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| PJM-photograph. Longland, Woodward, Warwick and Heggs first corner lap 1 race 3 2019 PC250 |
Intro
It’s August so it must be time for the
Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Festival. Every year the CRMC descends upon
Donington Park alongside the VJMC and various other motorcycling clubs to race
and admire motorcycles at one of the country's best motor racing circuits.
As per previous years; we had a large pitch
allocated to us to really be a part of the festival. All motorcycles were on
display including Andy Greens machines whilst he continued to recover from
surgery. Witham group had again kindly loaned us there hospitality wagon which
made our centerpiece with displays and information provided by RAF recruiting,
EBC brakes, Stahlwille, Racing Green and R-tech welding. Over the weekend we
met hundreds of interested visitors, hosted countless team supporters and
friends.
After weeks of hot weather interspersed with
heavy downpours, nobody was quite sure what to expect but the weather forecast
looked promising so hopes were high for a dry Dony.
Post Classic 350 Grand Prix
#51 Kirkby
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| PJM-photograph |
Donington Park is probably my favourite track of
the season, not just because of the hospitality wagon we have at our disposal
but also because it’s a fantastic track to race on. Last year I had problems
trying to run with a single front brake disc here but with my outstanding new
EBC twin discs I couldn’t wait to get back. Having previously lapped at 1min
21.0 sec, I set myself the target of lapping in the 1min 19’s but secretly
hoping that a 1min 18.? lap would be possible. With my Mike ‘Spike’ Edwards
fresh in my mind I set off for timed practice. As always I made my way to the
front of the group to avoid being slowed by anyone. I was quite ‘rusty’ having
not ridden since East Fortune in the middle of June but after 10 minutes of
timed practice I had qualified in third place with a fastest lap of 1min 20.7
sec so not a bad start to the weekend. I had been undergeared during the
session so changed the rear sprocket to one tooth less before going out in the
ACU Post Classic timed practice session.
Race 1
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| Kirkby checking out his rear tyre pressure |
After two successful qualifying sessions I was
looking forward to Race 1. Despite a mediocre start I was away in about 6th
place. By the end of the first lap I was up to 5th but then it all went wrong
at Redgate when, for no initial apparent reason, the back wheel came round and I
was sent tumbling through the gravel. Unfortunately I wasn’t alone but it soon
became apparent from the other rider that my engine had suffered a leak of some
description which had got on to the back tyre. A quick look over the coolant
hoses and I discovered that one had come off after retaining clip had failed
putting water all over the rear tyre….damn!
Race 2
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| PJM-photograph |
With help from the rest of the team I spent
Saturday evening and early Sunday morning sorting the bike out. With some of
Saturday’s races spilling over in to Sunday my task was made somewhat easier.
Lining up for my second race in P3 again, the pressure was definitely on. A
better than usual start saw me get away reasonably well although I was probably
too cautious in to Redgate on lap one...understandably. I soon started to
circulate in 6th place getting quicker and quicker as my confidence regained.
On the last lap I passed Richard Peers-Jones up in to 5th place going in to
Redgate. Despite running slightly wide I got my head down and made sure that he
wasn’t going to retake the place. P5 at the finish line and I had managed to
lap just 0.1 seconds slower than my recent fastest lap so I was happy enough.
Race 3 & 4
With time running out, the final two races of
the weekend were amalgamated in to one. So as mine was due to be the last race
of the day, and with the clouds closing in, I loaded the van up after The
Wheatcroft Trophy race and headed back home.
Post Classic 500 air cooled
#157 Woodward
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| PJM-photograph |
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| PJM-photograph |
Just to keep me on my
toes, the float stuck in a carburettor on the way to timed practice, a quick
rush back to the Team and my transponder and I swapped over to the 250 which is
eligible for the class. Luckily I had not long been qualifying on the 250
so I was comfortable with the bike and track and held my own against the more
powerful bikes, qualifying 21st in a full grid containing 2 separate classes.
I had a good first race
where I noted passing all of my competitors except D Herbertson who had set an
impressive qualifying time. It was only when I looked at the results
sheet that I noted not only had I beaten his qualifying time (just), he had
failed to finish and I had won my class, finishing 10th overall.
Starting nearer the
front for the other races I had an untroubled weekend, winning the remaining
races, partly due to some of my faster competitors having issues which meant
they could not compete as hard as they would have liked.
600 Junior Production
#45 Brown
The XJ and I had discussed for some time how
excited we were about going for a run out at Donnington, the weekend although
eventful, did not disappoint! Donnington is one of the few tracks I have ridden
before. From practise I was reminded how awesome a circuit it was, I was riding well, the
bike felt good.  |
| PJM-photograph |
The first race, I made up several places with a
good start and each lap I felt quicker and quicker. I was finding myself staying with riders who would normally leave me, so I was optimistic that I could be even faster in the second
race.
The second race again started well and I felt
confident. Halfway in though, the red flag went out for an incident (unrelated to me). On the slow
down lap the XJ starts smoking excessively from the engine area, looking down,
my right boot was covered in oil. Luckily the belly pan really did its
job and caught the leaking oil so not causing further incident.
On returning to the paddock (thanks should again out to the CRMC Marshals for their waesome help) a cam chain tensioner retaining bolt was spotted to have come loose, leaking oil onto the engine. True to form The Empress(XJ) could not
be killed so easily. The missing bolt was sat there waiting to be returned to
its original home. After some access issues we had it back together. A thorough check over with no
signs of any further damage later and the bike was ready for race three or so I thought! |
| PJM-photograph |
The third race was called and I headed out to the holding area. Because of the potential weather
conditions, it was decided that this race would be a 9 lap race and the only
race of the day for me. This brought a different challenges and oportunities: I was comfortable...ish
with the track and regardless, the increased track time would give me an opportunity to get
into a rhythm allowing me to learn the bike's quirks a bit more.
It was not meant to be however, halfway into lap
one the XJ lost power and again I found myself returning to the paddock, thanks to the
CRMC Marshals. The weekend was over, following another thorough check, I
realised I had pinched a fuel line probably done while repairing the previous issue.
ACU
#12 Kirkby
ACU Post Classic Timed Practice
With higher gearing fitted and desperate not to
make the same mistake as last year (tangling with a slower rider!), I
made sure I went out near the front. Following the very experienced Rob Whittey
on his VFR750 Superstocker we soon started to lap quickly. By the time the
chequered flag came out I had completed a fastest lap of 1min 19.831 (a
personal best) putting me 12th on the grid out of a field of 37.
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| PJM-photograph |
With the bike still undergeared in race after my
second GP350 race, I decided to take a chance and try another tooth less on the
rear sprocket for this race. My only concern being the impact it would have on
other corners. With this being one of the two main races of the weekend we
formed up on the grid, killed our engines and the commentator briefly
interviewed riders starting from P1. I was hoping that he would run out of time
before he got to me….sadly not. Quite surprised to see me there, he asked who I
was and then what I hoped for in the race. I, quite honestly, told him that I
hoped it would rain to give me a better chance! After the Union Jack flag had
dropped, I managed my best start of the weekend, losing only one place to one
of the big 1000cc plus bikes. I was soon lapping in P12 though (my qualifying
position) after someone had pulled off the track. My gearing was much better
down the straights now but sadly I was losing too much time coming out of a
couple of the corners despite my best efforts to keep my corner speed up. I had
initially tagged on to the group of 4 bikes in front of me but after a few laps
post-crash fatigue had set in and I circulated on my own. Desperate for the
chequered flag to come out, I was happy to come away from the open class race
in 12th place. I had still managed to lap slightly quicker than before (1 min
19.817 sec) despite my gearing woes but happy in the knowledge that there was
still more to come.
#71 Rudd.
After taking the FZ600 to Donington as a display
bike I was fortunate to be able to enter it into the wheatcroft trophy race.
Having never ridden the bike and suffering from lack of track time qualifying
was an unknown entity. After a few laps of settling in, it quickly became
apparent that I was sharing the track with some very quick riders on some very
fast bikes. I managed to avoid being last on the grid… just. Qualifying 34th
out of 35.
The race was a good learning experience on
the FZ. With increasing time on the bike my confidence grew and the lap times
improved. As the pace increased it became apparent that the bike seemed to
suffer from an element of fuel starvation when ridden flat out. Pressing on, I
continued to improve to the point that in the later laps i managed to find the
limit of rear grip. A moment on the penultimate lap saw the back end step out
at the old hairpin causing me to fully explore the extent of the rumble strip
and the concrete beyond. Then on the last lap, as i went through Mcleans the
back tyre stepped out then gripped. The usual ‘this is going to hurt’ thought
passed through my head. Somehow, I managed to stay on the bike and carry on to
finish 24th. A good experience for my first ride on the FZ with a couple of
areas to improve before the production class at Mallory.
Post Classic 750 SUPERSTOCK
#74 Heggs
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| PJM-photograph. First corner madness in the PC SS 750 |
I like Donington Park. It is fast and flowing so
it should come as no surprise that I had decided to end my temporary rest of
the VFR to have some big bike fun. This I was regretting on Friday afternoon as
I hurriedly packed my van after a long ride back from College having just
struggled through another exam. Such thoughts soon faded once I was out on the
bike however. Everything clicked into place on practice and I came out of the
blocks fairly quick (for me) setting myself in the middle of the grid
thereabouts.
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| PJM-photograph |
All three races saw me start from 24th on the
grid (consistent if nothing else) whilst putting down some smooth if not mind
blowing performances.
Race one had me starting behind the big man
James Fisher on his monster of a Honda CBX. As he dropped into Hollywood his
back wheel squirmed , smoke poured out of everywhere and flames shot from his
exhaust convincing me that 6 pistons were coming my way any second so I backed
off. It turns out this is quite normal and everyone else mobbed me so I had a
bit of work to do. I managed to make a few places back as I was closing Michale
Judkins and Mike Gilson I was lapped which at least saved a little fuel.
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| PJM-photograph |
Race two got off to a better start with me
getting past the flame spitting CBX and tried to chase down the faster bikes.
Judkins squeezed up the inside of me through Redgate but I had no difficulty if
passing him round the outside through Hollywood in a repeat of last years
racing, back on form! I seemed to spend the rest of the race picking off the
odd bike and slowly climbing up the table but not quite catching the Susuki of
Chris Barfe before the chequered flag.
Race three was a 9 lap race and right towards the
end of the day. A few showers came and went but things had dried out so I
decided to head on out there one last time. I worked my lines nicely but my
laptimes were down. After being lapped by everyone and their grandad as we got
into the later laps, I was ready to go home.
My best lap time of 1:25.273 was only 2 seconds
off Woodwards on his RD400 which was quite heartening. I think progress has
been made here.
Post Classic 250 air cooled
Race 1
#71 Rudd
After a full rebuild, qualifying showed
that the carburation was incorrect. A few adjustments were made ready for race
1. With the race immediately following the ACU qualifying the bike was taken to
the holding area by Roy Dale and Ian Ridley. Unfortunately, as I approached to
carry out a quick bike swap i could see the X7 being pushed around trying to
restart. It wasn’t to be and i didn’t make the start. Ultimately further
changes and attempts to get the X7 running properly failed and i failed to
start any of the weekends 250 races. Following a couple of disastrous seasons
the Suzuki has now been retired and an Yamaha RD250 race bike is currently being built
in preparation for next year.
#74 Heggs
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| PJM-photograph |
Due to a faf at the beginning of practice
I had found some fresh air and put in some decent laptimes putting me on the
third row for the start of race 1. This would be good as there was a small danger of Rudd putting a challenge in.
Unfortunately I made a
complete hash of my start, mostly because I was trying so hard not to cock it
up, so I ended up in a group of other class motorcycles with fast and smooth
Richard Cheetham at its front. I plugged my way through the group as best I
could but didn’t quite manage to get past Cheetham by the end of the race.
#157 Woodward
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| PJM-photograph |
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| PJM-photograph |
I qualified 2nd behind
“Fast John” (again!!!! this is getting too much of a habit), but was happy to
know that I had qualified quicker than him when I took the 250 out in the 500
qualifying. The bad news was we were both nowhere near his Lap Record pace, but
the weekend was young and the sun was shining. I got a good start and lead for
the first few laps, but once Fast John and Jerry Longland got past I couldn't
stay with them and dropped back to take 3rd. Although not as bad as the dry
race at Cadwell, I still had traction problems with the rear which made the
fast corners very “interesting”, having me out the seat a few times.
Race 2
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| PJM-photograph |
I started better
this time putting myself briefly in front of Warwick twice before he got his
head down and I went back to doing my best to keep up. The front pack pulled
away and an Aerial arrow with its throttle presumably stuck open passed me but
otherwise I was left alone till Kevin Breedon Bultaco stood me up through red
gate allowing a flood of previous offenders to mob me, bugger!
Thankfully I was able to get a few places back but Breedon and Cheetham both held their places in front of me to the end this time.
Thankfully I was able to get a few places back but Breedon and Cheetham both held their places in front of me to the end this time.
#157 Woodward
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| PJM-photograph |
The 2nd race was similar
to the first with me failing to keep with John and Jerry once they got clear
enough of me to stop me diving up the inside on block passes, but on the last
lap Jerry started cruising handing me an underserved 2nd place.but then again,
perhaps it was his fault for having a Suzuki.
Race 3
#74 Heggs
Failing to monopolise on
my position before resulted in me dropping down the grid a row for the start.
This was annoying but a good start soon put that behind me that was until
Breedon tried his squeezing up the inside trick but ended up colliding with me
pushing me into another rider who went off track. A quick look over my shoulder
showed it was Andy Guy, which was a relief as he is as happy on the grass as he
is on the tarmac. Entering Hollwood between Guy and Cheetham on my inside I had
the power to drive away and round the outside of Breedon who I was very happy
not to see again. I now had Graham Acott in front of me, my closest competitor
and I was closing in on him. Sadly his throttle stuck on the back straight and
he had to pull in gifting me a place but robbing me the chance to finally give
him a race. |
| PJM-photograph |
A couple of laps later
Andy Guy passed me round the old hair pin and indicated for me to follow him
which is where I stayed for the rest of the race with Guy regularly checking
over his shoulder and encouraging me along. This was really helpful and bult my
corner speed in some places I was lacking. The only let down being my bike;
which was losing power due to a loose exhaust spring so I couldn’t push that
laptime down into the 20’s which I know Guy is capable of and would have been a
nice barrier to break.
I can’t let that detract
from the fact that I managed to finish in front of Cheetham which for me is a
huge accomplishment and a good indicator of progress even with the obvious
power difference of our machines. Fortunately I videoed the whole thing which I have chucked a link for at the bottom of this race review.
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| PJM-photograph. Longland leads abourd Andy Greens RD350 |
#157 Woodward
The last race saw Jerry
Longland arrive on the grid on Andy Green’s RD250 after his Suzuki was
diagnosed to of had a fatal injury. Most of the laps consisted myself,
Jerry, John Warrick and Mike Hose having a good dice. John didn't seem his
usual self and dropped off the pack and Jerry steadily grew quicker as he got
used to the extra weight of the Yamaha in comparison to the Suzuki, and he
pulled away to win.
In Closing
#45 Brown
Although I learnt more about the bike
mechanically rather than how it handles, I really enjoyed the weekend. The
time, I did spend on the circuit was great and the others there made my weekend
a lot easier than it could have been. This weekend was also great as I met the
father of the XJ, so a massive thank you to Spen Spencer as he makes each weekend
possible by lending me the bike. Thank you to the team as well for the much
needed mechanical support.
#51 Kirkby
Despite my accident at Redgate, this was my best
meeting at Donington to date. With a new PB lap of 1min 19.817, a 5th place
finish in my class and a 12th in the ACU Post Classic/Wheatcroft Trophy race I
can’t wait for the last meeting of my year at Snetterton.
#71 Rudd
The FZ ran well with a few minor adjustments to
make. As for the 250 class, the X7 is dead long live the RD.
#74 Heggs
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| PJM-photograph |
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| PJM-photograph |
This was a successful
meeting with me making some good progress in shedding a few seconds off my
laptime on the VFR and improving my riding on the RD. Looking back at my times
from last year and having Andy Guy point out my RD was slower; has got me
giving the little RD a good look over in the garage. Although the bike is
clearly running okay, it could be running better and I should probably find out
why before Mallory Park in a few weeks.
#157 Woodward
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| PJM-photograph |
The 500 behaved itself,
(mostly) and won all its races, can't ask more than that. The 250 ran well but
still has a few issues with the back end requiring further work, especially if
I want to keep with Jerry and John (and Andy when he comes back). Although I
had 6 podiums out of 6 with 3 wins I have to mention that I was overshadowed by
my 16 year-old son Joe #158. In his second CRMC meeting he won all 3 125 races,
was awarded the Commentators “Rider of the Meeting” award and also won the
Gerald Davison Trophy. Although not technically in the Team as he has not
served, perhaps I need to enrol him in the RAF so that he can keep the Team
statistics up.
Onboard with #74 Heggs for race 3
You can keep catch up with our ups and downs with these race reviews which closely follow each race on our Blogger account. You can also Stay up to date with our goings on as they happen on Facebook and Twitter.
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