Intro
With the huge event that was Donington behind us we were
all looking forward to a slightly quieter time spent at the scenic Anglesey
race circuit. Situated on the West coast of Anglesey; the tight twisty track
undulates through a panorama of sprawling coast line and rolling countryside.
Some were apprehensive of course with many of the riders finding themselves a
bit closer to the Welsh tarmac than they had intended in the past.
A long drive on the Friday found a fairly dry circuit but
the forecast did not look overly hopeful for the weekend. As such we were all
happy that we had managed to get ourselves a garage and some hard accommodation
for the nights.
Having set up, been scrutineered and signed on (with the
exception of Sqn
Ldr Symon Woodward who was still lamenting Friday traffic) leaving
us to take our obligatory walk round the track as the sun sank on our Friday
night.
Post Classic (500 air cooled)
Unfortunately as there were no free slots; Cpl Bartlett was unable to
compete in the 500cc class on his Maxton framed 250. He was however not
entirely upset by this when the weather forecast came in.
#157 Woodward.
With the Honda MT125 still residing in the corner of shame of the garage
after the Donnington meeting, it was the chance for the Yamaha 400 to
misbehave. In the atrocious weather of Saturday the carburettors sucked in some
contamination which caused one slide to stick at ¼ throttle forcing a
retirement. In the better weather of the Sunday the bike lasted one lap before
the skirt of one piston failed causing another retirement. Beginning to think
that running 3 temperamental, 40
year-old, 2-strokes at each meeting is a tall order.
Post Classic (250 air cooled)
Practice
Out for the fourth
practice; the cloud of 250's formed in the holding area. Ridley, while in the
holding area, was confronted with a marshal who tapped him on the shoulder and
pointed out that his rear tyre was flat. Back to the garage and a quick
diagnosis found the suspect to be an ill-fitting dust cap. He made it out in a
following practise. Taking it easy for a recently rebuilt top end and the fact
that this was another new track to him, he found it otherwise uneventful. Everyone
else found their way round the track with no real dramas save for a general
sense of discomfort with the track, surface and impending weather.
Race 1-2
And then it rained. Rain
and high winds were a problem, add an oil spill from a blown engine during race
4 (followed by two falling bikes that found said oil) was a bigger problem. Time
ticked by as attempts were made to clean the oil spill in the drizzle. Things
became more dire as the tractor helping with the clean-up dumped a large amount
of diesel on the track. Further hours were spent sat watching the rain come
down and tinkering with bikes (Woodward got all of his bikes serviceable in
fact!) till it was announced that the rest of the days racing was cancelled.
Race 3
#41 Bartlett
This was the first
opportunity to try out my new engine. Practice gave some time to bed the engine
in but this was the first time it was going to be raced; Or so I thought. The
wind and the rain had me running slower than I'd have hoped and as a result
never really got to thrash it. I found myself in an empty space with nobody
close in front and nobody close behind. Overall a forgettable race with an
average finish.
#51 Ridley
I had the return of some
clutch gremlins at the start line and stalled at the beginning of the sighting
lap. I managed to start the bike at the side of the track and joined the back
of the pack just to have the bike bog down and stall again at the start flag so
was pushed back to the pitlane. A quick clutch adjustment and a few runs along
the paddock seemed to sort it out ready for the next race.
#54 Bond
Anglesey is a lovely
little circuit (when there is no rain and strong winds) and I quickly got back
into the swing of things during practise. Since the last race the gearbox had
been fully rebuilt and seemed to work well (no random gear changes) and the
engine mods had netted an extra 4 HP which was noticeable.
On the race though; the
wind and rain meant that after the sighting lap I decided to head in after
nearly crashing due to the 40 mph winds… Must get braver.
#56 Flynn
The bike was lacking
power but with the rain and high winds I was still competitive reeling in Heggs
and taking him for the last lap. We exchanged places a few times before we
crossed the line with me in front.
#74 Heggs
I came to this circuit
with mixed expectations. Having watched a few video's I was very much looking
forward to taking in the magnificent scenery but on the other hand the apparent
endless series of hairpins was not going to play to any of my strengths.
Practice had been relatively okay although I was still none the wiser of what I
was doing which made itself very apparent on my first race. I started slowly,
dropping down the ranks till I found my groove. From there I was able to make
small improvements till I was at least smooth and slow. From there I tried to
push harder through the tighter corners only to find myself on the grass
running wide each time. Unsurprisingly I was caught by Tom who I traded place
with once or twice before I settled behind him to take in some of his
experience during the last lap. Unfortunately I was a lap behind in my head and
met the chequered flag before I got back past him.
A later review of lap
times showed me to be not too far off the faster guys pace so my hopes were
somewhat inflated by news.
#157 Woodward.
For those of you who
don’t know the Anglesey circuit, it is set quite literally on the coastline,
giving breath taking views and scenery during good weather, but horrendous
conditions when you are getting battered by the sea’s rain and wind. I started
racing in 1991 and find it hard to remember such poor conditions in racing.
Ironically there were very few crashes as all racers were erring on the side of
caution, that is of course except for the leading 2 bikes, John Warwick and
Graeme Acott who just disappeared, (they must be half duck). I was just happy
to finish 4th.
Race 4
#41 Bartlett
I'd be lying if I didn’t
say I was confident. Although I hadn’t giving my new engine a good thrashing it
certainly felt like an improvement over my old engine. The track had pretty
much dried and the field of bikes was a little depleted. I started 16th
and made good progress getting quicker after every lap but it all came to an
abrupt end around lap 4 when my chain fell off. I sat back and watched the rest
of the race from the sidelines and then before I knew it the race weekend was
over.
#51 Ridley
A decent start from the
back of the grid confirmed that the bike had all its power back and I made good
progress to pass Flynn at Church and caught up with Heggs who didn’t seem to be
riding as quickly as usual. I followed him for a lap and a half while trying to
see where he was slower and plan making a move past him. As I was half way
round Rocket on lap three and right behind Heggs when something happened and
the bike threw me off to the right so that was the end of the race and the
weekend. On reviewing the my camera footage it seems the back wheel locked up,
possibly due to the engine nipping up but I will have to investigate that over
the next few days. With two other crashes in the first laps the marshalls were
pretty busy so my thanks to them for all they do.
#54 Bond
Race 4 – Starting from
the back of the grid (championship position) was a challenge but I managed to
make up a few places quickly and set about the job of catching Bartlet and his
‘Andy Green Tuned’ Maxton - GP chassis’d missile. I started to get closer and
was planning my overtake when Bartlet’s chain came off. It then started to rain
a bit and people started falling off with the race then being red flagged.
After the fallers were sorted out we lined up again… still starting in 26th I
managed to scythe past a few other riders and on to the back of a small pack
that included Woodward. Thinking I could have him the rain soon put a stop to
that as I decided to slow a little (a rider went down in front of me) before
speeding back up again, but alas to late and Woodward had gotten away. I
finally finish 3rd.
#56 Flynn
Having spent some time
in the garage I got to the bottom of my low power which was due to a new clutch
and more revs needed. A dryer track helped me out here so revs were put down
and the laps gradually ticked by. I caught Ian and Gavin up and followed them
for some time before Ian took a fall going into Rocket in front of me. I
managed to avoid running him over (might have damaged the paint) but it set me
back somewhat. From the restart I made good progress, again catching Heggs and
passing him at Rocket. I expect a bit of a tussle thereafter but I was left to
my own devices till the chequered flag.
#74 Heggs
Starting this long race
a lot further down the grid this time; I was straight into a better pace
feeling a fair bit more comfortable with a dryer track. I continued to push
along despite numerous yellow flags, bike parts, and people littering the
track. Finally another downed rider sat at the bottom of the corkscrew red
flagged the race for a restart.
With the pack
recompressed Tom came past me at rocket out after a few laps. I decided to pull
my finger out and try pushing harder again which promptly sent me on an off
road excursion at Banking. This put me well behind Tom and my nerve was gone. I
aimed to finish which I did taking little pleasure in my last few laps.
#157 Woodward.
Although Barlett was
quiet, you could tell he was confident that his new engine, combined with his
“trick” chassis, was going to be on the pace. I have never got on well with
Anglesey and both Bartlett and Bond were going to be a real threat in this
race. After a good start I quickly established myself in 2nd but
kept my head down expecting their wheels to appear at sometime. The challenge
never materialised which I was quite grateful for.
In closing
#41 Bartlett
I am looking forward to
Brands Hatch and a better set of results. Overall; this was a very average
weekend.
#51 Ridley
A disappointing end to a
disappointing weekend but thankfully the bike doesn't seem too damaged
externally, we will have to see what the engine is like. I've just got a few
aches and pains but it’s a month until the last race of the season so plenty of
time to fix the bike and sort myself out.
#54 Bond
A frustrating weekend
with minimal track time but it ended well, the bike stayed together and the
tuning mods seemed to work. Roll on Brands.
#56 Flynn
I have had a bad run at
Anglesey through the years so was pleased to finish the races I got to enter
and finish reasonably well. Poor weather and events out of our control spoilt
the weekend but there were a few good things to take home from it.
#74 Heggs
I'm having some serious
issues in the tighter corners with the bike/rider not performing as I would
like. As such Anglesey was not an enjoyable experience either on or off the
circuit this year. I hope to come back again with a substantially improved
performance and hopefully weather. On the plus side it really is a pretty place
when the sun comes out, where did I put that camera.
#157 Woodward.
The development of
Bond’s and Bartlett bikes has meant they are coming along strong. With
Dickinson and Green already proving that they are on the pace and all 4 riders
going to Brands Hatch there should be some great racing at Brands (as long as
the weather holds out). Can’t wait.
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.
Comments
Post a Comment