Brands Hatch Race Report 12th & 13th May 2007
I was really looking forward to riding at Brands, because even though I've only been there once before I really liked the circuit. We couldn't make the Friday test day, due to a lack of funds and my Uni work, so on Saturday morning we had quite a lot to do – unloading the van, preparing the bike for scrutineering (it still needed a bit of work after Cadwell) and signing on in time for the practice session. That was vital, because it was the only track time I had before the first race! It went pretty well though – we kept the lower gearing we'd tried at Cadwell and I felt like I could get better drive out of the corners. The bike felt really stable too, so I was reasonably confident.
The weather wasn't as good as it had been during the week, and there was a bit of occasional drizzle – but the track stayed dry. There was a bigger grid at Brands than at Cadwell, with the Clubman and Rookie 400s being put with the Thunderbike class. I was at the back of the grid, on the right hand side, which meant I needed to get to the left quickly after the start. I got a good start in the end, and passed a couple of riders going into the first corner, but although I didn't lose them, I struggled to move higher up the field.
The race was actually pretty frantic – a lap of the Brands Indy circuit only takes half the time of Cadwell, but we had the same number of laps, so as you can imagine everyone was on it from the start! The circuit's really fast and flowing, and you can overtake at any corner – even I managed to get make a few passes, mainly at Druids, which is my favourite corner at Brands. Unfortunately, a few riders were being a bit over-enthusiastic – after the first 2 laps, it seemed like every time I went to overtake, there were yellow flags at the next corner!
I enjoyed the race, although I was a bit frustrated – I felt like I should have definitely come at least 3 positions higher. But I felt OK for race 2. I watched the other Feistys in their races – a lot of pink bikes out there! The weather still seemed unpredictable, and it was a bit darker by the time it came around to the second 400 race, but luckily it stayed dry. This time, I was on the left of the grid which gave me a better line into Paddock. I got a really good start, passing most of the row ahead. Unfortunately, the race was red-flagged after an incident at Druids, so we all had to line up again for the restart!
We were waiting a while, so I was worried that my tyres would cool down, but they still felt grippy on the 2nd warm-up lap. I got an OK start, although it wasn't as good as my first try! I was determined to beat the 3 riders who'd come ahead of me in the first race, so I tried to be more aggressive and had a couple of good battles. On the last lap, I'd passed two of them and was very close to the third. I passed him around the outside at Druids, but he came back at Graham Hill. I got level with him again coming into Clearways, but he was on the inside and I couldn't quite get past, so in the end he beat me on the line – it was fun though!
Then, as I was going into Paddock on the cool-down lap, the rider behind me ran into me! He hadn't seen the chequered flag, so was still going at full speed. I couldn't keep control of the bike and ended up in the gravel trap. I landed pretty hard on my elbow and was a bit winded too. I was taken to the medical centre and checked over, but I didn't have any serious injuries – just a grazed and swollen right arm. I was frustrated, because the bike was damaged (again), as were my leathers and helmet. On the other hand, at least I finished the race!
On Sunday, the pain in my arm made me feel like I wouldn't be able to ride properly. When I tried sitting on the bike, I didn't have much power in my hand to grip the brake lever, and it felt very uncomfortable. I decided not to race, and instead watched the other Feisty girls, who were riding well, although there seemed to be plenty of incidents! So, it was a bit up and down, but I did enjoy my Saturday races. We aren't sure yet whether we'll make it to the next round as we're very low on funds, but hopefully we'll be there. I also want to do more trackdays and get a lot faster, so that I can move a bit higher up the field!
Race Report: Cadwell Park
I was really looking forward to this round, as Cadwell is one of my favourite circuits (even though I've only been a couple of times before). It's really technical, so we were hoping to get lots of practice in by doing the Focused Events trackday on the Thursday.. except we didn't book in time
and I felt ill too! On the other hand, we had time to help set up the CMC marquee and sort the bike out. Thankfully, Martyn (a friend of ours) lent us his caravan so I got a good night's sleep and felt OK by Friday morning.
The Friday test day started late due to fog - which was annoying as Thursday had been gorgeous! Then I missed my first session because I didn't have numbers on the bike (-_-); and then in the second session, I lost the front at the hairpin! It was because we'd just put new tyres on, and messed up with the chain tension so that when the tyre got hot and expanded, it actually scraped the exhaust! Not good! But, we fixed it up (with non-matching foot peg to replace snapped one..) and a smaller rear sprocket to move the wheel back a bit. I managed another session and a half, which
wasn't great but it could have been worse - as Susie could tell you!
Friday was my 20th birthday too, and the Feisty girls very kindly presented me with a bottle of wine (of course), a Feisty t-shirt and some.. pink pillowcases.. I have put them on now, and my room definitely feels much more Feisty than before, so thank you! ^^; We also fitted my beautiful new number 27s, which look way better than the standard type (though the girls with 4s in their numbers had a few scrutineering issues.. ah well, it was sorted out in the end).
Saturday, Race 1: It was a much nicer day than Friday, and I went better in the morning practice, but I was still near the back of the grid. The first race started reasonably well, although I wasn't as quick off the line as I had wanted. I ended up battling with Amanda for the entire race! I had started off ahead, but after a few laps she came past me on Charlies corner, a right hander which opens onto the fastest part of the circuit ˆ Park Straight. She pulled away at first but I managed to catch up, and eventually re-passed her coming into the tight Mountain section. Coming up to the finish line, we were very close and I only just crossed ahead of her! It was great fun, and I also knocked 5 seconds off my best lap, down to a 2:01 - although still slow!
Saturday, Race 2: The second race was cut short to 4 laps after an incident on the start line, meaning it was even more important to start well ˆ however, I got a false neutral which slowed me down, and I lost a few places. I managed to take some back in the first few corners, and again had
a close battle with Amanda, eventually coming in ahead of her by 1 second! At least we can have some fun even at the back of the field! I went 1 second faster again, which was a bit disappointing as I wanted to be much faster.
Sunday, Race 3: Sunday started off foggy again, which was unnerving during warm-up! We only have 3 lap warm-up sessions on Sunday, which is only just enough time to make sure everything is working. I was also trying to use the time to look at my braking points around the circuit and plan my line through each corner, which was quite difficult with such low visibility! Luckily, Susie lent me some visor spray which prevented my helmet visor from fogging in the damp conditions - something I've had an issue with before. We also bled the brakes, which were way too spongy, so that I could better judge my braking and carry more speed through the corners.
By the time our race began, the sun had come out and it was warming up - however, I didn't get a very good start, but I was able to ride much harder and had a few good battles, again with Amanda (although she beat me this time!), and I knocked another 2 seconds off my lap times, with a best of
1:58. That's about 20 seconds faster than my last Cadwell trackday, but still frustratingly slow. On the other hand, I was feeling a lot better mentally and was confident I could improve in the last race.
Sunday, Race 4: For the final race, we lowered the gearing to give better drive out of the corners. I tested it on the warm-up lap and I was able to drive much faster out of corners, which felt good! I got my best start of the weekend, and moved across to the right ready for Coppice (which is taken
at full speed on my bike). Everything was going well, and I was passing riders around the outside ˆ until one suddenly went wide in front of me! I didn't have any option but to brake and try and run wide, but he was heading onto the grass and my front wheel went, which sent me tumbling over the
grass! My only consolation is that it was apparently quite entertaining, especially when I punched the ground afterwards ^^;
I was very frustrated to fall at the first corner, but luckily the bike wasn't very hurt, considering that it had been at fairly high speed. I watched the rest of the race from the marshal post (which is a good viewing point!) and cheered on Radka and Amanda, who were both riding well. However,
I ended up being picked up with Radka, as she ran out of fuel on the last corner!
It was a really good weekend despite the crash, and I feel like I've got my race head back at last. I know I can go a lot quicker, and hopefully I can prove it at Brands next time out! If we get the race entry funds together, that is.. ^^; See you then!
Lydden Hill March 2007
We're back from a successful race meeting at Lydden Hill in Kent! It was the first round of the BMCRC Nationwide Championship, and I was really looking forward to starting the season. We set off on Friday afternoon, with both Aprilia RS250s in the back of the VW Gilder van. Lydden is one of the furthest of the championship circuits from Sheffield, and it took us about 4 and a half hours to drive there!
When we arrived, we met up with the rest of Team Feisty Racing. Gabs, Kat, Amanda and Radka were all racing, and Susie was there as team manager of course! They had already set up marquees for the bikes, which looked very impressive lined up in team colours! We unloaded the 'number 1' RS250 (the bike I usually ride) ready for Saturday morning. I was a bit nervous, as the
Rookie and Clubman 400s were first out to practice, at 9.00. We hadn't been able to make the 'test day' on Thursday, as I was busy at Uni, so I only had 10 minutes to practice the circuit before my first race!!
Saturday morning was quite cold, and it took us a while to warm up. We had to make a few quick alterations to the bike for scrutineering, and also had to put race numbers on the bike. I am number 27, which is my lucky number - we had to request it in advance to secure it for the season, and I was very happy to get it! The bike and I both passed scrutineering, and then we were straight out on track. I was careful because it was cold and damp, but the session went well and I felt a bit more confident about the races ahead.
I was pretty tense by the time they called us out for the first race. The bike still had tyre warmers on, and I wasn't fully ready with my helmet and gloves, so it was a bit frantic and I ended up missing the warm-up lap, meaning I had to start from the back of the grid!
There were only a few seconds between me taking my place on the grid to the lights switching off to start the race, but I got a fairly good start and made up several positions going into the first long right hand bend. Lydden has a lot of camber changes, and several corners are blind on entry, which
makes it a challenging circuit! The races are only 9 laps long, so you have to go all out straight away, and I was immediately faster than in practice.
The race went well, although my pace dropped towards the end, and I lost places again. Racing is a lot more physical even than normal track riding, as you are trying your hardest non-stop - plus, I naturally put in extra effort when there are people to beat! Also, the Aprilia RS250, at about
55bhp, is down on power by around 17bhp as compared to most of the 400cc bikes, making it very difficult to match them on the exits of corners and the straights! My only advantage was corner speed - and old tyres and a lack of track knowledge didn't help that! At the moment, we don't have a tyre sponsor, so I was using tyres that were quite worn. However, I still had some good battles and really enjoyed racing again!
The second race was even better - I was more familiar with the circuit and got a very good start, despite the now fairly wet track (it had been drizzling for an hour or so), and this time was able to keep up more consistent lap times throughout the race. I even caught up with Amanda, Radka and Kat for a while and finished up in 13th overall - 9th in the Clubman class. I was tired after the race, but really happy with the result ^^
On Sunday, there was a much later start as the local residents don't like too much noise in the morning! We weren't allowed out on track until 12:30, which meant we had a lie-in (unheard of usually!) - but we still had the same number of races to get through as on Saturday. So instead of a 10 minute warm up, we had 3 laps! Some classes were combined during practice as well, so it was quite hectic ^^; It was much warmer than Saturday, which was nice, but unfortunately it put me at a disadvantage as the 400cc bikes were able to use their power more on the grippier surface. I put in some of my quickest laps of the weekend, but I wasn't able to enter corners as fast as I wanted and the tyres were starting to slide under acceleration - I had a couple of dodgy moments, even knocking my feet off the pegs once! I finished in 18th and was lapped by the winner, which I was disappointed at after working up to 13th the day before - it was still fun though!
In the final race, my start wasn't as good - I wheelied off the line which slowed me down. I still passed several riders on the first two laps but I was hard pressed to keep up with the pace of the 400s, and ended up slipping back to 18th in the end. We were still happy with the results because I had improved a lot and we know that with new tyres and more track knowledge I could come higher in the field. Also, I didn't crash which is always good! It was great to be back with the rest of Team Feisty too, as it was the first time we had met up for ages!
We're now preparing to race at Cadwell Park on the 28th and 29th of April. We decided to miss out the Snetterton round, as the straights are so long that the RS250 would be blown away by the more powerful 400s, plus there would be a serious risk of seizing the engine! I'm quite familiar now with
Cadwell, and as it's a very twisty circuit the superior handling of the RS250 will make it more competitive. We hope to secure a tyre sponsor soon, so I should also have much better grip too! Our goals are to successfully complete all 4 races, and to be as competitive as possible - beating the
other Feisty girls if we can. Team competition is important motivation after all! ^^
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