My half arsed F400 nc30

[28hodge]

Race 2 from 20th on the grid

Given the balls up that happened at the start of race one with riders starting from pitlane without getting a warm up lap, you’d think that was the only problem that the f400’s would encounter for the weekend over with.

Wrong, for some reason for our second race, we got the calls really early to go to the collecting area. You get 3 calls, first call 2nd call and then a final call. Ideally you try to work it so that you are ready to just take the warmers off and leave the garage on the final call, this is normally given when the chequered flag is shown in the race before yours.

So we get the final call and we all head off, and sit in the collecting area for 10mins, the race before us is the sidecars. When we got to the collecting area they were still on race laps, then they got a red flag and held out on the circuit. Word went round that the sidecars were then going to get a 3 lap re run race. So half the F400’s left the collecting area went back to the garages for all of 5 mins before being given another final call!

By the time we got on the grid for the warm up lap I can guarantee my tyres may as well never have been in the warmers, and the bike had done 3 plus starts on the battery, I’d managed to get it on charge again briefly whilst we were back at the garages, but it’ll still be a bit low!

Also in all the cocking around I’d turned the cameras off and then somehow not turn the front camera back on, so I only have race 2 from the rear camera.

So here it is…….

[sil3nt]

2:40 into that vid

Loving these reports by the way. Make me want to get out there on my bike!

[28hodge]

Race 2 I got a good start again and got forward, I was keen to get going as I knew there were sub64 bikes behind me on the grid which could lap faster than me. They were there thanks to the balls up in the first race so I knew I needed to get going quick so a god start was a mega help.

I got round the first corner well but got baulked by two riders going round turn 2, then totally ballsed up into the hairpin at village. I think I was concentrating on the two riders that were battling with each other, they were busy trying to out brake each other and both went in tight so I stuck wide and thought I'd be able to brake later and get round the outside of them both, which didn't work, I just out braked myself, ran wide and lost a shit load of time.

Then made a hash of the right thorough the link and out onto the hanger straight by taking too much of the run off, having made an arse of the majority of the first lap I decided I'd carry that on for the rest of the lap, so missed a gear down the hanger straight allowing two more passed me, one being my mate Adam, on 127 who had started way back on grid in 32nd. I wanted to try and stay with Adam he had been up the front of the sub64 in quali and race 1 so I needed him to drag me along to get a lap time outta myself. So I closed my eyes a bit and out braked him into Stowe at the end of hanger straight.

The rear camera shows you a lot more than the from camera does in term of where you are slower, and mid corner at Stowe I was crap, Adam got on the gas earlier and powered round the outside of me, stayed brave, I was out on the rumble strips so Adam was right out on the outer edge of the rumble strips and then out braked me into the complex. As he came past I did wonder to myself where the hell did he come from as I thought I'd blocked him from getting round the outside of me outta Stowe!

The plan was to try and stay with Adam, but in truth he was just quicker by about 2secs a lap and I just couldn't find that pace, I seemed slow at crucial points of the track, like turn one, which nearly landed me in bother for lap two, as #44 got a run at me round turn 1&2 and then tried to out brake me and pull a block pass into the hairpin at village.

I genuinely didn't see him at any point as he made an attempt down the inside of me, so I turned in as usual, and completely wiped his nose off and gave him nowhere to go, I am guessing that he grabbed a handful of front brake and washed the front out trying not to hit me.

I've seen this from another angle, from Adams rear facing camera and #44 had lost the front before he got to me, as my brother who was watching round this section of track believed he had hit me and gone down, but I didn't feel anything and to be honest if he had hit me even only just rubbed me at that angle I'd have been on the floor also. But I didn't feel a thing and didn't even know he had gone down behind me, I heard a big rev, but other than that I didn't have a clue.

I managed to hold Alex Furnish off, who I think is kiyoshi off here, for a couple laps but to be honest I think I was more in his way than anything, in the end he out braked me into the complex, then Sam Holme showed me how shit I am mid corner in Stowe by sweeping round the outside of me.

The race looked pretty dull for the last 3 laps or so but I had 4 bikes in front dragging me on and although I couldn't really get close enough to attempt a pass I felt like I was pushing hard and getting faster each lap.

I managed to get my laptimes down into the 22's with a 1.22.562 a little bit over 2secs quicker than my previous best, but the leading sub64 bikes had got down into the 1.20's Adam had the fastest sub64 lap and finished 7.5secs in front of me so basically took a little over a second a lap out of me and that's coming from 12 places further back on the grid.

I again finished 20th and was 5th sub64 which was an ok result, the laptimes were pretty encouraging, they were all 1.22's and all within 0.500secs of each other only 1 was a smidge over a 1.22.

So at least some positive improvement but I still needed an additional 2 seconds off those times. The first 4 sub64 bikes were all pretty competitive with each other on 1.20's leaving me a bit stranded on my own.

So all to do in race 3 then on Sunday.

[28hodge]

I nipped across to see the lad who had been behind me and come off into the village hairpin in race two, he was cool with it and happy that is was nothing other than a racing incident, like I said I didn't even see him so I didn't intentionally turn in on him as I didn't t know he was there, but still thought it would be best to go and shake hands, but he was cool.

We managed to miss the prize giving ceremony as I needed to nip out and grab some cash from the co op cash machine. I was going to need a scrub for Sunday as my rear was starting to feel a bit lacking in grip, it's a set of scrubs I'd bought at brands GP last year and the right hand edge was getting low, having watched the vids back I'd noticed I was struggling for speed mid corner in Stowe and the final long right out of the complex onto the start finish, the rear had also slid ever so slightly round turn one, the tyre would be fine for road use but I think it's days on track are over.

So back to the paddock and managed to sort a rear scrub from Richie welsh, the tyre had taken him to two 2nd places so would be fine for my pace as I was about 6secs a lap slower than him.

That changed and on there was little else left to do, so shower tea and bed.

Decent nights sleep and I didn't wake up till gone 9, so I woke up to the sound of bikes lapping but not to panic, I had no intention to do morning warm up and our first race wasn't going to be out till after 11.

[28hodge]

Race 3

[28hodge]

I got another great start, the best of the weekend really, I held 2nd gear a fraction too long and hit the limiter but other than that it was a belter. I wanted to get up onto the back of the sub64 bikes in front of me so tried to be brave into turn one and held off braking and managed to sweep round the outside of Steve Born on the Camel nc30.

Then I get a thump in my ribs which sits me up, I go to turn in again and something grapples with the rear of the bike and sits me up again and runs me off track. I’m heading for the gravel but there is a lot of tarmac run off between the outside of turn one and the gravel trap, so I manage to get slowed down and turned back towards turn 2. But really the race is pretty screwed from here, I am not quick round Silverstone, so my only chance of a good result was to get away with the quicker sub64’s. Which I was trying to do round turn one, but unfortunately Sam Holme came from the inside ran in too hot and collected me.
I had a look around the bike as I got back on tract at turn 3 to make sure nothing was hanging off, it all looked ok and I couldn’t feel anything so got my head down and got through as best as I could, which went pretty well, until I got up behind Nick Cooper, I was quicker than him but not by enough to make an easy pass, then I got caught up in his pace and made life hard work. Once I got past him he tagged onto me and dropped his lap times to stay with me and I dragged him up to the next Rookie Scott Grant. I got scott quite easily by carrying more speed round the last turn, then put my head down.

Only to run on into the Haripin on the second to last lap. Both Nick and Scott had tagged onto me and dropped their laptimes, and nipped past. BALLS.

So with it all to do again I set about getting past scott and getting after Nick again.

Last lap I told myself to line nick up into stowe and then outbrake him into there. As I was pretty sure I was faster round the final complex. I didn’t want to have 2 or 3 attempts at passing him and cost myself time, but then round turn two I was in striking distance so had a go didn’t make it and lost time.

Then did the same thing round the link, again costing myself time and more importantly drive onto the hanger straight. So my main move into Stowe was buggered up, I had a go but again just cost myself time and drive, exiting Stowe I thought I had made a right hash of it and wouldn’t get a chance to get back at Nick, but then he went really defensid=ve round the final turn and I lined him up perfectly to nip across the line ahead of him by 0.014secs.
The lap times were Ok all low 1.23’s or mid to high 1.22’s, though I hadn’t managed to better my fastest lap from race 2 on Saturday. I finished 6th Sub and 20th overall out of 34, the race was pretty much run after turn 1 but Sam was good enough to come find me and apologise for nerfing us off track, and to be fair it was just a racing incident so fair play to him for that.

I was happy with the consistency of my times but not the pace I still needed to find 2 seconds as the leading subs were all down in the 1.20’s and this is where I needed to be at. I have watched this race back from Nick Coopers onboard. After we got home from Silverstone and its now pretty clear where the bulk of those 2 secs were being lost, slow into and round turn 1 lost me speed and time all the way from here to the hairpin, then slow mid corner in Stowe lost me plenty of drive down to the final complex. My braking into Stowe was good but I as braking too much and scrobbing too much corner speed off. Something to think on for next year.

Although we didn’t now it at the time that was our racing done for the day. The race before us was the sidecars, one of them had a engine problem and dropped oil, only they didn’t realise and continued and spread oil round the lap, the marshalls did their best to clean up but the task was massive. We were sent out for 2 inspections laps where we all were not happy to continue, down into Stowe was just covered in oil as was turn 1. Not places you want to hit oil as you are tipping in.

They ran one more sidecar race and then after a track inspection by senior riders and officials abandoned the meeting.

And with that Silverstone was done, and I couldn’t get away fast enough. The place is just not to my liking, I find it a bit dull and its probably my least favourite round of the year.

Next up Oulton Park, a place I love, but I am not especially quick at.

[LancasterTony]

any chance of renting that ultrasonic cleaner?

[28hodge]

Rd 4 Oulton Park

I love Oulton Park, it’s a fantastic circuit and its also my closest round so I know it better than any of the other circuits we go to. One snag with it, I don’t seem to be especially fast around it.

I had one clear aim that I really wanted to achieve this year, Sub 2mins, which was a tough ask on a sub64 bike.

As Oulton can’t run on many Sundays in the year, we had a test day all day Friday with a Quali session on Friday afternoon, then 2 races on Saturday. I had entered an extra class at this round so would also be out with the Thunder Bike Sport class. So I would get 4 races in a day. Then they bumped the abandoned race from Silverstone due to the oil spill to Oulton, so make that 5 races in the day.

I was only really interested in the F400 races, the Thunder Bike Sport races were more for some additional tracktime and to help me increase my speed for the F400 races as I tend to get quicker each race.

I loaded up and set off on Thursday night as we were the first session out on Friday morning, I didn’t want to have to get up at 4 ish to get to Oulton in time to unload and get sorted for a 9am start on Friday morn.
Thursday was pretty quiet, I caught up with a few lads in the F400’s and VFR Kieran then unloaded and sorted out my bed in the van etc, Made some tea then went to go to bed, and my air mattress had gone down. So after a lot of gaffa tape I managed to seal the hole, and went to bed. To wake up at 2am to find that it had gone down again. Which was a bit of pain in the bum.

It was also lashing down with rain which was a bigger pain in the bum. The forecast showed Saturday being a nice dry day, but Friday for the test looked wet all day. Which kinda made the test day a bit of a pointless exercise.

I got up at 8 ish and went and got some breakfast, the track was really wet with standing water all over the place so I sacked off the first session went and made a brew and went for a watch down by cascades. I know Oulton so didn’t see much point in going out and risk falling in the wet conditions.

After the session I got the bike and my gear through scruitineering and got myself signed on. The track was drying but was still wet, I decided I’d have a look out in the 2nd session and said I’d try and show Kieran some lines .

The track was damp all round but there was no standing water so I after 2 steady laps to check on conditions, I stuck my head down and tried to get into a rhythm ready for quali. Session over and back in drop of fuel and a check over before the 3rd session. It kept throwing light showers but was warm with a decent breeze so the track was drying well between these showers.

We went out again for the 3rd session, the track was pretty dry, with a definite dry line in a lot of places, saying that I wouldn’t have been comfortable on supercorsa’s, so put 4 or 5 laps in then pulled in early as I didn’t want to overheat and ruin the wets, they are my only set and I wasn’t keen on having to buy a fresh wet rear if I needed it should it rain again for quali or any of the races on Saturday.

The tyre had taken no harm but as I was pretty confident it would be fully dry for quali there seemed little point in staying out and there was little to be learnt that would provide anything useful for Quali.

So with that done, I swapped the wets out and slotted in the supercorsa’s, the weather forecast was for a bright sunny afternoon so I was pretty confident we would be on a dry track even under the trees at the top of clay hill and round druids. Warmers on pressures set, I had some lunch and we were good to go.

I went and had a chat with Kieran to see how he was getting on and see if I could offer him anything in terms of lines or help, but he seemed to be doing pretty well, then I had a wonder up to Adam’s pit to have a chat, Between us we decided the best plan was to go out together and see if we could drag each other along, Adam has been quicker than me all year quite easily, however I have a little more experience at Oulton as he missed this round last year and had only been to Oulton the once. So between us we thought we could help each other out.

Although Adam did seem to have an issue with his ZXR, when we span the rear wheel with the bike on the stands in neutral it seemed to have a stiction spot where you had to kinda force the wheel past, at first we thought it was a tight spot on the chain, but in gear with the clutch in it seemed a lot better, we had a few others look and advise and most said chain tight spot too, he went out on it in Quali but he wasn’t entirely happy.

They called our quali session and we head off up to the collecting area, the way this works is they send you out in waves of about 10-15 bikes with a gap between each wave to try and limit the chaos. The flag guy stops me but not Adam so he goes out in the wave in front of me and I am made to wait, so our plan instantly goes out the window.

I do my best to get my head down and get myself into a good rhythm and I get going OK, I feel pretty good but get held up a couple times in the early laps, or make a mistake somewhere so non of the laps are ideal. A TZR outbrakes me into Shell Oiles and shoves me wide ruining another lap, but I tag onto the back of him and use him as a carrot for 2 or 3 laps and this gives me my best lap of the session.

When I get the results, I am a bit pissed off and disappointed, fastest time I posted was 2.05.271, which is pretty crap as far as I am concerned, Fastest time last year was a 2.03.410, so I am a good 2secs away from my PB and the leading subs bikes have all qualified down in the 2.01’s. Although we do have a rouge TZR in the subs this weekend who stuck in a 1.58.

I basically need to find 5.5secs to get to where I want to be with a sub 2min lap. So plenty to do, and the biggest problem is I didn’t feel too bad in quali, so was surprised the time was so slow.

I had a 40min breather before I had to go out for the thunderbike quali session, clear in the knowledge that I need to push on I stretched my brake markers and tried to hold the gas on a little more in some areas for longer, mainly over the top of cascades and then also round the left before the double apex of cascades.

I have a pretty quiet run with little traffic and thankfully I have gone a little quicker than in the f400 quali, I manage a 2.03.821 so trim 1.450 seconds off the F400 time, this puts me very close to my PB from last year, to be honest I am still a bit disappointed with this, I still need to find another 2 secs to get down to the times the leading sub64 are doing.

I went off on the grid walk with Kieran and picked up a few new reference points, I nipped to see Adam after the track walk bad news was his gearbox sounded worse and he didn’t want to risk having a big smash should something in the gearbox be knakered and waiting to go bang. So he had decided to sit racing out on Saturday.

He lends me his quali footage to try and give me a hand as he qualified with a 2.01, this kinda show I am braking too much for two key corners, the fast left round island heading into shell oils and then into Druids as well, I am slowing too much which is making me slow mid corner and then in terms of Druids which leads onto a decent straight slow off the corner and down the next straight.

I have some tea and then watch my footage and adams again, then watch some of Steve Palmers from last year, before going to bed.

I had tried to seal the hole in my air mattress with some instant gasket with gaffa tape over it. Which again seemed to do the trick, it got me through till 5am before I woke up and it had again gone flat, More worrying though was the hammer down of rain, which went on for an hour.

We were early in the schedule, the weather forecast had said rain early on but only light rain, but it basically bounced with rain for a good 2 hours.

The track was once again covered in standing water, Wets back in the bike and then go get some breakfast and wait for our races to be called.

[28hodge]

Race 1

[28hodge]

any chance of renting that ultrasonic cleaner?

If i can find it yeah, we have moved house since i last moved it and have no clue where it has gone.