Thursday – Sunday, 14th – 17th June 2007
Round 4 &ndash Triumph Cup, Lydden Hill
A trip worth making?
Due to the practice day being held on the Thursday because Lydden aren't able to run three consecutive days and because of it being located near Dover in Kent, we had to leave first thing Wednesday morning. 13 and a half hours later and we arrived at the track.
Up early Thursday morning, signed on and got the 675 ready. Took it very easy for the first two sessions to find my way around the tiny track! Third session out and I found out how little grip there is when the rear lost traction and tried to spit me off the bike. Worked on a few lines and found myself lapping consistent 45 second laps. The weather took a turn for the worse and started spitting rain so I decided to call it a day.
Big thanks to James Wainwright for letting me stay over at his. Beats staying at the track and doing sweet FA on Thursday night and Friday.
We got back to the track on Friday afternoon and set about getting everything prepared for the weekend. Off to bed early and up early Saturday morning for scrutineering and sign on.
Whilst out in first qualifying, I couldn't seem to get a clear run to put some good times in and a laptime of 45.144 seconds was the best I could do, which placed me 12th fastest overall. When I got back in, I changed a few settings to the suspension and was ready to try beat my time in the next session.
Back out again and on the 6th lap, I got down to a 44.978 second lap before running into more traffic. This time although was quicker than 1st qualifying, only secured me 14th position on the starting grid as everyone else had improved as well.
Not too pleased with my performance so far, I changed a few more settings to the suspension in hope of finding more confidence and rear wheel grip. 1.4 seconds separated the top 15 due to the track being so small! I knew it was going to be very difficult, but I had to improve on both my times and position in Superpole.
Got a decent start away from the line and pushed as hard as I could. Yet again, the rear kept spinning up exiting nearly every corner. A couple of times it was very close to ending my race. Loosing time getting out of the corners, I was making back my ground on the brakes. On the last lap, I went up the inside of Tony Hart and made it to the line in 8th place overall, which was 7th in the Michelin Young Guns Championship.
Another early night and we got a bit of a sleep in on Sunday morning because no racing can start until after 12.30pm. Ian Guy from the Powerbike Tour came around to us after the warm-up session and interviewed me.
Time flew by and we were being called for our first Supersport race of the day. Made a complete arse of the start, the bike bogged down and I was nearly last getting into turn one. Got back past Ben Cater, Greville Ball, Josh Caygill crashed out, as did Mike Booth. Was closing in on Richie Welsh starting the 5th lap before the red flags came out for a serious accident.
We were held at the back of the circuit whilst the medics attended Dave. After 10-15 minutes there, one of the riders suggested having a vote in declaring the race a result. Anonymous decision and the race was over! I couldn't believe it. We had four laps completed, which is like a lap and a half of Cadwell Park and they called it a result! A race normally has to be two thirds into it before it can be declared a result, otherwise its a re-start or the result is scrapped altogether. I appreciated there wasn't going to be enough time to re-run the race but think it is a complete joke they didn't scrap it. I don't think I would of improved on 7th position in the Young Guns either way, but rules shouldn't be bent to suit others. I know people will disagree with this, but its my opinion, and I'm entitled to it.
Our second race was due to be the second last race of the day, but for some strange reason, the race after us, was moved ahead and come the end of the day, the organisers ran out of time and weren't able to give us our last race! I don't think the Triumph Cup should be given favouritism but because we have to pay for our TV slot, we should of been accommodated in the program.
I've never been to a race meeting with so many serious accidents, and I hope the organisers take note and remove Lydden Hill from any future race calendars. It is too dangerous!
Thanks to Goldstar Onboard, we have some brilliant, high quality, onboard footage from the weekend and I'm eager to see what MotorsTV use. Big thanks to my dad for driving me and the bike all the way down, setting up the recording equipment on the bike, taking pictures and helping out in general. The Dean family for the cooking, words of encouragement and help with the bike! The Wainwright family for everything. Putting us up for the night on Thursday and Sunday, the craic and chats!
Happy 21st Birthday to Nikki this weekend. Hope you've a great night and sorry I won't be able to make it over.
Next round is at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit. Hope to see you there.
Cheers,
AJ