Race Reports


	Race Reports- Cadwell 27 May 2001
27/5/01	Race Prep- As usual I haven't done any. All good intentions about changing the rings on the 125 (they have done 150 miles) or replacing the base gaskets on the KR and rubbing down the pistons didn't happen. Only thing I did was fit the Dymags and a new set of tires. All this will now wait till after Cadwell as I have seven weeks till Mallory. Toddled up to Cadwell Saturday with Paul Porter (on his R1 - just got it back from Ray Stringers new air box and an Akripovic (or however you spell it pipe) and 148 hp at the back wheel which is where he spends most of his time - saves on front tires?) and Dave the Fish. Rock is working this weekend so Paul is spannering and Dave is assisting. Get to the track about 4:30pm unpack set up shop and have a tasty barby. Paul Daley arrives in a smoking Renault van got stuck in traffic and overheated - blown the cap of the top-up bottle and sets up alongside. Get the bikes scruitineered and then it is down the bar for a few beers. Joined by Pete Whiteside and his lady, Paul Daley and Dave Marsh plus their ladies (sorry but I can't remember their names) and then Team T3, Steve Henneghan and Ken (more about Ken later). Cracking evening temperatures are almost Mediterranean. Pete is complaining about lack of motivation so his better half suggest that if he doesn't win both races he can marry her. A look of terror briefly crossed Pete's face before he jokingly shrugged it off. Fish spent most of the evening talking to Ken - a fellow LC owner who was racing a Jota for the first time (Fish has owned both - recently nuking his LC trying to get to Anglesey for the last meeting. Ended up doing the trip on the back of Paul's R1 and begging for him to stop every 70 miles as it was so uncomfortable). Fish spent most of the next day following Ken's exploits on the Jota - think Ken has himself a supporters club. Cadwell- Didn't have a good nights kip as the rain woke me up at about 5'ish. Sat in the car until about 7:30 watching the rain fall. Only consolation was it was relatively light and slowly clearing. By 8 when I went down for breakfast with Paul, Fish was still out, the rain had stopped. Though it was overcast it was warm and with the gentle breeze the track should dry quickly, except the bit around the hairpin which is in the trees. Not a lot to do apart from check the tyre pressure on the KR - set this to 29.5 Front and 30 rear - and fuel up the bike. Only going to do the practice on the KR as I need to scrub in a new set of KR364s. I am running an Aprilia cup 355 compound rear and a 564 soft compound front. The Aprilia tyre is meant to be slightly harder than the soft (644) compound. Having seen people cook their tyres at Mallory last week when temperatures were up at about 24, thought it might be better to fit the harder tyre. Get my leathers and helmet checked and signed on. F400 is race 6 and 25, GP250 is 12 and 23, and GP125/Singles is 12a and 24. This is a bit of a bugger as it means I have three races on the trot in the second half of the programme. I really don't feel up for this - its a head thing - where as for Anglesey I was well fired up. The weather being wet and Grey isn't helping still it might get better once I start riding. For practice the conditions are still damp (temp 17, Humidity 90%, Pressure 1004) take it very easy. The KR feels flat and the gear change is very harsh - probably as there isn't much in the way of a shock absorber/damper on the rear sprocket. My jetting table indicates that I should be running a Kehin jet around 133. Being cautious I fit a 135 jet (haven't got anything smaller). The KR exhaust note goes from a flat fart to real zing - it sounds much crisper. We fuel the 125 and check tyre pressures, 27 front and 28 rear. The bike already has a 185 main which the correct size for the conditions. For both the KR and 125 I expect the jetting to stay about right over the day. I expect the humidity to fall and the temperature to rise, the two compensating each other. As I still have a shiny band on either side of the tyres we remove this with an abrasive pad. The KR was over revving at the end of the straight so I decide to drop from 15/45 to 15/44. I can't find my 44 tooth sprocket (probably lent it to somebody and forgotten who) so have to do with a 43 tooth. Only problem is it doesn't fit. Bloody Dymags have a different sprocket - so all my KR and RGV sprockets don't fit. To make matters worse the gap between the tyre and swinging arm and torque arm is so tight (about 3 mm) fitting tyre warmers is a pain. Race 1 F400 - I have a row three start, Paul Daley, Dave Marsh, Peter Whiteside and Stuart Bedford are on the 2nd row. Mark Brown and Paul Mumby Croft are alongside me. On the warm up lap the KR feels ballistic, a totally different bike it is difficult to believe two jets sizes can make that much difference; now at 9000 the power is coming in with a real edge. I get an awful start - the front lifts and I have to back off end up going up the hill in about 9th. I am riding like a complete wally - I am not smooth and in my efforts to get past Paul Daley I am off line. At the hairpin, for some unknown reason - probably watching to much Gary Mcoy - I go in hard on the brakes and use the back brake. The rear snakes all over the place and I am out of control, end up having to put my foot down to stay up. As a result I mess up the exit and lose drive. The next lap is just as bad. Thankfully, the race is red flagged on lap 3. The restart is over the full distance. This time I get a better start. Pete Whiteside and Stuart Bedford get the front and I slot in in about 5th behind Dave Marsh and a CBR400. I get past Dave and it takes the rest of the lap to get past the CBR. Somewhere on Lap 2 Paul Mumby Croft comes past me and I try to get him back on the brakes at the hairpin. Mess it up a bit and Paul pulls away up the hill. This must have been a trigger as I fly into Charlies and gain on Paul, I carry far more exit speed from Charlies and get past Paul on the straight. I start gaining on Pete and Stuart, but on lap 4 Steve Henegan comes past me on the back straight. I follow him through Chris, I can't get past at the Gooseneck or on the breaks into Mansfield. Out of Mansfield he gets better drive and pulls away - I lose about 30 yards. Try going in late on the breaks getting almost alongside when Steve tips in. Almost go over the handle bars avoiding T-boning him. Lose ground up the hill but gain most of it back going through Charlies. We are now closing in on Pete and Stuart. Stuart drafts Peter and manages to get up the inside at Park. The manoeuvre slows them down and we now have a freight train through Chris Curve. Though I am much quicker through the Gooseneck it is not a place you can pass. Pete manages to get back past Stuart at Mansfield. I don't get the drive out of the Gooseneck so can't pass Steve into Mansfield. Pete crosses the line first, closely followed by Stuart then Steve then me. That was not a good result - instead of closing the gap on Pete it has now widened from 4 pts to 8. I started riding to late in the race. Steve Henneghan easily had the fastest lap, 1' 8.9" - I had some consolation in getting the second fastest lap 1' 10.3" (That's half a second quicker than last years best). Race time 5' 44.9". A mixed bag for the other KRs. John Buchan and Mark Brown fell at the hairpin though thankfully with little damage. Second KR home was John Badger followed by Peter Lodge then Brian Mattock and Dave Weller. Race 2 GP250 - Row 3 start again get a good launch and get into 5th. Get passed by a ZXR750 and an R1 on the back straight. Get past a GSXR 750 - then spend the next 4 laps falling over the ZXR750 and R1. They slow me down through the bendy bits and even though I get past several times they nail me on the back straight. On the last lap I get jumped on the back straight by Carl Hudson on a Honda RS250 and John Lewis on a TZ250. Follow them down to Mansfield where we all get caught up behind the R1. John went up the inside, Carl tried going round the outside. John got to the line first, Carl second. I was 3rd with Matthew Douglas 4th. My race time was 5' 55.6 seconds - 11 seconds slower than the F400 race - shows how much the 750 and R1 held me up. Real bugger that as my F400 race time would have had me 3rd over all in the 1300 open!!. Still only lose 3 points to John lewis in the championship. As I am out in the next race I have to drop the KR by the fence at the top of the mountain and leg it over to the holding area to get the 125 for the next race. Race 3 GP125 - As usual a mixed bag race. Singles, Production 500, 125 and Formula phoenix. Get Down to the grid just before they let us out for the warm up lap. Take my position on the front row. Get a reasonable start - the bike bogged a bit by I managed to catch it before it slowed to much. Slotted into second behind a Red P&M Kwack 1100 going up the hill managed to get up the inside out of Charlies, but got eaten down the straight. Caught up with him at Chris but couldn't get up the inside. Almost ran into the back at the gooseneck and had to back off. Lost drive and contact down and out from Mansfield. Managed to catch up a bit on the brakes at the hairpin, but lost contact again on the climb up the hill. Through Charlies and out gained ground, but lost it on the back straight. Gained on the brakes into Park and get excellent drive out, Mid way through Chris almost run into the back of the Kwack but again can't get past. And so the cycle repeats. On lap 3 managed to sling shot out of the Gooseneck and get past on the run down to Mansfield. Managed to hold him of to the hairpin but the engine cuts on the way in, I am struggling changing gear and have to dump the clutch after coasting out to get going again. This lets the Kwack past again. On the brakes on the last lap I overshoot the hairpin and the kwack pulls 50 yards on me. I look back and their isn't another bike anywhere to be seen. As I am winning the 125 singles easy right off and cross the line 5 seconds behind the Kwack but still 6 ahead of the next bike, Rob Eley on the GS1000 and 16 seconds ahead of the next single Pete King's CR500. Dave Page, who started from Row 3 didn't have a good race. His RS125 which was due for a complete rebuild after this meeting broke big time at the end of Park straight locking up the machine. Luckily Dave managed to stay on. Not sure what it was but the crankcases have split. My Best lap 1' 11.8" with a Race time of 5' 59.8". (Had a look at my 125 times last year - did 1' 11.1" last year at the Pegasus ACU Stars meeting so this years time is a bit disappointing). Race 4 GP250 - Row 2 start with about 7 TZ and RS 250s alongside and immediately behind me. Still get a good launch and am 4th going up the hill manage to get to 3rd coming out of Charlies, then they all start coming past. Each lap I seem to get picked off by one or two TZ or RS 250s along the back straight. Unlike the bigger bikes there is very little difference in corner speed or on the brakes. By lap 4 I am the 6th 250 sitting behind the group. I can close in places and I manage to regain a place only to lose it on the straight. My out braking attempts at the hairpin get more and more ragged as I am leaving the braking later and later. On the last attempt at the start of lap 5 I go in so hot, I overshoot by 20 yards. Luckily the TZ I pass on the way in hasn't started turning as there is no way I could stop in time. I turn it round and head off back in pursuit, but along the back straight the engine dies. I whip the clutch in and coast to a halt. Oh dear! what can the matter be. I let the clutch out and the engine coughs and runs badly on one cylinder. Bugger I think I might have done a cylinder? Stop push the bike of the track and take of my helmet and gloves. Lean over to turn the petrol off. See that we have left the fuel tap on reserve not prime. This might explain why I have just blown the engine. On reserve the tap doesn't flow as well as on prime so the engine will run weaker hence nuke itself. The wagon comes out to take me back to the Paddock. Blast a DNF and no points. Consolation is that it is only 4 points and John Lewis only came 3rd so total damage for the day is limited to 10 points. Leaves me 8 in the lead. Get back into the pits and I am feeling a little bit pissed off. No points in the 250 and I am not going to start in the F400 - this is turning out to be a disaster. I decide to find out if the damage is terminal, put the KR on prime and after a few kicks it starts and runs, not perfect but it is up at about 80 degrees. Can't be a holed piston or anything, so I decide to risk taking it out. Race 5 F400 - Everybody has already gone down to the track and I only just make it in time. I crawl around on the warm-up lap trying to cool the engine, and running as wide a throttle as possible to get as much oil in the engine as possible. Temperature is down to a healthier 60 deg when I get back to the startline. Flag drops and I get away. The front wheel comes up, but I manage to get enough weight over the front to control it with out backing off the power. I am 3rd going up the hill alongside Peter Whiteside and behind Steve Henneghan. I get past Peter on the way into Charlies then sit high and wide trying to pass Steve on the outside going out of Charlies but he moves over and I have to back off and drop in behind him. I slip stream him down and up the hill and he takes a defensive line in the middle of the track for Park. I stay wide and easily sail past him on the brakes, down 3 and throw it across his nose then hard on the gas out of Park, shift up one open the throttle, feather it slightly for the Apex then wind it back on as the corner opens up. Over rev in fourth, close the throttle a touch of the front brake and flick right left through the gooseneck, getting the power on when you get vertical on the flick. Power down to Mansfield hard on the brakes and down one. Hard on the gas out of Mansfield, changing up just before the start finish line, then hold the gas through the left kink and hard on the brakes for the hairpin, down to first and drop it in and round, on the gas catching second, then 3rd at the apex at the bottom of the hill. Hold third up the hill through Charlies and out. Repeat 4 more times and win the race. By the start of the last lap at the hairpin, the first time I looked back I couldn't see anybody (I had almost a ten second lead). Eased off on the last lap and coasted across the line, still finishing 5 seconds ahead of Pete Whiteside. Best Lap 1' 9.8" (One second quicker than last year) and a race time of 5' 41.6" (would have been quicker if I hadn't eased off on the last lap. If I had done these times in the Open 1300/GP250 race I would have come 3rd overall and ahead of all the other 250's - shows what getting caught in traffic does to your lap times). Stuart was 3rd closely followed by Richard Jarrold. Steve Heneghan dropped back to 9th a Kamakazi breaking move at the hairpin; which was not good as I could have done with Steve beating Pete. As it is I only close the gap by two points so over all I have lost two on the day and am now 6 pts behind Pete. Still Pete lost his wager - so now I am waiting for an invite to the wedding. As for the other KRs. Team T3 were at it again. John Buchan had his front wheel taken out by a 400 at the end of Park straight. He managed to hold it up only to be punted off by Brian Mattock (This is John's version of events - I didn't manage to get Brian's). That's two races and two Team T3 bikes down in each (looks like they are returning to their old ways) - consistency is the way to win a championship (still means Rich Davis is still in contention). Poor old Brian Mattock was almost in tears when I saw him pushing his bike back from the scruiteeniering shed (its where they drop your bike off when its collected after an off on the track, his lovely Astralite 3.5" front had been written off. The crunch between the two T3 bikes came at a point in the Race when the 3 Team T3 bikes were scrapping with Peter Lodge and John Badger. Peter went on to come 2nd, followed by Mark Brown, John Badger and Dave Weller. This was Dave's first race meeting and he was coming to grips with riding in a race rather than on a trackday, still managed to see off a few 400's and an RGV - a good start.
	Overall Summary -Though I got a real kick out of the last 400 race not so sure it was a good weekend. I had hoped to win both 400 races and both 125's. In the 250 I was a bit more realistic and thought a couple of thirds were possible. In the end I don't suppose I should be to disappointed with a 1st and 4th in the F400. I still have more wins than Pete, but am behind because of poor results at the first Cadwell meeting and not getting the result in the first race (I would like to blame 3rd row starts but that isn't much of an excuse as Steve Henneghan passed me in the first race and he started back on row 5 - just got to ride faster in the first race). Still, it has given the 400 guys something to think about. After Anglesey they thought they would have the legs on me at Cadwell which is a lot quicker (I think if I had the correct rear sprocket the KR would have been as quick as the best 400s and as it was it was quicker than most down the back straight). I went well at Mallory last year with a sick engine - and this year with a good engine and the extra grip offered by the wheels I must admit I am quietly confident. At Mallory a 3rd row start isn't as much of a disadvantage as the track is so wide and there is a decent drag down to Gerrards and Gerrards is very wide offering a number of lines round. In the 125 class the win means I close a couple of points on Dave who had a DNF in the first race and was second from a row 8 start in the second. Puts me on 45 pts to Dave's 58. In the 250 class a 3rd and a DNF is not good. The DNF isn't that much of a loss as it only cost me 4 pts. Still I now only lead by 8 pts and it is going to be difficult holding that (roll on Anglesey). Reckon to get better results I just need to be a bit more aggressive with the 750's and R1's. Being realistic I can't expect to outrun a TZ or RS as I am about 20 hp down, but if off a start I can get a few of the bigger bikes between me and them then I might just make enough of a gap to hold it to the end of the race. My Race times in the F400 show I can do it. At Mallory I reckon I need to get low 54 or high 53s to win this class, that is about 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than I have ever done so.... Will be going to Mallory on the Wednesday before the EMRA meeting to see if I can dial it in. After the Race Steve Henneghan and Pete Whiteside put their motors on a Dyno at the track. 62 hp and 61 hp is all they managed. they blame tired engines. They coerced me into putting the KR on but as usual the clutch slipped so we couldn't get a proper reading (what we did get showed 49 hp?). Might be the Dyno was out or they hadn't jetted for the weather. Not sure the 400 guys bother to much with getting it right - probably not as critical as on a two stroke. I think I am getting the hang of jetting the KR and the new wheels give so much more grip both in reality and in my head that I reckon I can go quite a bit faster. It is a shame there is not another meeting on the club circuit this year. Will have to see how I get on on the Mountain circuit in August. KR Cup was a mixed bag, John Buchan had two DNF's, Mark Brown and Brian Mattock had a DNF a piece, and only John Badger of the regulars scoring in both races. Peter Lodge did well getting a third in race 1 and following it up with a second in race 2. Dave Weller rode steady races in his first meeting to get two fifth places and 14 points. Points are Here
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This document maintained by mark@teamsparrow.fsnet.co.uk. Material Copyright © 2001 Mark Jordan