Bens Race Bike Build / 2015 race season

[ChowderV4]

http://www.leesearle.com/blog/2013/5/15 ... oad-racing

Some photos from the weekend

[ChowderV4]

great shot from the last race

[alexwitham]

Nice picture mate. Bikes looking good.

How has it been? Was it a polished turd? Great value bike if it's been a good runner.

[ChowderV4]

Nice picture mate. Bikes looking good.

How has it been? Was it a polished turd? Great value bike if it's been a good runner.

Apart from some poor electrics its been bulletproof, hasnt skipped a beat.

[benny]

Just replying so I can easily find your thread at a later date!

[GeeTee]

Ditto :)

[ChowderV4]

havent updated this in aaages, so this is my 2015 season so far.



NG Road Racing 2015 Formula 400 Round 1 & 2 Race Report:
2015 started off very very cold! I had booked onto the the test day the friday before as i hadn't ridden the bike since the last race of 2014, i thought it would be a good idea to get used to the bike again and try and get some set up for the coming races.
The test day went well, i immediately felt at home on the bike and set about getting my lines sorted. I had an ongoing issue with the bike running quite bad below 8k revs but worked around it.
At the end of the test day i felt good on the bike and was ready for racing!
Saturday:
The weather was dry but it was extremely cold, tyre temp was going to be a big issue throughout the whole day so i took it easy in morning practice and felt out the grip levels and track conditions.
I started 2nd on the grid for the qualifier race, i managed to get a good start and settle into 2nd place where i stayed which put me 2nd on the grid for the final.
I managed to hook the bike up well off the line starting the final but due to the cold conditions i took it too carefully into the first corner and got passed buy Emma Jarman on her zxr.
I set after her as i knew it i could pass i'd have some clear track to try and pull a gap. Unfortunately i made a mistake which let Tim Bradley through on his fzr.
I got a bit carried away trying to make up for lost ground and ended up overtaking under a yellow flag which i hadnt seen so i finished the race in 2nd place, but got a time penalty which put me back into 3rd.
I was still happy to get a podium in the first race of the season and i knew i had the pace to run at the front.
Sunday:
The weather decided to have a bit of fun with us and absolutely tip it down over night, so now it was freezing cold and wet, grip was going to be a serious issue, it turned into who could stay on the bike rather than who wins the race.
To make matters worse it was the first full wet race since my big crash at cadwell park in may 2014. I took the practice session very gently as there were already people crashing in the wet conditions.
I started the qualifier 2nd on the grid again and focused on just finishing the race and gaining confidence for the final. I was running in 5th place with Simon and David in front of me, i used them as a target to aim for and slowly started to reel them in, getting faster each lap. I passed Simon for 4th place on the last lap giving me a second row start for the final.
I changed some settings on the suspension for the final and it worked really well, the bike felt really comfortable and i managed to push more than in the qualifier, i was running 2nd for the whole race, at one point i started to close in on Tim Bradley in 1st but caught a back marker at the wrong time so ended up finishing in 2nd place with the fastest lap of the race too.
It was a great start to the season and its only going to get better from here, i feel confident in the wet again and comfortable on the bike too.
So after round 1 & 2 im running 2nd in the championship and ready to fight for the 2015 title!

[ChowderV4]

Cadwell Park Round 3 & 4 Race Report:
Cadwell park was always going to be tough race, it was just under a year since my big crash and my first time back at the track since it happened.
I was determined not to let it slow me down so went into the weekend ready to attack the races harder and faster than last year.
Saturday:
It started in typical cadwell fashion with the weather looking extremely changeable,which was proven when our practice was red flagged due to an extreme downpour.
This put me in a difficult position for the first race with the track getting dryer and dryer every minute leading up to it, I decided at the last minute to change to dry tyres, this proved the right choice as the track was bone dry, I finished in 3rd place and felt very confident around the whole track including the corner i crashed on.
The second race I was ready to push harder to try and keep up with the top 2, lacking in top speed I lost the top two after a few laps and settled into 3rd again with a big gap behind me, I managed to drop my lap times by 2.5 seconds from last year during this race too.
Sunday:
I wanted to keep pushing to try fight for the win in the two races, I tried my hardest to drop my lap times and push each lap but it wasn't quite enough as I had to settle for two more 3rd places in the first and second races.
In the first race I dropped my lap times by another 2.5 seconds from Saturday which I was very pleased with, I am over the moon I got a solid run of 3rd places and a full points haul from a track that I wasn't sure I was going to be quick at.
Overall a very positive weekend, a solid finish in all races, a good points haul, a 5 second drop in lap times from last year and right in the fight for the champion with 2nd place in the championship standings.
Roll on oulton park and hopefully a few places better, I've missed the winner step

[ChowderV4]

Oulton Park Round 5 Race Report:
Going into Oulton Park i really wanted a win so set about getting my head in gear and get myself ready to fight for the win, it was going to be tough as there were a lot of very quick riders out there.
With Oulton only being a one day meeting i decided to book a half day test day to get as much track time as possible, as is my luck it started absolutely pouring down when i got out on track but this wasn't going to stop me. I was feeling very very comfortable in the wet and felt like i could get a great result if it was wet for the races the next day
Saturday:
It was still very wet for morning practice so i felt quite confident, unfortunately i had a new set of wets that were different to the normal ones i use and they took a little longer to scrub in, which i quickly found out when i had a huge moment on the first lap of practice throwing me right out of the seat. The rest of the session was plagued with an issue i couldn't quite understand, the bike turned right lovely but really didn't want to turn left and resulted in a few near crashes.
When i came in i was very confused as to what was causing this, i happened to just check my fork settings and somehow one fork had a completely different setting than the other, no idea when or how this happened but it was fixed and ready for the races.
In the Qualifier race the track was drying fast and with everyone out on wets and a dry line appearing it was a balance between keeping the pace to get a good grid spot for the final and not destroying your tyres, i chose the latter and settled for 4th place but was gifted 3rd when Tim Bradley crashed on the last corner.
I had a great position to attack the final race from.
In the final i didn't get as good a start as i had hoped and went into the first corner in 3rd place, i wanted to get in the lead and try and start pulling a gap, i made my way into 2nd position by the end of the first lap and then set to passing the vfr in front of me for first, i made my move going into the last corner but as i went to go down the gears i couldn't get anything.
I looked down to check my gear shifter and saw that my shifter peg had snapped off!!
I lost 2 paces as i was trying to work my way around the issue, up shifts were fine but down shifts took a few laps to figure out and even then i missed some on some corners.
I managed to get back into a rhythm and start pulling the gap to 2nd place back in, i was right behind him going down into cascades when his engine blew up big time, pouring smoke and throwing bits of engine out of the exhaust!
So i finally managed to get 2nd place even with the broken gear shifter and i dropped my lap times by 6 seconds from last year. so im mega stoked!
Im currently 27 points off 1st place in the formula 400 championship and ready to start reeling in the gap

[ChowderV4]

Im 2nd :)