1st race in the Andreas Club Champs 15th March 2009

I had layed a few demons to rest at the test day, worrying about remembering how to ride a motorbike was one of them...I thought...

It seems I had been a little 'previous' with that thought! For the first time ever, since I started racing all those years ago, I crashed on the first lap of practice! I had hoped I could blame it on the new brake linings that

grabbed slightly as I used them for the first time tipping into the bus-stop chicane. There is no getting away from it. I asked to much from the classic style tyres too early in the lap and the bike's front end slipped gracefully away from me and laid me gently onto the track to slide, stage left, onto the grass where the bike also slid and flipped onto it's other side.

All was not lost though, as the 'little pretty' is very light and speed was ultra-low, the damage was minimal. Had it been a modern, alloy laden machine we may not have been so lucky and after some desolate looks from my team managers and pit-crew we set to a frantic 'straightening session'.

The fairing, that had been painstakingly fitted and stickered with the Joey Dunlop foundation sponsors only the night before, had to be ditched. I had knocked of all the had crafted brackets, the fibre glass was split and the screen smashed.

Because I had missed the practice session I had to ask for special permission to join the back of the grid, this was granted once I had been checked over by the doc for injuries, had my riding gear checked and had the bike re-scruted.

The grid was mixed and I shared it with GP bikes, steel framed 600's, SV 650's, pre-'89 400's and another Classic. The beautiful Classic Manx Norton gridded next to me at the rear or the grid (can just be seen behind Emma Shimmin on the 400.) With the exception of the Norton I was giving away roughly 40 to 50 horse power to everyone else on a circuit with a very long back straight!

This was never going to anything other than a 2 horse race for me and the Norton. It seems the Norton rider didn't feel much like a horse today and didn't put up much of a fight. After a fairly tentative start from me and a fairly purposeful one from the Norton, I slowly began to trust the bike again, (starting cold from the back of the grid after bending various bits of the bike straight again is not a method conducive to good lap times!) I passed the Norton and pulled away. My tentative start meant that I was lapped by the main race leader one lap from the end (Ryan Kneen on a GP250) Only 5 laps, my tyres were still cold!

Race 2 was much the same but I made a more purposeful start and was able to complete the full race distance without being lapped, a whole 6 laps!

It's pretty clear that we're not going to be having many battles on our hands on the short circuit this year unless someone on a similar class machine comes out to play. I'm hoping that we get to do some of the higher profile 'real' road races this year where there tend to more classics gathering to race, I'm told there might even be another Benelli coming to play....

It's great to be racing again and it was brilliant seeing all my Manx mates again, Suzanne Tasker from the Joey Dunlop foundation came to support me and see their bike bike in action and we had lots of friends from the classic scene Including Pat and Linda Sproston who are very much into racing classics in England and Europe.

Gary Lark is responsible for the photos and a fine job he's has made of them too, next time I hope to have an intact fairing with sponsors names for him to photograph!

A weekends results of x2 class wins is good in anybody's book, but I would like to have to put up a bit more of a fight for it and a few more laps to do it in!

We have good base settings and a few minor changes to make for the next round, hopefully I can get a bit closer to the lap times turned in on the practice day. The new expansion chambers have improved power but ruined the mid-range. I'll be trying a different front tyre pressure and a leaner mixture at lower revs to improve throttle response...

Roll on the 5th of April!