End of 2007 Report

Feisty Racing expanded its horizons a good deal this year by not only successfully competing in the European Women’s Championship but also entering and finishing the team's first ever six-hour endurance race.

The Feisty team started 2007 with four racers – the two founder members, Susie Grayson and Deb Cartwright, and two new Feisty Academy rookies to the racing world, Amanda Wake and Gabrielle Burne.  We were joined during the year by Radka Angelevova Janavova and Kat Prosser, both rookies from last year who were unable to complete a full season during their second year but were keen to compete when they could.  The team was bolstered as always by the regulars: Feisty Pit Bitches, Liz Corbey and Tammy Milsom, as well as driver/mechanic Tom Gander and mechanic Conrad Lewis.

We also made a decision to change the team format to focus more on training for new members as well as progressing the main team.  Ladies who have joined us for fun now have a new arm, Feisty Freedom, within which they can still race under the Feisty banner without diffusing the efforts being made to encourage girls into racing, and further our progress up the racing ladder.

The entire team competed within a variety of BMCRC Championships within the UK, namely Clubman 600 (Deb and Susie), Rookie Mintiwins (Gabs) and Rookie 400 (Amanda). In the hotly contested three-round European Women’s Championship, Deb finished fourth and Susie fifth, with the latter taking a third place at the last round at Ochersleben, after unfortunately crashing out at Assen.

The team’s entry into endurance was a fantastic finale to the season, with the whole team pulling together impressively considering the lack of experience within the very different rules of this racing class. The race at Silverstone in October firmed up the team’s desire to put a bid together for an entry into World 24Hour Endurance for 2008. In addition, Susie intends to embark upon an entry into road racing, starting with the Northwest 200 and then the Manx Grand Prix.

With plans to conquer Europe and the World in 2008, the girls are very excited about the future prospects of the team.

Feisty Racing would like to extend sincere thanks to those who have helped the team develop since its inception in 2004 or have supported us since then. Please visit our sponsors page to view details.

HMRC Endurance at Silverstone 6th October 2007

Feisty Racing have now tasted their first endurance race and they like the flavour; so much so that they are now seriously considering running a team for an endurance championship in 2008.

The team comprised:

• Alan Russell of A&R Racing – team manager
• Liz Corbey – second in command as well as rider health and catering
• Deb Cartwright, Susie Grayson – riders
• Tom Gander, Mark Gerrard (Phase One Endurance), Rich Arnold – mechanics
• Alex Bailey – refueller
• Tammy Milsom and Amanda Wake – pit board and timing
• Witch – team marshal
  
• Christine Gottlieb – fire officer

Alan Russell had competed in endurance himself in the past and helps the team in the club paddock with provision of tyre and spares.  He was an obvious and enthusiastic choice for team manager, getting involved in the preparation and being firm with decisions during the racing day.

The whole team was very impressive to watch especially considering the only experienced person was Mark Gerrard, who kindly offered to help after meeting up at Oschersleben during the Phase One’s 24 Hour World Endurance round which happened to run with the European Women’s Championship as a support race.  Each team member had a set of specific tasks to perform as well as mucking in whenever extra tasks came up.

Susie said: “Endurance is so very different to club racing in many more ways than the obvious “more time on track” element. I loved the fact that it’s about the whole team pulling together and having an important part to play; the riders are just team members too. We were buzzing for the whole day and were exultant to finish successfully. I can’t wait to do it again.”

As Susie and Deb’s R6s both had kit looms, they were unable to compete in the Superstock 600, so took part in the very competitive Six Hour National Supersport 600 Race at Hottrax Motorcycle Racing Club’s last round of the season.  They selected Susie’s bike for the race, and Tom and Susie used the Friday practice day to select the gearing, get the suspension right and learn the track in addition to preparing the garage for the arrival of the rest of the team.

Saturday race day was dry and overcast and quite warm for October, so the wet and intermediate tyres were put to one side.  Deb used two of the practise sessions to learn the track and get used to the bike, then Susie qualified for the team, putting them in seventh overall in the National classes. Race start was midday with a very exciting Le Mans-style start – which means one rider holds the bike and the rider who is first out stands at the other side of the track. When the flag is dropped the first rider runs to the bike, starts the engine and joins the free-for-all to the first corner. Although it’s not too important to get it right, Susie was still a bit disappointed to get it a bit pear-shaped, however, it was over quickly and the first stint was underway.

A six-hour race is won or lost on two factors: crashes and pit stops.  The Feisty girls managed to stay upright, in fact there were very few crashes during the race. The big unknown for the team was tyre strategy. Having initially planned on two full changes, the decision was made to take a look after hour two and make the call on the fly. This was a good choice as no other teams changed three times and this would have lost a great deal of time. Both tyres were changed at mid point; Alan commented: “In retrospect we could have saved more time and just changed the rear as all other teams seemed to last the whole race on a single front tyre – changing a front adds a good few valuable minutes to a pit stop.” However, this was a learning exercise and gave them a hard earned lesson for next year.

A full fuel tank had been estimated to last between 55 and 60 minutes, so that would be ideal for hourly rider changes. In reality this turned out to be about 50 minutes so an extra pit stop and rider change was needed at the end. The girls were ambitious deciding to have only two riders and when Deb starting to have a problem with her clutch hand the need for a third rider was apparent. However, they battled on with Susie completing about 200 minutes in four stints, and Deb completing the remaining 160 minutes in three stints. Both were putting in regular times in the 1min10s until their last stints when exhaustion was setting in. Personal best lap times were: Susie 1.09.061, Deb 1.10.2.

The physical side of the race really hit both riders hard. They were under no misconception about it being a walk in the park; Deb had beasted herself for weeks in the gym though Susie had been unable to prepare as thoroughly due to an unexpected flare up of back problems (she had three major back operations between 2002 and 2004). Deb’s clutch hand problem emerged during her first stint and was a very upsetting problem as it caused her to doubt whether she could really complete her allocated track time. Moving the clutch lever position didn’t help and the team didn’t manage to find the cause. She was forced to change gear without the clutch so managed to stave off the pain somewhat. Both riders found it hard to stand after getting off the bike, and Liz was there to hold them up then put them through some tailored stretches to get them moving again. Susie had muscular spasms in her neck during her second stint and was a regular visitor to Eileen Fox’s physiotherapy table in the Phase One garage. She was taking ibuprofen for the back pain and aspirin to reduce arm pump. They both lasted to the end of the six hours.

The team finished sixth in class and twelfth overall. The champagne flowed in parc ferme and the celebration party began in true Feisty Racing style. Now work will start in attracting sponsors for a 2008 Superstock Championship bid.

Snetterton with BMCRC, 6th & 7th July

The 6th & 7th July was a busy weekend for all involved, not only were 5 members of the team racing at Snetterton, but Feisty Racing hosted their 2nd hospitality weekend for friends/family and sponsors.

The weekend was successful overall, the event has further helped promote and demonstrate the team’s professional, committed attitude toward each individuals racing, the team and its future.

This weekend’s racers included Susie Grayson, Deb Cartwright, Radka Angelovova-Janevova, Amanda Wake and Gabrielle Burne.

There was a bit of rollercoaster of racing emotions; unfortunately this was Radka’s last race weekend of the season. This will be a loss to the team and also to Radka who has already had great success with achieving two 3rd place trophies.  She will continue to be involved with the team and we will certainly look forward to her returning to the track in the future.

Both Amanda and Gabrielle, the 2007 rookies had a steady weekend with improvements throughout.  Amanda got her best time down to the 1m 25s constantly finishing 6th within the rookie championship, whilst successfully avoiding incidents that happened around her.  Gabrielle’s fastest time was in the early 1m 24s, apart from a couple of frustrating starts her race pace certainly demonstrated that she won’t just settle for anything and will battle until the end.

Throughout the weekend the crowd saw Susie Grayson constantly saw her battling close to the front to claim two 6th, one 7th and one 5th place.  Even though she was frustrated with her last race and missing out on what looked like a possible 3rd, she still achieved her time goal of mid 1m 13s, having struggled to crack under 1min 14s up to now.  Within the race she also obtained the fastest lap of the race for the first half and was 3rd fastest overall.

Deb Cartwright overall was running constantly within the 1m 17s, she felt disappointed with this and wanted to progress much more throughout the weekend.  From a spectator point for view there were certainly improvements in her riding and times, but as a racer expectations are a different level.  That’s what makes you a racer.

Deb and Susie will be competing in the European Women’s Championship at Assen in Holland on the 15th August. After the 1st round in Italy at Vallelunga, Susie sits at 5th and Deb at 9th within the championship.  They both will be seriously looking to improve on this.  Neither of the girls have raced before on the famous Dutch track, which is approximately 3.7 miles long with 9 left corners, 14 right and a straight of 0.6 of a mile.  With no practice allowed 6 weeks before a race, the girls will the thrown straight into qualifying so they will have to learn very quickly. One thing is for sure they both will be battling to work their way forward through the other riders and to have an even more successful weekend.

No rest for the wicked, as once the girls return they race at Brands Hatch (full GP circuit) on 21st & 22nd July, plus they will be finalising the arrangements for the party of the year, the Feisty Fiesta 2007. 

On the 28th July at Mallory Park the girls have arranged a track day in conjunction with focused events, which includes a ladies only novice group.  They will also be instructing, this is their way of giving back something to their supporters and helping others gain a chance to experience the excitement of being on two wheels.  The whole day will be accompanied by a variety of stalls to then be followed by live entertainment throughout the evening.

Feisty Racing personally and as a team continue to show their dedication and appreciation to the sport, their supporters and sponsors.  Each year they continue to improve on both their skill and success, never forgetting about those who help along the way.  Keep an eye on this site for future results and information on the Feisty Event that is not to be missed.

Words by Tammy Milsom
www.tammymilsom.co.uk

Lydden Hill – 16th & 17th June 2007
Words by Tammy Milsom

Fortunately the temperamental weather stayed dry throughout the weekend apart from a couple of drizzly showers allowing the girls to enjoy every moment on track.

Gabrielle was certainly a highlight with her dazzling grin and true enjoyment from what she says was her best race weekend yet.  Within her first race she was running in the 49s, which she then knocked down by another second in the afternoon.  Both races saw her entertain herself and the crowd by having on track battles with fellow racer Steve Tibbs of which she won the first to be slightly revenged in the second.

Susie Grayson also had a successful start setting a race time of just over the 45s, but slightly annoyed by her lack of aggression to overtake. Lydden Hill is a small, tight circuit with no run off and not much margin for errors.  However Susie overcame this to steadily achieve times within the 44s and to constantly battle with rider and team buddy Alex Bailey, showing she’s a woman who won’t give up.

Amanda was the talk of the side lines with running in her highest positions so far this season and not far behind Feisty team mate Radka Angelovova-Janevova.  With a combination of general tiredness and the demand of the circuit her times dropped slightly.  However she continued throughout the races to demonstrate her race aggression and ability at this circuit.

Radka started her first race within the mid 49s; with each race she knocked approximately 0.5s off her time to then in her third and final race to achieve her target of 47s.  Both Amanda’s and Radka’s fourth race was cancelled due to a number of severe crashes throughout the day.  This worked in Radka’s favour as she crashed out of race 3, fortunately walking away unharmed unlike the bike.
As Radka returned she cheered everybody with her pure excitement from the thrill of her race and with the success of her lap time.  Even whilst looking at her badly smashed up bike with suffered a broken sub frame bent to a 90 degree angle to match her exhaust pipes. That’s before looking at the rest of the bike; nice repair job ahead.

This weekend also saw Deb Cartwright racing at Brands Hatch with North Gloucester.  She was working along Feisty Racing sponsors Hawk Kawasaki and gaining further advice on both bike setup and race techniques.  This weekend was successful with regards to her regaining her confidence not only in her bike but also in her talent.  Her season ahead is certainly one to watch.

Overall another successful weekend for all girls, hopefully this will continue to the next round at Snetterton in three weeks.

Cadwell Park with BMCRC 28th & 29th April 2007
Words by Tammy Milsom

An eventful weekend was had by all.  Friday saw Radka and Susie crash in practice, fortunately both girls were fine. It was only the bikes that needed some care and attention, especially Susie’s.  Her bike was severely damaged and it took several hours of repair work before going back on track. Susie managed to make it out for the last practice only to discover that her throttle cable had also stretched from the crash, which forced her to pull back in.

On Saturday, qualifying saw her set a pace of 1m 46s.  This was disappointing to Susie as she was running near the back and felt slow compared to the others riders. Would she be a racer if she didn’t?  This weekend Susie was competing in the MRO Supersport 600 not the Clubman 600, this is a much higher, more competitive level and also at Cadwell Park, an extremely technical circuit.  After the second qualifying and setting a best time of 1m 43s, Susie claimed a starting position of 22nd for the race to then finish 19th.  Quite an achievement considering the amount of practice time she had lost.

The Clubman Minitwins saw Kathleen Prosser claim 6th place in both her races of the day, setting a race pace 1m 53s.  Even though she felt the physical demand of this circuit, her time and on track battles demonstrated her ever improving racing skills.

This was now Gabrielle Burns third race weekend within her rookie year, in which she has already showed immense improvement.  Her first race saw her knock her time from a previous track day of just over 2 minutes, to the mid 1m 58s.  This continued within race two where she almost lowered it by another 1 second.

Radka within the Clubman 400 was not happy at first with her lap times and showed sheer determination to improve with every second on track.  The first race saw her running in the 1m 57s just missing out on the1m 56s, however astonishingly within the second race she wiped away another 2.5 seconds.

Katherine Sanderson again within the Clubman 400, successfully battled on her Aprilia RS250 with fellow team mate Amanda Wake, who in her rookie year is riding a Kawasaki ZXR400.  Both were running just over the 2ms and were working hard analyzing every aspect of their lap to reduce their times.  This technique seemed to work as again both racers removed a further 1 second off their times in the afternoon race.

Everyone on Sunday woke to a surrounding of thick fog, which was interesting on track with regards to sight and visor issues.  As the day progressed it lifted, but not until mid afternoon so not a lot was gained from the morning practice sessions. 

Each racer went out there in full battle mode and produced stunning results.  Susie Grayson produced a best time of an early 1m 42s, 1 second less than her best time on Saturday.  Gabrielle knocked another 1 second off her time and claimed her first championship point.  Kathleen Prosser got her race pace down to just under the mid 1m 52s also losing 1 second, Amanda Wake reached the 1m 55s, almost 5s from the beginning of the weekend. 

Amanda’s second race saw her stunningly hunt down, overtake and leave behind a couple of riders, revenging fellow team mate Katherine Sanderson from Saturday battle. Kat had also improved lowering her lap time to just inside the 1m 58s.  Radka went from strength to strength, unknowingly and unexpectedly she achieved 3rd place with a time of the mid 1m 50s.  Yet another trophy for her collection and no doubt one of many to come.  What did these girls have for breakfast?

Would the success continue? Hmmm No!  The warm up lap of the Supersport 600 saw Susie clip the back wheel of another rider who suddenly slowed down, slamming her into the concrete at the bottom of the mountain.  Fortunately after a thorough medical investigation she was just badly bruised and will be back on track at the weekend.  Kathleen Sanderson also crashed in her last race, she had no where to go after another rider was forced into her path from taking evasive action himself.  Luckily she was ok apart from a broken bike.  Radka amusingly ran out of petrol on the cool down lap; she didn’t manage to gain another trophy, but was relieved the finishing line wasn’t on a hill. 

It wasn’t all bad.  Amanda and Kathleen Prosser were slightly off their morning pace as the challenges of the circuit starting to take its toll, but any track time or race experience gained will not be a wasted.  Gabrielle continued to improve to finally clinch a time of 1m 53s, no stopping her now.

This weekend clearly demonstrates the unpredictable, uncontrollable events that racing brings.  Of course this isn’t going to stop Feisty Racing, who again individually all improved throughout the weekend and will be back for more.

Snetterton with BMCRC 14th & 15th April 2007
Words by Tammy Milsom

And they’re off! It’s the third race weekend of the season and the first where all the team, apart from Leila Williams were racing together.  Leila’s first race will be at Brands Hatch in May, we look forward to seeing her back in action.

The weekend was off to a good start with the glorious weather.  On Saturday Radka was stunned by her time in the first race, setting a lap time within the 1m 25s and finishing 4th.  Already knocking 3 seconds off her time from last year when she obtained her first 3rd place position and trophy.  She continued her time in the 2nd race to again claim 4th, although her disappointment continued to grow by just missing out on that 3rd place. 

Amanda was also pleased with her initial time of 1m 29s, holding off a couple of challengers within the first race.  This was a solid start to build from and a good boost to her confidence.  Due to an incident from a previous side car race that left oil on the track, the racing lines and confidence of many riders was affected, including Amanda.  However her time only dropped slightly and she continued to improve on the remainder of the track.  Tomorrow was another day.

Gabrielle started her weekend in the 1m 32s, just missing out on 1m 31s, finishing in 26th place.  This was a good session from which she analysed her body position along with her racing lines and gained advice from others.  This new knowledge was what she put into action for the next race to claim 20th place running at a similar pace.

With a high starting grid position of 5th, Susie Grayson was off to a flying start.  After battling and successfully maintaining 7th position, she achieved a time of 1m 16s.  Susie was delighted with this, especially as this was on track with a high amount of dirt covering the aftermath of the earlier incident.  Her target was 1m 14s, which after this result looked achievable.  Within her 2nd race she improved to 6th, knocking a further 1.4 seconds off her time, whilst yet again enjoying the success of a race battle. 

Deb Cartwright returned to the track for the first time since her ankle breaking crash that abruptly ended her 2006 season.  She claimed 16th and 19th, position with her times consistently in the 1m 19s.  This was not Deb ’s usual pace because of personal preservations and having to race on a track in similar conditions to her crash last year.  Under the circumstances this was a successful start and this is a woman who would continue to fight back, you knew there was more to come.

On Sunday the weather continued to improve.  Radka started off on a mission, for the majority of the first race she was running 3rd.  Unfortunately due to having to take evasive action she had to settle for 5th, however she knocked her times down by a dazzling 2 seconds.  She was back with a vengeance for the 2nd race knocking a further breathtaking 2 seconds off her time, this allowed Radka to claim an earned 3rd place.  Not sure which was bigger, Radka’s trophy or her smile.

Amanda in the first race had a bad start causing her to loose several places, but within the race she held her own.  Her time had returned to the 1m 29s, she battled and gained some of those positions back to then unfortunately loose them at Sears bend.  This again was due to the lack of confidence in the track after the crash yesterday, an issue she had to deal with and she most certainly did.  Amanda ended the weekend with an aggressive 2nd race to finish 4th with a time in the 1m 28s, knocking a second off her time.

Gabrielle had an excellent 1st race claiming 19th whilst running in the 1m 29s, 3 seconds off her time from Saturday.  As a rookie her development has now started to show as she adapts to a racing riding style and understands more about her bike.  Even though her times dropped slightly for the 2nd race from the tiring demands of a race weekend,  Gabs gained and discovered a lot from this weekend that will only make her faster.

Kathy in the first race shed 1s off her time from Saturday, whilst looking increasingly comfortable this seasons bike.  She unfortunately had to miss out on her second race to accompany her boyfriend Chris Cuckoo, who had a serious crash in the Clubman 600.  Luckily he is fine and will be racing again soon.  We look forward to seeing Kathy continue her success in two weeks at Cadwell Park.

On Sunday the girls were on fire and Susie continued the success by achieving her 1m 14s to finish 8th in the first race.  Within her second race her time slightly dropped to finish 12th, but the weekend saw her achieve her target and knock 2 seconds off her time from last year.  This is certainly a partnership between a rider and bike that works.

The excitement wasn’t over yet.  Both Deb’s positions and times had improved immensely.  She claimed 16th in both races running in the 1m 16s, knocking a mesmerizing 3 seconds off her time from Saturday.  She was back on top form and ecstatic from her achievement and the thrill of racing.  This was good for all to see.

Overall this was a successful weekend for each individual and the girls as a group.  With each race and every personal goal achieved the team and the racers become stronger, making them more of a threat to others on track.

Feisty in 2006: