2009!

Hello All! 2009 is here!

I Can't believe its more than 4 weeks already since the last update!

8 weeks to go until the official pre-season test day at Mallory Park on 27th March. This date is organised by the VMCC who are the main organising club that we race with. The test day is always interesting on a number of fronts.

Its the first time that many people break cover with new bikes, new paint jobs, helmets leathers etc! It's also interesting as the scooters and bikes will spend a fair amount of time on track together so its great to see the comparisons in lap times.

Theres a few riders swapping classes and coming out on new bikes this year .... some are secret .... some aren't.

It seems like quite a lot has actually been going on behind the scenes during January... it seems to have been non -stop! We had the BSSO agm on 17th January, which was held at the new location of The Village Hotel at Walsall, organised by John & Sharon Woods. The AGM itself was actually a fairly quiet affair this year, with only 2 2 motions, one which was not approved, and my own, which succeeded. I proposed that we have grid positions for the following days racing rather then weekends. We had some failry in depth discussions as a result on how we actually prepare the grids...... a couple of good ideas being thrown up! Watch this space!

The evening meal and presentation was all teh better for the scooter racing slide show prepared by our very own club DJ Tim Simpson. It was great to see some old pics from baitings Dam, which certainly brought back some great memories for me of helling up that hill trying to miss the sheep shit! I even popped up a few times myself on the slide show!

After the meal we enjoyed a little dancing around........... was great to be on the floor dancing to a bit of ska and even Teenage Kicks!!!!!!!! ;) A special night indeed.

The following weekend was taken up displaying my race scooter on the VMCC stand at the Telford Classic Race Show. The VMCC guys made me welcome, and a few people took away the leaflets I ran off.

Earlier in January, myself and Dave Crampton went up to see the setup at Lambretta Cottage who have very kindly offered to help out with some sponsorship for the 2009 season. Zak and Julie at Lambretta Cottage have an absolutely fantastic set up, and its very uplifting to find such warm, friendly and genuinely helpful dealers in this day and age. They are helping me out with non specific race parts, and Rock Oils. I'm also testing some Heidenau tyres for them too. Many Many Thanks Guys, its really appreciated!

Lambretta Cottage sell their parts from their web site - www.lambrettacottage.com

.... and also from their Ebay shop - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/LAMBRETTA-COTTAGE-RESTORATIONS

... I'd ask anyone buying general parts to give them a call, or take a look at their web site or Ebay shop - remember its good to support those who support Scooter Racing! They are also LCGB super dealers ... and I'm sure if you tell them I sent you.. they will look after you! :)

What else...... phew... theres more! I've spent an evening, and yesterday spraying Dave Cramptons Group 6 Gilera Runner..... no prizes for guessing what colour! Daves making a return to teh track after a break of over 20 years! It all started when he bought a Gilera Runner 125 as a cheap little project.... except as often happens with these things ...... it wasn't cheap, or quick for that matter........ but now at the best part of £1800 later its just about ready to go as a group 6 !

2009 Full Specification

Over the last few months I've had quite a few messages and requests for more information on the specifications of the race scooter.

So i thought it sensible to do a full listing!

Will save a lot of answering questions!

So........... here goes.................

• Frame - Indian GP150
  
• Forks - GP200. Rebuilt with Taffspeed progressive springs, stainless steel one-off spring bushes, fork links modified to take brass bushes in place of nylon, Stainless pivot bolts.
• Front Brake - ScootRS external hydraulic disc, stainless hose, Gilera runner master cylinder
• Bodywork - GP200, fibreglass front mudguard, fibreglass side panels, strengthened floorboards.
• Handlebars - SX200 (lower than GP), perfectly matched rods internally, perfectly free throttle operation.
• Ignition - BGM stator plate, custom lightened Vespa PK flywheel, plastic cooling fan. Ducati Coil, Agusto advance/retard unit.
• Barrel - Rapido Race 200. Tuning by Chalky White - Replay Scooters. Full Race Tune. 31.5HP
  
• Piston - Suzuki
• Cylinder Head - Readspeed Centre Plug - Nippon Denso Spark Plug - NGK rubber HT cap
• Crankshaft - Chalky White special. GP split and rebuilt with Jap con rod. Tig welded
• Carburettor - Mikuni TMX35
• Crankcase - Italian SX200 (!)
• Gearbox - Li150 Pacemaker
• Clutch - 6 plate - Surflex clutch plates
• Chaincase cover - Li 150 - internal modifications to take 6 plate clutch
• Gearing - adjusted to circuit, using 46 or 47T rear sprockets, 15. 16, 17 ,18 fronts.
• Chain adjustment - Nylon top adjuster only
• Exhaust - Hand made one off full race exhaust , carbon mufller , Malc Anderson / MSC design specification, fully rubber mounted.
• Rear Suspension - Hagon adjustable
• Rear Brake - one off rear set brake, GP performance brake shoes.
• Tyres - Dry - Dunlop TT92
• Tyres - Wet - Sava Monsun wets
• Seat Unit - Fibre glass single seat
• Cables - Nylon lined, gear tie rod drilled and m6 retaining nut.

2009 Engine Upgrades - Dyno Results

Since the racing at Joigny in France, the engine from the race bike has been with Chalky White at Replay Scooters in Rothwell.

Chalky originally built the engine for himself to race, but never really got around to it! Chalky spoke to me at Cadwell, and was delighted that his engine had finally made it onto the track!

You may remember that at the final BSSO race at Cadwell I had what proved to be a 'phantom' twisted crank... i.e. it wasn't actually twisted despite giving the symptoms of a twisted crank! I had managed to run at Cadwell and at Joigny by using Ralph Remnant's (SRP Tuning) spare Motoplat ignition set up.

So after France, Chalky offered very kindly to check over the motor, and try to get to the bottom of the ignition problem. We also agreed that he would do some more work on the barrel to provide some more power for 2009. When he had originally tuned the engine, he wanted something with a reasonable spread of power and a rideable delivery. The engine had proved to be great for my return to the race track after 13 years away...... enough power to scare me, but not enough to spit me off...... but above all (except for the ignition problem) reliable!

I had been giving 2009 a lot of thought after Joigny. I was enjoying very much the thrill and adrenalin fix of being on a race track, but realisitically at 45 and such a long time away, I ain't going to be challenging Stuart Day and Charlie Edmonds any time soon!

So I decided that some economical power improvements to the motor, and as much track time as possible using test days at Mallory and the like, would be the best way to go!

So.......... fast forward.......... Chalky has done an absolutely superb job on the engine. Improvements are;

Crankshaft - New crankshaft has been built and fitted. A good quality GP crank was split by Chalky and rebuilt with a longer Japanese con rod. This new crank will be able to handle the extra power Chalky was working on!

Barrel - The existing Rapido barrel was reworked. Transfers were enlarged through their whole length. Exhaust port considerably altered and raised to give 192 degrees of exhaust. The inlet was enlarged and smoothed to improve the matching of the barrel to the inlet manifold.

Ignition - The old ignition stator plate has been totally replaced with a new one. A BGM stator plate was used to provide the sparks! The previous flywheel (modified Vespa PK with plastic fan) was cleaned up and skimmed to tidy up the internal damage.

Agusto 8000 - Chalky's superb Agusto advance / retard box of tricks has been added to improve power and pickup.

Exhaust - A few cracks were found in the exhaust system, so these have been welded and fixed. New exhaust rubber mounts.

So.... after Chalky had done all the above changes, I took my frame down on Christmas Eve and we re-fitted the engine, and put the bike on the dyno for a couple of 3rd gear power runs to see the improvement. At the start of 2008 the engine had been setup with a Mikuni 35mm carb on the Chiselspeed dyno and had produced 23.96 HP so both of us were keen to see the improvements. In my mind I was hoping for 27-28 HP.

The engine started easily when we bumped it up outside (to please Chalky's neighbours!) then it was up the ramp and through the workshop keeping the engine running whilst we strapped down on the dyno. We had checked the Agusto advance / retard system with a strobe, so we were good to go!

The first run..... just under 31HP............. big smiles all round.....


The second run ..... 31.5HP!!!!!!!!! ..........

Heres the dyno chart>> ( click Chart for full view )




Chalky said that as he accelerated the engine felt really smooth - like a very powerful road bike...... great spread of power...... should be superb out of bends.

The engine is producing over 30HP across a pretty broad rev range. I have always preferred engines with this type of power delivery so I am well pleased with the results. Torque is pretty good as well with maximum of 20.7 Nm at 7700 revs (peak power was at 8100 revs).

Theres a little work to do on jetting, with something wild occuring between 6 and 7,000 revs, but it's safe so we will play around with jetting at a later date.

So..... were we pleased? You bet!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately due to external factors I was not able to go play at Mallory Park Plum Pudding on Boxing Day, but hopefully in February / March I will be able to start testing at Mallory practice days..... I reckon the first race meeting will be a great feeling !

A really big Thanks to Chalky White at Replay for all his help and great work on the engine. Very much appreciated!



Chalky's Contact details are;

Replay Scooters
2 The Avenue
Rothwell
Northants
NN14 6EY
Tel (01536) 418893

December Update

Well people............... not a great deal happening with regard to the bike at the moment....... but here's an update.


I had decided originally to build a new motor for next year, but have you heard............. there's a credit crunch!!!!!!! I also decided that in reality....... money would be better spent on track time re-learning to ride fast rather than on some mega motor that I can't ride!

Chalky White of Replay Scooters in Rothwell had originally built my engine for himself, but never really made it out onto the track. Chalky introduced himself at Cadwell, and very kindly offered to relook at the engine and do some more work on it to help me out.

So after the racing in France, I dropped the engine out and took it to Chalky. The plan is to do some interim work on the barrel to produce some more power, and of course sort out the knackered ignition system! (Thanks again to Ralph at SRP for the loan of the Motoplat) and then in the spring do some further developments for 2009 with a possible change of exhaust system, and also going to direct scoop cooling. With Chalky's help this can be achieved hopefully with minimal outlay, leaving money from my small racing fund to use for some track days and tests, which in reality will probably be worth more time than a bonkers engine!

So...... what else has been happening? Well over a few evenings, rather than waste time sitting in front of the TV, I used it productively to edit a video which is a spoof of Hitler's reaction to Tony O'Brien's mega small frame Vespa. Its been well accepted and already doing the rounds of scooter forums, and quickly racked up 1,000 views! For those that don't know, there's a number of alternative versions of this video clip from the German subtitle film 'Downfall'. The original film is apparently very good, but somehow people have produced umpteen spoofs of this video clip with alternative subtitles, with everything from Churchill stealing his Big Macs, to him having problems with Microsoft Vista!

So I can't claim originality for the idea, but it was great fun, and actually harder than it looked trying to make things fit, and in places even match the sound of the German words.



Enjoy!

So................ what else is happening? Well, the BSSO AGM is only a month away so it will be interesting to see if anyone is going to propose anything radical or controversial! With all the development going on in the road scene, with some VERY well engineered clutches, barrels and even gearboxes coming along, it would seem the right time to complete a well overdue review of the BSSO Racing regulations and specifications. The published ones are desperately in need of review and it would be great to simplify them and help out the many newcomers showing interest in racing. At the moment it's looking like we will have some full grids in 2009...... economy permitting!

We don't have a calendar of events finalised yet but I know we have the offer from the VMCC to race with them again. They are really a great bunch, and they and the spectators make us very welcome and enjoy the spectacle of howling scooters blasting around!

My good friend Dave Crampton will be a new entry next year on another bright green machine! This one will be a Gilera Runner, built to compete in Group 6. Dave's from an engineering background and has a number of subtle, but very trick additions and modifications to his Runner. It will be interesting to see how he goes - but I have a sneaking suspicion he ain't going to be at the back (no pressure!)

If I don't update before Christmas........ Peace and Love....... Happy Christmas (war is over!)

Sponsorship!

Well, shortly before Cadwell Park, I received an email, which made my day! The offer of some sponsorship!

Why? Well I reckon this blog had a great deal to do with it! The blog had come to the notice of someone who had been following and decided he would like to help out for the future!

Pete Davies runs the British Lambretta Archive and is well known in the Lambretta scene. He is one of the main authorities on Lambretta details! ( You could say he wears an anorak at times lol)

The British Lambretta Archive web site is a mine of information.... frame and engine numbers year by year, Italian and Indian! Paint codes, guides to Lambretta Series by Series, even J Range and 3 wheelers.

Pete also is a main provider of DVLA accepted authentication letters, which are essential for registering foreign frames

Pete has also recently written and published a book - The Lambretta Bible.
This is a great and interesting book and is an in-depth look at the world's finest scooter from the Model A to the GP 200. The Lambretta story doesn't end there though, with the focus moving onto machines prepared and built by Lambretta Concessionaires. The book ends with a look at the main British dealer specials of the 1960s.

Pete is also a main contributor to Classic Scooterist Scene magazine, and the initial interest was actually to ask for permission to reprint this very blog as a set of articles in the magazine. Of course I was quite happy to give permission for this as its a great way of getting more publicity for racing......... and as we know .... magazine articles always generate extra interest in scooter racing and can only be good for the sport. At the start of the blog, the main reason for its existance was to document building the race scooter, just to show you don't have to spend £1000's or be a young whippersnapper to get on the track! Eds Tightwad blog does pretty much the same thing!

So...... The British Lambretta Archive logo's are now on the scooter and the BLA's contribution of £500 towards the costs of the 2009 season are really appreciated - Thanks Pete!

I look forward to helping out bringing some publicity and exposure to the BLA, and of course the excellent Lambretta Bible which can be bought direct from the BLA web site - Click here!

Racing in Joigny - France! What - No Leathers!

Wow....... what an absolutely Top weekend!

After the ignition problems at Cadwell I wasn't sure things would come together to be able to go! But after feeling better with my riding on track at Cadwell, I sooooo wanted to go over to France and basically just get track time!

I have always been a fan of small twisty circuits, so this kart circuit south of Paris looked good to me. A few guys from England were going..... Stuart Day, Bert Conneely, Phil Bevis, Chris Geyton, and Charlie Edmonds amongst others, so I thought it seemed like it would be fun.

I'd asked my old mate Matt Gooch if he fancied coming along, and he jumped at the chance, and of course my son Miles wanted to go, so I took the plunge and decided to go for it and booked the ferry! However......... a bit of a problem.... new ignition was fitted, but within minutes of a test run round the car park it had been wrecked!

Ralph Remnant came to the rescue ( again) with the loan of his spare Motoplat, which Paul Baker was going to take with him, so we could fit it when we got there ( scary!)

So..... 7.15 Friday night there we were on a SpeedFerry, myself, Miles and Matt enroute to deepest Francais, armed with sat nav and big bags of snacks!

We had a good journey, even negotiating the periphique of Paris successfully, Matt did the driving on the last leg of the journey and we got there a bit before 2am. All was quiet when we arrived, so we unpacked the scooter so Miles and I could sleep in the van, Matt was in tented accommodation!

Had a reasonable nights sleep after the journey, then awoke at 6.30 with a start, sat up and suddenly realised....... Damn..... No leathers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 minutes of swearing and cursing ensued as I sat not quite believing my own stupidity!

As the rest of the guys woke up we said hello to everyone, the general conscensus being as the rules were quite 'open', just wearing 3 pairs of trousers and a jacket would be ok! I started to feel a little better....... at least if push comes to shove I could at least get on the track!

Matt and Miles went off into the nearest town - Joigny - where they had found out there was a motorbike shop....... wonder if they sold leathers! They didn't! However Matt did come back with a jacket with some armour in it......... no trousers though. By this time I'd fixed the motoplat so was ready to go.

So it was a jacket, and 2 pairs of stout underpants I reckon! I'd just put on two pairs of trousers when Sticky very kindly came to the rescue with the offer of borrowing his leathers as A - his bike was still in pieces as he changed his clutch and B - he was in a different race class to me! Sticky - you're a hero mate!

Now..... all I needed to do was wedge my finely chiselled physique into them! legs were ok..... waist was ok...... problems were with the chest! I had to breathe in and squeeze myself into them an inch at a time! I felt like Dita von Teese in some sort of corset! But once into them, they were surprisingly comfortable....... even though they had a definite Power Ranger look about them!

By now we'd had a proper look around..... John Howe was also here, along with a couple of guys on road scooters from Cambridge Lambretta who were doing the track experience class.

There was basically no scrutineering as we were English Professionals! It has to be said there is a distinct difference in the general preparation of bikes across the channel lol

So....... first practice...... oh no..... the organisers were giving everyone transponders to put inside their leathers for timing! Not sure there was gonna be any room in mine lol!

The circuit was certainly very tight and twisty! Pretty hard work, with only one straight really, well two, but one had a chicane in the middle............. just before a tight left hand bend where after a couple of laps the only French full frame Lambretta rider went down heavy trying to keep up the quicker English Lambrettas. This caused a stoppage as he was taken care of and ambulanced off to hospital to get his broken shoulder sorted! This caused a minor ticking off for the quicker English guys - too fast they were told! Hhmmmmmm ........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got two timed practice sessions which would be used as qualifying for the afternoons racing. I liked the circuit more and more during the sessions and lap times came tumbling down as I experimented with lines and riding style. The circuit surface was very grippy indeed.  I ended practice qualifying 13th out of 19 ( would have been 20 but the frenchman was not going to be coming back!)

First race I managed to pass a couple of Vespas, but after running wide a couple of times still learning lines I got re-passed. It seemed a flipping long race compared to our English races and I have to admit to be relived to see the last lap signal...... actually relief turned to laughter as there was no signal, just a French guy sticking his thumb up to signify the last lap! Across the line I was 12th. Of course Charlie led the way at the front!

All too quickly it was time for the second race. The start was all a bit botched really. The start line officials started lining everyone up but seemed to give up and everyone just moved forward and placed themselves where they liked, then suddenly a guy lifted a flag and dropped it...... I wasn't even in gear and was actually just getting into some sort of position! So I lost a few places and found myself in a group of vespas! I spent most of the race in a battle with a french guy wearing ankle boots and a pair of grey cotton overalls! We passed and re-passed each other till I decided I'd had enough of that and really concentrated for a couple of laps and pulled a gap! Across the line I ended the race 10th, so overall a 3 place improvement and fastest lap nearly 2 seconds quicker.  I was by now really loving the circuit.

In between races I was getting out of the leathers and taking them over to Sticky, who was racing a small frame Vespa and was having some great battles with a dutchman also on a small frame.  As the day went on those leathers seemed to get heavier and heavier and were certainly very sweaty in the heat!

A very relaxed and leisurely lunch break gave us plenty of time to chat and circulate around.

We were made to feel really welcome by the French riders and organisers. They seemed really pleased we had made the long journey and were pretty blown away I think by the speeds of the front running bikes! Lunch was a barbecue, sat in absolutely superb weather... it was pretty hot! There was a couple of dealers stalls to look around , some lovely road scooters, even a Vespa 50 with original pedal shaft! We wondered how much that would be worth!

So...... the third race !!!!!!!!!! Oh how great it would be to 3 or 4 races in England! I decided after the shambles of the last start that I was being way too polite and if the rest were not going to stick to the allocated grid then neither was I! As the flag dropped I was already underway and a gap opened to the left - so I dived across and filled it, diving up the inside of a couple of P ranges and brushing shoulders as I forced my way into the almost dead stop right hander. I'd passed about 5-6 bikes, but ran wide on the second bend and let a couple back past. I was now a few places higher up than the first two races and was very much dragged long by some quicker guys, which felt great, and indeed after only about 3-4 laps I saw the guy with the grey overalls (who I had spent most of the previous race tussling with) about half a lap down on me.

It very much felt like I got into some kind of groove and felt I was going quicker and quicker. As the race progressed a couple of the frontrunners threw themselves down the track, and I picked up some more places. The scooter felt great and I was really leaning now, knee even skimming the tarmac in a couple of places! I felt the most comfortable I've felt on the scooter since starting racing again. All too soon now we got the last lap thumbs up. I knew I'd finished much higher and lapped much more quickly. Across the finish line I knew I'd probably just had one of my best ever races. I immediately felt very emotional, as I thought about how much my Dad would have loved to have been there. He ALWAYS was there when I used to race, and I miss him around now I'm racing again. Its 3 years since he passed away, but I still miss him massively, and this suddenly was one of those times, and I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I completed the slowing down lap.

My old mate Matt and my son Miles were waiting for me as I peeled off the track, and they were beaming great smiles. Miles told me I'd made him proud, and that meant such a lot to me.

By now dusk was falling, racing was all over for the day. In the evening ( after most of the English guys had dashed to catch a ferry) the French did a great presentation with very generous prizes. For the Brits Charlie was first overall for the meeting, Chris Geyton third overall (as he'd like I collected his helmet prize on his behalf) , Bert Conneely was 5th overall, and I was classified 8th overall even getting a prize of sunglasses and gloves! To say I was chuffed was an understatement!
The day ended much better than it started and I can honestly say that I really struggle to think of many better days I have ever had involving scooters.

The French put on a fantastic event and wild horses would not keep me from going back next year!

This has been a long old blog entry, and I feel I've only really scratched the surface of a great weekend.

More thoughts and observations to follow!

Cadwell Park - Sunday 28th - Day 2 !

Well........ Sunday dawned damply........ I opened the doors of the luxury executive accomodation (the van!) to see clouds and definite feel of rain in the air.... which to be honest I was kind of looking forward to as historically I've always gone well in the wet.

Most of my local club - Grantham Daytrippers were coming over - Miles was riding with them on his Dragster and had been looking forward to the ride.

Anyway, I had this nagging doubt after yesterdays escapades with the first non finish of my second time around race career, so I decided to bump the scooter up and check everything was ok again. It started up straight away fine, so I ran it around a while in the paddock, then decided to give it a few more revs up the entrance road....... pop ....bang .... misfire..... then stop....... oh dear...... so it wasn't the coil after all then!

Bugger!

So as most of my local club and friends arrive it was off with the ignition..... this time the ignition pickup has most definitely clouted the flywheel, and it has actually knocked the head round out of line!




Reckon its broken again!









Much scratching of heads and the general conclusion points to a twisted crank (?).  I felt gutted.... there I was , my local circuit, 25 friends and family there, and I'm not even running!

Ralph Remnant, amongst others, comes over and offers his spare Motoplat ignition - which has a far greater clearance.  So we proceed to take the old one off and Ralph brings his ignition over and kindly fits it, whilst I'm running around finding earth leads, and bracket for the coil.






Biz and Mick formulate a plan to cut plastic!







Jigsy next to me is a hero as he offers his spare plastic cooling fan.... cheers mate! Biz and Mick from Datrippers SC are set on with Tony O'Brien's soldering iron trimming down the fins and centre of the fan to fit onto the Motoplat.  Scotty provided a decent earth strap whilst several interested parties sneaked a look at what was going on!

Bizarrely, Chalky White who tuned and built my motor also introduced himself along with the guy who made the ignition setup - he recognised it as he was walking by!







What - no spark plug? We won't say anything about trying to start it without fitting one!







Once the Motoplat was all fitted there was only a few minutes to the start of race 1, so we were rushing to make sure it ran ok..... it wouldn't start!  Ralph told us we'd need loads of engine revs in first gear as the Motoplat needed revolutions to generate a decent spark.  Still no luck and we were feeling knackered pushing the damn thing!  So in steps Ralph and Chris Geyton who started it up on the SRP rollers.... what a great gadget that is!  Mental note to add to shopping list!



It ran fine and revved cleanly - result!  A little vibration... but sounded and felt fine!  Game On!

Race 1 - relieved to be running, I'd pre-warned friends that motor had problems so don't necessarily expect a finish!  Got a great initial start off the line, but then a vibration kicked in and I backed off before going for it again, with a second wind I took a wide line to the right up the first hill and managed to pick up a couple of places, setting my sights on Jigsy, who I slipstreamed down the main straight, but the extra grunt of his Group 6 bike was too much.  I was a little reluctant to go totally flat out - I was a little reluctant to use full power as I had visions of wrecking Ralphs Motoplat.  I made a right hash of the left hander before the Mountain on both the first laps - right in front of my friends!  But managed to get it right after I decided it would be very embarrassing to run off the track there!




Race 1!








As the race went on I started to feel more confident and was riding around the problems, lapping around 6 seconds quicker than the day previous.

Just about everyone was on wet tyres as it had been quite damp through the Woodlands section, but as we were on the track a dry line quickly formed, and as it turned out I reckon everyone would have been fine on dry tyres.

Race over............ I wasn't last, and I wasn't lapped...... which was progress as far as I was concerned!

Race 2 - Decided to just try and go for it..... but had a less than desirable start and got bogged down, tried to go for the same wide line, but came across Tom Oliver and a Group 6 bike sliding down the track.... people running off the tarmac to avoid the carnage...... but it put me close to Jigsy exiting Charlies and along Park Straight I used full throttle which I'd been reluctant to do in the first race, I was reeling him in and almost alongside him into Park bend, which we both managed to make a little bit of a mess of!  We stayed close the whole of the first lap till we got back to the start straight where he got a better drive and pulled away a little, then came drunkmonkey the little bugger........ still, at least I was being passed by Group 6 bikes!



Lap 4 and all of a sudden the Coventry new boy on Bert Conneeely's old engine came by me as I started to sit in a comfort zone.  This gave me a wake up call and I went the fastest I'd ever gone through the Gooseneck - conquering a demon there - and dived up the inside into Mansfield being pretty late on the brakes.

I then pulled away and across the line had pulled a gap.  I got a big cheer from friends as I pulled off the track.... cheers guys!

Phew...... above all I was happy to have finshed both races, wasn't last and wasn't lapped again!

We hung around in the vain hope of getting our third race, but it was not to be.

Overall there were lots of positives to take from my third days racing, I had felt comfortable on the scooter - no doubt in part due to riding my road scooter daily for the previous three weeks (car troubles!)

I felt I'd made a small but significant step in feeling more comfortable and a little quicker.

As for the state of the engine...... well the initial assessment of twisted crank proved to be incorrect! The crank was checked by Chalky White at Replay scooters - It was only two thou out!  Refitting the crank and starting the bike with a new ignition pick up revealed that there was still a problem though as the new pickup head was also smashed as soon as the engine was given any decent revs!

After cadwell I really wanted to do this race in France that a few of the guys were going to...... so the next week and a half was spent messing around with crank and ignition, till eventually I gave it up and contacted Ralph with a plea for the Motoplat to be sent over to France with Paul Baker....... and very big crossed fingers!

Thanks to Chalky for prompt checking of the crank and ignition....


So...... Friday 10th of October saw me loading the scooter into the van with no ignition setting off on the 450 mile journey to Joigny in France - with a little bit of wing and prayer feeling!


What would racing in France be like? >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Find out soon!