Round 1 brands hatch Right I'm gonna stop being lazy and give my review so here goes... Before I talk about anything I have to say 2 things: *1- Brands Hatch is an awesome track, if you haven't been yet- go!! I only did the indy circuit and still found it fantastic. My favourite corner is surtees, very much like coppice at cadwell you can fly though it hanging off and dragging your knee, lovely. *2- The Hottrax Motogrande Championship is incredibly quick, I thought I may be slow in comparison to some of the riders but the lads I was on track with literally made me feel like I was back in the novice group on my first trackday. I'm no slouch in fast group normally but this was a joke. There are guys at the front of the pack lapping in 48 seconds (3 seconds of Shakey's BSB lap record) and on 600cc bikes!! Lost count of how many times I've been overtaken this weekend. Tbf some of these guys are national riders and have done many many races, this was only my first. In terms of novices from memory there was only 4/5 riders on the grid in orange bibs, me included, one of whom won last years NL Newcomer 600s apparently. There was also some well known riders there- Michael Neeves in the Motogrande 1000s, gary johnson in modern classics, hudson kennaugh i endurance and danny webb although I'm not sure which class he was in. So now for the action- Friday Practice Glorious weather on friday, gave me a chance to get out and learn the track as never been there before. First session was wet so the track was fairly empty, had a tootle about. As soon as it dried up out came all the lunatics... Started off doing well over 1 minute laps, didn't know the lines, braking points etc.. 3rd session out I had my first "racing incident", coming round clearways and a rider comes straight round the front of me chopping my nose off, little wobble but stayed on (was quite impressed to say how far I was leant over). Tried to put it out of my head and carried on having fun, kept on grounding out coming onto the start/finish straight so lifted my right rear sets up to the highest setting which sorted it. Managed to start putting it together but people kept coming past just soo much faster, I was looking at them going round the corners in front of me just thinking "how do you corner THAT FAST??" But hey ho it'll come, finished up practice doing consistent 58 second laps. Saturday Woke up full of man flu, as much as I have insulated my van it was feckin freeeeezing on friday night and I got about 4 hours sleep. Qualifying started and was in the wet which for me ain't good. Again all the luneys came out on wets flying past me but I'd come to terms with the fact that I might be quicker on a pushbike so I cracked on with it. Ended up qualifying 28th on the grid out of 35. We all got bumped down a place for some reason? Never found out why. Qualifying is so important because it sets your place for both races that day. Wasn't too fussed being at the back, it meant I could just relax and enjoy the start. Race 1 was awesome!! Had sooo much fun, the start was really good and there was a few riders I got to battle with. One moment I remember was a guy coming round me at clearways with his elbow down, awesome to watch but made me well jelous!! My best lap was 56 seconds. Ended up finishing 13th in class out of 19 riders. Race 2 again was epic. Got away better at the start this time, had another incident with a rider coming round the hairpin and hitting my leg with his crash bung/bike. This time I smiled, it is racing after all. It made me want to go faster!! Just as the 9 lap race finished the national leader lapped me and did a nice stand up wheelie down the back straight. There really is some highly talented riders in this championship. Again 56 second laps. Sunday Qualifying was in the dry this time. Got out and did some OK laps, can't remember if my time was 56 or 57 but it was lower than saturday and I ended up in the same place on the grid!!! Race 1 finally got out at 14:30 due to lots of crashes and the weather constantly changing (huge hail stones at one point). Was really enjoying this race, got away well but still didn't make any ground on the clubman or national boys. Session got red flagged as a guy went down and got run over coming out of surtees. Never found out if he was OK... The race restarted for a few laps and I had some great fun again, learnt a lot about how much faster you can go round corners and how much you can push your front tyre. Was just concentrating on a couple of corners really due to still not properly knowing the track. Race 2, by this time I was completely shattered. I had already got 2 signatures for the weekend, managed to have a great time and keep the bike upright. All on probably less than 10 hours proper sleep since thursday. Went out on wets and got a good start, a few laps in the track just seemed to dry out. Many of the guys on sponsored bikes were just going at full pace in the dry on wets, presumably because they could afford to. I had a couple of wobbles half way through and decided to call it a day and come in, partly because I wanted to save my tyres (money is tight) and also partly because I didn't want to push my luck and drop the bike. All in all learnt a hell of a lot over the weekend. I'm sure I will be faster at cadwell. The R6 is a great bike and by last night I had learnt this. Big thanks to paul the 6th for braving the cold in the garages (achieved mainly through stella artois and brandy) and helping me out all weekend. Thanks to wedgie and his mate for helping with all the tyre changes!! I've come away from my first weekend feeling very slow, but hopeful that by this time next year I'll have my bib off and be flying. Managed to keep the bike and myself in one piece and get my signatures. All I can say is if you're thinking of racing just go for it. But maybe try a rookie class first, I'm right in the deep end here, but gonna stick with it for now.
Nice write up that Mark! New you'd have a ball and quite sure you'll do much better on your home track!
Great write up mark this is exactly the reason why I went with no limits as I new club level was very good and I am Nearly 45 not 25 if 20 years younger sure try and mix it with the proper fast lads ,to me I will still get the same buzz whoever I am racing with . roll on this weekend can't wait
You'll do well Jase. When I was in parc ferme everyone took their lids off and most of the riders in the motogrande class were my age or a few years older. It's quite a young championship really. Not expecting to do that well this year but it will definitely bring me on the most staying in this class.
Yeah that would be awesome mate if you did. I expected to be last tbh after the practice day so quite happy that I managed to get a few overtakes in!! Rome wasn't built in a day
glad you enjoyed yourself mate, just get round to learning the bike and the track and having a good time.. next you'll know the bike and the tracks and will be flying doing the one legged wheelies !!!! I bet you'll take a few seconds off your PB at cadwell
Great write up mate. As said, that's going well for first time!! And learning the bike. Well done fella
Nice write up and glad it went well! Looked at the time sheets earlier and Christ alive some of those guys are quick on a 600!!!
http://www.theresults.co.uk/theresults/Results/2014/Motorsport/hottrax-round1.pdf for anyone interested.....
The important thing mate now is you know what to expect when racing I think you done excellent considering its your first time . The times between you and winner is 7-8 seconds my times around oulton from when I started riding there went from 2.18 to 1.50 so plenty of time to find your race pace. Cadwell next mate your favourite track and one you know well so at least you can think more about the race itself than where you are going on track /what gear /braking points etc . I know when I ride oulton park it's almost automatic now with gearing /braking etc just wish I was racing there. I am at Cadwell myself 26th/27th April so might be calling for a few tips
YT believe me you will soon rein em in.In any competitive sport the front guys always blow you away because their level is further advanced than yours.We all start somewhere.Pick a few guys you are racing that were just ahead of you and focus on getting past them one at a time.You need reference points to build on.When you pass them look for the next best riders.It will soon bring your times down and confidence up.Good luck mate.
Yeah cheers guys I'm trying not to let it put me off. Got a good few years ahead of me doing this so there is no rush. Some new ktec fork internals and a fresh set of rubber will help too
a few good years??? us oldies only have a few good years, mate you have plenty of time, so like I said, just enjoy and learn this year, it will all come together, no stress, and if it doesn't, hammertime then!!!!!!
Yeah but it is expensive, I'm only going to be doing full seasons for the next few years, although I can guarantee I'll still have the bug when I'm 40!!
