It's September and that means it's time for the last rounds of our racing for the season (thank goodness we aren't trying to eek out an October round again).
It was another busy month despite the temperature starting to drop already. Outside of our usual classic rounds, Joe Woodward too the mini twins championship and NG and the No Limits boys just got back from their final round at Donington park. But what you really want to know is how the RAF Classic Racing Team got on this month so here we go:
GP Originals - Brands Hatch
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| Slightly more conventional spannering - Bethany |
You might be expecting to hear about how Andrew Green got on, or maybe the return of Dorian Eardley, but instead, we are going to be covering Gavin Heggs' debut with GPO on his new (to him at least) Yamaha TZ350g.
Plans for test rides and multiple rounds with the club this year got bogged down by work. Having not had time to do more than a dyno test, where the bike felt terrifying, Heggs took the drive down to London for his first ride out with the Gp Originals gang, who were hosted by Bemsee this round.
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| Unusual way to work on your bike. |
Suspecting the worst, Heggs pulled the clutch and side cover to discover the water pump was actually fine but the drive gear had fallen off. Luckily the gear was only a little chewed and all other parts were accounted for so it was reassembled with some thread lock.
Making it out for the first race of the day was a bit of a surprise. Frustratingly this was the first time GPO were sharing a grid with the 400s. A split grid with the TZs up front had been chosen which makes sense for the front runners but not so much if it's your first outing on an unfamiliar bike. The TZ proved to have more than enough power but soft handling and an unfamiliar rider meant that utter carnage soon rained on Heggs where all he could do was to stick to a line and try to stay out of the way. The one positive was the bike didn't over heat this time.
A post-race bike check showed evidence of water leaking, probably from the now far too-small expansion tank, so that was replaced. The next race saw a rubbish start but as Heggs went to turn into the first corner he gained a fantastic water feature. Pulling in thinking the cap had come off his radiator, it seemed the expansion tank had been overfilled and the breather hole had turned into a geezer. That ended the Saturday's racing and Sunday's weather was so bad, there was no chance Heggs was taking a bike he couldn't afford to replace out with 400s on wets.
Hopes were however raised for 2025 with good potential in the bike and a friendly bunch found in the GPO gang. Sadly however it has just been announced that GP Originals will not be continuing for 2025 so the TZ will be out in another club next year.
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| Heggs getting mobbed - Bethany Fraser |
CRMC - Anglesey
Dropping temperatures and rain were on the cards rolling through the preceding week but somehow the sun shone for the bulk of the weekend.
Joe continued to collect silverware. All races finished were on a podium, which only reflected the successes he has had throughout the year. You can read more in his own words here.
Murf out with the junior production grid kept doing what he has been doing all year; progressively making small improvements, gaining pace and thoroughly enjoying himself.
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| Si Allen's lovely ornament. |
First it wouldn't idle, then the clutch cable snapped, the selector box didn’t work but that didn't matter because now it wouldn’t start. When it did start it cut out on shifting down so managed half a warm-up lap on fork spring apparently made of cheese, then got a lift home in the recovery van. On a positive note it did pass noise testing.
Ady, Toby and Ziv were all on the same grid which made for an entertaining weekend. All riders put in some good laps on an unfamiliar circuit but it was Toby who stole the weekend getting stuck in from the off with some close racing had with teammates and other riders alike, A lot more to come from him next year that is for sure!
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| Toby - PJM Photography |
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| Ady - PJM Photography |
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| Toby - PJM Photography |
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| Ziv - PJM Photography |
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| Ady - PJM Photography |
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| Ady and Toby - PJM Photography |
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| Ady and Ziv - PJM Photography |
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| Joe - PJM Photography |
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| Murf - PJM Photography |
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| Murf - PJM Photography |
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| Joe - PJM Photography |
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| Joe - PJM Photography |
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| Joe chasing Ant Hart - PJM Photography |
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| Toby - PJM Photography |
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| Joe - PJM Photography |
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| Joe - PJM Photography |
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| Murf - PJM Photography |
The Royal Air Force MotorSport Association supports tens of disciplines both two and four wheeled. More information on the RAFMSA can be found on Facebook, the Sports federation home page, Twitter and can be found with a quick search on MODNet.
The RAF Classic racing team race in the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) offer live timing and have race results going back years, you can find more the team on Facebook Twitter Blogger and YouTube.
There is a strong contingent of the RAFMSA MCRR in No Limits Racing, they can be found on Instagram with some fantastic video shared by competitor James on his YouTube channel and many others can be found on there too. There is also an interservice race held at all NLR rounds for which the RAFMSA NLR team are the defending champions.
All serving RAF team members race under the banner of the Royal Air Force Motorsports Association (RAFMSA) alongside our veteran former members and associate members. If you are serving and wish to get involved with motorsports you can find all the contact details you will need on the RAFMSA website or get in contact directly with us.
This blog post was written and edited by Gavin Heggs.
Finally special thanks go to the companies who continue to support us:
Classic Racing Green, EBC brakes UK, Forcefield body armour, HPE, Hel performance brakes, J&S Accessories, NGK spark plugs UK, PJMphotography, Royal Air Force Motorsports Association, Royal Air Force Central Fund, R-Tech Welding, Ragged edge racing, Stahlwille UK, Witham group and individual sponsors:
Symon Woodward: Mick Abbey tuning.
Andy Green: New Era Restorations
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