Intro
With this
meeting following the Isle of man TT; it made timings difficult for Sergeant
Andy Green and Sergeant Tom Flynn who didn’t get back from the Island until the
early hours of Saturday morning, having participated on the Island as pit crew. This meant they
missed the racing on Saturday but would later join the rest of the team on the Sunday.
All other PC250 riders would be attending for the full weekend. Chief
Technician (ret’d) Shaun Huston continues to mend having sustained injuries in
a fall at Mallory Park during the previous meeting.
Having had a
short break between Mallory and Cadwell, most riders had done little development
to their bikes. No less so than Squadron Leader Symon Woodward who was keeping
up his pre-race Friday night tradition of “minor fettling” as he completed the
finishing touches to his newly rebuilt Honda MT125 after the return from the
“winter” repair of his frame and engine casings. Flight Sergeant Ian Ridley also
hit issues with his motorcycle such as a mild exhaust “Misalignment” which with
a little help was remedied before racing.
On the
Saturday morning with rain lashing down, team chatter was high. Some were Bigging
up Corporal Gavin Heggs’ wet riding credentials after his impressive performance
at a wet Mallory, which he frantically tried to play down, changing the focus onto
Flight Sergeant Dave Bond’s 50+ laps of Cadwell practice a few days previously or
Flight Lieutenant Jim Dickinson’s disputed very high BHP missile of a Yamaha.
Thankfully practice
went soggily but without incident for all riders. Ridley was particularly
pleased to manage more than a sighting lap without falling off in the wet for
the first time in his racing career and Corporal Bartlett learned spark plugs
need to be more than finger tight to work efficiently. The possibility of a
repeat of Mallory’s Saturday racing on the cards left Woodward unfazed, Heggs
hopeful and the others wondering why they do this.
Post Classic 125
Sqn Ldr Symon
Woodward was the only RAF rider on the grid at this meets 125 group. Shaun Houston
continues to recover post his fall at Mallory and Andy Green has chosen to rest
his MT whilst he recovers from a back injury, something about being unable to
fit on the bike.
Woodward
races followed a similar pattern throughout the weekend. Finding himself
somewhere in the middle of the pack he would tour the track thinking of
something for Squadron Leader (ret’d) John Walton and Sergeant (ret’d) Paul
Kirkby (on a guest appearance) to fix, and come in early for a consistent trio
of DNF’s. In his own words “Nothing to report from Cadwell” Let’s move on to
Croft.
Post Classic (500 air cooled)
Symon
Woodward, again the sole representative for the RAF on this grid, dragged out “Big
Al” the Yamaha RD400 to race with the other big two and four strokes. Again,
Symon delivered consistent results. See the previous PC 125 results for further
detail.
Post Classic (250 air cooled)
The PC250 AC
class saw 7 bikes fielded on the Saturday and the full 9 on the Sunday. Much
self-inflating/deprecating talk had been made in the short build up to this
race and Bond had even found time to get in a track day to give himself a firm
advantage. It was now time to show who was “King of Cadwell”!!
In their own
words here are the unbiased (and truly accurate) accounts of the PC250 riders:
Race 1
The first
race for this group was late on Saturday so they got to enjoy a dry track much
to the lament of Heggs.
#15 Dickinson With the bike running well and
finishing races consistently, I was placed 6th on the grid for the first race.
I was feeling pretty psyched up but it didn't go exactly to plan. The start was
reasonable and I managed to keep Bartlett and Bond behind me for around three
laps but was annoyed to see some blue out of the corner of my eye coming out of
Barn corner onto the main straight. I was also gutted to see a trail of blue
paint and a Woodward shaped body on the floor at the chicane before the
mountain, but Sy was smiling at the side of the track on the next lap so all
good. I couldn't keep in contact once Bartlett and Bond came past and finished
4 seconds behind Bond in 7th. Fastest lap was quicker than last year but I was
a bit disappointed with the ride.
#41 Bartlett With spark plugs tightened I headed
out for the first race of the weekend. The rain had stopped and the track was mostly
dry other than a few wet patches off the racing line, but nothing to affect the
pace. I started 19th on the
grid and made good progress heading into the first corner. The bike was handling
well and engine pulling strong (although not as strong as Dickinson or Woodward’s).
Dickinson had started up in 6th place so he was my target. After the
pre-race banter and confidence that Dickinson had been showing it was clear he
was up for it and none of us would hear the end of it if he was able to beat
any of the other RAF riders. As I was getting closer and closer to Dickinson
each lap my opportunity came during lap 3. Dickinson left the door wide open
for me to go up the inside from Coppice into Charlies and due to carrying the
extra speed around Charlies I was able to keep him behind down Park Straight. A
quick glance behind revealed a clear track which meant I was on my own; however
I was totally unaware that Bond was closing in (or so he says as I saw nothing
of him!). I did however notice that in true Woodward fashion, who had started
well, had made the evening before predictions come true. Most people had
predicted a crash from him and sure enough there he was, flat on the ground
with his bike in bits. This spurred me on knowing I was the front running RAF rider,
racing across the line for 5th. Considering the pace of the front
runners I was very happy with the result and my best lap time.
#51 Ridley I was hoping a season peppered with
DNF’s and DNS’s were behind me entering my first race at Cadwell Park. Having
mostly dried up for the first race I was looking forward to getting out on the
circuit again, however, while transiting from the holding area to the start
line I was unable to change out of second gear, the gear selector becoming more
loose as I tried. I pulled in to the pit lane entrance to check what was going
on to find that the gear lever was slipping on the gear selector shaft splines
due to worn splines, despite the bolts being physically tight. So that was my
DNS for the weekend but I did get the bonus of watching the race from the pit
wall. Luckily I had a replacement gear lever so that was easily sorted. 
#54 Bond
Starting from the
back because of championship position didn’t help, but after a good battle with
most of the other team members (and a bit of touching action with Chief
Technician Mick Rudd) I managed to battle my way up to 6th and 2nd RAF rider
home behind “Senior Air Craftsman” Bartlett.
#71 Rudd After a reasonable start I found
myself chasing Dickinson and Bartlett. A task made harder by trying to
negotiate a way past a couple of 4 stroke bikes battling each other. After
going through the Mountain, I could hear a bike closing to my right, a small
glimpse of blue paint identified a team mate. I pressed on into Hall bends,
with the other bike millimetres to my side, and managed to maintain the
position. The next lap saw an identical move but this time Bond managed to
complete the move passed me. I continued to push and the last lap saw me close
up to Dickinson. An attempt to pass was made into the hairpin but Dickinson
closed the door leaving me to follow him over the line for 8th place
by less than 0.2 seconds. So far my X7 development is
continuing well with an improvement of 10 seconds on my lap time from last
year.
#74 Heggs My
first mistake was not reading the position sign on the way onto the grid so I
ended up starting a long way back from where I should have. Many more mistakes
would follow but too small and numerous to list. I caught Bartlett quickly from
the start, however I gradually dropped back as missed gears and skill
limitations took their toll. This left me riding with a slower bike who would
occasionally remind me how to go round corners before disappearing behind again,
eventually leaving me to finish in 9th. As it was my first race at
Cadwell Park I was very pleased with my performance although it is hard to get
excited by such a position.
#157 Woodward With the 125 suffering post rebuild
teething problems and “Big Al” (400) being temperamental and handling like a Barge
I had better expectations of “Little Al” (250). Having finished every race so
far on the Podium, I was leading the Championship and so started on Pole, what
could possibly go wrong? I was one of 3 lead bikes which broke away at the
front. The bike was running well but my
riding wasn’t, unable to get into the groove, which is so important on such a
technical circuit as Cadwell. Whilst struggling to stay with Jerry Longland, I
luckily avoided his bike as he seized at the end of Park Straight, handing me
2nd place. I could see the leader but he
was riding well and several seconds ahead. A sensible, experienced rider would
consolidate their Championship position and secure 2nd. Unfortunately that was
not me that day. I realised that chances of catching the Leader, John, were
minimal but knew I had to pick my pace up to be able to compete in the rest of
the races. Unfortunately this resulted in the bike and I departing company at
the entry to the “new” chicane. Just to add insult to injury, as I wandered off
the track, I looked up to see Corporal Craig Hornsby pointing his
camera lens at me, oh what joy!!
Race 2
#14 Green As I would have to start from the back
of the grid, due to not being here on the Saturday, I opted to over gear the
bike to allow myself a tall first gear for a good start. Practice was a quick
two laps and then back out 20 minutes later for the first race. So back from
practice, quick top up of fuel and then ready to go. Starting the race from the
back row in 34th was ok as I had 2 other team members sat next to
me. The Flag dropped and I quickly made my way up the grid past Flynn, Ridley, Rudd,
Heggs and finally Dickinson. Dickinson managed to out brake me at the end of
park straight and he then managed to stay in my way until the end of the race
where I finished 8th. I decided not to try and re-overtake him (of
course Andy, totally your choice??) as he was keeping me chuckling away to
myself watching his random race lines and his ability to miss every apex. His
body posture gave a hint of sheer determination and panic to keep me behind
him.
#15 Dickinson Sunday morning (after
a study of my GoPro footage), I was feeling confident again. I got a bit too
excited on the start line and spent too much time closing the throttle to
control multiple wheelies. Woodward went up the inside into the chicane, and I
was pleased to see he stayed on 2 wheels this time. Andy Green came past me at
Charlie's before I managed to out brake him into Park corner. As I did so, all
I could think of was the move I pulled on him into the hairpin at Mallory and
him saying 'Dickinson showed promise'! I was determined to stay ahead of him
and gave it everything I had. Staying ahead of Andy and trying to rein in Bond
and Bartlett was the aim for the rest of the race. I managed to shave nearly 5
seconds off my best lap and nearly caught Bartlett, finishing 8th and only half
a second behind him. My only consolation was a quicker fastest lap than the 2
RAF riders just ahead of me and I managed to stay ahead of the (still injured??!!!!)
Green.
#41 Bartlett Our second race started early on the
Sunday morning. The banter was everywhere and harsh. Bond was claiming to be on
form, Dickinson claimed to have found 5 seconds per lap just by thinking about
it! Even Green fancied his chances after missing the Saturday race. Bond and I
started next to each other on the grid with Dickinson just behind us. We all made good starts and I had the
advantage all the way down into park corner where I was a little too helpful in
letting Bond get through. I was able to keep bond within a few bike lengths for
most of the race but then halfway through the race Woodward came sneaking by
with his massive horsepower advantage and I couldn’t keep up with that. Bond
was still just ahead though, and after making a few errors ahead of me I was
lucky not to have taken him out a couple of times. Bond managed to keep his
lead and I made do with 3rd placed RAF rider and a similar best lap
time as race 1.
#51 Ridley Sunday started much better for me with
a quick practice to make sure the bike was fixed and all was good for the first
race of the day. The bike still needs to go on the dyno to get the best out of
it but I was able to catch up with Flynn through the bends only to have him
pull away on the straights. I was hoping to make a move on him through Park and
Chris’s Curve to the Gooseneck, however having missed a gear at the Hall Bends
on lap 3 the bike stalled and I was unable to bump start it before I ran out of
momentum and pulled in just before the Hairpin. Thinking there may be a problem
with the bike I had a quick look over it but it started first kick and I rode
it back to the paddock for a DNF and another valuable racing lesson learned. 
#54 Bond I started in a better position in
this race but I didn’t really capitalise on it. I had quite a lonely race to be
honest which wasn’t helped by being passed by Woodward towards the end after
being first RAF rider for most of the race – Damn it! The bike then developed a
clutch issue that prevented staying with the fast 50 year old.
#56 Flynn Having had an early morning return to the mainland on Saturday this was my first race of the weekend. After a pleasant tour of the track taking in the lush scenery of the Lincolnshire Wolds I was confronted with the chequered flag and 14th place.
#71 Rudd
The first race of the
Sunday didn't go well for me. It was soon apparent that the X7 had lost quite a
lot of power from Saturday and wasn't running well. Rather than risk engine
damage I retired the bike from the race.
#74 Heggs Our second race came on Sunday
morning, again in the dry but plenty of wind.
I started
well (from the correct position this time) taking a few scalps along the way. I
was now up behind Bartlett and Bond, separated by two Ducati's. The Ducati's
were slower but had blocked my attempts to pass on the back straight allowing
Dickinson to sneak up the inside going into Park corner. I however had the
drive and happily slammed that door in his face. It might have been short lived
but I certainly enjoyed it.
From there
onwards I gradually dropped back being joined by another Ducati. We swapped
places a few times but crucially he was a fair bit quicker through Mansfield
where he took me on the last lap and I was unable to catch him.
I had shaved
5 seconds off of my previous fastest lap time so was very pleased even if the
results of: finishing 10th didn't quite reflect my improvement.
Race 3
#14 Green I had done enough in the last race;
my lap times were faster than Dicko’s and the next few places up so I would be
starting from 8th place.
My second
race saw me get a good start again, I was fifth up the hill for the first left
hander. The bike isn’t the quickest but held its own. I lost a couple of places
on park straight and again through the long right hander approaching the goose
neck. I’ve had confidence issues on that corner with that bike for a while.
Faster or slower corners through the season are not a problem… Just that one!
Symon managed to get past but the rest of the team were a good way back. I
managed about three laps when going up the start finish straight the bike
developed a misfire which cured itself. Unfortunately whilst looking down at
the bike I had to move out of the crouch which made me uncomfortable due to a
back injury, forcing me to retire to the pits at the end of the lap, gifting
the rest of the team another place. (excuses excusues!!!) I arrived back at the
pit to find Bond looking puzzled at his X7. We all looked at Bond puzzled as to
why he has an X7!
#15 Dickinson The third and final race saw a lot of
quiet in the paddock at the RAF gazebos. There was seemingly a lot of focused
thought! Due to my quicker lap time I was gridded ahead of Bond and Bartlett.
My start was average with Bartlett coming past, Green up ahead and Bond behind.
I got stuck in traffic, but got better drive into Park straight and went side
by side with Bartlett (not for the last time in the race!). I then set about
Kevin Breedon on an immaculate 250. I had a tussle with him until pulling a not
so clean move into the hairpin but came out ahead and started chasing Green and
another rider down. I was holding the gap but not making a lot of ground before
Green unfortunately pulled out. The scrap of my weekend then ensued. Bartlett
got a run on me down Park straight. We were side by side again and I waved my
finger at him 'I don't think so!' once I'd got into 6th gear. We went round
Chris Curve within touching distance and I only felt about 50% in control of my
bike! He got the better of me before we changed position again at the bottom of
the Gooseneck. Some more tussling ensued before I overcooked park corner on the
last lap, I nearly got the place back at Mansfield, before I obviously couldn't
cope with the pressure and nearly took the grass at the bottom of the Mountain.
Again more time shaved off my best lap and a great race finishing 7th
.
#41 Bartlett There was a long wait for race 3 to
come around but from my point of view it was worth it. Starting from 14th
place this time I had Green, Dickinson, Bond and Woodward all starting ahead of
me due to posting “slightly” faster lap times in the previous race. The flag
dropped and I felt like I had made a great start leaving Bond behind and
passing Dickinson before the first corner, but again Dickinsons power advantage
came into play down Park Straight when he came by. Woodward and Green both made
good progress leaving me to battle with Dickinson. This was a longer race than
the previous 2 but I was determined to catch Dickinson and pass him. The first
few laps Dickinson seemed to pull a slight gap then I would be back on him
again. Behind, Bond had another issue with his Suzuki which meant I never saw
him again. Green appeared in front now slowing down so both Dickinson and I
went past him. Next Woodward pulled off with a mechanical issue leaving
Dickinson as the top RAF rider with me desperately trying to pass him, sitting
just a bikes length behind him for around 3 laps. With 2 laps to go my moment
came as I went round the outside of Dickinson at Charlies and sat side by side
with him going all the way down the Park Straight. He had the inside line and
made it clear with a little hand gesture just a few inches away from me that he
was not letting me past, he kept the line and I had to slot in behind again.
The next lap gave me another opportunity going round Chris’s Curve, sat on the
inside and again just an inch or two apart from each other but this time I had
track position and went into the lead. He took the place back again with a
brave move going into the chicane. I was now on the last lap, tucked in as much
as I physically could, a few bike lengths behind Dickinson heading down Park Straight,
but still could not get past him. Then suddenly Dickinson seemed to run wide in
park corner so I went up the inside and rode as fast as possible with a
defensive line for the rest of the lap. That was enough to see me exit Barn Corner
ahead of him and hold my place, smashing my previous best lap by just over 2 ½
seconds.
#51 Ridley My final race had me going well until
half way through lap 4, when I noticed the left hand faring clips had become
loose and the fairing was flapping around a little. This slowed me down as I
was trying to hold it together with my knee in the hope that I wouldn’t get
black flagged. Luckily this worked or the Marshalls didn’t notice and I was
able to finish, even if that meant at a slower pace than I may otherwise have
managed.
#54 Bond
I had a poor start
position for this race but managed to stay with Bartlett and Dickinson. I had
my move past Bartlett planned (who is weak into the hairpin) but was scuppered when
the clutch went again which hampered me to the end of race 3. Annoyingly it was
only the adjuster that had come loose. In hindsight; it could have probably
been adjusted on the hoof – but I didn’t and that was the end of the weekend.
#71 Rudd After checking the engine over and
changing the jetting I started race 3. Once off the line I was still lacking
power but despite this I carried on with the race. This race saw me battling
with Heggs; who was obviously in a determined mood as he closed the door on me
going downhill in to Mansfield corner forcing me to grab a handful of brake.
The following lap a block pass on the entry into the chicane saw Rudd grab the
position. After a poorly executed Mountain and Hall bends I fully expecting
Heggs to battle back, which never came, as I pushed through the hairpin and on
to the line finishing 8th.
#56 Flynn
Our final race of the day saw me knock 3 seconds off my last efforts best
time. A bigger grid however knocked me down to 17th despite my
better effort.
#74 Heggs Race three started well with me
keeping with the front group for a fair while. I took Bond, on the back
straight, during the first lap but I was forced onto the grass as Barny braked
to avoid crashing into the back of an erratic Dickinson mid corner. Luckily my
bike kept going and I watched Bond sale on by where he shortly after, tried to
take a short cut through the chicane with Bartlett, having his own trip on the
grass at the same time.
Not long
after this the faster group pulled away leaving me on my own again trying
different things and generally wishing this was a shorter race. During my final
lap I hit a bigger than normal gear box issue driving into Park which left me
coasting into the corner stuck between 5th and 6th. By
the time I corrected this I had allowed Rudd and a group of Ducatis to catch up
and pass me. Bugger!
I got my pace
back and quickly caught up to Rudd who was struggling with life as a Suzuki
rider. I followed him through the woods presuming he would be quicker which he
wasn't, so I felt no issue following him round the hairpin. This was however a
bad idea as a combination of poor entry point and limited talent sent me wide
at the exit and into a tire wall head first. Bugger again.
In closing
With Cadwell Park in the past and soon
forgotten for some, we look forward to the next round in a month’s time. We
leave you now with some inspired closing comments from our riders:
#14 Green Time to get myself fixed and the bike
refreshed…the troops are catching up! On a positive note, the engine I tuned
and built won all three races with John Warwick onboard.
#15 Dickinson Times are coming down
and I'm getting a lot closer to Woodward and Lee Clare's pace so progress is
being made. I suspect Cadwell is the last time Bartlett will beat me this
season and I don't think Bond's Suzuki will have a chance next round. I hope
Green is fit to race at full pace soon so I can show him more promise(!) and I
suspect Woodward's days are numbered at the top of the RAF tree.
#51 Ridley Another good
weekend for me in terms of lessons learned and track experience. I’m looking
forward to better results at the next meet.
#74 Heggs I made some real improvements over this
racing weekend and found a few areas for improvement. The plus side of my spill
is I have that behind me now and you aren’t a real racer till you have fallen
off anyway, just ask Sy! The bike and I are fairly simple fixes to get us both roadworthy.
A bit of time concentrating on my short comings should see me more competitive
for the next meeting in a month’s time.
#157 Woodward They are all getting quicker and
developing illusions of grandeur, but it is one thing to catch me, a completely
different thing to get past ;-)
As ever we
extend out thanks to, Craig Hornsby, John Walton and Roy Dale for their team
support. Further thanks go to our friends and family both who attended and
supported from home.
Finally
special thanks go to the companies who continue to support us: EBC brakes UK, Forcefield body armour, MCA Leicester, NGK spark plugs UK, Royal Air Force Motorsports Association, Royal Air Force Central Fund, Tony Salt Tyres, Witham group - Motul, Mick Abbey tuning, R-Tech Welding
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