Intro
Firmly
established as one of THE classic motorcycle race meetings in the world
it was time to head up to Donington Park for the highlight of the racing
calendar. The 3 day Classic Motorcycle Festival is the largest and most popular
classic motorcycle race event in the UK. Along with varied stands, clubs and
exotic motorcycles on display, the racing would continue with the addition of
the last leg of the FEM Europe Championship blending in with the CRMC's own
racing program.
If that
didn't make this a big enough event, the Team were turning up with the Witham Group's
superb hospitality lorry and RAF recruiting would be joining them complete with
their recruitment tent, various interesting stands and a sponsored MX5.
After
months of planning, the Thursday night before racing finally arrived. With the
RAF camp set up, bikes prepped and BBQ on, they were ready for an exciting
weekend.
Post Classic 125
#14 Sgt
Andy Green
Practice was
the first time I had ridden the Honda MT125 this year due to not being able to
get on the little thing. The bike ran ok, it just needs a few more horse power
to be competitive. This was however not a great start to the weekend, the 125
burnt the front of the piston in race one on lap 4.
A spare
piston was found and installed, thanks to Gav and Roy who spent a fair few
hours with wet and dry paper plus a honing tool, managed to remove all of the
alloy off the wall of the cylinder.
During
Saturday mornings short practice; the bike seemed good, but also noisy. When I
got back to the paddock I realised that the baffle tube had blown itself out of
the exhaust. Lucky for me, Symon had a spare couple of exhausts as they were
not the most reliable parts of the bike. Roy set about fitting the replacement
exhaust, he was doing a grand job when things took a turn for the better when a
trackside marshal turned up on a push bike with the exhaust end. When
questioned he also noted that a baffle tube was in the marshal hut. Result, one
complete exhaust again…
Race 2 was a
little rushed to get ready for as the exhaust was still going on when the call
to the holding area was made. It then started raining heavily, previous
experience has taught me that when Jerry Lodge the MT master doesn’t go out
then take note. I stayed well and truly hidden under the cover of the awning!
Keeping my leathers dry.
Race 3 was
dry, starting from 33rd on the grid, good progress was made and
I came home 11th in class. A lot of effort was put into the
ride, the tyres were letting go on the faster corners but they were breaking
evenly and didn’t upset the balance of the bike so I was able to get it home.
The final
race was a simple affair, again having to start from 33rd meant
a hard struggle was required to get up with the rest of the grid. The tyres
again let go on the first lap which had me take stock and just get the bike
over the line without incident to end the weekend.
I have had
many a great year racing the little Honda MT125 but this year the bike has been
a pain all season and Donnington was no exception. Having had the gearbox
in pieces Friday and Saturday night due to it holding 4th gear
for no more than 2 seconds at a time. It finished 1 of 4 races and has been
relegated to the “corner of shame” in the garage.
A feature of
this year’s Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Festival was a special race to
celebrate 40 years of the Honda MT125 in racing which also coincided with
Donington Park’s own age since reopening in '77. Two of the Team’s riders
were privileged to join in the action and here are a few of their words:
#14 Green
The fourth
outing on the MT125 was for the feature race of the MT125’s 40th anniversary.
The call to the holding area was made. When starting the bike it developed a
fuel overflow problem, most probably a sticking float. I stopped the bike and
ripped the carb off whilst Steve ran to fetch a suitable screwdriver to remove
the float bowl. Upon inspection nothing appeared out of the norm. Quickly
re-assembling the carb and refitting resulted in the problem being fixed. When
upon arrival to the holding area, the grid had already set off on the siting
lap. I was allowed to start from the pit lane. Sitting there watching the grid
ride past and off down the track made me realise I had my work cut out. Already
150 yards behind before I got to Redgate corner. However head down and cracking
on, I soon made up a few places with got a good run out of the old hairpin.
Taking every corner on the edge of the tyre; I managed to catch and pass the
legendry Charlie Williams on a very fast MT125 on loan from Jerry Lodge. Once
past him I then set my sights on my team mate Symon. In keeping with last year’s
battles on the little bikes, we found ourselves finding each other on track as
I managed to nip on the inside at coppice due to Symon running a couple of feet
wide to the line I was using. Right I’m through, all was going well until he
out braked me into the right left that is Roberts and onto the start finish
straight. Whilst Symon decided to defend his line, it allowed myself a
slightly better exit speed which brought us perfectly inline along the start
finish straight and over the line onto the last lap. Whilst on the start finish
straight we went into race a mate mode which involved a brushing of fairings
and a little elbow nudge along with a grin. Being on the outside I had a longer
part of track to brake into which I used to my advantage by waiting for Symon
to move half a bike length back before I decided to brake and turn across to
block his entry into Redgate. I then didn’t look back [well maybe a little] as
I knew he would be right behind and he has a reputation to enjoy the odd lunge,
and not just in the gym! I thought I had better aim for best corner speed to
help defend any challenge. I didn’t see him again and was safe over the line in
11th. I later found out that he “allegedly” had seized on the last
lap.#157 Woodward.
I was looking
forward to this race, a grid full of Honda MT125s comprising of regular and
invited riders. Although cured for 3 laps of the previous race, the jumping out
of gear issue was back but on a far less frequent occasion. The first couple of
laps were excellent with a stream of 36 battling bikes using orthodox and
unorthodox overtaking techniques. A couple of missed gears later and the
unmistakeable blue bike of Andy appears under my right elbow. He was riding
really well, obviously Clair the Physio’s work had done wanders. Unfortunately
the fun did not last as my bike, along with a few others, became a victim of a
drastic change in atmospherics and it seized. After pushing it back to the
Paddock (again) it was excused the last race of the day. Looking on the
bright side, it saved me from being beaten by a RAF rider, which was a distinct
possibility the way Andy was riding.Post Classic (500 air cooled)
Bartlett #42
I entered the 500 air
cooled Class to get more track time but started to regret a little when I saw I
was out with the 1300cc bikes on my little 250.
Both race 1 and 2 were
DNS but going into race 3 I was given a starting place of 7th! The timing
system didn't register me again but I think I finished about half way down the
grid.
Race 4 went well
considering the competition out on track and I managed an 18th overall but a
more than respectable 6th in class.
#157 Woodward.
I have yet to get this
bike to go round corners, the shock I sent for overhaul in March was finally
back but I was still waiting the uprated spring, so I had to use my old,
undersprung spring which has been the route of most of the problems. The bike
was horrible in practice and I qualified about 30th. Fitting a
thinner back tyre helped a little and I wobbled round for the first race. The second race was in torrential rain, but I
really enjoyed it. The soft suspension and thinner rear tyre cut through the
water and I carved through the pack, finishing 3rd with the fastest
lap time. The next race was dry and back to the “bouncing bike” with a DNF in
the last race due to a faulty gear linkage. Overall, disappointing.Post Classic (250 air cooled)
Practice
Possibly the most
important part of Donington parks CRMC meet was the practice. This was because
practice was also qualifying for your grid position for the whole weekend. This
was complicated by a failure of the timing system during practice which meant
half the riders failed to record a time so the CRMC had to best guess for the
first race where some riders would have qualified.
For all the riders
without previous experience of this track it meant they were not only trying to
figure the track out but also try their best to not have a terrible starting
place for the weekend without falling off in the process. A very tall order for
some.
Race 1
#14 Green
After
arriving to the holding area I was awarded a starting place of 28th place
on the grid. The majority of the team were in front and gave me something to
aim for. I was hoping to get a good clear lap to put a solid time in for the
grid position in the next race. The race got underway, not a great start
and the bike was over geared, however I managed a good lap and also caught Jim
Dickinson, finishing a second behind him.
With so many guys not
getting qualifying times due to problems with the timing kit, I found myself
with a major advantage starting high up on the grid. I ended up in a bit of
space and had time to get used to the track. Little did I know Green was hot on
my tail after cutting through the main pack.
#41 Bartlett
DNS due
to a broken clutch. Not a great start.
#51 Ridley #56
Flynn
Race
one saw Ridley lined up alongside Flynn but Ridley did not get a great start so
Flynn pulled away fairly quickly. Ridley managed to catch up with Flynn after
the first couple of laps as Flynn became “involved” with some other racers and
partly because he was slower than Ridley through Craner Curves and the Old
Hairpin. Some close racing ensued with several change of places between, but
some poor gear changes/choices and a trip across the grass at Redgate for
Ridley meant that Flynn finished 2.5 seconds.
#54 Bond
With a slow start and a gearbox
getting worse, I tried to stay with Dickinson but I had no chance with the bike
changing gear by itself a few time per lap. After finishing I proceeded to
spend the rest of Friday night striping the gearbox. Massive thanks to Dicko
and Roy!
#71 Rudd
Rudd’s
little Suzuki felt intimidated by all the manly Yamahas in the RAFMSA Gazebos
so it refused to come out and play all weekend. Each race a different part of
the engine decided to pack up.
#74 Heggs
Practice had been a real
baptism of fire as I tried to make good progress whilst figure out where to go
at the same time. This meant race one left me still a little unsure of the
track. I had decided to try my best to stick with the fast pack this time so I
made sure my start was a good one.
I launched off well and
was quickly on Dickinson's tail into Redgate. The corner was a sea of machines
and I was carrying a lot more speed into the corner than they were but no way
to get passed. As I crept wide to avoid the gaggle of machines the pack pulled
away leaving me to my own race again.
Off the pace I let
various faster machines slip by me as I decided it might be a good idea to
learn the track a bit before riding into a wall again. Catching Green after his
excursion over Roberts kept me amused early on along with Dave Bond. By the end
of racing I had made a few places and had built quite a bit of confidence in
the track. My gearbox however was starting to get back to its old tricks again
which was not welcome at all.
Starting from the second
row of the grid I got a flyer of a start and was first out of the first corner
(Redgate). I was still in front second time round but knew I wasn’t alone, pulling
out of the “Old Hairpin” and up the hill on the 2nd lap I was struck
by a familiar Yamaha RD trait of a missed gear, this dropped me instantly to 5th.
The riders were so close behind that my sudden loss of drive meant that severe
avoidance actions had to be carried out by the bikes behind and they all
“bumped into” at least one other rider, whilst remaining at full throttle.
Luckily everybody got away with it, but I could not keep with the Leaders and
finished 3rd.Race 2
Starting this time
from 9th, I had an uneventful race and got stuck in no-mans land
being 5 seconds behind the place in front but 3 seconds clear of the next
person behind. Having time to look over my shoulder to see if anyone was
catching to see if things would liven up. Nothing materialised sadly.
Feeling like I had a
good flow going, I was feeling like my riding was beginning to come together.
My start wasn’t bad and I slotted in behind Green and a European rider. Early
on I lost “a tonne” of time after getting caught in traffic through the Essess
with Bond, however, I hunted Bondy and his X7 down, feeling like I was on a bit
of a mission finishing in front of him.
#41 Bartlett
A
disappointment with regards to qualifying, as I had no registered time due to
faulty timing equipment and no lap time from the first race. This resulted in a
start from 41st place at the back of the grid. I made good progress
through the field and managed to catch Gav, but he made me work for it. I took
a detour off track due to braking too late to get passed him. We swapped places
3 or 4 times but I managed to get the place just on the last corner.
#51 Ridley#56 Flynn
Race
two was similar to the first, with a poor start for Ridley leading to close
racing amongst Flynn and some other competitors, however they felt quicker and
now knew the circuit better. Ridley was pushed wide at Redgate by one of the
European entrants which meant another off track adventure across the grass but
after rejoining he was able to pass Flynn on the outside of the Old Hairpin and
make it stick to see the chequered flag half a second ahead of him and with a much
improved best lap, things were looking up.
#54 Bond
With the gearbox sort of
sorted I had a better race 2 start and after a rather harsh move on Dickinson I
managed to get in front of him at last... Unfortunately he got back past me
(cleanly) and I got passed by another bike and couldn't catch him back up.
#74 Heggs
After reviewing some on
board video from Friday I entered this race with renewed vigour. Another strong
start launched me into Redgate, but again I couldn't get through the bulk of
the machines. I pressed on, taking a few scalps, but for the most part riding
solo untill I was passed by an RAF rider in white leathers as I braked for Redgate.
I was relieved to see it wasn't Flynn but was Bartlett whom I had no idea I was
in front of. I was even more relieved when he carried straight on to the grass
allowing me whatever line I pleased up the inside of him (what a guy!).
We exchanged places a
few times but a gifted pass into Roberts gave Bartlett the lead and another
missed gear ensured I didn't get it back as we crossed the line together.
#157 Woodward.
Race 3
#14 Green
Due
to having a busy morning fixing the 125 and the poor weather, I was not
concentrating too much. From the start I again got away ok and fell behind the
breakaway group. I then had Dickinson pass me up the hill towards Mclean’s.
This I never really recovered from and held that place until the end. Jim had a
good ride, showing lots of promise, and improved on his lap time where I was
slower on mine.
#15 Dickinson
After watching a few of
Heggs' videos of how he launches his bike off the start, I changed my technique
and got the bike away a bit cleaner than normal. The start was chaotic and I
lost a few places before finding myself in 5th and in a bit of clear track. As
I only had to concentrate on getting round the track and not dicing with other
riders I got my head down and posted my fastest lap of the weekend. I could
still see Woodward in the distance over the line, giving me a glimmer of hope
that I had been going not so slow (it was only a short race due to a Red flag
incident).
#41 Bartlett
I started
at the back again and with a reduced race distance it was even harder to gain
places. Much as the previous race I managed to catch Gav by the end of last lap
and was only 2 meters away on last Corner but I was unable to make a pass.
#51 Ridley
Rain, strong winds along with thunder and lightning made most of us retreat to the Withams hospitality trailer which they kindly donated for the event, those that weren’t stripping engines that is. After several delays due to some accidents in the wet we were lucky enough to see blue skies and a dry track for a reduced lap race three. Despite the concerning sight of Rudd and his bike becoming airborne at the start I made a better get away which saw me once again behind Flynn and amongst some other riders with really close racing. My inexperience showed here as I allowed myself to be squeezed out of position a couple of times but it was a really enjoyable race. Ahead of Flynn approaching Roberts on the last lap I was slowed by another rider who hurtled up the inside a little too fast and then slowed suddenly mid corner meaning I had to brake hard and it put me in the wrong gear. Flynn took the advantage of a better corner exit and out dragged me to the finish with 2 tenths of a second between us. Although my best lap time was no better, overall my lap times were faster than the previous race.
#54 Bond
Frustrating again... I
think I could go quicker but got stuck behind a couple of bikes.
#74 Heggs
I had no problem (nor
was I particularly bothered by) getting my knee down on other sports
bikes but for some reason I wasn't doing it on a Classic race bike on the
track. Was I not pushing hard enough? This did bothered me as I could clearly
corner faster than I was but something was getting in my way. On top of this
Dickinson was very bothered about not getting his knee down so any such action
would be a psychological blow well worth achieving.
A reduced lap race meant I
had to get on with it quickly to make the most of the last race of the day.
After some advice from other riders, I started to hold the bike in gear for 4th
and 5th to prevent it from jumping out. This proved very effective allowing me
to play a bit closer to the fast boys. I stayed with the faster machines
through the first lap until I exited Coppice and found I had dropped a fair
bit back. I was clearly too slow from Mcleans which would need work.
I pushed on, winding in
a rider on a white machine (who's number I sadly forget) up to redgate. I left
my braking as late as I had dared to catch him further only to realise I was
carrying a lot more speed than he was. The bike began to drift wide and I
started having flash backs to Cadwell Park. Before resigning to my gravely fate
I pushed the right bar out, dropped my elbow and leaned the bike into the
corner. The bike leaned in deeper as the ground rose to meet me and my out
stretched knee. The familiar rumble of plastic on asphalt met my ears before I
had to stand the bike back up briefly before tipping back into Crane curves
round the outside of the mystery white rider.
My confidence boosted, I
continued on feeling faster and smoother till the chequered flag was picked
up.
A bit of puck scraping
severely dampened Dickos victory over me and raised my spirits to new
irritating levels for everyone else. I was a touch disappointed not to see a
bigger improvement in pace but it was still progress.
#157 Woodward.
Similar start to the
previous races but for some reason I started lapping slower than the previous
races, this enabled Jerry Longland to real me in and have a race long battle
for 3rd. Sat just behind Jerry on the final straight before the
finish straight, I thought I was in a good place to “out-fox” him into the
final chicane and then out-drag him to the line. The only complication to this plan was a backmarker
who we were going to catch just about on the right/left chicane before the finishing
straight. The backmarker was in the middle of the entry to the first
righthander when Jerry went past on the left of him and I went past on the
right. Unfortunately I think Jerry spooked the backmarker slightly who veered
to his right away from Jerry. This just meant that we bumped legs/thighs but my
extra momentum meant that I carried on and the backmarker bounced off into the
gravel. I truly apologise to the backmarker for this racing incident. Dickinson
was not that far behind and after examination of his on board footage I was
relieved to see that although the rider took a detour through the gravel he
remained upright and no real damage was done.
Race 4
#14 Green
After
seeing the physio and sorting out my gearing the bike and rider was ready to
have a good inter team bit of rivalry. The flagged dropped and Jerry Longland on
his Suzuki X7 came past Jim and I around 40mph as we were just pulling off,
that’ll be Jerry off to clerk of the course for a jump start… I didn’t see Dickinson
make his move until the entrance to McLeans corner. This I put to bed up the
hill into Coppice where I then broke away. After not riding well all weekend
due to lack of track time this season, I was starting to feel a little more
settled. I managed to lap quicker and the sight of Symon amongst the group in
front motivated me to push harder. Whilst that group were tripping each other
up I was making progress to close them down. Symon then looked like he
had out-braked himself in the right left onto the start finish straight. Turns
out he had seized it up. This put me into 3rd place for the
last lap with nobody behind me that would be close enough to get close.
Lessons from this was that the physical condition of being relaxed and
not tired had a much bigger impact on performance than we think. Big thank you
from the team to Clair Frost @CLHPhysio who is supporting the team this year
for all their aches and pains when she’s isn’t doing the same with the IOM
physio team.
#15 Dickinson
After the high of race 3
I was looking forward to the final battle. Again, the start wasn’t my worst
effort and after the traffic settled down I found myself with Graeme Acott on
his Suzuki X7. Desperate to get further ahead in the finishing order, my riding
took a turn for the worst! I pulled a few unsuccesful moves and mashed a few
gears at inopportune moments. Combined with Acott riding much better and taking
advantage of my lack of race craft he beat me and I ended up with slower lap
times than the previous race. I did however have a great battle with Acott.
#41 Bartlett
Although still starting
from the back I was feeling much more confident going into race 4 having just
come straight in from the 500cc class. I managed to make up lots of places
before the end of the first lap but found myself pretty much sat on my own
again for most of the race.
#51 Ridley
The sun was shining again on Sunday morning and the race programme reinstated to a full 6 laps. Determined not to be beaten for a third time by Flynn and with a liberal application of ‘Speed Polish’ to the bike I made my best start yet and was only a couple of bikes behind Flynn going into the first corner and crucially ahead of the other racers which had been holding us up in the previous race. Flynn missed a gear and visibly slowed at McLeans on lap 1 just as I was right behind him and that was the last I saw of him. Over the next couple of laps I caught Colin Western who managed to make his Benelli extra wide, especially where he was slower through the Cramer Curves. I passed him at Coppice only for him to retake the position shortly afterwards. Chatting with Colin later and showing him my on bike video footage he remarked several times that he has holding me up and I could have gone quicker. He said the sight of an RAF rider in an orange novice vest passing him made him up his game, a great confidence boost. I was obviously helped massively by being so close to Colin as I improved my best lap immensely over the weekend. Best of all I was 12 seconds ahead of Flynn making it 2 out of the 4 races ahead of him and now my best results of the season in terms of beating fellow team members.
#54 Bond
On the sighting lap the
battery low light started to flash on so I knew I could have a problem... I had
to retire on the first lap. Result - DNF.
#74 Heggs
The last race of the
weekend started like the rest till I excited Coppice to see Dave in front of
me. I dragged him down the straight, passing and braking late into Roberts to
make the manoeuvre stick. I continued on, convinced he was right
behind me (little did I know he had retired) and pushed on to maintain my
place. Not long after I was pushing hard down Crane Curve only for the bike to
jump out of gear on the left hander. Due to the lean on the bike I couldn't get
my foot under the lever to hold it in gear so my bike started to run wide as I
coasted through the corner. Around then Bartlett passed me like his bike was on
fire. Kicking the bike back into gear on the exit of the corner I decided to
try to follow him hoping he would drag me along for a bit but sadly he slowed
down from there, resulting in me gaining little from the experience bar enjoy
watching what a good chassis can do for your riding. The rest of my race
continued a hundred meters or so off Bartlett flipping between enjoying the
ride and disdaining my gearbox.
A few more n'ths of a
second were shaved off my best time and racing was now over for the weekend
#157 Woodward.
Again I could not keep
with the front 2 but Jerry Longland was “up for it” and we had a good battle.
At the start of the penultimate lap I was leading Jerry into Redgate where
there was 2 backmarkers, one of which was the poor sole who got tangled with
Jerry and I the race before. I gave him a wide berth this time but
unfortunately compromised my exit from Redgate only to see Jerry nip up the
inside, I followed him around towards the end of the lap where the atmospherics
took another victum and my motor seized. The frustrating issue was that even if
Jerry had beaten me, his 10 second jump start penalty would have put him back
behind me.
In closing
#14 Green
A huge thanks to Witham oil
and paints for the gearbox oil. The MT clutch takes a real bashing during a
weekend racing and can be prone to slipping until it cools back down during a
race. After a chat with one of the Witham team they brought a different grade
specialist gear oil which eliminated the initial drag when cold and dealt with
the heat on the start line.
#15 Dickinson
The effort from some of the
RAF riders in the setup for Donington was pretty staggering. Unfortunately for
me, work commitments tightly bound the meeting resulting in me being the last
to arrive and first to leave. Some of the racing was mega. I am however hopeful
Bartlett will be able to get his bike sorted and the timing kit doesn’t fail
next time so that we can have some more duels like Croft! Still a lot to learn,
not least how to contain my enthusiasm.
#41 Bartlett
If it hadn't been for a broken clutch my qualifying times
might have been better for the 250 class and results would have been better.
Donnington is a fast track and power is needed for it. I felt I was lacking
power against many of the other bikes. My new engine should be in for Anglesey
and I'm hoping to give the other RAF riders a bit more of a battle.
Overall though the pace is getting quicker every meeting and
I need to up my game to keep competitive.
Looking forward to the next round.
#51 Ridley
A great weekend of racing,
bike working well, more steady improvement and some close on track battles made
this my favourite weekend so far. I will hopefully get to make a few tweaks to
the bike before Anglesey and if the racing is as good for me as this weekend
then I can’t wait.
#56 Flynn
I knocked 5 seconds off my
time from last year so happy.
#74 Heggs
I thoroughly enjoyed Donington Park. It really is my kind of
track: fast and flowing. I am already looking forward to returning next August.
I really enjoyed the little racing I got to do with Bartlett and hope to be
joining him and the others more in the future. Onwards to Anglesey, lets hope a
track comprising mostly of hairpins isn't as terrifying as it sounds.
#157 Woodward.
Thanks to all for your support, especially Withams for their
hospitality trailer, complete with TV for that all important post race
“de-brief” using the on-boards.
Special thanks also goes to Clair Frost the Physio, her work
on Andy Green not only stopped him moaning about his leg but also got him back
to his old fighting ways.
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, Speedbikepics, R-Tech Welding and individual sponsor for Symon
Woodward: Mick Abbey tuning.
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