Thundersport Round 2 report - Quick return to Donington!

Well it's been a whole month since I've had time to update the site! I've been mega busy with my racing and I've also grown another year, now at the scary number of 28 years old! Here is my slightly late report on TSGB's round 2, at Donington National circuit!

After Donington WSB support races, i thought about nothing else other than swinging my leg over the bike again and getting down through Craner curves again! Thundersports second round both at Donington, and of the championship, came around soon enough and before i knew it, I was heading down to the paddock once again.

Having recently raced at the track, albeit the GP layout rather than the National circuit we were using this time, i was familiar with the place already and felt confident that i could have a good round. My Mallory park opening round was a real learning curve, highlighting lots of things for me to work on and expect. I knew the importance of qualifying and the first lap more than ever after Round one, and was determined to make more progress learning the bike too.

Friday testing
I chose to ride the whole test day as opposed to just the morning or afternoon. I wanted to try a couple of gears and wheelbase settings, and also needed to learn the new layout. 90% was as i raced it at WSB previously, but the new chicane at the end of the lap was new to me. First lap went well as i totally forgot that instead of Foggy esses turning left at the end of Dunlop straight, i now had an equally tight right chicane instead, and found myself braking for a right turn from 130+ near the white line on the right side of the track! School boy error!

Anyway the day went well. I was enjoying the paddock more as everyone was getting to know each other more over the weeks, so there was more banter and chatting with the guys and gals I'll be racing against over the year.

I ended up sticking with almost the same settings as i raced on a couple of weeks before there after trying some things that didn't work so well. I was happy with the bike, so cleaned it up and got inspected to race.


Continuing brake issue
One thing that wasn't so good was my front brake. It was pulling almost to the bar after a couple of laps, but perfect in the pits. Air in the system etc is the obvious thought, although over the previous weeks, the brake had been bled over 6 times. Need to say thanks to Mike Fitton of RacesparesUK who brought up a new master cylinder for me early on Saturday to try. Unfortunately this didn't help, nor did changing the pads, discs, fluid, and stripping the calipers completely to service them in the garage on Saturday afternoon. (Thanks to Mexico Paul for helping there.) I figured despite it's inconsistency in the first couple of laps, it was safe and settled to a consistent pull, although in a horribly close position, but i was stuck with it for the time being and had to just go and race.


Saturday Qualifying and Race 1
Saturday came quickly, and my eternal problem of not having enough sleep hit me again. Rising from my dreams to the sound of Bernie telling the paddock there was 4 minutes left to sign on to race, it wasn't my most lively start to a race meeting!

In no time though we had the warmers on and the bike fueled up. I was out to qualify quite early, and put in 11 laps, building my speed and dropping my times in a much better fashion than at Mallory. I knew the bike much more and was more confident to push for a better grid slot.

I qualified 17th/33 with a 1:15.031, so already better position than Mallory. I now wanted to finish higher than i started in my races, and improve my times also.

Race 1 on Saturday took place after we'd spent the day working on the brake, mentioned above. After an OK start, i settled into a rhythm and began to ride on pace with my PB. Over the race i made some passes and moved up several positions, and i felt like i improved my feel on the bike more, particularly on the corner entries.

I finished in 16th, improving on my grid position. I was happy with my time improvement, but a little disappointed that despite a good race, only finished one up from where i started. My start was good but my first corner was too safe. I planned on more aggression and commitment to the first corner for Sunday...

Sunday televised races
The first race on Sunday was again very sunny and close to perfect conditions. I got a good start and did my best to ride around the outside of the pack into the first corner. It worked to a point although i did lose drive from the wider line. I raced my race with little incident, although like i said previously, the brake was still playing up. Each race gave me disappointment when it began to pull back and i realised the issue wasn't resolved.

I finished race 2 in 14th position, taking .8 out of my PB and most laps quicker than my previous best. Happy with consistency, but still wanted better.

For race 3, with the sun shining down and the day getting hotter, I decided on another compound tyre for the rear and put that in. My start was good again and into the first corner, similar to race 2, but two riders crashed, right in front of me, forcing me to stand it up and brae to avoid running him over. This put me 50 yards into the gravel at Redgate, and when i rejoined the race i was dead last by about 10 seconds.

Over the race i managed to ride from 25th at the back up to a finishing position of 14th once again. It was my best race of the weekend. A shame that the first corner pushed me off track, but i was happy with the result.


So, it was a successful weekend, in that i qualified better than at round 1, i had better results, and i felt like i rode better, having learned the bike more over the month. I am still surprised how different the Yamaha rides compared to my Honda of the last 2 years. Every single time i ride the R6 i am improving and feeling new things on it. I can't wait until it feels like a part of me like the Honda! I am still looking for those top tens. They are there waiting for me and i know i can be there. I'm continuing to piece things together to reach my goals and can't wait to ride again now.

I need to say the usual thanks. Without the help and support of these people, i would not be able to do what i do. Your help is appreciated so much! Thanks to my Parents once again for their support and help, and for ignoring their fears and watching all my racing!! Mexico Paul for all his spannering and work in the pits and anywhere and everywhere. Claire Domoney for her support and help at races, not to mention Michelin star 'cheffery'. Ryan Peters of Moto-racespares.com for all my consumables, sprockets, spares and the like, along with his constant support and mentoring! Rich Howes @ Signs Express Lincoln, Ian and Martin @ Pipewerxbikes.com, Mike Fitton of RacesparesUK - Yamaha specialists, and everyone else who helped along the weekend.

Lastly, thanks to Ryan Myler and Sam Ludgate, for all the good times and top racing. Wouldn't want to race without you fellas...

Next stop, Thundersport round 3 @ Anglesey Coastal circuit!

More very soon, bongo #177