Fozzy's Blog

My old 2005 MGP write-up.

2010-11-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

I just found the write-up I did for the 2005 MGP, it was before bloggage entered my life so I thought it might brighten up a fellow obsessive's morning (perhaps..) More cycle training Blogs to follow, it's just blood sweat and tears at the moment but there are improvements!

Manx Grand Prix 2005

Rushing over from the MRO races at Cadwell to your first Manx GP is
not the ideal way to begin life on the famous mountain circuit.
Neither is missing the Newcomers briefing and newcomers speed
controlled laps. I had however already planned for this and made
arrangements with the Manx motorcycle club to have the guided tour a
month before and join in a latecomers speed controlled session. The
club try to stress to everyone how important these familiarisation
methods are and for once I agree with the officials, 37.75 miles of
Manx roads are very hard to memorise and at the speeds we'd be
travelling with dry stone walls and houses instead of gravel traps,
I was all for familiarisation…

Approaching the Grandstand on the Glencrutchery road is a surreal
experience during the MGP fortnight. It's a race track just as we
know it but super imposed over an island with towns and villages.
And the track is made of public roads, there's painted kerbs and
straw bales with marshals hiding behind, but behind them, is Mrs
Jones doing her gardening and just along a bit is Mr Smith giving
his car a clean and putting out the rubbish. As you travel down
this `normal' road approaching the Douglas town centre, a pit lane,
start/finish and score board loom into sight with the road going
straight down the middle. This is the track, and the main road! As
you cross the start/finish line the pits and paddock are to your
left with the race office and garages, just as you would expect to
see at any other motor racing circuit. It completely bizarre! It's
just as if the biggest, most obsessed motorcycle racing fan in the
universe was given a blank sheet of paper to design a country! Talk
about location, location, location..:o)…

My family from my Dads side had all come over to watch me in my
first Manx, they've always been big fans of the event but haven't
been over since, "bikes were real bikes and tarmac was a luxury" So
no pressure then. Me and my Dad have always been close but probably
more so since he gave me a kidney a few years ago, we both had quite
a bit invested in this little venture and once all my course
introductions were out of the way I could see him getting a bit
jumpy in his own understated way…After all he's seen the
consequences when things go wrong here. I guess the prospect of
seeing your son going the same way wasn't exactly a thrilling
prospect for him. This is one race that I won't be `pushing' in, not
for a couple of years at least. :o)

The Manx Motorcycle club have the organisation of this beast down to
a fine art; they've been at it a while, the centenary celebrations
are next year. They have most eventualities covered. I've seen
efficient organisation before, racing with MRO, but this is on an
epic scale, and the responsibility on the organisers and officials
is immense.

Practice consisted of classes going out in order with most able to
get 2 laps in before the session gets flagged, some of the really
quick lads were pushing to the front of the queue and able to
squeeze a third lap in, with a quick fuel splash.

Somehow, I'm not sure either, I managed to procure the services of
Anthony `Slick' Bass, (yes, the former mechanic to million times
world champion Carl Fogarty.) Not only that, but the bike he built
for his current team rider for 2005. It's a Suzuki K2 GSXR 600, with
a Slick Performance tune and Chassis set up. With the possible
exception of the boys on the brand new super tuned supersport bikes,
(some of which were also tuned by Slick) hell-bent on winning the
main event, this was probably the finest 600 I could have hoped to
be doing this on. Jammy git or what?

One of the main reasons I was lucky enough to get Slick onside was
down to Keith McKay, my good mate on the island, he's moved heaven
and earth to help me get to this point and it's largely down to him
that I made it there at all. I owe him a great debt of thanks.
Slick and Keef are attentive mentors and made sure I understood that
absolutely nothing is expected of me in my first year, other than to
come home in one piece. It was impressed upon me, in no uncertain
terms, that this was not the same as a short circuit race and no
limits were to be pushed. I was to spend practice week getting comfy
on the bike ask for changes where I needed them and learn the course
with associated turn in and braking markers. Just use this as my
practice year. Not much to think about at all really….yeah right!
The first few sessions (or `days' as we call them racing over a
fortnight. :oD) I spent trying to get to grips with what I was doing
here. I've been watching TV footage of other people, some of whom
are my hero's, doing this for years and it's taking some getting
used to that these are my own eyes, not a helmet mounted camera.
I've been over a few times on my everyday road bike trying to learn
the course, but that was at legal speeds and obeying normal traffic
laws….kind of…The problem now is that I'm doing twice the speed and
using both sides of the road, there is no traffic, apart from other
nervous newcomers and half of the street furniture is gone, which is
a shame as I thought some of it would have made good markers, never
mind human cheese graters..

Once I'd got used to that little lot I had to get used to the speed.
Everything looses detail at these speeds, the brain can't process
the visual information fast enough and makes bits up, and you end up
going for the grey blur between to two green blurs, feeling for the
surface changes through your feet, hands and backside. When the
memory improves you can start to pre-empt certain sections because
you know what's coming, hopefully. Like I said, nice and steady, I'm
still learning.

Practice week flew by way to quickly, and even with a days rest on
the Sunday my nerves were a mess, the Newcomers race was on Monday
afternoon, I'm not sure I was ever going to feel ready. Same rules
as before, nice and steady, if in doubt roll off, I've got another
whole week of racing here to enjoy, no point in taking risks, none
at all, nope, not even a little bit…are you listening brain?.....la
la la la. Oh god.

In the holding area before moving up onto Glencrutchery road I was
starting to rattle a bit. All around me professional looking teams
were changing tyres and checking pressures. The riders were pacing
nervously by their bikes; some were even being interviewed for the
radio and TV which is a sure fire way to calm the nerves, not. My
trusty mechanic Fizzy was working away on my bike with strict
instructions from Slick ringing in his ears, he looked almost as
nervous as me. But solid as a rock as always, I was so glad he was
here. My friend and road riding buddy Ben had also come over and
stood with me on the road, he went a funny colour too, this place
does funny things to your nerves, whichever way you are involved.
It's almost less nerve wracking being a rider I suppose, I'll know
sooner than everyone else if things are ok or not. :o)

In the Manx we get started in pairs rather than singles as the TT
does. I had been gridded with a mate from MiniTwin racing, Paul
Judge; I suppose they stuck us together on the merits that were
doing the same series. I'd been having slightly better luck than
Paul and with all the advice and the quality bike I was a few mph
faster than him during practice week and after we set off I was able
to get in front quite quickly and have the bottom of Bray Hill all
to myself.

Despite a relatively high start number of 20 I caught the next pair
up before we'd even left Glenvine. The bike was a bloody missile! I
was starting to build speed and some parts of the course were
starting to change in character what were bumps were starting to
lift the front wheel, what were lumps lifting the front wheel became
outright jumps, bloody terrifying jumps! At speeds around the 150-
160mph mark bike control was different to what I was used to, the
wheels are spinning faster so they are harder to turn and the bike
in general feels heavier and is harder to push around, I suppose it
almost feels like trying to push a train from its tracks, the
momentum is surprising. You feel less in control than you do on a
short circuit, more of a passenger. You have to ask a bit more
nicely and you're not quite sure if the bike is going to say yes or
not. If you sit up slightly to get a better view you get and awesome
blast of wind straight in the chest that tries to rip you from the
bike.

Then there was the bit I'd been most worried about, the pit stop,
followed by a further 2 laps, I was worried because I wasn't sure
how my fitness would cope with 4 laps back to back as up to now I'd
only done 2 at a time, 150 miles at those speeds on that kind of
terrain is bloody hard work. Also the pit stop was an unknown
quantity; so much time can be lost in the pits. We'd only had time
to do quick mock up practices and walk the pit lane, entering at
speed would be a very different matter.

I needn't have worried, Fizzy, Keef and Cherie were calm and
precise, this in turn relaxed me, it felt like everyone knew what
they were doing so I just sat back and let them do their thing and
focused on the bottom of pit lane and the run down StNinians to Bray
Hill. The pit stop was so good that I regained a few positions on
the road. Scott Wilson started from 33 and was riding like a man
possessed; he'd fought his way up to second place behind Bret
Crossley who was also riding hard. Scott passed me on the run up to
the pits so was in before me. We left the pits long before him and
it wasn't until we left Glen vine that he came past again.
It seems Scott's aggressive, hard riding style didn't suit this kind
of long punishing race; he clipped the bales at Sulby Bridge and
bent his foot peg and gear lever. I passed him at Kerrow Moor where
he was trying to straighten the gear lever. He didn't pass me again
on the road.

By the last lap I was getting tired and was concentrating on
reserving my energy and riding as smoothly as possible, it seems I
wasn't the only one getting tired Brett Crossley was starting to
feel the pace after his attacking early laps he made a mistake at
Governors dip at the end of the third lap overshooting the turn-in.
As he headed down to Quarter Bridge after the terrifying plunge down
Bray Hill he made a mistake on the down hill gulley. This caused him
to crash heavily while leading. After which the following leading
group approached the incident at race speed. From as early as Ago's
leap we could see enthusiastically waved yellow flags which
indicated to us (from the newcomers briefing) that we should slow
down significantly and prepare to be stopped. As I approached the
incident I could see Brett lay on the road to the left protected by
marshals, the wreckage of his bike against the wall on the right.
Knowing the speeds we approach this section and how solid the
scenery is there, I feared the worse and began to feel sick. Being
presented with the harsh realities of this event first hand is
enough to shake even the most dedicated obsession. I was later to
find out that Brett was in-fact fine, apart from an impressive gash
in his lower leg caused by his footrest.

Of course, not knowing Brett's fate at the time I continued with
slightly less enthusiasm and kept discretion as my better part of
valour. But this was still my fastest lap..? No mater how many times
people tell you that smooth is fast, it never really registers until
you see the evidence for yourself….. :o)

With Brett crashing out and Scott stopping a couple of times, the
leader board was in flux on the last lap and it wasn't until Scott
and I had crossed the finish line that it became clear. By stopping,
Scott had plummeted down the order but had stopped early enough to
pull time back and in the last half of the lap he rode hard and
although he didn't come back past me on the road, he just snuck past
me on corrected time and pushed me back into 6th. I'm fairly sure
that without the mishaps he would have won the event even if Brett
hadn't crashed.

So that was it. I'd finished the Newcomers Manx Grand Prix, you can
only ever enter this once, ever, so the result you get will always
stand, and you never better it. So I was understandably delighted
with the fact that I had made it onto the leader board. To see my
number up there on that famous scoreboard was a really special
moment for me, and I suspect there were a few people up there in the
grandstand were relieved to see me finish, particularly my Dad.
The racing however was not over, when I entered for the MGP I had
asked to be entered into the newcomers and also the Junior and
Senior events hoping that if I got knocked back for one I'd get into
the other. As it turned out my entry was accepted for all of them.
The Newcomers was the focus of this event for me, the Junior and
Senior events were just a bonus and another excuse to ride the
circuit in all it's glory again. Having a really low start number
of 97 for the Junior was a clear indication that I wasn't expected
to get a decent finish in this race so I just set about doing my
thing and learning the course. It turned out to be an intensive
passing class, I finished 24th.

The Senior race was a very similar story with a star number of 81 I
finished 22nd.

I'm fairly confident that with a higher start number I would have
been held up much less and had a higher average speed. As always the
one that got away was always the biggest! Maybe next time…:o)
All in all I'm pretty happy.

I got a 6th in the Newcomers race
I was the quickest member of the winning team for the Padget trophy
awarded to the winning Newcomers team (The Andreas club team)
I received the Alan Hampton trophy for `The most meritous
performance for a Newcomer in the Junior race. ( I was also the
fastest newcomer on a 600 in the Senior), and I got a silver replica
in each race (3).

The Andreas Club awarded me with the Terry Smith Trophy for my
results in the Manx GP.

I don't think I'm ever going to match that haul. Even if by some
miracle I do they will never mean more to me than these, they mark a
significant time and memories of really good people.

Something about the Manx has changed the way I think about
motorcycling. For a few weeks after the event I was quieter and more
thoughtful, I kept drifting into daydreams, I can't explain what was
on my mind or define what I think is different. I can tell you that
I'm driven by a desire to ride the mountain course under race
conditions again. If it's the Manx or TT isn't really important,
just that it happens again….

Foz.

Blog resurected! (Sans engine)

2010-10-19T03:43:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the world's worst Blogger. It feels like homework, which we all know is morally wrong! ;) I even struggle with twitter despite the paltry 140 character target.. However my most recent venture has been so well supported by my generous friends, friends of friends and family that I really should at least keep you updated on my training progress...

By way of introduction I should mention that about 7 years ago I had a kidney transplant. My own two gave up the ghost and my dad stepped in to offer me one of his. Since then I've tried to continue motorcycle racing, (despite the ACU's best efforts to stop me) much of which has been covered here in previous Blogs. Now though I have a new target; for reasons best known to the medical world, motorcycling isn't perceived to be a 'best value solution' to long life and continued good health, as my consultant wields the wand of power over the acceptance of my racing licence I'm in the market for a new challenge, (handily it allows me to retire before everyone finds out I'm old and slow!) That challenge takes the form of cycling.

At the risk of having the MAMIL acronym stuck to me (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) my defense is that I've always used mountain biking as training for motorcycle racing and it seemed like a natural alternative to fill the void left by 25 years of total devotion to motorcycling. Despite my total aversion to leg shaving and snug Lycra complete with unsightly bulges I've also started to ride road cycles and velodrome tracks. The reason for this is that I found out that there was an organisation that provided the British Transplant Games for people like myself that have had their bodies wrecked by transplantation and the drugs that go with it and prevent us taking part (and keep us alive) in nationally governed events. The events in the games don't include mountain biking, so I chose the Time Trial and Road Race events for cycling.

I entered the British Transplant Games in Bath this year just to get a feel for what was involved and maybe get a new obsession in my life. As it happened I did rather better than I was expecting and came away with 2 silver medals. Up to now my 'training regime' has been rather leisurely. I've enjoyed weekends mountain biking with mates and some fun racing at the velodrome with a bit of commuting thrown in..All that has just changed though! I've been 'officially' selected to represent the UK at the 18th World Transplant Games in Gothenberg, Sweden in June 2011. So not only have I got to significantly 'up' my training I've got to start now! (a few weeks ago in-fact) The standard of the international transplant athletes is very high and there is no room whatsoever for complacency. However we have a secret weapon on Our team and that is the current gold medalist and level 2 British Cycling coach Richard Smith. there's probably nobody better placed to advise on nutrition, training and technique than Richard. He's a Liver transplant recipient and knows the challenges that face a transplantee in this environment.

And so to my training plan; It's going to be in 3 'loose' phases; Now, winter and spring. Each phase will have a purpose within it. 'Now' will be gaining strength and underlying fitness. There will be lots of distance and hill work with velodrome structured quality training that centres around endurance. Throughout winter there will be lots of interval training (in the garage on rollers and sprint sessions at the velodrome) to increase my thresholds and make up for the time I'm not able to ride in the hills due to weather (although my mountain bike will probably get more use then depending on the depth of the snow!). In Spring I will be focusing more on Time Trial technique and preparing my body for 10km efforts. I'll also be entering as many local races as I can to refine my technique and condition my body to sustained effort. If I continue to keep the structured quality training up at the velodrome that should see me in good shape to 'taper' my program to the Games in June.

All I have to do between now and then is raise the funds for Transplant Sport UK, which, thanks to your help I'm well on the way to doing. I have to try and find a bike shop willing to lend me some competitive bikes and last but not least stay healthy! These here transplanted organs are balance on a knife edge of function and rejection. Too much medication is toxic and destructive to the healthy body and too little means the organ rejects and it's back to dialysis or worse. And that does not go down well with challenging training regimes.

I'll be posting links to ride routes, profiles and heart rate data on here and twitter/facebook.

So fingers crossed, head down arse up and wish me luck, lets show the rest of the world and those that are new to organ failure that it does not have to be the end!

2009-08-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

The FINAL MGP blogg fom the Boss. :o( (I'll add my breakdown of the week when I've stopped sobbing!)

Sadly its all over for us as we haven't qualified on time - just outside the time tolerance by seconds and our appeal was unsuccessful.

So its time for reflection and learning - that's what its all about.

Anyway - here are some highlights of the week:-

We did manage 5 laps and a couple of half laps

We didn't have any mechanical / engine problems

We improved our speed trap time immensely and achieved 97mph through Sulby!

We used all three engines and followed our strategy

We did have a component failure and a couple of cases of - the TT Course does that to bikes type issues

We did rebuild the bike in a day and get out to record our fastest lap that very evening

We have endured poor weather

We had a brilliant lump of pork last night at our MGP BBQ!! Best ever!!

Above all - its been fun trying to compete at a class level which is for GP bikes - not road bikes such as ours and we must have seriously worried some of the boys out there with our speeds!!!

Looking forward we have the Jurby title to clinch, a two day festival at Cadwell and an endurance at Jurby to round off the season - so let's see what we can achieve/

That's it for now.

The Jurby Festival of Speed calls and Robert has a magnificent collection of MVs, a Brough and a Gilera 4 to go and watch perform.

The sun always shines in the North - or so they say!!

John

2009-08-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

Boss 'early riser' mini-Blogg;

Good morning all from a sunny Isle of Man

Last nights practice saw us complete our required 5 laps for qualifying however we still need one lap at the required time of just under 85mph.

That said - it was wet and windy and generally awful conditions last night and we had a 80 plus mph lap from a standing start on rain soaked roads - so not a bad omen!

Second lap ended at Creg ny Baa with the gear level falling off! Ho hum!

Engine No 3 performed superbly well with bags of mid range combined with a close ration box giving Fozzy an excellent tool for the job and one which he is confident should allow him to achieve the required qualifying time.

His speed through the start / finish speed trap was 92.9mph last night - up almost 5mph on our previous best so a massive improvement.

We will now leave Engine No 3 in for practice tonight and the race on Monday.

For those interested in the tuning spec - here it is:-

2mm higher exhaust port and 1mm wider

Boost port added (this is the cunning bit!!!)

2mm off the skirt of the piston to increase inlet duration

1mm off the inside of the inlet manifolds

So as you can see - not a staggering amount of change but what a difference to Engine No 1 which is limited to the exhaust port modifications only.

The use of a boost port as prescribed by Walter Kaadan is a cunning way of increasing mid range power and cooling the underside of the piston at the same time. This technology actually dates back to the 20's - so nothing is new - just reused! The ex works TT bike uses the same approach and hence we have now adapted same for our bike.

All good fun and lets see what we can do tonight.

John

2009-08-29T01:17:00.000-07:00

Update;

Good morning all

Last nights practice was cancelled due to bad weather / rain so we all had a well earned evening off.

However - yesterday was most exciting as the boys took the race bike along with engine no 3 up to Slick Bass to have it run in on the dyno and then put through its paces.

The results are brilliant and I am very pleased with my engine tuning work - porting all done by my own fair hands and the rest of it by friends like Gary who shortened the piston skirt and cut a slot in the piston and the barrel to create a boost port.

The engine produces a healthy 29.8 (so lets call it 30 eh!) BHP at 8,000 revs. Compared to engine no 1 which is our benchmark - it is making about the same power and at 750 less revs (important) with a whopping 7BHP more in the mid range just where it counts! Comparing the Dyno graphs is fascinating and engine no 3 should be a massive improvement for places like the mountain mile where its all about torque. So - combine these characteristics with our ex works close ration gearbox and we should have a real step change in this little bikes ability.

So - this morning the sun shines and let's see if practice goes ahead and what we can do this evening.

John

2009-08-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

More famous last words from t'Boss;

Hi All,

A very wet day yesterday and the team pulled out of evening practice early to concentrate on readying engine no 3.

Practice did go ahead with much standing water and poor conditions - they got most people out for one lap untimed - so we didn't miss much!

Benelli Race HQ was again a hive of activity interspersed with T and Pastie / pie breaks.

I was working yesterday so it was left to Neil, Pat and Fozzy ably assisted by many drop ins to do the jobs of the day.

Engine no 3 was completed and installed at 12.05 last night after a 15 hour day for some.

She ran up fine and this morning it is off to Slick Bass and the dyno to run in and see what BHP we are getting and how good an engine I have built. If all goes well then we will be out with this engine tonight, if not then its back to either engine no 1 or 2.

Engine no 3 is essentially the ex works TT bikes engine with all the trick bits and close ratio box etc. The straight cut gears are magic to the ears as they whine away. Neils first impression was that something may be wrong when in fact all is well.

This morning we are greeted by the sun streaming in and dry roads.

Let us see what today brings.

As well as practice tonight - Jane gets to go round in the Roads Open car as I bought her a ride as part of her 50th birthday present

More tomorrow

2009-08-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Bosses Blogg update, before you ask, I have no idea what it has to do with my'Loins' either, I hope to Ged that it's a typo!... :o)

Hi folks,

What a day was yesterday and such is racing for you!

Fozzy got checked out at Nobles first thing and luckily had no fractures or torn ligaments so its just bruising and hence he had a painful night.

We then started on the bike and with 9 hours to go before the end of scrutineering and start of our practice session managed to rebuild the bike and get it out again.

It had:-

New front end - forks, oils etc

New wheels and tyres

New swinging arm which was machined by Steve Moynahan for us (famous he is)

Footrest hanger and lots of other bits straightened

New screen

... and a pile of small bits sorted out

We rolled up around 6pm with an hour to spare and its with thanks for Pat, Eddie, Robert, Fozzy and others that we shared the tasks out and got the job done - and correctly to!

Fozzy did two complete timed laps so it with great joy that I can tell you that he put in a first lap 81mph and second of 82.33mph!! Great for a man with a duff shoulder!

So - we are back in the game and now its raining!

John

2009-08-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

More Boss Mini Bloggage!;

Morning all

Just a quick update from yesterday.

As you know we stopped short on Saturdays practice at Governors Bridge with a loss of power which was suspected to be a broken ring.

Investigations yesterday revealed that mechanically all was fine and all it seems to have been was a dodgy ignition lead! Its the 10 penny items that cause so much grief!

We continued with our plan to swap engines and yesterday saw us:-

Swap engines

Re-spray the fairing

Swap out most of the electrics - coils, ignition box etc

Much testing including taking her for a run up on a private road

Collect the new built up crank and close ratio gearbox

Drink many cups of T

All this and it rained and rained and rained!

Today looks good weather wise and first up is more testing on a private road to make some detail crab changes and then its back here to fit the fairing and 'sticker' her up ready for scrutinizing this afternoon and out again this evening.

I hope to crack on later today with the build of engine no 3 - which will be our race engine for the day featuring the very best of everything!!!

Picks soon.

Take care all and here's to a good fast and safe practice tonight.

May the timings begin and lets see of we can crack an 80mph lap from the off!!!

John and TS//2C Racing

2009-08-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Mini Blogg from the Boss of Team TS//2C racing...;

Morning all

Just a quick update from yesterday.

As you know we stopped short on Saturdays practice at Governors Bridge with a loss of power which was suspected to be a broken ring.

Investigations yesterday revealed that mechanically all was fine and all it seems to have been was a dodgy ignition lead! Its the 10 penny items that cause so much grief!

We continued with our plan to swap engines and yesterday saw us:-

Swap engines

Re-spray the fairing

Swap out most of the electrics - coils, ignition box etc

Much testing including taking her for a run up on a private road

Collect the new built up crank and close ratio gearbox

Drink many cups of T

All this and it rained and rained and rained!

I hope to crack on later today with the build of engine no 3 - which will be our race engine for the day featuring the very best of everything!!!

Picks soon.

Take care all and here's to a good fast and safe practice tonight.

May the timings begin and lets see of we can crack an 80mph lap from the off!!!

John and TS//2C Racing

2009-07-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

Right o' I've had an enforced moment of calm. I've had to come into hospital for a kidney biopsy (of my transplanted kidney). They take a big needle, stab your kidney with it and it takes a tiny core from the tissue of your kidney, this core can be examined to check the health of your kidney. My guess it'll tell 'em it's just been stabbed! :o) My 'enforced' petit sojourn is due to the fact I've got to lie still for 6 hours so the kidney doesn't bleed 'unnecessarily'..!

Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, just in and out and wait for the results but Liz (gorgeous long suffering wife) has just had to have a emergency cesarean section loosing 3 pints of blood and gaining us a 'bouncing' baby boy (George) of 9lb 2oz! So she could do with a hand. Bobby, our first son is currently enjoying wearing out his respective matriarchal and patriarchal grandparents with my sister taking subs duties when they have been exhausted..

George's late arrival also means I had to miss the invitation race at Cadwell with the VMCCs British Historical Racing club. John and Neil, at great expense, arranged to bring the TS//2C team and the little Benelli 'across' to race at Cadwell in the event I had to miss one of the important championship rounds and therefore missing a signature for the ACU mountain licence. The ACU's ridiculous and impotent qualification requirements are extremely difficult to get on time and in my opinion have almost no benefit in preparing a rider for the ravages of the mountain course. The team still attended Cadwell and I understand a worthy replacement rider was found. But that's for another Blog..;o) Maybe I could persuade John or Neil to write it.

And so to the matter in hand, the final mountain course licence signature eligible race on the Jurby Airfield circuit. The weather forecast for the weekend was really bad, wet and windy, which is fairly normal for Jurby, but in reality unusual this year. So far all the races had been in unseasonal bright sunshine, even the first test day in Feb. We drove up to the circuit in driving rain at the usual early approach. As we arrived at the circuit the rain slowed to a persistent drizzle but it wasn't bad enough to dissuade Neil from his usual high quality sausage grilling skills, he set up his stove and we were all royally fed..:o) The time waiting for practice to start was spent discussing bike set up and a battle plan for the Manx GP. During the discussion it was remarked upon that we would need to be painstakingly careful with prep' to the point of anal pedantry. This was the que for the quote of the weekend from John that we will always get out of the banter box in time of need, "It's ok I can 'do' anal!".......

Practice was wet, and we chose our wet setup, which coincidentally is the same as our dry set up. There are sometimes advantages to having somewhere over 24 brake horse-power and classic tyres...:o) In that such a light bike, exceptional chassis and relatively little power the whole set-up is quite forgiving to errors. Grip was good considering the conditions and John's small experiment with porting had netted a much more agreeable midrange which would help in the wet.

After practice the drizzle abated and the track began to dry leaving a damp but not wet track, this enabled some of the early races to get a decent few laps in before the heavens opened again and the synchronised motorcycle lobbing began. Virtually every class had a couple of stoppages. I found the Benelli quite well behaved in the wet and enjoyed good progress during the race, leading the class. As I approached some of latter Steel Framed 600s I started to line up a couple of passes, I could just about see through the murk that there were at least 3 guys struggling where the Benelli felt good. Each time I girded my loins for an attack the yellow flags would be out and in such a short wet race the attrition rate meant that the yellow flags were out all the way round for the rest of the race and we'd been warned very strongly before-hand by the Clerk of the course that any flag infringements would not be tolerated. We still won the class and gained a sig so everyone was happy!

The Clerk of the course decided to suspend activities as everyone had been able to complete one race (for sig's) and the marshals and officials were getting a bit fed up and on the edge of hypothermia! A good decision in the interests of safety and sanity. A couple of the young guns had a little whinge but could ultimately see the sense..

Despite the conditions it was an enjoyable day and we came away with exactly what we wanted a Class win and another sig for the MGP.

Jurby South road race report, (24/04/09)

2009-06-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

The little 4.3 mile closed roads circuit at Jurby was my first introduction to closed roads racing, it was an ideal taster to show me what I was in for when I entered the 2005 Manx Grand Prix. It has a little of everything that you usually find on a road circuit, fast long straights, mind numbing bumps and some technical blind corners and jumps...

As I've been on sabbatical for a couple of years it's been a while since I raced here and even then due to cancellations and clashes I'd only actually ridden it a couple of times before, that was on the bone crunching ogre of a bike that was the Kawasaki ZX10 Superstock bike.. So it was with virtually no trepidation and some excitement I approached this weekend's attempt on the little Benelli.. I thought it would be nice to enjoy the circuit on a bike that didn't feel like it was trying to tear you arms off and beat you to death with the bloody stumps.....:o)

John and Neil had done their usual high standard of prep and the bike was gleaming with improvements in place from my last feedback... (the kind of team you dream of riding for!) and as is the standard practice in team TS//2C racing, John was up with the larks and motivating anyone with a pulse within infectious range..:o) Closed roads races usually get going allot later in the day due the limitations of closures so when we arrived a the paddock at a time that would have been early even for an airfield race it was no surprise that we the first ones to arrive! This gave us plenty of time to unload, cook bacon and sausage and generally shoot the breeze with the next arrivals..

It seemed to take an age to get started, (not unlike this Blog I hear you cry! How very dare you!) but once we did filter out onto the roads and begin our familiarisation laps it all started to come flooding back and the little Benelli felt a comfortable as an old armchair...In the absence of a mid range I'd taken a gamble on the gearing and gone as long as we had sprockets for. On a fast circuit like Jurby you tend to spend most of your time flat out anyway so assuming I could keep up momentum the long gear should have been ok, there was a following wind on the fastest straight so it had to be the way to go...Just for safety's sake we'd jetted the left hand cylinder a bit more rich as we'd noticed it running much hotter than the right and didn't want to risk a seize on the high revving circuit. This of course meant the motor wasn't quite as sprightly as it had been but for safety's sake worth doing...

There were a few more classics than usual, most notably Chris McGahan on a Honda 350K4. He was here to shakedown the bike for the Pre-TT Classic races at Billown in a few weeks. Chris had some problems in practice which is often the case with these old classics, especially if they're not used regularly..We had a good practice, decided we were about right on the gearing and that I would improve my lap times considerably if I remembered I was using drum brakes, not disk and having to do u-turns at the end of every straight!

As there is only one race on a closed roads day you tend to find you're gridded with other classes. We were up with the 400's and Modern Classics and the Classic grid included and old GSX1000 and a Yamaha750!

The classics were allowed to gather at the back of the grid and start a few seconds after the main grid..lucky us..;o) I made a concerted effort to fix my gaze on Chris McGahan on the K4 although he had a good 20bhp on us I was hoping to get a bit of a slipstream on the lighter Benelli. It worked for the climb through the 5 speed gearbox but once we hit top gear the K4 started to pull away, as the Benelli climbed into it's peak power (all 25+bhp of it!) I started to equalize the gap on Chris. Then started gaining on him REALLY quickly! just as I started to think that I might be able to get on terms with Chris he put is hand up with a problem...damn! And here was me thinking me and the Benelli were a flying combination!...:o)

The rest of the race was a little lonely, with Chris gone and the 2 big multi cylinder Jap' bikes a forgotten spec in the distance It was just me and the circuit, with a big gap back to Ed Poole on the Manx Norton with Stuart Robinson bringing up the rear. I was really enjoying the little bike on this circuit finding that I didn't really need to do much else other than steer as we spent most of the time flat out only changing up and down the gearbox at the 3 junctions making up the corners on the Jurby south circuit. I even managed a bit of air under the front wheel on the 'pill box road' but that's more down to the road surface than the awesome power of the bike..:o)

During the practice I lost the end can from my rhs exhaust due to the bumpy, vibey and high revving nature of the circuit and towards the end of the penultimate lap a pretty strong vibration started to emanate through the bike from the engine. I didn't want to be picking up bits of Italian alloy from hedgerow tonight so I knocked 1000 revs or so off for the final lap thinking that it may have been the cranks' way of telling me it was time for a refresh..

With a successful finish and another signature towards the ManxGP the day was called a success and we were able to pick up a trophy!. We were the fastest Classic but the way the grids were joined it included the 2 big Jap multi's and we were awarded a third. Not a problem, lots learned and an intact motor to strip and diagnose. ;o)

We have a spare motor to try for the next Airfield round and John and Neil have been 'playing' with porting and are waiting for my feedback... Hopefully they will have built a nice reliable motor for the Manx GP. This weekend will hopefully be the final signature for the Mountain course licence as I rode a little Motobi (badged version of the Benelli) at Three Sisters last week courtesy of Pat Sproston of Felt Tip Racing to make up for the missed sig that the Pre-TT classic would have provided... I was under strict instruction from all quarters to have a steady run and bring it home for a sig'. It was the Motobi's final race before it's retirement so I really did take it carefully. A 6th place and a lap time slower than my wet practice..:o) but the sig' was achieved and everyone was happy...:o)

Titbits...

2009-06-09T06:13:00.001-07:00

Some of the, 'juicy titbits' I promised turned out be a damp squib. Most notable of which was the opportunity to test and set-up the Manx entry to the TTXGP (worlds first 'clean emissions' motorcycle road race) the Isle of Man team lead by Keith 'Mad Dog' McKay have been working a warp speed to prepare a 'from scratch' entry for this event based loosely on a Ducati 748 chassis....Sadly the bike wasn't going to be ready in time to test due to the late arrival of some key components and pushed the completion date to the beginning of TT fortnight! I understand it's now finished and has had some dyno runs and is ready to be piloted to victory by the amazing 3 time MGP winner (in his newcomer year!) Dan Kneen. Watch the TT results for more history in the making....

Other titbits seem to be working out well. Pat Sproston, supporter of team TS//2C racing and aficionado of all things motorcycle,old and Italian has very kindly offered the use of his Motobi 250 (a badged version of our Benelli 2C) to race at Three Sisters circuit this weekend. The reason for this is mainly because we need signatures for the Mountain course licence (arbitrarily enforced by the ACU some years ago.). If we'd had our entry accepted for the pre-TT classic at Billown. This wouldn't have been a problem but for reasons best known to themselves our entry wasn't entertained on the grounds that we'd have been 'unlikely to qualify'. I guess they haven't been paying attention to the mighty Team TS//2C Benelli's progress! (hopefully I'll get time to add a race report and pictures of Pat's Motobi after this weekend.)

I managed not to crash the Motobi at a recent try out in wet conditions at the Three Sisters circuit so hopefully I can repeat that performance on Sunday and bring Pat's bike back in one piece to take a signature home. Riding Pat's bike has shown some differences in set-up and engine characteristics which John and Neil are keen to try in our spare engines. John has also been picking up some serious tuning tips up from the Benelli 2C fanatics in New Zealand, some of them are a little extreme for our needs and would see us 'sharing' our cranks with the crowd before we even got to St Ninians! The theory is useful none-the-less.

In other news; The second child to the Fozzy empire is imminently due so I'm on high alert for a quick dash to the local maternity unit, must remember to pick Liz up on the way!...;o) John and Neil as team bosses are keen to put contingency in place should I be forced to miss any of the signatured races so they've entered me in a race across (in England) at Cadwell park as a guest to the VMCC's Historic Racing Club. We should now have enough options to ensure we have enough signatures for the ACU's completely impotent (but sadly essential) Mountain course licence.

I took this weekend's free time, by virtue of it being my wedding anniversary, to go up to Scotland for some training with a fellow mountain biker. (No you cant have my wife she's brilliant and she's all mine!) Unfortunately due to an inability on my part to properly calculate friction coefficients of dry versus wet granite, I took a bit of a tumble on the 'Qualifier' section of the Dalbeatie trail. I managed to dislocate my shoulder and sprain my knee! Fortunately, thanks of the fact that I have a skeleton well seasoned by similar motorcycling injuries I'm already back to full motion in both limbs and will be able to cram myself onto the Motobi without any problems...;o) If not without a 'bit' of bruising and a handful of ibuprofen...

In Joey Dunlop Foundation news; the keys to Bradden house have been handed over by the Manx Government and work can start on the respite care home that the JDF have been working so hard to raise funds for and acquire. We're proud that our supporters are giving so generously!

You could say this is a little teaser for the Jurby Road race report which will follow soon (before this weekend's race at Three Sisters with any luck.) Goodbye for now and thank you very much for all your continued interest and support.

Round 2&3.

2009-05-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Firstly I'll apologise for leaving my update so long. I could cry about there not being enough hours in the day day to; race, train and help my heavily pregnant wife (Liz) with our (nearly) 2 year old son Bobby, but I doubt I'll get nor do I deserve any sympathy..:)

So to business. I'm sorry to say the second round was a little uninteresting, only in that you've heard it all before. It was a carbon copy of the first round but without the crash...Practice went well and I won both of the races, which were just me and Ed Poole on the Manx Norton. The bike was exactly the same as it was when we finished the first round because The team bosses (John South and Neil Costa) had been on holiday and they only had time to make good some of the more heavily damaged items on the bike. Our team photographer Gary Lark was also on holiday so we didn't really get any fresh photos.

In the gap between round 2 and 3 John and Neil, (particularly John) had been burning the midnight oil, making new fairing brackets and patching up the fairing and adding the names of a few more sponsors for the Joey Dunlop foundation. John also changed the fork oil to a

lighter weight oil after my feed-back that the front end felt a little harsh on the rougher parts of the circuit. It was really the only way we could lower the compression damping on the fork, this also lowers the rebound damping effect as the 2 damping mechanisms can't be separated on these old forks. In this instance it is the lesser of 2 evils, I think I can ride around a rebound damping problem better than I can too high compression damping. Whilst all this industry was refining the 'little pretty' I re-kindled a contact I had many years ago with Renthal the famous handlebar and sprocket manufacturers. We needed a range of sprockets for the Benelli but they're not readily available. Renthal agreed to make us a one-off batch of sprockets based on the pattern of the original steel sprocket on the bike. Another addition for round 3 was the tyre warmers, such short races meant that the tyres were only just getting upto temperature towards the final couple of laps, tyre warmers mean

I can go a bit harder early on and have a play with some of the more modern bikes with sticky rubber on.

I also found a little time to add a competitive mountain bike marathon to my training regimen, it was a welcome change to my usual circuits and 60km in the East Radnorshire hills was just painful enough to stop me feeling guilty about enjoying myself...;)

Round 3 was starting to generate some excitement at Benelli HQ (Johns house). We'd been given some advanced info that there were going to be a few more classics turning up for this round, the only bad news it that most of them sounded like Benelli slayers.. Ed Poole would be there with the Manx Norton as usual but we'd also see Flip Phillips on his Rob North' Rocket 3 and Pete Hindley on a ex works Cotton (Rotax) 250, which was rumoured to be boasting around 75bhp! The one I was most excited about was a Ducati 350 which would have been very similar to our Benelli but unfortunately never turned up. :(

I was nervous about the races because I knew we wouldn't be a match for the Cotton or the Rocket 3 and if any one else turned up it looked like we could be looking at our first round without a podium. practice confirmed my concerns as the Cotton 'blew' past me onto the straight, every time he cracked the throttle it looked like it was trying to smack Pete in the face, a bit of a fiery handful but with it problematic set-up and reliability. Pete managed 3 laps before a misfire forced him to pit. Flip's Rocket 3 wasn't being quite the threat I'd thought it would be but as suspected Flip was just biding his time feeling his way round for the bike's first outing of the season. I hope the looming road races bring more of these beauties out of the woodwork...

The Race started as I predicted with the Cotton disappearing from away up the grid somewhere and the Rocket 3 (No146), finding it's racing legs getting away, blasting past on the straight early on. On the first lap as we entered the long back straight I could see the Cotton winding up for a high speed assault when the bike suddenly lurched sideways smoke pouring from the screeching rear tyre with that familiar silence from the motor that 2-stroke riders fear so much, the highly strung motor had beaten Pete's experienced 2-stroke clutch finger to the race to protect a 'nipping motor' and it had seized solid on him... Bloody good skills keeping it up-right at that

speed but ultimately the end of his day...A few laps in and I started to catch Flip up through the twisties, the powerful and heavy Rocket 3 might have been an animal on the straights but it was no match for the nimble little Benelli through the chicanes at Jurby. I clawed back his straight-line advantage a little more each lap until I was close enough to risk a controversial (Drum Vs Disc!) 'sneak' up the inside early on in a twisty section to maximise my advantage. Spectators later told me that the move appeared to 'rattle' Flip on the Rocket 3 and I didn't get a reply after that. I guess the little Benelli can be a bit of a surprise to some people..;)

Race 2 started without Pete Hindley on the Cotton, the seizure was a pretty solid one and not a paddock repair. Flip was forceful at the start and put himself and the Rocket in a commanding position, I knew I had to get past him early in the twisties and get another couple of bikes between us before the straight if I was going to stay ahead in this race. Now it sounds like I'd thought about this in advance and executed it to perfection...the reality is that I'm still getting the hang of drum brakes and weather I wanted to or not I sailed past 2 or 3 bikes into the right hander at Runway corner, However far from my intent the reality was, the end result was the same. Sometimes a little luck is very welcome..:) And on the bright side I didn't accidentally ruin anyone's weekend by nerfing them of the circuit..I think..:)

The next race is on the Jurby South Road circuit with fast straights and not many places for a little 2-stroke to hide, I'll be making up all the ground I can on the bumps and the few twisties and hoping We get someone on something similar to battle with.

With any luck between now and then I'll get chance to fill you in on some of the Juicy developments happening between races and the lead-up to the Manx GP....ta ta for now...

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

2009-03-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

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!

First test day of the season.

2009-02-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

Brilliant! That about sums up the first test session at Jurby on Feb 22nd. It just couldn't have gone better!

I arrived late on Saturday but in time for a lovely Lasagne dinner with the rest of the team and an evening of nervous chatter about the test day. Neil and John had been working hard in the week getting the bike prepped and had even tried some home grown porting in a test engine before fitting it into a working 'mule', just in-case....

The day dawned mainly dry with a few damp patches drying. Jurby however has a micro-climate all of it's own and the morning session was wet and slippy, just as well we'd only booked the afternoon session! We arrived early so we could make sure we had everything and deal with any unforeseen circumstances, there weren''t any which is a good start...:o)

I was rattling a bit as I hadn't even touched a bike since TT 2006 (2.5 years) and I was doubting if I'd even remember how to ride a bike let alone a pristine little classic!

A quick dry run along the entry paddock helped me settle but highlighted a slipping clutch..head scratching ensued, and was quickly identified as a little too much pre-load on the adjuster. Another quick 'squirt' up the paddock showed this had cured it..

The first session was a bit wobbly and showed I had guessed completely wrongly with the gearing, it turned out to be the same as the original TT bike. John and Neil were a blur of spanners and before I could say, 'I've finished my pasta', they had changed the front sprocket to give an equivalent increase of 2 teeth on the rear. this did the trick and got us on par with some of the novice 600's (not bad for a deficit of 100hp!)

As speed increased I noticed that there was a delayed pickup from lower revs which, 'felt rich'. I suggested a leaner pilot jet but as we didn't have any we decided on lifting the needle jet a notch which had the desired effect. It also stopped a disconcerting 'hunting' sensation that seemed to occur on the bumpier parts of the circuit at speed...

Best time of the day was a 1.26 but I had to admit to cutting the chicane to dispatch a novice who was a little reticent in the corners but not short of speed on the straights. Quite the opposite of my repertoire...:o)

Best 'real time' of the day was a 1.28 which I'm happy with but as yet have nothing to benchmark against with a classic Benelli on Jurby GP circuit..

The photo's might give some indication of how much fun I was having, roll on March 15th first race of the season!...:o)

2009-02-19T03:07:00.000-08:00

Right then! I have in my sweaty little palm a newly issued 2009 National ACU racing licence! It seems my Renal consultant and the ACU decided it was entirely correct that I should be able to race motorcycles, something I've been telling them for years but they still insist on making life difficult...

So! We're all systems go! I've managed to cram my leathers, gloves and name tags into an unfeasibly small case that just about conforms to Flybe's draconian hand-luggage spec's. This is because that although I'm only heading over to the Isle of Man for an afternoon's testing I intend to leave my gear over there to help with baggage costs and general ease of travel. I wont be racing in England this year. The caveat being that if we are 100% confirmed for the Manx GP I may need to do a few club rounds to top up my signatures for the Mountain course licence (6! needed this year..)

The action begins on Sunday afternoon at Jurby Airfield where hopefully all the keen young things on 600s will have finished throwing their steeds enthusiastically at the Manx scenery and we can start setting a good baseline for the little post classics's season data. The little Benelli 2C is a parallel 2 stroke twin with fairly basic technology so hopefully wont be to much of a challenge for a first seasons racing for the TS//2C racing team. The biggest challenge, as I see it will be keeping abreast of the complex regulations for whatever class the Benelli's manufacture date straddles, with whichever classic club we happen to be riding with.

Fairly loose targets for this year are to get 'reasonable' finishes for the bikes class in the classic championship on the Airfield circuit, attend the two closed road races on the Jurby South circuit. And if things are going well it would be rude not to enter the Pre-TT classic at Billown and the Southern 100 Classic races. The Manx GP would be a really good score but realistically in our first year with me having no signatures for the season start it will be a bit of a stretch...

I'll report back after the testing on Sunday...

2009-01-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

I'm going through the usual ACU licence woes again. The ACU have returned my app' asking for a full medical from my Renal Consultant.

It seems things have moved on somewhat since my last application, last time (2006) my Consultant was happy to tick boxes and send the form, this time she wants ECG, bloods the lot....

It's a bloody pain in the arse to be honest, it's just another level of stress to contend with and (in my opinion) wholly unnecessary! Any fule can see I'm as fit as a butchers dog!

I've still got to jump through the hoops tho'. :o( Pitting the two most sluggish bureaucracies in Christendom (NHS and ACU) means I'm going to be cutting it really fine for the test day at Jurby on the 22nd! (Licence holders only!)

This was one of the things I really didn't miss during my 2 years off, bloody jobsworths round every corner, all I want to do is race a motorbike for heavens sake! It's not like it's rocket science!

2009-01-26T04:12:00.000-08:00

Just setting a blog up for now, ready for the 2009 season, to keep all followers and sponsors of Team TS//2C racing informed on our progress and results for 2009.

Testing starts on Jurby Airfield on 22nd Feb. Where the 'little pretty' (Benelli 250 2C) gets her first outing.

Training started this week with some gentle cycling to ease myself back in to the regimen... i'll be ramping it up as the weeks progress..