more comfortable in Qualifying, and now
knows what he needs to do to be more competitive in the race. We have to
say a big thank you to all at JX Kawasaki, we all seem to get on so
well, and without their help fixing the bike Aaron could've been sitting
out yet another race. A massive thanks has to go to Tim Drummond, who
paid for a set of tyres for Aaron at the weekend, the goodwill which has
been directed at us as a Team of late has completely overwhelmed us, and
with our "home" track Snetterton up next, we hope to be able to grow and
improve as a Team even further. What better motivation could a rider
have than to race at the highest level, at home, in front of all of his
friends and family?
This is what we've worked so hard for, and sacrificed
so much for over the last 7 years, now it's time for Aaron to shine.
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round-up - the season so far
Sincere apologies for not updating the site recently,
we've had several issues with our new web service provider, leaving us
unable to publish the site, hence a return to our original provider
(it's more expensive, but at least it all works!!)
Round 2 - Thruxton
Yet another circuit Aaron had never ridden before, and
probably the fastest/scariest circuit in the UK. Free Practice went
superbly, Aaron soon learned enough about the track in dry conditions to
be able to post 26th fastest time, just 2.6 seconds off pole. Aaron was
very confident that another session on track would see him improve even
further, but both Saturday Qualifying sessions were held in very wet &
windy conditions, and with Aaron unaware of the unbelievably grippy
Thruxton surface when wet, he only managed 45th fastest, almost 9
seconds off pole. Aaron had so much work to do to Qualify, but in worse
conditions he managed to carve over 5 seconds off his Q1 time, but
narrowly missed out on a place on the 40 strong grid by a mere 0.09
seconds (again he was well within the Qualifying time, but a massive
entry of 54 riders meant 14 would not make the race grid). Once again
Aaron was totally devastated to not qualify, but the massive
improvements he had already made, and the fact that this class is
without doubt the strongest of any class we've ever been part of, saw us
take many positives away from Thruxton, all was needed now was to try to
lift Aaron's spirits before the next round at Oulton Park.
Round 3 - Oulton Park
So far this season Aaron has had to come to terms with
a powerful 600cc machine which he has still yet to race (at any level) ,
at circuits he has never ridden, in rain, snow, and in the case of
Thruxton, a track surface which is almost as grippy in the wet as it is
in the dry, now he was to be faced with the most technical circuit in
the UK, the breathtaking Oulton Park, which he last rode on a 45 bhp
Honda CB500!! A bumper entry of the best 56 young riders in the UK meant
Aaron would have to do something really special to even Qualify, but he
was so determined after so much disappointment this year that we all had
total faith in him. Aaron was unhappy after Free Practice, he was down
in 41st place and the bike wasn't turning in how he would like, so some
suspension changes were made before Qualifying 1.
First Qualifying went well, Aaron improved his time on
a very tricky damp but drying track. All around him riders were crashing
heavily if daring to run off the dry line, but Aaron kept his cool to
set his fastest time as the chequers came out to put him in 33rd spot.
Second Qualifying was completely dry, and Aaron was
improving his times all session, he was unlucky to have his flying lap
with 3 minutes of the session remaining discounted, as the session was
red-flagged as he exited the final corner, but he had done enough to put
himself 37th on the grid (his flying lap was looking a whole second
faster on the split times, which would've seen him in 16th place!)
Standing on the grid for the first time with Aaron was
a pretty emotional event, this is what he had dreamed of since the age
of 4, a real dream come true. Joy would quickly turn to despair though
when Tom Clegg and Alex Gault collided on the inside of Aaron at the
first turn, first lap, with the crashed bikes and riders sliding across
the track and wiping out Aaron on his Azmanracing R6. Aaron jumped to
his feet, and after a bit of arm waving he dragged his bike off the
floor to try to restart the race, unfortunately the crash had broken his
footrest and rear brake lever, leaving Aaron to sit the race out on the
tyre wall.
The mood in the Team was very low after Aaron's latest
bit of bad luck. Aaron had made us so proud to
finally make the grid,
only for some very poor riding to rob him of his chance to shine. It's
fair to say that the relationship between us and John and Amy from TK
Racing had been strained over the last couple of meetings, we've
struggled to gel properly as a Team and TK Racing's demands for better
results to keep their sponsors interested led to Azmanracing and TK
Racing going their separate ways, but we would like to thank John & Amy
for the effort they've put in over the first 3 rounds, and wish them the
best of luck with their plans for the rest of the season. It's our
belief that Aaron needs time to grow into this incredibly difficult
class, all he needed was a change of luck for him to start making his
way up the grid - his talent has never been in question, we all know he
can do this, so we would revert to our original family-run Team set-up
from now on, with Aaron riding his R6 and Dad doing the spanners.
Unfortunately we've been let down by a couple of
previously dependable Sponsors, but the "Credit Crunch" has seen us fall
well short of our planned budget figure for the season. We'll continue
for as long as we can, but unless we can source the funds needed to pay
for the tyre & fuel bills for the rest of the season we are going to
struggle financially to make it to the end of the season. Hopefully our
fortunes will change at Donington Park (another track Aaron has yet to
race at), but one things for sure, we haven't come this far to give up
without a real scrap!!
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSB Round 1 - Brands Hatch GP Circuit - 4/5/6 April
I don't think, since we first sat Aaron on a minimoto
7 years ago, that we ever really believed he would make it to the
British Superbike Series, not because we didn't believe in his ability,
but just because it always seemed so far out of reach. This weekend
threw up so many emotions, it really was a roller coaster ride for us
all, but one we have taken many positives from.
The
weather forecast for the weekend wasn't great, Friday was set to be OK,
but from then on we were due a mixture of wind, showers & eventually
snow for race day!! Our new Team, Azmanracing/TKR, with John
Waller and Amy Bryan joining us as Chief Technician and Head of PR
respectively, gelled instantly as we knew each other so well from the TK
Racing CB500 days. The plan was to take things one step at a time - not
only was this Aaron's first ever 600 race at any level, it was also his
first attempt at the BSB format, incorporating longer Qualifying
sessions than he was used to, and his first visit to the beautiful
Brands Hatch GP circuit - oh, and throw into the equation that there
were 52 more very fast and more experienced 600 riders all battling to
fill 40 grid places!! All things considered, we would be more than happy
to accept a place on the grid with the odds stacked so firmly against
Aaron.
Friday - Free Practice (30 mins)
Aaron set out for Free Practice with the sole
aim of getting a good look at the track, and to see how he measured up
against his 52 rivals. The pace at the front was really hot, and I think
it took Aaron a little by surprise. Aaron finished the session is 41st
place, but planned a change to the gearing before Qualifying 1 to help
him out of the corners, and felt he could improve quite a bit on his
previous lap times.
Friday - Qualifying 1
The plan was simple - take a couple of laps to get
into the groove, then try to hook up with someone who knew their way
around the track to gat a half decent lap time. Aaron seemed to be fine
through sectors 1 & 3 (basically the parts of the track which
incorporate the Indy circuit which he's ridden before), but he
was
losing lots of time through the long sector 2 which he'd never seen
before, and he just didn't seem to be able to match the pace of the
quick lads. Half way through the session his times finally started to
come down as the track at last began to make sense to him, and with 9
minutes to go Aaron was safely qualified in 28th place. He came into the
pits briefly to check on his progress, and seemed really pleased with
his position, but when he returned to the track for the final few
minutes he was only able to slightly better his time, and just in the
last 2 laps of the session he plunged from 28th to 42nd, just missing
out on qualifying by less than a tenth of a second (even though he'd
beaten his previous best time by over 2 seconds). Aaron was
mortified, his only hope was for a dry Qualifying 2 on Saturday, but the
forecast had rain coming in around the time they were due to go out, all
he needed was a 10 minute window to get a decent time on the board. Now
with a basic knowledge of the circuit, Aaron set about learning the bits
he couldn't get right. After Qualifying he walked (and studied) the
circuit, and all day Saturday he watched the Superbike and Supersport
classes through sector 2, and after a chat with mate Jay Dunn, who has
raced at European level around the GP circuit, was sure he could knock
at least 2 seconds off his lap times if given the chance on a dry track.
Saturday - Qualifying 2
With tyre warmers on, Aaron sat waiting for his
session to start, determined to get a time in early on, but as forecast,
the rain started to fall 5 minutes before the session started, and
soaked the track making it impossible to improve on his Q1 time, so that
was that - Game Over. The mood in the Team was very low, we'd just been
undone by the whole grid treating Q1 as Final Qualifying (just as we
had), we're all confident that Aaron could've improved so much with a
few more laps, having learnt so much and worked so hard after Q1, our
only hope would be if 2 riders on front of Aaron dropped out before the
race, elevating him onto the grid., but the fact is Aaron just hadn't
been able to post a quick enough time, and nobody was more disappointed
than him.
Sunday - Race Day
After
losing the 3 day Snetterton test session to snow, we really weren't
expecting to wake up to such a Wintry scene, but the snow had settled in
for the day, and was measured up to 4 inches deep on track in places,
leading to the meeting being abandoned before a wheel had been turned.
This didn't stop the hardy BSB spectators pitching up at Paddock Hill
Bend at 7.30, umbrellas up and ready for the action to start!! (I guess
they're no different to us in that respect, it's been a long time since
Aaron has ridden a bike competitively, this meeting really couldn't come
quick enough for us all). It would appear that the Gods had been on our
side, surely we would now get a second crack at it at a later date? Joy
turned to despair again later that day when it was announced that the
meeting had been rescheduled as a 2 day event on May 10th/11th at the
same circuit, so all grids would be formed from the Final Qualifying
times from the weekend. I think at this point we all accepted that this
just wasn't meant to be, although there's still a chance that Aaron will
get to race at Brands GP, if 2 of the Qualified riders drop out between
now and May 10th (we have two meetings before that - Thruxton & Oulton
Park).
The only negative from the weekend is that Aaron
failed to Qualify by the tiniest of margins. On the positive side
Aaron's fitness is excellent, his Yamaha R6 handles and goes like a
dream (if only he knew which way the circuit went!), and he's met and
had some wise words of advice from Rob McElnea, who will be helping out
Aaron and Azmanracing/TKR over the season, starting with helping Aaron
to understand the very fast Thruxton circuit where we are next weekend
for Round 2. Many lessons have been learned from Brands, and the Team
will use all of our experiences from the weekend to make sure we arrive
at Thruxton in the best shape possible. I think it's only right Aaron
should have the final say :-
"I'm bitterly disappointed at missing out on
Qualifying by such a small margin, but I now know what to expect. This
year is going to be really tough, but I'm prepared to knuckle down and
work really hard at this, this is the first time in my career that I've
failed to Qualify for a race because I wasn't fast enough - take it from
me, I'll do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't happen
again. I'm not that far off the pace, so I'm just going to have to ride
the bike a bit harder. I'd just like to thank everyone who has
contributed in any way to get me here, I won't let you down again. Aaron
#62"
For those who can't make it to the meetings but would
like to follow Aaron's progress through access to the live timing
screens, go to the Links page and click on Timing Solutions Ltd - select
the circuit and you should be able to see a Timetable and all of the
live track times as they happen.
Regards,
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Season Testing snowed off - but new Team formed!!!!
Well, what a weekend that was!! Easter
weekend saw us attend the 2008 BSB Season Launch and 3 day Pirelli
Official Test at our local circuit, Snetterton, however many of you
may have already guessed that the weather had a huge impact on
proceedings. (Even setting up our impressive new awning - kindly
donated for the season by good friend Tim Drummond - was almost
impossible in the 50mph winds, and had Aaron at one point being
dragged across the paddock in full flight!!). The original plan was
to use the weekend to get a good look at Aaron's opposition for this
year's Metzeler National 600 Superstocks, but as most of them had
seen the weather forecast and stayed away, we just had to make the
most of what little track time was available.
Day
1 and it took all of Aaron's skill and determination to hang onto
the bike, as he had to lean into the icy Northerly wind which was blowing side-on up the Revett Straight,
just to keep going straight!! Conditions weren't just poor, they
were very scary, and we decided to call it a day and get ready for
what we hoped would be a better 2nd day.
Day 2 brought snow, and lots of it!!
Aaron went out for a couple of sessions in between snow showers in
the afternoon, but sub-zero temperatures meant even his usually
sticky Metzeler wet tyres couldn't cope, all we could do was hope
for at least a better 3rd day.
Day 3 not only brought snow, but the
overnight flurries combined with a very hard frost meant all action
on track was suspended until 11 o'clock. Aaron tried a couple of
sessions, just so that the brave people who had made the trip over
to see him got a short glimpse of what to expect from him this year.
All in all, the testing side of the weekend was a disaster for all
who attended (most BSB Teams never turned a wheel in all 3 days).
We were joined on Monday by John
Waller and Amy Bryan, from Aaron's old CB 500 Team, TK Racing
(www.tk-racing.co.uk), who had made the trip down from Louth,
Lincolnshire to meet up with us and put an exciting proposal on the
table. John, Amy, and all of TK Racing's associated Sponsors had
been all set to compete in the National 600 Superstocks themselves,
but with just days left until Round 1 their rider decided he no
longer wanted to ride for the Team, leaving John and Amy with a
fantastic Team set-up, support from Rob Mac Racing (the Official BSB
Yamaha Team), a 30 foot Race Truck and awning/garage, a spare 2007
Yamaha R6, but no rider and no No. 1 Bike. Having worked very
successfully
with Aaron during his CB500 season in 2006, John and Amy suggested
merging Azmanracing and TK Racing, to form Azmanracing/TKR, using
Aaron as the sole rider on board his Mark Sadler-prepared R6 (with
them providing their R6 as a spare bike). TK Racing will also bring
all of their product Sponsorship into the Team (more details of
which will be announced very soon), and set up their Race Truck at
every meeting to provide us with a much more impressive Paddock
prescence. John Waller has 15 years mechanical and bike set-up
experience with race bikes in World Championship racing, and will
provide Aaron with a fantastic opportunity to improve his knowledge
of bike set-up in his first year on board a 600. Amy has proved over
the past 3 years that she is excellent dealing with PR and
Sponsorship, and is bound to be a massive asset to Azmanracing/TKR.
This has all come completely out of the blue, and for us Brands
Hatch and Round 1 can't come quick enough. We were already looking
forward so much to Aaron's first ever BSB meeting as a rider, it's
been a dream of his ever since he used to sit on the spectator
banking at Snetterton aged 4, cheering on his hero James Whitham,
but this is a massive opportunity for Aaron, and one he intends to
make the most of.
Thanks to John, Amy and their Sponsors
at TK Racing, and everyone who has helped Aaron and Azmanracing over
what has been the most intense pre-season we've ever experienced,
rest assured Aaron is up for this, and will do all in his power to
make everyone involved very proud to be associated with
Azmanracing/TKR - Roll on Brands Hatch!!
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron receives British Supermono Association 2007 Rookie of the Year
Award
Aaron
attended the awards ceremony for the 2007 British Supermono
Championships at the Quality Hotel, Welwyn on Saturday night, and had
arranged to meet up with all of our great friends we met during Aaron's
Rookie Supermono year, and show our support for a class which
quickly became very close to our hearts. The whole presentation was
superb and extremely professional, it was obvious to see that a great
deal of time & effort had been put in by all involved with the BSA to
make the night a great success. Never before have we ever experienced
such warmth & kindness from within a racing paddock, if only all
paddocks (and people within them) operated in the same way, racing win
the UK would be so much more enjoyable. Aaron was left speechless when
the first award was announced, and he was asked to go up to accept the
2007 British Supermono Rookie of the Year Award from Series
Sponsor Mick Hammonds (Tuff Trailers), he really didn't expect it, but
it did go a long way to help him overcome the disappointment of losing
2nd place in the Championship at the final round (although some would
say there's no disgrace in being pipped to the post by East West/KTM
Racing's Nick Chadwick and the 2007 European Supermono Champion Mark
Lawes!) Aaron was also extremely honored to be nominated for the
Geoff Sawyer Memorial Trophy, an award presented to the rider who, in
the opinion of fellow Supermono riders most epitomised the spirit &
commitment of the Supermono class during the season. The award was won,
and deservedly so, by our good friend (and racing legend) Mike
"Spike" Edwards, who bought a road bike off Ebay, called it "Gordon",
and went on to blow most of us into the weeds with it!
Thanks to Scott Richardson, Rob Whitworth, all at Team
Psyclo, and everyone who had so many words of kindness to wish Aaron the
best of luck for his season ahead, it really was a very special night.
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-season Testing in the
sun - 8th/10th February 2008
Apologies for the
delay in posting the report on Aaron's Spanish adventure, but things
have been pretty manic since we arrived home. Aaron is flat out at work,
studying hard for his apprenticeship, working really hard on his
fitness, and this week is on a 5 day Intensive Driving Course, so it's
up to Dad to give an account of our excellent weekend at Circuito de
Almeria, Southern Spain.
The event was
organised by Racedays, and although there was a host of fast riders at
the event, unfortunately on this occasion there were a good number of
slower riders (mostly under instruction), and with 120+ riders present,
and an open pit lane for the longer sessions, hooking up a good lap
around the very technical 4.3km circuit would prove very difficult. The
Racedays format for the weekend was different from your average trackday
event, the whole weekend was transponder timed, and the days were a mix
of free practice, qualifying session (in groups relating to lap times),
races on days 2 & 3, and a "Masterclass", where you could, at extra
cost, have living legends Leon & Ron Haslam, Jeremy McWilliams,
and Iain MacPherson tutor you for the weekend- sadly our budget wouldn't stretch to that kind of
luxury, so Aaron would have to learn both his newly prepared bike and
the circuit all on his own, and believe me, he did an incredible job!
Day 1
The
weather for the whole event wasn't quite what we'd expected,
temperatures were warm enough for the tyres to work properly (nudging
into double figures), it was very windy at the circuit, but the sun
shone the whole time, and it remained bone dry - perfect for testing a
bike ready to race in the UK! The day kicked off with the 120+ bikes
split into 4 groups according to bike size/spec & rider ability. Aaron's
1st lap didn't quite go to plan, finding himself in the gravel twice
when he lost his way on the very tricky "decreasing radius" corners!
Mark Sadler had set us a benchmark time for the weekend of breaking into
the 1:50 sec laps, as Aaron had never seen the circuit before and the
bike was all new to him. We made a call to Mark back in the UK after the
1st session, as Aaron wasn't 100% happy with the rear end of the bike,
so on Mark's advice we made a couple of small changes to the new Ohlins
rear shock and it transformed the bike, allowing Aaron to drop 4 seconds
of his times in the next session. After the first 2 sessions we were
told to go to the race truck where the lap times had been posted, as the
riders had now been sorted into groups for the two qualifying sessions -
one today & one Saturday. We weren't sure how Aaron had done, but were
amazed to see that he was 14th fastest out of 124 bikes, putting him
firmly in the fastest group for Qualifying - perfect! Aaron did the
qualifying session, and beat his fastest lap again, already putting him
within the lap time we'd set him for the whole weekend. The last session
of the day was open pit lane, but Aaron struggled to get through traffic
on the very crowded circuit, so we decided to pack up early, stick a new
rear tyre in, and head back to the fantastic Tryp Indalo Hotel in
Almeria, about 30 mins drive from the circuit.
Day 2
The
day started off with a 2 hour open pit lane, but once again shear
numbers and a few very slow riders all wanting to go out meant Aaron had
to be content with stringing corners rather than laps together. The 25
minute Qualifying session in the Fast group went much better, allowing
Aaron to carve another 2 seconds off his fastest lap, putting him in
24th place for the "Open" 80 km race that evening, and 8th on the grid
in a really strong 600 race on Sunday. He really wasn't fussed about
doing the Open race, but I managed to talk him into at least doing a
race start, as it's something he'd not even had chance to try, he just
didn't fancy the thought of battling with a grid full of 1000cc bikes
for 50 miles and trashing another set of tyres. He started the race
(fluffed the start a bit!), carved his way up to 18th place, & pulled in
after 5 laps as instructed. The race was narrowly won by Leon Haslam on
a Stock Honda Fireblade, but he was made to work hard for his win by
European Superstock 1000 rider Matt Bond.
Day 3
The final day had
Aaron feeling a lot more optimistic about improving his lap times,
although a crowded circuit for open pit lane again left him feeling
frustrated that he was unable to link a good flying lap together and
better his time from Saturday. The 600 race in the afternoon was a
blast! Aaron didn't really benefit from his 2nd row start as he headed
into turn one in 15th place, but as he came round again to start lap 2
of 8 he was up into 11th, and at the back of a 7 bike battle! He seemed
happy to sit & observe riders who had been on the same pace as him for
most of the weekend, before making some daring moves on the final 2 laps
to eventually finish in 8th place. After the races had finished the
circuit was
open again for free practice, so Aaron went out to see if he
could get a tow off the European Superstock 600 pairing of David Paton
and Danny Brill, both Masterclass students and both on R6's. Aaron
managed to get within just over a couple of seconds of the fastest 600
Superstock lap of the weekend, exceeding all expectations of both
himself as a very inexperienced 600 rider, and the bike as a newly built
and untested
machine. The slow traffic on circuit seemed to get worse, so Aaron
decided to go out with my video camera strapped to his fuel tank to
capture some "rider's eye" footage of this fantastic flowing circuit,
the results of which can be seen by clicking
here (its a way
off Aaron's fastest lap, but gives a great view of why the circuit is an
awesome test track). With 90 minutes of track time still left, we
decided to pack the bike away ready for it's trip home, and we headed
back to the hotel, then off for a local Pizza before hitting the sack,
completely satisfied with Aaron's weekends work.
Now we and the bike
are all back home safely, the next job to sort is the Azmanracing paint
scheme for 2008, something which will happen over the next few weeks in
readiness for the Official BSB Test weekend at Snetterton on March
22nd/24th (Easter weekend). I have to say a big thanks to my brother in
law Tivvy for doing the graveyard shift to get me and Aaron to Stansted
on time when we flew out, and to everyone who has helped out in any way
over the last few months to help us achieve so much in such a short
space of time, but the biggest thanks of all has to go to Mark Sadler
(GO Racing Developments) who has built such a fantastic race bike, I
guess it's all down to Aaron now, and believe me, I've never seen him
with such a twinkle in his eye - this year should be very, very special.
Andy Easter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Down to the last nut and
bolt!
With a few weeks to
go still until I kick off my debut BSB Season, I thought I'd provide a
bit of an insight into the preparation of my Azmanracing Yamaha R6
Superstock machine. Essentially you should be able to buy a road bike,
put race fairings on & go out to race in this class, but if you're
serious about being competitive (as I am) then there are a host of
improvements which can be made within the class regulations, which
should transform the bike into one capable of winning races at this
level (obviously the larger Teams will have the edge with spare bikes,
loads of testing, and Factory Support, bit ultimately it all comes down
to the rider and his ability). All of the work will be undertaken this
year by our great friend Mark Sadler (GO Racing Developments). I first
met Mark while testing at Nogaro, France back in 2006, and he's done
what he can to help me out ever since. I consider Mark to be one of
the best engine builders in the UK today, his workmanship, attention to
detail, and ability to build really quick bikes, as well as use his
Technical expertise to analyse rider feedback to set the bike up, will hopefully see me on
a really competitive machine for my debut BSB season. Unfortunately I'll
probably not see much of Mark at race meetings as he has a full time job
looking after KMS Motorsport's R6's in the British Supersport Cup, but I
have a great Team behind me, and thanks to Mark, an awesome bike!
After my crash at
Snetterton the bike was taken down to the UK's finest Motorcycle
Straighteners Maidstone Motoliners
Ltd, who were amazed the bike had been ridden at all! It would seem
the bike had sustained serious damage to the whole chassis before we'd
acquired it, with the headstock, swinging arm & frame all twisted out of
shape, so not only have I been let off the hook for the crash, I've been
hailed a hero by the guys at Motoliner for riding the bike at all (never
mind posting some very impressive times on it!) Motoliner have 25 years
experience in the motorcycle straightening business, and a few days
later the bike was back down in Mark Sadler's Witney workshops, 100%
straight and being prepared for a complete rebuild.
On closer inspection
of the bike, it was obvious that the previous owners had not looked
after it well, and Mark's only option was to completely strip the bike,
down to the last nut & bolt, and build it back up to full National
Superstock Specifications. as you can see from the pictures below, Mark
has put a huge amount of time & effort into rebuilding the bike,
stripping, cleaning, inspecting & measuring every component. Click on the images below for a stage-by-stage view of the bike coming
together (check out the awesome Ohlins TTX suspension, and the superbly
engineered Leo Vince SBK exhaust system). Next week the bike will go to
the dyno for it's final "tweaks", before we load it onto the truck
heading down to Spain.
With the 3 day test
at Almeria, Spain just a couple of weeks away, thanks to Mark I'm really
looking forward to putting myself to the test, so we can hopefully
arrive at the BSB Test at Snetterton in March on the pace. Mark Sadler
(GO Racing Developments) is keen to take on new business, so if you need
an engine/gearbox or full rebuild, and you appreciate quality
workmanship, call Mark at his Witney (Nr Oxford) base on 01993 702160 or
07739 430671.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 Season Update
Lots to report with
the start of the season looming. Firstly news on my Mark Sadler (GO
Racing Developments) prepared R6 - it would seem my crash at Snetterton
may have been mostly down to a seriously bent & twisted chassis, but
everything has now been jigged back into line and the bike is due to go
to the Dyno next week for it's final "tweaks" before we go off to
Almeria, Southern Spain, for a very intensive 3 day Test at the start of
February. Mark has worked long and hard to give me a bike which I can be
a contender on, and I aim to do him and all of my supporters and
sponsors proud when the season kicks off at Brands Hatch in April.
I am chuffed to bits
to have "KBC Europe", my helmet sponsor
since 2003, back on board for my debut BSB season. Connie & the Team at
Swadlincote-based KBC Helmets, one of the
fastest growing helmet brands in the world (with its head office
situated in Los Angeles), have been very supportive in the past, and
have improved their support further for 2008, incorporating a full Race
Service at all BSB events from the dedicated KBC Team. KBC Helmets have
saved me from serious injury on several occasions, and I'm proud to wear
and promote their quality products.
It's also great to welcome back one of my most
enthusiastic sponsors from previous years, Basildon-based
"Konrad Beeson". Konrad has been very
supportive and a great friend, but took a year out of the sport in 2007
to launch his new Home Extension business. With Konrad's new Company
flourishing, he has decided to come back on board as a financial backer.
We're all very grateful, and looking forward to having him around the
paddock again.
Other Sponsors already promising support for 2008
include Norwich sign makers "G Sign" (Nigel
Stewart & Graham Dance) who, as well as providing all of my vehicle
graphics over the past 5 years, have also provided me with
top-of-the-range Ohlins Suspension for my R6, something which should see
the handling of my bike transformed beyond recognition,
"Jetclean" (Greg Nichols),
"Harveyson Haulage" (Keith & Julie),
"GO Racing Developments" (Mark Sadler) who
is responsible for getting my R6 up to spec, and
"Hideout Leather", who will once again make sure I'm safe out on
track for another season.
New also for 2008 is backing from Shaun Graham, who
hosts a fantastic new Bikers' Community Website at
www.thebikerplace.com.
Shaun in all too aware of the problems young aspiring racers like myself
face, such as lack of financial support and media coverage, which is
why Shaun has dedicated a section of his Website to "The Future", a list
of the top young riders in the UK, who each have their own page to
promote themselves, post updates & race reports, and receive messages of
support from well-wishers. Please feel free to log onto my page by
clicking here,
and if you wish you can post a message using the form at the bottom of
my page.
The search for financial Sponsorship goes on for us,
we're not in this to make the numbers up, but with 70+ entries from all
over the World so far, the National 600 Superstock Championship will be
a revelation, and by far the most challenging thing I've attempted to
date, I'm just thrilled to be a part of it, and I aim to give it 100%
every time I go out on my bike.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final test this year
My planned final run
on my R6 turned out to be a very cold & wet affair at a wintry
Snetterton. Unfortunately only a handful of riders turned up for the MSV
Testday, meaning I had nobody to pace myself against on track, but it
was dry if very cold for the first couple of hours, so I made the best
of it &
put in some laps before the rain set in. Lap times were OK, but the
track felt really greasy and although we played around with a few
things, the tyres just weren't getting up to temperature. The rain came
in mid-morning & I was first to try out the track in awful conditions.
Although the rear was spinning up everywhere, the front at lest felt OK,
but after about 15 minutes, as I exited the Bombhole, I felt the back
end break away. My best attempts at a bit of "speedway" riding were not
enough to stop the bike spinning out completely from under me (at about
80 mph) and we slid off gracefully into the mud! I tried to pick the
bike up, but the left handlebar had snapped as the bike went over the
kerb, so I waited for the recovery vehicle & made the dreaded "parade of
shame" up pitlane, with my muddy bike looking a little worse for wear!
That was my first
crash for nearly two years, so in a way it was good to get it out of the
way without injury, and even the bike seemed to get away with mostly
superficial damage. We looked at getting it patched up to get out again,
but the rain had got harder and the temperature had dropped considerably
since my crash. The lap times I had put in while wet were pretty
impressive, and as my crash was one I could've avoided had I not been so
keen to impress my friends, family & sponsors who had braved the cold to
come to support me, we decided to pack away & call it a day. The bike is
now down with Mark Sadler (Go Racing Developments) where it will be
readied for my 3 day Test at Almeria, Southern Spain in February,
something I'm relishing as it will give me the opportunity to ride my
bike quickly for the first time with the all-new Ohlins TTX suspension
fitted.
I'd just like to
wish all of my friends, sponsors & supporters a very Happy Christmas, I
hope to be able to bring some exciting news on new sponsors in the New
Year, WATCH THIS SPACE!!
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time out on the R6
After
several weeks of looking at/sitting on/drooling over my new bike, I
finally got a taste of what is to come next year when we attended a No
Limits track day yesterday, at a circuit I had never ridden before (but
will race at in 2008), the Full GP circuit at Donington Park. I was on
the reserve list as the all 3 classes were full, but me & dad left at
4am, and arrived at Donington at 0700 to make sure my name was top of
the "1st come 1st served" list. It was a really cold day, with frost
still on the ground where the sun couldn't get to, so first thing was to
get the bike on the stands & get the tyre warmers on. Just as the Fast
group took to the track for session 1 we got a call to say that there
was a space in the Intermediate group out next, not what I had hoped for
as I was hoping for the Fast group, but we raced back to the garage and
got ready to go.
I
wasn't really prepared for how cold it actually was on track, but more
than that, I couldn't believe how hard these Yamaha R6's rev, and how
fast they are!! The Metzeler Racetec tyres the bike had on felt really
grippy, and the bike both held a line really well, and turned in very
quickly, a great sign as we still have top of the range Ohlins
suspension to be added before we start the 2008 season. Unfortunately
there were quite a few "Muppets" in my group, and when I wasn't having
lines & apexes ruined by very slow riders, the sessions were being
stopped after about 10 minutes (just as the tyres were starting to come
good) because another numpty Rossi wannabe had thrown his pride & joy
down the track. The day wasn't about lap times however, it was mainly
about me getting a feel for the standard bike before we start to
transform it in to the bike which I hope will see me as a serious threat
in the 2008 BSB National 600 Superstocks.
As the day wore on I became more confident with the bike, putting some
excellent laps together when possible, but the stoppages got worse as
the weather turned colder still. My rear tyre started to "cold tear"
quite badly as I pushed on harder, and a couple of "moments" signaled
the fact that the track temperature was way too cold for the tyres to
work, and for me to be able to push safely, so we packed up & headed for
home, happy with my day's work. We're now looking forward to my next
outing at Snetterton on December 8th, which is an Exclusive racer only
day, so hopefully the weather will hold & I'll get to push a little
harder at a circuit i know very well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plans for 2008 taking shape
After
a 12 hour round trip to Newcastle at the weekend, and the sale of Aaron's
Team Psyclo 450 Minimono, we are now in a position to get the ball rolling
for 2008 with the arrival of the new bike - a 2007 Yamaha R6. The bike
already boasts very impressive performance figures, but over the next few
months, the machine on which Aaron will contest the 2008 National 600cc
Superstock Championship at BSB will be transformed with suspension
upgrades, new bodywork, and a full race exhaust system. The calendar looks
very impressive for 2008, but is still provisional at this time :-
22.23.24 March Snetterton - OFFICIAL TEST
04.05.06 April Brands Hatch (GP)
18.19.20 April Thruxton
03.04.05 May Oulton Park
24.25.26 May Donington Park (GP)
13.14.15 June Snetterton
18.19.20 July Oulton Park
08.09.10 August Knockhill
23.24.25 August Cadwell Park
12.13.14 September Croft
26.27.28 September Silverstone (International)
10.11.12 October Brands Hatch (Indy)
We are planning our official Team
launch at an exclusive Test Day at Snetterton on Saturday December 8th
(weather permitting!!), where anyone wishing to come along will be kept
warm with copious amounts of hot drinks & hearty snacks, as well as
getting to meet Aaron & his Team, and see him take to the track on his R6
in anger for the first time. If you're planning to come along (entry is
free we believe) then just drop us a line so we have a rough idea of
numbers, all will be made very welcome.
Roll on 2008!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 8 & 9, ACU British Supermono Championships,
Cadwell Park, October 6th/7th
Coming into the final two rounds of
the 2007 ACU British Supermono Championships I knew I had my work cut out.
I was lying in 2nd place in the overall standings, but was only 4 points
ahead of Nick Chadwick on the very quick KTM 600, and a mere 8 points
ahead of the No.1 Team James GRC/BMW 726 of recently crowned 2007 European
Supermono Champion Mark Lawes, both vastly more experienced than myself,
both on much more powerful machines than my little Honda 450, and on top
of that my bike was still suffering from a mysterious fuel starvation
problem which wrecked both mine and Michael Payne's Friday test day as we
spent the whole day with mine and Jeff's bikes in bits to cure the
problem.
Qualifying on Saturday morning went
OK, although with all of my bike woes I didn't feel really "in the
groove", but
still
did enough for a 6th place on the grid, just behind the No.2 Team James
rider, Dutchman Henk From. On closer inspection of the bike after
qualifying we discovered a slight oil leak on the right side of the motor,
but as it was impossible to trace where it was coming from we changed the
gaskets which we thought were to blame and I crossed my fingers for the
race, although my two main threats looked so much quicker on their bigger
machines, clearly better suited to the undulating Cadwell circuit than my
little 450 Minimono.
When the lights eventually went out
after a very long wait I got a shocker of a start, and had to fight my way
up from 12th into the first corner to 8th as we crossed the line for
the first time. I had European rider Rob Hakvoort and Scott Richardson in
front, but even at this stage I could feel my right boot and footpeg
getting slippery, meaning we hadn't cured the oil leak (it turned out that
the leak would only appear once the engine was under load, so was
impossible to trace with the bike on the stand). I was
determined to keep fighting, but had decided that the first signs of loss
of grip due to oil on my rear tyre would leave me no option but to pull
off the track. I passed Rob on lap 2, and squeezed under Scott into the
base of the Mountain on lap 4, then set about building and maintaining a
gap as I was now up to 6th, and felt that if I could nurse it to the
finish I would still have a chance on Sunday. Disaster struck for Spike
Edwards and Alex Hutchinson ahead of me towards the end of the race with
mechanical failures, elevating me to 4th place at the chequers. Mark Lawes
took the win, with Nick Chadwick in 2nd, and Henk From 3rd. When I got the
bike on the stand and surveyed the damage, I was horrified to see oil all
over the rear wheel & rear brake, which would explain the numerous
occasions when my foot had slipped off the footpeg mid-corner. I was so
lucky to finish the race, but we needed to fix the leak or I wouldn't be
able to race Sunday. Dad, Jeff & Michael had the motor out again and
changed everything they thought could be the cause, I felt so fortunate to
have such a great team behind me, all fighting to help me get back out on
track on Sunday.
A quick practice on Sunday revealed
the leak hadn't been cured, and I was ready to jack it in, but then Jeff
had an idea that the leak could be coming from the water pump oil seal,
and sure enough when the motor came out AGAIN it was discovered to be just
that. I was over the moon, and once the seal had been replaced & we had
put the bike back together I made my mind up to ride the wheels off my
bike and give it one last shot.
I was in determined mood for the
race, and as the lights went out I got a flier, tucking into 6th place
right in the leading bunch. Sadly Spike, on his final ride on "Gordon",
crashed out of the lead at the Gooseneck on lap 1, handing the lead to
Nick, with Mark & Alex closely followed by Henk and myself. I was getting
frustrated behind Henk's seriously fast BMW, I could close right up
through the technical parts of the track, only to see Henk disappear at
warp factor nine down the straights!! I kept close though, knowing that
any chance of 2nd had now gone, but I was determined to at least beat
Henk. on the penultimate lap I was close enough as we approached back
markers to take a chance & passed Henk on the exit of the chicane. I got
my head down and did what I felt to be an almost perfect lap, I hit every
apex & felt on the limit of adhesion everywhere. I looked back and saw
that I had broken Henk, putting my fastest lap in on the last lap, a PB
for me at Cadwell of 1:39.28, and possibly the hardest I've ever had to
ride for a 4th place!
It
was nice to finish the season with a good ride and 4th overall in the
Championship, especially after the disastrous weekend we'd had with the
bike. My little Honda 450 has now changed hands, with my Aussie team
mate Michael Payne taking it on, which is fantastic news as it stays in
the Team Psyclo outfit which worked so hard building the bike and making
it competitive. The whole weekend has left me physically & emotionally
drained, but the Supermono paddock is the best I've ever been part of, it
was really touching that so many people came together to help out & make
sure I got out on track on Sunday.
Finally I have some special Thank
You's, firstly to Jeff Claridge (Team Psyclo) and Martin Ford-Dunn (Nova
Racing Transmissions) without them none of this would've happened. Thanks
also to the rest of Team Psyclo (Doc, Wombat, Jim & Pete), the Smith Bros,
who have been so helpful (and incredibly unlucky) all year, Joe and Lee
from DDM, Dave Pearce, and as special thanks to Spike Edwards who has been
so supportive, certainly one of the nicest guys I've ever met, a racing
legend, and someone I now feel very close to. I feel very humbled to have
been part of the 2007 ACU British Supermono Championships, and I'll take
many happy memories with me when I move onto pastures new in 2008.
We're currently compiling a
Sponsorship Portfolio to try to attract extra funding into our Team, so
that I can realise my dream of competing at BSB next year. The plan is
still to move up to the new Junior Superstock 600 Championship, something
which has always been an ambition of mine, and something I now feel ready
for. Last but not least a massive thanks to all of my Sponsors who have
helped me get this far, I hope to make you all proud on track in 2008
Cheers, Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 7, ACU British Supermono Championships,
Mallory Park, September 9th
Mallory Park, the venue for Sunday's
race, has never been my favourite circuit. In particular I detest the way
the various odd-ball chicanes and the very tight Shaw's Hairpin make hard
work out of what would otherwise be a fast & flowing track. Coming into
this round I was lying 4th in the overall standings, 3 points behind
reigning European Champion Mark Lawes, and just 7 points behind Nick
Chadwick on the very fast East/West Racing KTM 660. Mark Lawes had decided
not to attend this meeting, and although present, Spike Edwards and my
team mate Jeff Claridge had also opted not to ride at one of the circuits
on the calendar that most people (including me!) just don't like, although
Jeff had loaned his newly re-built and very rapid Nova Honda 450 to Aussie
Michael Payne (Michael has been on form of late, and with Jeff's bike
kicking out a full 10bhp more than my bike, he would be really hard to
beat). With 2nd place in the Championship so close, I opted early on to
settle for safe points, rather than get caught up in a scrap & come away
with nothing.
The day didn't start great, as the
display unit on my bike packed up before I even got out, leaving me with
no rev counter, lap timer, or temp gauge. We had an 8 minute warm up which
felt a bit strange, with the memories of my 1st ride on a 600cc bike still
fresh in my mind, my little Honda 450 seemed very uncomfortable and
unforgiving in comparison, but I soon settled back into it and in the 15
minute Qualifying session posted what I felt was an OK time, but felt some
adjustments to the suspension were needed as the bike felt really loose
coming out of the fast Gerrards right hander. I was disappointed to find
that my time was only good enough for 8th place on the grid, and I was
considerably slower than pole man Alex Hutchinson (who as one of the
pre-season favourites has suffered more bad luck than most this year).
Daniel Rosamund on the Factory Tigcraft Yamaha had qualified well, but
lost control of his machine at the very scary John Cooper Esses, crashing
heavily and sadly breaking a bone in his wrist. I was confident that I
could go quicker in the race, but a podium looked a long shot, I was just
hoping to get away with the quick lads and maybe hang on for some good
points.
Nick Chadwick, my closest rival in
the Championship, suffered a clutch failure on the grid, and as we lined
up for the race, I only had Glen and Alex in front of me. As the lights
went out I got a great start, and exited Gerrards right on the back of
Glen & Alex in 3rd place, but the red flags came out after a nasty start
line crash, meaning I'd have to do it all again. At the restart I got away
OK again, and was into 3rd. Nick came past into Edwina's and got away from
me really quickly, but Michael hadn't got such a good start so I got my
head down and tried to keep up with the leaders. Michael came past on lap
6 and was riding really hard, but even with my horsepower disadvantage I
managed to match his lap times and hang onto the back of him, that was
until lap 11, with 7 laps still remaining my bike developed another
fuelling problem, which felt like the bike was running out of fuel at the
ends of the straights and exiting the fast corners. With the massive
engine braking of these big Singles, the bike was almost impossible to
ride quickly, but Nick Chadwick had dropped out of the race on lap
6, so I needed to score good points to elevate me to 2nd place in the
Championship with just two races remaining. I hung onto top 4th place
until just one lap from the end when Laine Martin came past, but to be
honest a 5th place and 11 points was better than nothing. When I got back
to the pits we also discovered a leak on my fuel tank, so I really was
lucky to finish at all!. We've traced the problem with the bike to a
routing issue with the fuel tank breather pipe, something which will be
sorted before the final meeting at Cadwell on October 6th & 7th.
Alex won the race easily, and Glen's
second place and Michaels 3rd meant that Glen was crowned 2007 Champion.
Glen & the DDM Team (Joe, Lee & Uncle Jim) really deserve the top honours,
their Team has been immaculate all year with Glen only finishing off the
podium once, and it's been a pleasure sharing the paddock with them. I'm
now up into second place in the standings again, 4 points ahead of Nick,
although the Championship is now decided, I really want the Runner-up spot
and plan to come out at Cadwell with all guns blazing. It's been an
incredible year for me, my first year on a Supermono, on probably the
least powerful machine on the grid, I hope we've proved what we set out to
prove, that you can compete without megabucks budgets, all you need are
good friends and family, and a desire to do well.
We're still waiting for the MCRCB to
finalise the regulations for the 2008 600 Superstock Series, which is
still where I'd like to be, and once we can sort out the budget for next
season we can crack on with securing the funding required to compete
at the highest level. I'll post again when we have anymore information.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Snetterton Test Day - August 31st
I
don't know if I was more nervous or excited as I fired up Jay Dunn's
Suzuki GSXR600 for the first time. Jay is currently lying second in the
2007 ACU Motostar GSXR600 Cup (and is also a good mate), and his dad
Steve, together with the bike's owners Road & Racing very kindly agreed to
let me test his only bike just a day before he was due to race it himself
at Snetterton in the next round of the Motostar Series. I felt a little
uneasy about the whole thing, as crashing the bike and ruining Jay's
chances of winning the Championship was clearly not an option!! Now any
600cc Sports bike would be quick compared to anything else I've ever
ridden, but even though the Cup bike is essentially a road bike, on road
tyres, with race bodywork and a Micron exhaust, the power and acceleration
as I gunned it down the Revett straight for the very first time just blew
me away. Luckily the standard brakes were more than up to the job, but the
standard road bike suspension and treaded Dunlop tyres took me a few
sessions to dial myself into.
Joining
me on spanners for the day was my mechanic from my CB500 Superclub
campaign last year John Waller. John prepared my bike all last season, and
I was chuffed when he offered his services for the day, as his experience
as a top Honda mechanic would almost certainly be a great help as I tried
to tame what is a very quick motorcycle. I had three 20 minute sessions up
to the lunch break, and by then my lap times were tumbling, and I was
really starting to get a feel for a much bigger and faster bike than I am
used to. I was able to run with some of the New Era 600 Supersport bikes,
so I planned an afternoon of trying to improve
my lap times. All was going fantastically well, until a massive slide at
the fast Coram Curve spat me out of the seat and forced me to come into
the pits. The rear tyre was pretty much totalled, so we stuck a fresh one
on for the sixth and final session, and without having to push too hard, I
was able to lap consistently in the 1:14's, which was only just over a
second a lap off Jay's fastest lap from the racing on Saturday (not bad
considering Jay is now in his second year onboard Suzuki GSXR600's, and he
also rides a Honda CBR600RR in Oscar Rumi's Azione Corse Team in the
European 600 Superstock Series, which forms part of the World Superbike
Series.)
All
in all we were all pretty happy with how the whole day went Jay got his
bike back in one piece, Mum & Dad, a couple of my sponsors (Keith
Harveyson from Harveyson Haulage and Nigel Stewart from G-Signs) and John
and Amy from TK Racing thought I handled the experience really well, and I
felt really comfortable running at what turned out to be a good pace on my
first ever ride on a 600. We are now starting to make plans for 2008
around competing in the all-new National Junior 600 Superstock
Championship (for 16 to 25 year olds) which will run as part of the
British Superbike Series, and as such will be shown on Sky Sports on race
day. We're under no illusions about the mammoth task ahead, not only do
we have to find a substantial amount of financial backing to do this
properly, but with no 600 experience under my belt I'll need to do plenty
of laps & work on my fitness over the Winter to make sure we hit the
ground running in 2008.
Back to things present, I'm back on
my Minimono for the next round of the ACU British Supermono Championships
next weekend (September 9th) at Mallory Park, where I hope to close the
gap on the 3 guys in front of me in the points table, and hopefully get my
first win of the season. Finally, I have to say a massive thanks to Steve,
Jay, John, Amy and everyone else who helped make Friday such a special day
for me.
Aaron #62
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 6, ACU British Supermono Championships,
Donington Park, August 12th
It seems like an age since my last
report, but it's been quite a stressful time since my "horror" meeting at
Pembrey. We decided that I needed a bit of extra tracktime before the
Donington, I felt I needed to get my confidence back, so we did a No
limits trackday at Mallory Park at the end of July, and although I posted
some really pleasing lap times, the day resulted in my only engine letting
go in a BIG way. As I exited the Devils Elbow in my 4th session, the conrod broke and smashed it's way out through the crankcases, breaking
everything in it's path. I managed to pull the bike up without crashing,
but a closer inspection of the damage made my heart sink, with no spare
engine, and no money to fix what looked like an unfixable motor, I was
certain my season was over. My parents talked for hours about how we could
carry on, and after Mark Sadler (GO Racing Developments) had stripped the
motor, and dad had managed to get a great discount on all of the new parts
needed from TRM Racing, they somehow managed to scrape together enough
cash to pay for an engine rebuild. My team mate Jeff also helped out with
some used spares he had, so with Mark putting the engine together in his
workshop in Witney, nr Oxford, we picked the rebuilt engine up from Mark
with days to spare. I was still faced with one major headache however, the
motor wouldn't have been run in, and with only 8 minutes practice &
qualifying before my race, I was unsure just how hard I could push, and
how competitive I would be.
Now anyone who has followed my career
will know that I've only had two one day meetings at Donington before, one
in 2005 on the Activ8/Stealth Racing Honda RS125 which ended in the mother
of all highsides while chasing MotoGP golden boy Bradley Smith, with my
bike destroying itself into a concrete wall, and one in 2006, when I
qualified 2nd on the TK Racing Honda CB500, only to ride to a dismal 13th
place, having nearly crashed 3 times on the warm-up lap, suffering with no
rear end grip for the whole race, and being penalised 10 seconds for a
jump start, so to say Donington isn't my favourite circuit would be a fair
assumption!
The weather had forecast rain all
day, but we were blessed with sunny & dry conditions for most of the day.
A seriously overcrowded New Era program meant that my 8 minute "untimed"
session, in which I was expected to run my new engine in, was to be mixed
with the Probike qualifying session (the New Era equivalent to
Superbikes!). The session passed without too much drama, and I was able to
push a little harder for my 8 minute Qualifier, but I developed a fuelling
problem on lap 4, meaning I didn't really get chance to push my bike to
the limit to check my suspension setup for the notoriously smooth &
slippery circuit. I managed P6 on the grid, which was pleasing from my
point of view as I felt the bike had much more speed to come. Dad fixed
the problem with the Carb and I set about planning my 12 lap race.
Coming to Donington I was a massive
53 points behind runaway Championship leader Glen English, but only 14
points off reigning European Champion Mark Lawes in 2nd, and only 2 points
behind Nick Chadwick on the KTM 660 in 3rd, so I at least I still had
plenty to fight for in the final 4 rounds. I was really nervous at the
start, mainly worried about whether I could up my pace on a circuit I've
never gone well at, and run with the leaders. I completely fluffed my
start, getting way too much clutch slip, and entered Redgate mid-pack. I
spent the next two laps fighting my way back up to Alex Hutchinson (one of
the pre-season favourites, and an instructor with the Ron Haslam Race
School at Donington Park) who was in 6th place. I passed Alex at the end
of lap 3, and hoped he would come past again, so I could use him to drag
us both up to the leading group of English, Edwards, Lawes, Chadwick & my
team mate Jeff Claridge (Jeff had a great qualifying session, sticking it
on the front row in 4th, and had been winding me up all day, telling me he
was going to thrash me as Donington is his favourite circuit, and it
certainly looked like he would be proved right!).
Just a couple of laps in, as I
started to push the bike earlier out of the turns, the rear end of the
bike began to feel really "loose", and even changing my corner entry speed
& changing my lines didn't do anything to dial out the problems I was
experiencing. Alex dropped off the pace a bit mid race, so it was up to me
to try to reel Jeff in in 5th. I lost the front end at Coppice on lap 8,
but managed to keep the bike on track, but lost almost 3 seconds on Jeff,
who I had been reeling in each lap. I decided to back it off a bit & get
the bike home, 6th place was better than I had hoped for and would be my
best result to date at Donington. Jeff's bike begun to slow coming into
the 12th & final lap, and I was right on his tail as we went under
Starkey's bridge, but as we did so the red lights came on and the race was
stopped. It would appear an incident involving race leader Mark Lawes and
Glen English had resulted in Mark crashing heavily. Thankfully Mark was
OK, but as the cause of the stoppage was disqualified, which elevated me
to 5th place. I have to say a massive congratulations to Jeff, it would've
been unfair for me to have beaten him on the day, and an impressive 4th
place for the man who has been instrumental in my success this year, and
the guy responsible for bringing me to the Supermono class is more than
deserved. The win went to Glen again, with Spike Edwards riding superbly
to 2nd, and Nick Chadwick taking the final podium place.
I have to say that was the least
enjoyable race I've finished this year, but a 5th place has strengthened
my Championship position (I'm now only 7 points off 2nd place and 3 points
off 3rd, with Glen 64 points ahead in the Championship lead with a maximum
75 points left up for grabs, so it's still mathematically possible for me
to win the Championship, if a little unlikely!) I'll be arriving at
Mallory in a more positive mood, my handling problems at Donington have
been put down to just a lack of set-up time, the new engine feels really
strong, and I should be able to run at the front with my Championship
rivals at Mallory.
I have to sat a massive thanks to
Mum. Dad, Mark, Jeff, Martin & everyone else who worked so hard to get me
back on track, I hope to repay you all at Mallory on September 9th. I've
now started my first job since leaving school, I've just begun a 3 year
Advanced Apprentiship as an HGV Technician with Volvo Truck & Bus at the
Thetford depot. So far I'm really enjoying it, and hope to soon start
contributing financially towards my racing.
I'm due to test Jay Dunn's
Championship leading Suzuki GSXR600 K7 at Snetterton in 2 weeks time at
Snetterton (August 31st). Jay's dad Steve, and the bike's owner Roger,
from Suzuki dealer Road & Racing, have loaned me the bike for a day's
testing to see how I get on with a 600, as we are planning an assault on
the new Junior 600 Superstock class to be run at BSB for 2008. I'll keep
you posted with details as they become available, but 2008 promises to be
very exciting if we can secure the funding.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 4 & 5 ACU British Supermono Championships,
Pembrey - 16th/17th June
Apologies in advance for a very short
report from what was expected to be my best meeting of the year so far.
After my performance at Snetterton Jeff Claridge & Martin Ford-Dunn from
Nova Racing very generously took my engine and fitted a few tuned bits to
it & a Nova close ratio gearbox, meaning I would have a few more
horsepower, and hopefully give a big enough boost in performance to enable
me to challenge for my first win of the season.
The weekend started brilliantly with
a practice day on Friday, which ended up being an open pit lane affair,
meaning I managed some good track time, and was lapping comfortably in the
1:03's, a time I felt I could better on race day by some margin.
The track was wet after overnight
rain for Free Practice, so I was out on the wet set-up, but everything
felt really good to the point of me praying the track would stay wet, as I
believed that would give me my best shot at a win. Qualifying was on an
almost dry track, so we opted for slicks, but I struggled to get through
the slower traffic, and without getting a single clear lap in was
disappointed to find myself down in 7th on the grid, but was only a second
off pole sitter Glen English.
I was really fired up for the 18 lap
race, and felt if I could maintain my grid position I could work my way
through the field as the times I was doing Friday were as fast as anyone
else's. The start & first gear, first corner hairpin went well, and I was
quickly up into 6th. On lap 2 I took my team mate Jeff for 5th into the
Old Hairpin, but as I came out of the corner and reached for a gear I was
horrified to find no gear lever, and with the bike in 2nd gear I had to
coast to the side if the circuit, frustrated at being robbed of the chance
to show how good Jeff and Martin had got my bike going. It turned out the
M6 threaded rose joint on the gear linkage shaft had sheared off, quite a
common thing on these machines, but still really disappointing to have to
sit on the tyre wall and have to watch all of my rivals for 16 laps. Dave
Pearce at Tigcraft kindly supplied a new rose joint, and the bike was
fixed in minutes, so all I could do was put it behind me & look forward to
Sunday's race. Saturday evening was spent in the Glen English camp (who
won the race after a great scrap with Mark Lawes), where Glen's Sponsors
Joe & Lee once again entertained with great food and even better
company, and helped me to get over my first disappointment of the season.
Sunday morning was wet after
overnight rain again, but the track was almost dry with wet patches for
Free Practice, I opted for slicks, but as the tyres were new I just
scrubbed them in and made sure the bike felt right for the race. Now this
is where the whole weekend just fell apart. 2 hours before our race was
due to start it rained, and the track was still wet when we got the call
to say we were expected in the holding area in ten minutes. This is the
hardest decision I have ever had to make with so much resting on my choice
of tyres. As we walked back to our garage there were a few spots of rain
in the air, and I made the decision to go with wets, hoping I could make a
break & pull a gap on anyone who had opted for slicks. Quite a few others
opted for the same choice, including reigning European Champion Mark
Lawes, but as we took to the track to go to the grid I felt sick, the
track was now almost dry. I guess this is where experience triumphs over
youth, as most of my main rivals opted for slicks. From lap 1 I was really
struggling with rear end grip, my tyres were destroying themselves, so all
I could do was try to control the slides & go for damage limitation & grab
as many points as possible. The race was stopped after 6 laps when Glen
English fell off, but he got back to restart on his spare bike, while I
had to battle away for the 12 lap race on tyres that felt like jelly! I
ended up learning loads about my bike however, as I had to concentrate so
hard on feeling what the bike was doing, I now feel much more comfortable
with the bike sliding instead of gripping, something I'm sure I'll get to
put to good use one day, but I was still gutted to finish down in 12th
place, but a finish is better than nothing, and the few points I got might
just count at the end of the season.
It's really difficult to be
philosophical about much of the weekend, but the lap times I felt
comfortable with on the Friday practice day would've see me easily on race
winning pace, I guess that's the most difficult thing to take. I'm also
disappointed for all the people who have worked so hard to give me my most
competitive bike I've ever ridden. I've almost certainly lost my 2nd place
in the Championship with Mark Lawes managing to change tyres after the red
flag and Nick Chadwick taking a win and a third, but I'm sure that this is
just a glitch. I've a great team behind me, and plan to come out fighting
at Round 6 at Donington Park on August 12th, I've done with licking my
wounds, I'm now off to kick myself up the backside and get back my
position in the Championship.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 2 & 3 ACU British Supermono Championships (&
Rd 1 & 2 European Supermono Championships), Snetterton - 6th/7th May
This weekend saw me compete in my
1st ever European Championship event, when the ESA joined the BSA for a
joint meeting at Snetterton. Before the meeting I wasn't given much hope
by some of the Supermono regulars, as my little stock 450 minimono was always
going to struggle down the long Snetterton straights up against the bigger
Supermono machines. As I'm not registered with the ESA, I wouldn't be
eligible for points in the European Series, but the same would apply to
the European riders not registered with the BSA, so I only had my fellow
BSA riders to worry about. My Team & my family were confident however,
that I could put on a good show & try to impress a few people, but more
important was to score good points to consolidate my 2nd place in the
British Supermono Championships.
We attended the ACU/MSV test day on
the Saturday, but most of our sessions were cut short by serious crashes
(one of which was my biggest rival from the Brands round, Spike Edwards,
who high-sided at Russells early on & completely wrecked his bike, meaning
sadly he would not be able to take part in either races). We did get
chance to try a different exhaust kindly donated by my team mate Jeff, as
he had a new system to go with his newly tuned motor (which looked very
fast, but Jeff was also riding really well, and was really fired up). The
exhaust boosted acceleration a little and got my times down into the low
1:16's, quicker than I had ever been round Snetterton and a pretty
competitive Supermono time. If I was to do well in the races however, I
would need to get ahead of the bigger bikes early on to make sure I wasn't
slowed in the corners. A trip to Mark at Holbeach Tyres Saturday night
confirmed that my tyres were shot, so new Dunlop slicks were fitted ready
for Sunday.
Sunday - Round 2
A
fine morning saw us take to the circuit first (9am sharp) for a 10 minute
Free Practice session, which I used to get a general feel for the circuit,
and to get my first look at the European opposition. Qualifying was a 20
minute affair, and I think I raised a few eyebrows when I posted the 3rd
fastest time overall, planting my little Team Psyclo Tigcraft Honda firmly
on the front row, in the company of reigning European Champion Mark Lawes
(Team James GRC-BMW 726), Dutch rider Lex Van Dijk (Gilex Motoren
Amsterdam Yamaha 800), and top German rider Stefan Meiners (Yamaha 450).
My team mates also had a stunning session, with Jeff looking threatening
in 5th place, Michael in an impressive 12th on his first visit to
Snetterton, and Doc fastest of the Air Cooled bikes in 15th.
Lining
up for the race I didn't feel as nervous as Brands, but I was aware that a
good start was needed, as I had a full Supermono grid behind me!
Unfortunately the race was red-flagged twice, the first time for a
horrible crash involving Alex Hutchinson, meaning he too would take no
further part in the weekends proceedings. Before the race was stopped
however, I felt comfortable in a brilliant 4th place, but as I hooked 5th
gear on the Revett Straight the bike died on me. I raised my hand to pull
off the circuit, but as I did the bike sparked into life again, but not
before I'd lost about 5 places. The red flag saved my bacon as the race
was to be restarted over 6 laps. Dad looked at what he thought the problem
was (possibly a kinked fuel pipe), but didn't have time to fix the
problem, although as it was an intermittent fault I just hoped it didn't
return. The 2nd start was stopped on lap 1 for another serious crash, so
the final start saw me up into 4th place early on, right
behind
Jeff, Glen English and Mark Lawes. Stefan Meiners came past on lap 2,
putting me down to 5th overall but I still felt good, that was until, as I
came up the Senna straight to complete my 3rd lap my engine died again,
spluttering back into life as I approached Riches, but only after I'd been
relegated to 10th place. To be honest, I just nursed my bike for the
remaining 3 laps, passing Daniel Rosamond on the final lap as he unluckily
ran out of fuel on the run up to the chequers. So a 9th overall but 5th
out of the BSA riders meant I held onto my 2nd place in the Championship.
Team Psyclo has a great race overall, with Jeff scoring a stunning 3rd
overall, and 3rd in BSA behind the race winner Mark Lawes and Championship
leader Glen English. Michael finished an impressive 11th overall, and Doc
was awesome, winning the Air Cooled class. Dad fitted some reinforced fuel
pipe that evening so my fuel glitch didn't haunt me again on Monday, and I
did a rain dance, confident that, although I'd never ridden a Supermono in
the wet, I could do better if I didn't have so much of a horsepower
disadvantage.
Monday - Round 3
I woke to the lovely sound of rain
pattering on the caravan roof, and couldn't wait to get out to make my
mark on the day. We would only get a 10 minute warm up, as Qualifying
positions would stand from Sunday, but we were first session out (9am
sharp AGAIN!) and the circuit had announced that the track would be very
slippery due to there being no rain for 6 weeks, and the track being very
dirty. The bike, on the new Dunlop wets, felt really planted, and I just
kept pushing a bit harder every lap to try to get my lap times down. I
was happy with everything before the session ended, so came into the pits
to see what everyone else was doing. Dad just killed the motor & told me
to park it. When I looked at the timing screen I was fastest, over 3
seconds faster than the 2nd place rider (which reduced to 1.6 seconds by
the end of the session, but I was over the moon, and felt I could do
really well in the race.
At
the start, just before the lights went out, I saw Mark out of the corner
of my eye lurch away from the line, looking really ragged, but I just got
my head down and tucked in behind race leader Lex Van Dijk. I waited for
the field to come past down the long Revett Straight, but when only Stefan
Meiners went through it looked like I might be able to stick with the
leaders. On the run up the Senna Straight on lap 2 I was passed by Glen,
but looked over my shoulder to see we were already starting to gap 4th
placed rider Mark Lawes. I settled in behind the front 3, and began to
make a plan. When Dad gave me 5 laps to go, and +6 for the 4th place man,
I started to wind it up confident I could go for the win. On lap 9
however, I caught a backmarker under waved yellow flags just before the
Esses after the leaders had gone through, and I lost 4 seconds on leader
English. With just 2 laps to go I had no hope of catching Glen, and with
+6 to 4th place I just brought my little minimono home to a very pleasing
4th place overall, and my second 2nd place in 3 rides. I was really
pleased that when I was pushing I was matching the race leader's times,
and ended up with a lap time only 0.45 seconds slower than the fastest lap
of the race. More pleasing was that I'd beaten a host of quality European
and British riders fair & square on the track, all on a stock bike which
wasn't given a prayer by some before the meeting. Team Psyclo had another right
result, with Jeff backing me up in 8th, Doc winning the Air Cooled class
AGAIN, and Michael leaving the circuit smiling after falling foul of some
very slippery white lines while going really well. So I'm still hanging
onto 2nd place in the ACU British Supermono series, just 19 points behind
leader Glen English, but the great news is that Jeff has moved up to 4th
(just 1 point behind Mark Lawes) and Doc is romping away with the Air
Cooled class.
Full results from the meeting can be
viewed
here
I have to say a massive thanks to all
who made the effort to come to support me, Keith & Julie from East Harling
based Tanker Haulage company Harveyson Haulage who are now kindly
sponsoring my race entry fees, Jeff & all at Nova Racing Transmissions for
their never ending enthusiasm and kindness, all my current Sponsors, and Doc for letting me touch
his winner's garland! Dad's getting the motor down to Jeff & Martin this
weekend to see what can be done on the cheap to get me some more ponies
before rounds 4 & 5 at Pembrey on June 16th/17th. One things for sure
though, with a little more power the bike feels almost ready to start
winning races, and to be honest I'm starting to get an itch for the top
step of the podium!
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rd 1 ACU British Supermono Championships, Brands
Hatch (Indy) - 14th April
Well, we made it. At last I get my
big chance to show what I'm capable of in the company of World class
riders on "proper" race bikes. When we got signed on & checked the program
out, I started to feel a little nervous as I ran off the names of
champions & former champions who I was up against on my tiny Tigcraft
Honda 450 (which let me remind you still has a completely standard engine
in it!!). Mark Lawes (Mick James Racing BMW 726), who is the reigning 2006
European Supermono Champion and also won the last four UK rounds in '06,
Alex Hutchinson (GP1 Lung Honda 450) who narrowly missed out on the UK
Championships in '06 by just 7 points, Mark George (TGR Yamaha 450) who is
the reigning 2006 British Champion, Glen English (Design Data Manager
Yamaha 450), who is an ex-World Classics
Champion, and after a couple of wins & 3rd overall in '06 has come back to
contest the '07 series on board the bikes Mike Edwards rode to 2nd overall
last year in the European Championships, Nick Chadwick (East West Racing
KTM 600), who is the reigning New Era Superclub 400cc Champion, and is
riding the bike Mark George won the British Championships on in 2005, and
Mike "Spike" Edwards (Yamaha 760), who has some 25 years racing experience at the
highest level, and has 4 British Championship Titles to his name, as well
as winning the Macau GP on a ROC 500, and the North West 200 600
Supersport race, not to mention my Team mates Jeff Claridge, Andrew "Doc"
McCombe, and Aussie Michael Payne, and all the other riders who made up
the 30 rider grid.
Impressed??!! to be honest I was
REALLY nervous! Mum & dad had been fantastic, so had everyone in the Team
Psyclo garage, assuring me that all I had to do was go out & enjoy the
experience, as it's one that not many riders will get to taste, but I
started heaping the pressure on myself. Even with my standard engine & a
host of class riders on fast bikes, I was sure I could put in a good account of
myself, and maybe ruffle a few feathers, what with Brands being one of my
favourite tracks. The 8 minute Free Practice session went OK, but the
track was fairly busy, so I just scrubbed in the new Dunlop tyres we had
fitted Friday night and checked my gearing & suspension felt good.
Qualifying was another very short 8 minute affair, so I just went out &
gave it everything I had every lap, but just couldn't get a great run with
lots of slower traffic in crucial parts of the track. Brands for me is all
about carrying loads of corner entry speed, and carrying the speed through
mid-corner, something which I hoped would make me competitive up against
the bigger more powerful machines. Mum was doing my pit board, and I was
surprised to see I was on the front row for almost all of the session, but
as I wound myself up for a final "hot" lap, and with a clear track ahead,
the chequers came out for the end of the session, just after Mike Edwards
had pipped me for 4th spot by 0.14 seconds. The big surprise to me was
that I was only 0.58 seconds off Pole Position, maybe I'd get to mix it
with the front runners after all?
This is where all the best laid plans
would normally fall apart for me. as we lined up for the start, I felt so
nervous I was sure I was going to be sick, just looking around me on the
grid, at the wealth of racing experience, I just didn't know what to
think, then my worst nightmare, we were flagged off for the warm up lap, I
dumped the clutch lever & stalled! Now everyone has been telling me you
can't bump start Supermonos due the high engine compression, especially
when they are hot, panic set in, but Phil, the start line marshal grabbed
the back of my bike and started to push me down the track. I thought "what
the hell", and jumped onto the back of the bike and dumped the clutch - IT
FIRED!!. Never have I felt such a sense of relief, it was as if a tonne
weight had lifted off my shoulders and a sense of "I think this was meant
to be!" swept through me as I chased after the pack ahead to get back to
the grid. It would seem a few other riders had similar problems, so we
were treated to another warm-up lap so I got to try a practice start (the
one thing I'd not had a chance to do as yet on my new bike)
We lined up again, and this time I
got away as the red start lights went out, and was in the leading bunch on
lap 1, exactly where I needed to be. Ahead of me were Alex, Nick, Mark
Lawes and Spike. Glen came past down the Cooper straight putting me down
to 6th. I felt good running at the pace, but as we came into Clearways at
the end of lap 3, there was carnage ahead. Mark Lawes and Nick
Chadwick had crashed heavily, and with it being a really fast
corner the race was stopped. Neither Nick or Mark made it back for the
re-start, so I began to think "Christ, I reckon I can win this!!" The race
was scheduled to be re-run over the full 18 lap race distance,
unfortunately this time I didn't get such a good start and was swamped
into Paddock. I did manage however, after a few good corners, to make it
back into 5th.Pole sitter Alex seemed to be getting away, and I wasn't
sure I could run at his pace, so I settled in behind Glen, Spike & Mark
George and began making plans for the race. We were lapping in the 52's,
and I felt that Spike and Glen were tripping each other up a bit, I had to
make a move as I felt I could go quicker.
Sadly for Alex his bike broke down at
the start of lap 6 after pulling out a healthy 5 second lead, leaving me
at the back of a four-man dice for the win, covered by less than a second.
On lap 7 Mark's bike also slowed to a halt, leaving me in a superb 3rd
place, but worried at the amount of bikes dropping like flies - would my
bike see me through for another 11 laps? I shouldn't
have worried, the whole bike was fantastic, a credit to Jeff, Martin, Mark and
Dave, who together had made this all happen. I felt stronger towards the
end of the race, and consistently put in faster laps than Spike and Glen
ahead of me. I tried a move on Spike at Clearways, but caught a yellow
flag out the corner of my eye so had to
back
off and try something else. Mike was riding really defensively and making
it really hard to pass, although I felt much quicker he was braking really
late & blocking all of my corner speed out. With 2 laps to go, me and
Spike couldn't be split, but Glen had a clear track and had pulled just
enough of a gap to take the win. I wanted 2nd place off Spike more than
I've ever wanted anything in my life, but with his 25 years of experience,
he knew exactly what he had to do to keep me behind, I only had one
option. The one place he couldn't defend would be around the outside at
the last corner of the last lap - the dangerously fast Clearways, which
would mean me running on the dirty part of the circuit, but I was running
on pure adrenalin now, and I just had to give it a go. I tried it on the
penultimate lap & felt it could work, so as we entered the final turn I
went in really hot, and just wound the gas on, I passed Spike on the run
to the finish line and got 2nd place by just 0.04 secs!! My fastest lap
was a 51.71, just 0.29 off the fastest lap of the race. I think at that
point I just switched off, unable to quite believe what I'd just achieved.
Mum & Dad cried, and everyone else just seemed so pleased for us all. I
have to say I tried harder than I ever have, I guess it's my way of
repaying all those people who have kindly given up time & money to make
this happen.
Rounds 2 & 3 at Snetterton should be
a different kettle of fish. For starters it's a full-on European
Championship & British Championship race combined, although it's my local
track, the much bigger Supermonos, most with almost double the horsepower,
will be really hard to beat with the track's long straights, but I'm on a
real high, and with some go-faster bits promised thanks to our good friend
Tim Drummond, who was present at Brands, I plan to use my track knowledge
to full effect, and try to consolidate my 2nd place in the 2007 ACU
British Supermono Championships.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final test before Round 1
My second and final outing on my
Minimono before the season kicks off was another well organised MSV Test
Day at a sunny but cold Cadwell Park on Good Friday. The plan for the day
was to work with John Waller from TK Racing, who had kindly offered to
look after me for the day, to find a suspension set-up which would let me
push much harder into the corners and hold a lot more mid-corner speed, as
I'm almost certainly going to have the least powerful bike in the Series,
what with it being a 450 in stock trim. I thought we worked really well
together, and I could tell John was enjoying working with the Minimono
race chassis much more than working on the CB500 he prepared brilliantly
for me last year!! By the middle of the afternoon me and John had achieved
what we set out to do, and I felt really confident with my set-up, so I
decided to use the final 20 minute session of the day to go for some
competitive laps.
Also present at the test day were the
Factory Tigcraft team with my mate Daniel Rosamund onboard
their Tigcraft Yamaha 450 Minimono, Alex Hutchinson (who only missed out
on winning the 2006 British Championships by 7 points) onboard the Smith
Bros. prepared GP1 Lung Honda 450, and Supermono legend Mike "Spike"
Edwards, onboard his production-based Yamaha 770 named "Gordon"!! I was
really looking forward to taking to the track with Mike, but sadly he was
placed in another group due to his extra engine capacity, but it did give
me the opportunity to suss out some of his lines from the trackside!!
It was just me and Alex out in the
last session, but at least I
would
get to follow him for a bit to see how far off the pace I was. The truth
is I felt Alex's bike was slightly faster out of the corners, but I was
running Snetterton gearing as we have no other sprockets available until
we get to Brands Hatch for round 1 so I was expecting that, but I also
felt that, with my new suspension set-up which had made me more confident
with pushing the bike harder, I could carry more corner speed than I was
behind Alex. After about 5 laps he pulled in & left me with a clear track.
For the last 2 laps I put in my 2 fastest laps of the day, which weren't
far off race-winning lap times. I'm sure that, in a race situation, and
with a change to the gearing and some new rubber (my tyres have now done
nearly 4 hours track time and about 250 miles!!) I should be able to at
least run with the front guys at Round 1 at Brands this Saturday,
confident that we have a great package.
Garage 27 is where we'll be at Brands
Hatch on Saturday if anyone is planning a trip down, it would be great to
see some familiar friendly faces.
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 19/03/2007 -
The "Beast" is alive!!
After many hours of incredibly hard
work from a team of dedicated people, and generous support from loyal
sponsors, my Supermono dream has become reality. Building our own bike has
proved a difficult & lengthy process, but thanks to the dedication & hard
work put in by Jeff Claridge, his father in law
Martin (Nova Racing Transmissions) and Mark Sadler (GO Racing
Developments) my fantastic new Tigcraft Honda 450 Minimono has just seen a
race circuit for the very first time. I've been a long time off a bike, as
I hadn't ridden since October 2006, so I was gagging to get the bike out
to blow away the cobwebs! Me & Dad had been busy in the garage all week,
just doing the final few jobs & prepping the bike for it's first outing,
but 5 minutes running on the stand didn't really tell us much about how
the bike would run at it's first test day at the ultra fast Snetterton
track. This MSV organised test day was purely a shake-down for the new
bike, so me & dad could familiarise ourselves with the set-up, but as soon
as I hit the circuit in bright (but cold) sunshine I knew we had created
something very special!
The
bike, with standard suspension & a completely standard motor, was an
absolute dream to ride. I had 6 twenty minute sessions to get through, and
although the bike had never seen the light of day before, we managed to
get through the day with nothing more than a few loose bolts & screws to
contend with (something very common when you throw a big four stroke
single into a very small racing chassis). The Mark Sadler-built motor,
combined with Jeff's specially made exhaust was very smooth right through
the rev range, and had masses of torque making the bike extremely
rideable. The laps seemed to reel off really well, and the bike never felt
like it was anywhere near it's limits. The temperature dropped and the
wind changed direction for the afternoon, making things a little tricky,
but with the bike feeling so stable I just wanted to do more & more laps!
I finished the day with a couple of laps in the 1:17's, which is
apparently a pretty good time for a Minimono round Snetterton (especially
a new machine being ridden by someone who hadn't ridden for 5 months!!),
very pleasing when you also consider that I didn't feel that I was
actually going that fast! I'm now full of confidence & can't wait for the
final Test day at Cadwell Park on Good Friday (April 6th) before my first
British Championship round at Brands Hatch on April 14th. I have
permission to really go out & give the bike a harder time at Cadwell, and
hopefully, with the help of John Waller (my Team Manager from 2006) who
has kindly offered to come to help me out with my suspension set-up, I'll
be pretty much on the pace & ready to challenge for top honours at the
start of the season.
I'd like to welcome on board two new
personal sponsors, Kaben Cooper Electrical, and Cooltemp. I met Rob Taylor
from Kaben Cooper and Darryl Tash from Cooltemp last year, when they
sponsored the team I rode for in the CB500 Cup, TK Racing. They were both
keen for me to compete in the CB500s again in 2007, and were willing to
help us fund a deal with John Waller, but we need to focus all of our
attention (and cash) on the Supermono Championships this year, so Rob &
Darryl have very kindly offered to do a deal with Holbeach Tyres to supply
my Dunlop tyres for my 2007 Supermono campaign. Rob & Darryl are exactly
the kind of sponsors we are looking to attract, they are always
enthusiastic and seem to really enjoy the atmosphere of a race meeting,
not to mention recognising the excellent value offered by sponsoring a
successful race team. I'd just like to say a massive thanks to them, and
hope they enjoy being involved in the 2007 season. If anyone would like to
come to watch my Cadwell Test day, entrance & spectating are free (before
1630), and you're more than welcome to come along, it would be great to
see some familiar faces!
Thanks to all those who have helped
me in any way, no matter how small, without your support I could never
have made it this far,
Here's to a successful 2007 season,
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 29/01/2007 - Not much to report!!!
I was hoping to be able to bring you
all news of my '07 bike's progress, and nailed-on dates for the 2007 ACU
British Supermono Championships, but things were a little quiet so me, Dad & a couple of mates decided to blow the cobwebs away at
my local kart circuit (Anglia Karting, Swaffham, where I learnt to ride my
Minimoto). It was REALLY wet, but the karts were plenty quick enough (on
slicks!!) to give us all mile-wide grins for the next 2 days!. As you can
see from the pics, I spent most of my time facing in the wrong direction
(or in the mud) but for me, that was the best bit!!
Anyway, back to all things
two-wheeled. The 2007 race dates have changed several times over the last
couple of weeks, with Oulton Park unfortunately disappearing off the
schedule, as too has the European round we had planned to do at the
Snetterton BSB meeting (it would seem the new KTM Superduke Battle series
has got the nod instead, a real shame as that was a meeting where I
thought I could put in a really good performance). There is talk however
of Team Psyclo going over to Europe (possibly Assen) to compete in a
European round, I guess it all depends if we can raise the cash to do it
properly, but if we can manage it , that would be an experience I'm sure
I'll never forget. Below is the PROVISIONAL 2007 British Supermono
timetable, but as yet NO dates are set in stone, and could well change
again.
| Round |
Date |
Circuit |
| 1 |
April 14th |
Brands Hatch |
| 2 |
May 6th |
Snetterton |
| 3 |
May 7th |
Snetterton |
| 4 |
June 16th |
Pembrey |
| 5 |
June 17th |
Pembrey |
| 6 |
August 12th |
Donington Park |
| 7 |
September 9th |
Mallory Park |
| 8 |
October 6th |
Cadwell Park |
| 9 |
October 7th |
Cadwell Park |
As far as my '07 bike is concerned,
almost all of the major parts are ready, Mark Sadler has refreshed the motor (still in standard trim, as
it will be until we can source some affordable & reliable go-faster bits),
and Jeff is busy sorting out the exhaust, rad & other bits & pieces.
Hopefully, once we get everything together the bike won't be too long coming
together. I'm booked onto a Testing day at Snetterton on March 16th, and
then I'm entered into the
Singles class on the 17th & 18th at Rounds 1 & 2 of New Era's Superclub
Championships at Snetterton. This should provide us with an excellent
pre-season testing opportunity, and hopefully both me & the bike should be
almost ready for the first round at Brands in April, where I'll be up
against (among many other very fast riders) a certain Mike "Spike"
Edwards, whose Championship winning V&M Honda you can see me sitting on
(aged 4!!). This was taken at the first BSB meeting I ever attended
at Snetterton, since then Mike has been busy being an extremely successful
racer, and has a reputation as a Supermono GOD. 2007 is sure to be my
biggest test to date, but it will be an honour to take to the track with
riders like Mike, I just hope I can give him a bit of a hard time!!
I've got a great Team behind me again
for 2007, although Jeff is already putting the pressure on, expecting race
wins from me by the end of the year. One things for sure, after coming
close so many times in '06, I've had enough of 2nd & 3rd place, and have
never been so determined to fight for race wins. I feel that at last I
have the right package to be competitive so it's all down to me now, and I
intend to deliver the goods.
I'm proud to announce that KBC Europe
will once again be supplying me with helmets F.O.C (thanks to Connie
Wan-Docksey for her continued support), and Hideout will again be sorting
out my leathers (once again I've designed my own suit, so prepare to be
DAZZLED!!). G-Sign (Norwich) will again be looking after my bike/van
graphics, and have also made a financial contribution for the '07 season,
as have Brian from A & B Tyres, Chris at Norfolk Water, and BIG
thanks to Greg at Jetclean for his very generous contribution. We're
currently out looking for additional financial support, as it looks like
being a very expensive year.
Finally the biggest thank you has to
go to Jeff (Team Psyclo) ,Mark (GO Racing Developments), and Dave Pearce
(Tigcraft) without their
hard work & dedication building my bike none of this would've happened.
One last thing, I've got to attend
the New Era presentation evening at the Hanover International Hotel,
Daventry, where I pick up trophies for 2nd place in the Club Series, and
3rd place for Superclub. Expect photos from the do when we get back.
Thank you all for your continued
support, roll on the new season!!
Azman #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007 Plans start to take shape!!
My plans for 2007 got under way
yesterday when we picked up Phase 1 of our Minimono project, a 2005 Honda
CRF450. The bike is mint, and has only done 20 hours work since new. As
tempting as using the bike for some Winter practice may seem, first job is
to strip the engine out of the bike & get it down to Mark Sadler at GO
Racing Developments, who will be building my '07 Tigcraft/Honda 450, which
I will be contesting the 2007 ACU British Supermono Championships on. The
remainder of the CRF will then be broken up & sold on to help fund the
rest of the project. Jeff Claridge (my Team Manager & mentor for my
debut Supermono season) is currently stripping his Tigcraft back down to
the chassis (the bike I rode at Brands) and will be sending it down to
Dave Pearce at the Tigcraft factory, who will then begin working on a copy
of Jeff's frame and fuel tank, which will form the backbone of my '07
bike. Next on the list is to find a Honda RS125 "donor" bike, as we need
the front forks & rear swinging arm/seat sub frame/rear shock to add to
the Tigcraft frame & 450 motor. All the bits will then be put together by
Mark Sadler, and hopefully I should have a competitive race bike by early
'07. (we still need to sort out a close ratio gearbox, exhaust system &
two sets of wheels, but we're hopeful that the bike will be in a very
competitive state of tune when we reach the grid at Round 1 of the British
Championships)
This
is by no means a cheap project, and we will need much help from as yet
undiscovered sponsors throughout the year, but we have looked at all of my
options for '07, and this is the one that has got us really excited. What
could be better than working to build your own "proper" race bike, then
racing it at National level against people like Mark George ('06
Champion), Jeff Claridge, Alex Hutchinson, and ex-British Supersport
Champion & current European Supermono Champion Mike "Spike" Edwards?
(have a look on my Photo Gallery page & you'll see me, aged 4, sitting on
the Spike Edwards V&M Honda 600!!) I
will be running in Jeff's team (Team Psyclo) along with Jeff and Andrew
"Doc" McCombe, so I have lots of experience around me to help me through
the year.
More details of the '07 bike and my
new Team will be
available as & when it happens (we should hopefully have the RS125 sorted
by next weekend, so I'll keep you posted!!)
Aaron #62
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Era Club, Brands Hatch
(Indy), 15th October
With a successful CB500
season over for me, my newest challenge awaited me.
I wasn't sure what to
expect as I threw my leg over the tiny Tigcraft Honda 450 Minimono (click
here for full spec). We'd
talked for a long time about getting a shot on a Supermono, now I was more
nervous than I could've ever imagined. Not only was this a seriously trick
and expensive bit of kit, it was owned by one of the nicest blokes I've
ever met, Jeff Claridge (who took this bike to 4th place overall in his
debut British Supermono Championship season). Jeff had kindly prepared the
bike & brought it along to Brands for me to race in the Single Cylinder
class, to be run with the Sounds of Thunder bikes (mostly Ducati 998/999's
and Aprillia RSV Mille 1000's). Mark Sadler, our good friend from GO
Racing Developments had
brought his wife Sam along, Tim & Jacko Drummond had made the trip from
Newbury to cheer me on (Jacko's season finished early when he broke his
leg badly at the Cadwell BSB round, good to see him on the mend & smiling
again), and as usual my family were there, so I have to confess, I felt
like I had to perform well!!
Although nervous,
I had to find the right balance for the day, both with how I looked & felt
on the bike, and to a degree with my lap times. My main aim was to be
comfortable on the bike & enjoy myself, but I was desperate to be first
Single Cylinder over the finish line, and with 13 bikes in my class it
wouldn't be easy.
Qualifying
I took to the track just
behind the only other Supermono in my class, that of Jeff's good friend
Andrew "Doc" McCombe, on the famous Gallina Suzuki 800. The session was
very crowded (as usual) with 36 bikes on track, and it was hard to gauge
my pace with so many big V-Twins out there. The bike felt good but so
different to what I'd ridden all year. It was 12 months since I'd last
raced on race suspension &
slicks,
and nearly 18 months since I'd raced a "proper" bike at Brands. I followed
Andrew for a few laps, but with a couple of laps remaining I passed him
into Surtees and got my head down to see if I could get a clean lap in.
The bike felt so good, and I really wanted to start pushing, but I was
having to learn about lean angles & braking points all over again, all I
really got time to do in the 12 minute session was enjoy myself. I was
surprised to put in a lap of 55.10 secs, which surprised me a bit as I
didn't think I'd gone that fast, but I would grid up in 25th place, 5th in
class, and reasonably happy.
Race 1
Row 7 seems a million
miles from the starting lights, but I got off the line OK, and passed
several KTM's and S.O.T. bikes on the 1st lap & came over the line in 21st
place. Over the 10 lap race I grew more comfortable on the bike, and with
that came my confidence, but the slower corner speed of the S.O.T. bikes I
was battling with spoiled any chance of posting the kind of lap times I
was hoping for. All the time I was having to remind myself that, although I
was having a great time back on a "proper" bike again, it wasn't "my"
bike, and would be very expensive to put straight if I bent it!! The end
of the race came far too soon for me, I'd finished 1st in the Singles
class, and had scrapped my way up to 15th overall in the S.O.T. class with
a best lap of 53.51 secs. Mark & Jeff seemed very pleased with my race,
and as I wasn't pushing the bike hard, and everything felt really good, we
decided to leave everything as it was for race 2, and just try to get off
the start better & have a good 1st lap, as my times were good enough to
see me scrapping it out for a top 10 finish in S.O.T.
Race 2
The race had been
extended to 12 laps from 10 - PERFECT!! I got a much better start and
passed 3 bikes round the outside at Paddock. I made my way quickly up to
16th place, then got stuck in a real scrap with the Aprillia Mille 1000 of
Nino Cataldo, who had finished 1 place but just over 7 secs ahead of me in
race 1. We diced for 7 laps, me passing him in whatever corners I could,
and him using the grunt of the big V-Twin to blow me away on the
straights!. Unfortunately for Nino he entered Paddock on lap 8 a bit hot &
ran off into the gravel in front of me. Now was my chance to dig out some
quick laps. I had my race face on, the bike felt fantastic, and was
handling like a dream, but as I got my head down the red flags came out,
stopping the race. It would appear Nino had crashed at the same spot as 3
other riders, and the gravel trap resembled a breakers yard!! I came back
down pit lane for the re-start (Jeff's bike runs so much compression, and
a slipper clutch, so HAS to be started on starter rollers). I was so
frustrated when they called a result, taken back to lap 7, which gave me
another 15th place and 1st in the Singles class, but I was certain I could've really impressed with
another few laps.
I've experienced enough
of the fantastic little Tigcraft Minimono to know I'd love a shot at
racing at the British Supermono Championships in '07. We are currently
making enquiries among existing established teams to see if there are
rides/bikes available, but one things for sure, if I make it onto the grid
in '07, I'm going to give it my best shot. Realistically a top 5 finish
would be superb, but with the right bike & the right Team behind me,
there's no reason why I couldn't run right at the sharp end, and challenge
for podium places.
My brilliant day
couldn't have happened without the generosity of Jeff Claridge, it was
really a pleasure spending the day with him. Thanks also to Mark & Sam
Sadler, Tim & Jacko, "Doc" and my family for the moral support. There was
such a great, fun atmosphere in our garage that there was no way I wasn't
going to enjoy this experience and want to come back for more! As soon as
we have any news on our plans for '07 I'll report it here.
Aaron
