Oulton Park Round 4 scorcher!

After a shockingly wet Mallory park (report below!) we got just what we needed at a sun soaked Oulton park, for Round 4 of the 2012 Thundersport championship! It was a pleasure to be back in the sun, and with a unbelievable forecast for the weekend, the sun cream was out, and I felt sorry for all the ginger people in the paddock, who were in for a severe roasting!!

An early arrival on the Thursday saw me fettling the bike to get a new throttle fitted, that only turned up last minute after Tony from Moto corseUK and Jack Russell got the bits i needed to me in time saving the day. This 15 minute job had the usual twists and quickly became 2 hours, as the over tightened trumpet bolts into the throttle bodies rounded off and needed drilling out!
Alan Knight on hand, with Charlotte heckling in the background, we were on track, and with the bike just coming back together, CB500 front runner Sam Ludgate rolled up. Some usual catching up, chat and banter and before we knew it, we were set up and eating and top plate of grub from Rach!

Friday testing & qualifying

Friday was split, for the only time this year, down to a morning of testing, and an afternoon  qualifying. This is due to the noise restrictions at the track not allowing any racing on Sunday, so this round was set to be a Friday qualify/Saturday race meeting.

I came to Oulton on 9th May to test at a trackday. In the third session of the day, my friend, and owner of www.moto-racespares.com unfortunately had a very quick crash, which resulted in lost track time, to sort things out and make sure he was OK. He came away with a broken back and wrist, but as i type this, he's well on his way to recovery and is actually back at work already! Soon after he was Ambulanced off, we sorted his gear and then i had to shoot off to Assen in Holland to support and help My friend Ryan Myler int he Ducati 848 series!

So all this meant i got little track time. Despite this, on the morning of 9th May, i matched my PB on the 600 from 2010 and was relatively happy with my set up. This Thundersport test morning then was vital, and with good weather, i quickly moved past my PB, getting into the 47's in the first session, then 46's.

I made some changes to get some more stability, and worked on my body movements which helped things, and before i knew it, it was time to qualify.


15 minutes was only 9 laps maximum, so not a whole lot of time to qualify. I got quickly onto a PB, and with traffic coming up after 6 laps, i was relatively happy with my time. As i puled into the run off road to let others pass, Mike Dickinson passed me on a hot lap, so i tagged on and ended up getting my qualifying time of a 1:44.7 behind him. Cheers Mike! This put me 8th on the grid overall, and 5th in Superstock 1000. I was already happy with this considering my previous PB was in the 48's.

Saturday race 1 & 2

It was even hotter on Saturday, and i was excited. As it was my local round, I had some friends from my BMX days coming down, some work friends, and family there to support me. It was exciting to have my friends from outside the biking side of my life, see what it is i do and why i love it so much! It was also good to have Brian Bates come down with some guys to see how i went and give us some support!

Warm up went OK, but i never like pushing in warm up. I at least want to make it to the race!

Race 1 was soon being called, and with the bike ready, i leathered up, which was a job in itself given the heat, and got out on the grid, in my 8th place, unfortunately next to the wall on the inside line. I got a good start, but in the bunch up of the first corner, found myself in a queue, and i was being used as an apex as people with space on my outside found their way past. I quickly got the power down through the avenue and down cascades, before getting a good run on Scranage and Heaton up to Island and hitting a false neutral. With the clutch in, i coasted round Island finding a gear, and began to ride into a rhythm. Over the race, i didn't improve on my qualifying time, but was happy with my consistency given the heat, and that i was racing on a used tyre. I brought it home in 5th spot in the Superstock 1000's and 9th overall which i was very happy with. The guys in front i know have great experience at Oulton and were very quick, so to even be lapping around the 44/45 times i was doing, was great. More championship points, and another overall top ten.

Race 2 ran much the same really. I unfortunately got trapped in on the line i was forced to take into the first corner, after initially a good start. Getting into a rhythm quickly, i began posting times at or better than my fastest lap int he previous race, and after being passed by Adam Robinson mid way through, i stuck behind and watch him, eventually deciding to make a pass and use a back marker to my advantage on the last lap. I again brought it home as the 5th Superstock 1000 bike, and 9th overall.











Summary

This was a particularly enjoyable round for me. I guess i didn't get the positions i wanted in the races. I want podiums, but also on the other side of that, coming into this round my fastest time around Oulton was 4 seconds slower than what i have now done. I surprised myself on the bike again and have come away from Oulton park knowing i am competitive there. All the time i am learning the bike and trying to improve. I am going in the right direction all the time and as i continue, I'm learning more about how the changes i make to the bike are affecting the way it's riding and the lap times.

Aside from the riding, it was great to have all the support from my friends down there on the day, that meant a lot and obviously I'm forever grateful for the support of my Mum and Dad who are always there cheering me on!

Thank you again!
As always, i need to say Thank you to the guys and gals that got me to this round, and got me through it.
Peter 'DucatiPete' Dyer, Richie Gelder, Mad Teal, Paul Cooper, Sam Ludgate and Rachael Whitehead. Brian Bates @ www.batescarcommercialburnley.co.uk, Ryan @ www.moto-racespares.com, Tony @ www.Shorrocks.co.uk, Gennaro @ www.metaltechracing.com, Oxford Products, and Ian @ www.pipewerx.com. All your support is mega and i simply couldn't do it without you all.

My Parents and Auntie Ali, thanks for your support, and pretty much everything! Cheers to Alan and Charlotte Knight for their banter and help on Friday, and Alex Heaton too for the bits he sent my way!

Photo's, many thanks to Matty Worthington, Roly Grigg, and Sam Goff Motorsport Photography 

I get so many messages on Facebook and on forums like Trackdayriders.co.uk and 1000rr.co.uk, wishing me luck and asking how it's going. Thanks a million. Racing is like a massive family and the actual track time is only a small part of why this sport is so good! Thanks for the good times in the paddock and the laughs!


More real soon, and i mean real soon!!


Bongo