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Loz is a contributor
to this site and will be updating us with
her racing experiences on a regular basis.
| Date
of Birth
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22nd Aug
1972 |
Home
Town |
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Guildford |
Height |
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5 foot 6 inches |
Racing
Debut |
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6th Mar 2004 Bemsee
Brands Hatch |
Best
finish |
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4th |
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Bemsee Rookie 400 Final rounds at Snetterton
October 2004
Having missed the races at Snetterton
earlier in the year due to my fiance being
knocked off his Firebalde by a car (while
I watched) I was feeling a little nervous
about the final round. I was 11th in the
championship after Silverstone so my aim
for the weekend was to get into the top
ten, get my lap times under 1.22s and hopefully
win my first pot which I was desperate for.
I had also entered the SS400 and Clubman
400/650 Shootout in the hope that I'd get
a grid spot for at least one of them to
give me extra tracktime, I ended up with
a grid spot for both extra championships
so would be racing in 5 races a day on Sat
and Sun!! I arrived at the circuit on Thursday
night to claim the double garage that I'd
arranged to share with 8 other racers and
discovered it was going to be a tight squeeze!
Friday Practice
Friday dawned cold and foggy so the circuit
was closed until around 10.30am so we were
all losing valuable tracktime. I'd changed
my main jets after Silverstone and was looking
forward to finding out what effect it had
on the bikes performance. Unfortunately
it wasn't an improvement so I came in during
my second session and spent lunch changing
the jets back to get out just about in time
for my next session. The rest of the day
was warmish and dry and the bike was running
well, I managed to get my lap times down
to a reasonable 1.23s so I wasn't far off
my target.
Saturday
Rookie Race 1: I started 11th on the grid.
The race itself was fairly uneventful and
I came home a comfortable 9th with a best
time of 1.24 which was rather disappointing.
The SS400 and Clubman races gave me a chance
to try out some different lines and managed
to hit my target of 1.22s with 12th in the
SS4 and 11th in the Clubman which I was
pretty pleased with.
Rookie Race 2: The rain started coming down
just as we joined the collecting area, we
were all given 10 mins to change our tyres
and get back or they would start without
us! I was in the fortunate position to have
my fiance's race bike ready and waiting
with my wet tyres on so I was first back
to the collecting area with 5 mins to spare.
We got out onto the grid with a few gaps
but by the time we got back round from the
warm up lap I believe nearly everyone had
made it out on time. I started 9th on the
grid and made some good passes to come in
5th, by my calculations this was enough
to put me up to 10th place in the championship
although Sunday would be double points so
it was all to play for.
The final SS400 race of the day was also
wet so I was glad to have had a bit of practice
in the rookie race. I knocked another second
off my wet lap time and came in 11th.
Sunday
We were expecting torrential rain on Sunday
but it turned out to be similar to Saturday
with sunshine in the morning and a gradual
decline to rain in the afternoon.
Rookie Race 1: Starting in 5th my aim was
to try and hang on to the front four for
as long as possible, I got a good start
and was surprised to find I was able to
keep up and ended up shadowing Patrick and
Scott who were battling for third for the
entire race. They were swapping paintwork
on almost every corner and I knew it was
going to get messy if I tried to pass both
of them while they were changing line every
few seconds. I decided my best chance would
be to keep as close as possible so I could
take advantage of any mistakes they made,
which turned out to be the right plan when
Patrick missed a gear coming out of Russells
chicane on the last lap and I managed to
pip him to the line for a personal best
4th place - half a second behind Scott in
third!
I drop another second off my lap time during
the Clubman race at 1.21.36 and came in
13th, with 12th in the SS400 race.
Rookie Race 2: Once again the rain started
to come down just before the final rookie
race of the season and we were all waiting
for a wet race to be announced. It wasn't
particularly heavy rain so we all dashed
to the collecting area fully expecting to
have to turn round and change our wheels
again. Unfortunately the announcement never
came so we all rode out tentatively onto
the grid. This was my first front row start
and my last realistic chance of a pot before
joining the Supersport grid next year so
I was determined to give it my all. I'm
pretty confident in the damp on my Supercorsers
so I was feeling quite hopeful, although
by the time we came round from the warm
up lap the rain was coming down more heavily.
The lights went out and I got a blinding
start which got me to the first corner ahead
of everyone else. I made it through Sears
in one piece and put on the power down the
straight fully expecting to have at least
Tom and Aaron come screaming past me but
it didn't happen. I was still out front
through the Esses and starting to think
I might actually make it to the podium this
time, then I tipped into the Bombhole and
that illusive pot slipped out of my grasp
as I lost the front and slid for what seemed
like an eternity.
The marshalls probably thought I was off
my trolley as I bounced around with a big
grin asking "did you see me leading
the race" to anyone who cared to listen.
The Bombhole proceeded to claim a further
two victims so Aaron, Graham and I spent
most of the race having a laugh and waving
at Bob who had a problem with his bike and
was coasting round at the back waving to
all the marshalls!
I guess you could say I finished my first
season with a bang, that last race (what
I managed of it) was by far the best minute
of my entire season and I still have a massive
grin on my face when I think about riding
down Rivetts Straight with no-one in front
and whooping in my helmet - I only wish
I'd made it as far as the start finish straight
so my friends could have seen!
Luckily my first racing crash has left me
with just a small bruise on my elbow and
a bike that should be repairable based on
a brief visual check, so we'll both be back
out with a vengence in the Bemsee SS400
next year!
Red Pill Racing report from Cadwell BMCRC
Meeting 21st August
This race report very nearly didn't
happen as I managed to pick up a painful
stomach bug at the beginning of the week
and couldn't eat properly all week. I made
the final decision to go racing at about
5pm on Thursday, just before we were due
to leave!
Friday Practice:
I was riding Nige's race bike which was
fresh back from Dynotech with the valve
fixed and the ram-air now working, the bike
now has around 65 bhp which is approx 5
bhp more than my race bike so we wanted
to see how much of a difference it made.
The first session of the day was dry which
gave me a chance to get a good feel for
the bike, I discovered that it was bloody
quick and handled much better than my race
bike! The next session was damp but not
enough for wet tyres so I went out on my
Supercorsas. I'd had spent a couple of hours
talking to a suspension expert at Croix
about tyres and he had convinced me that
slicks are better than wets in the damp
and will grip just as well as they do in
the dry, it's only standing water that you've
got to watch out for. With that advice ringing
in my ears I set about the damp track with
bags of confidence and even managed to pass
the Rookie 400 Champion who admitted afterwards
that he didn't like damp conditions on dry
tyres! It then started to rain properly
so my wheels were changed for wets and I
was surprised to find I actually enjoy riding
in the wet. My lap times were 12 seconds
faster than my best wet race pace earlier
in the year and I was shocked to find that
I had consistantly matched the top three
SS400 riders times of 2.00! I'm assuming
the conditions were worse back in April
but I was really pleased with my times nonetheless.
I missed the final session as I wanted to
conserve what little energy I had left for
the races the next day.
Saturday, Race 1
This was the first time I had "launched"
Nige's race bike and I found it very different
to my bike. Unfortunately it bogged down
on both the warm up lap and race start even
though I did it exactly the same as I have
always done (and I have always been able
to get off the line well). I was passed
by most of the guys in the two rows behind
me and spent the entire race making my way
back up, I finished in 12th which was one
place behind my grid position. I had set
myself a lap time goal of 1.50s and had
managed low 1.51s so was happy that I was
close to achieving.
Saturday, Race 2
I realised I needed to do something drastic
on the startline to launch the bike properly
so I lined up about a foot behind my grid
line with the idea of pre-empting the lights.
My plan worked and I managed to get a jump
on my row and even passed a couple of guys
in the row ahead through the first corner.
When we got onto the back straight I could
still see the race leader and managed to
count back places to realise I was in 6th
from 12th on the grid! I normally lose several
places in the first couple of corners due
to lack of agression so I was cheering in
my helmet that I'd finally managed to get
the first lap I've been trying to do since
the beginning of the season! Unfortunately
I was pretty tired before I even started
the race so I wasn't convinced I'd be able
to keep up a good enough pace to stay in
6th, so I was surprised when I was still
hanging in there after 5 laps. I could hear
what I assumed was another bike behind me
when I was braking for the chicane and the
hairpin so I was riding very defensively,
however it wasn't quite enough and I was
passed on the last lap by two bikes and
was shuffled into 8th across the line. Apparently
there were three bikes behind me, wheel
to wheel, for the entire race! To be honest
I was so pleased with my first lap that
I could't be disappointed with the end result.
I also discovered that I'd dropped my lap
time to low 1.49s which was better than
my target, another success!
29th June 2004
The first race at Pembrey was dire, I really wasn't
in the right frame of mind at all. I was 12th
on the grid but completely bottled the first corner
and got swamped with all the Yamaha Past Masters
who were on the grid behind the Rookie 400s. It
took me a good few laps to get the hang of the
wets so I didn't make up many places and came
in 15th in the rookies (23rd overall). It was
even more gutting to get the results and see that
my best lap time was 3 or 4 seconds slower than
the next 7 bikes that finished in front of me!
The top three were doing my best dry lap times
in the wet so I decided that race two I was just
going to pretend it was dry!
I started 23rd on the grid in race two and had
a go at a more aggressive start in the warm up
lap and it seemed to do the trick. For the real
race start I kept the throttle pinned for much
longer than the first race and would have kept
my position had there not been a bit of a moment
with a couple of bikes touching at the hairpin.
I made the places back up at the next corner and
then continued to overtake anyone I came across
for the rest of the race! I'm told it made for
good watching, especially taking three in one
go into the corner before the start finish straight
on one lap! I finished 12th overall and 8th in
the rookies and was 4 seconds a lap faster than
in the first race!! So after that I don't think
I'll care if it's wet or dry now!
I've just sent a fax off to the Bemsee office
to try and get onto the Supersport 400 grid so
I can get more practice at race starts which I'm
particularly poor at. I'll probably be last and
lapped but I'm hoping it will push me harder.
Life in general is pretty hectic but I feel like
I am living it to the full! Nothing can be worse
than seeing Nige hit that car so I seem to be
able to deal with stress a lot better these days! |
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6th/7th
March |
Brands
Hatch |
12, 9,
10, 6
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17th/18th
April |
Cadwell
Park |
9, 10, 10, 10 |
1st/2nd
May |
Snetterton |
Not attended |
15th/16th
May |
Lydden
Hill |
DNS, DNF, 18, 16 |
29th/30th
May |
Brands
Hatch |
10, 10, 10, 11 |
26th
June |
Pembrey |
15, 8 |
10th/11th
July |
Brands
Hatch |
12, 12 |
21st
Aug |
Cadwell
Park |
12, 8 |
25th
Sep |
Silverstone |
6, 15 |
2nd/3rd
Oct |
Snetterton |
9, 11, 5, 4, DNF |
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Loz is competing in the 2004 Bemsee Rookie 400
champioship, following in the footsteps of friends
Deb and Red Cartwright.
"I've discovered that racing isn't a hobby,
it's a way of life! I had the worst weekend for
results at Lydden a couple of months ago but actually
really enjoyed myself. I realised that it's about
the whole social scene and everyone looks after
each other. Imagine doing a trackday where you
know most people on track, it's so much fun having
a bit of a battle and having a laugh about it
afterwards. My performance so far has been a lot
worse than I had hoped. Unfortunately I spent
a small fortune on my bike over the winter as
it was quite old and I wanted it to be reliable,
I couldn't ride the bloody thing when I got it
back in Feb and crashed for the first time in
over 50 trackdays - twice! It's taken me a long
time to get my confidence back and I also missed
a couple of rounds due to Nige's crash. Now that
I'm as confident as I was last year I need to
start improving because the other rookies have
been improving all year so I need to pull out
the stops to be competitive." |
What inspired you to start
racing?
Deb Cartwright! We used to be trackday buddies when
she started talking about going racing. I wasn't too
keen but after watching her first race I decided to
give it a go. Unfortunately I'd just started a new job
and they expected me to work silly hours and not allow
for practice days off so I handed in my notice. I found
a new job 4 weeks later but decided to wait until the
2004 rookie season otherwise I'd be straight into SuperSport
and wouldn't have been competitive which I would have
hated!
Do you have a regular team?
My fiance and I have set up our own team called Red
Pill Racing (you need to have seen The Matrix
to understand!). Unfortunately he was knocked off his
road bike by an incompetent car driver turning right
out of a left turn only junction and is recovering from
a broken leg amongst other injuries. He's now well on
the road to recovery and has decided to try the rookies
next year and concentrate on getting me through the
rookies this year. My Dad has also come along to some
of the race meets and is becoming very helpful, he's
a non-biker so it's all new to him. Then there is the
PMT gang who have been absolute stars, saving me space
in the pits and making sure I know what I'm supposed
to be doing. Most of all they have been keeping my morale
up as I've been close to giving up several times already
after losing loads of confidence at the start of the
year with my first crash and then problems with the
bike.
Any sponsors yet?
Not yet, although we do have several suppliers that
give us "racer prices" and have been really
supportive. I've also joined a scheme called Adopt-A-Racer
where people can adopt a racer for as little as £10
a month, the website
explains it much better than I can.
What are your plans after this
season?
At the moment my plans are to move into Supersport 400
with Bemsee, although if I get a sponsorship offer then
I'm happy to change my mind!!
What are your ambitions?
My ambition is to be able to be competitive at MRO level
eventually. I've no idea how long it will take or even
if I will ever get there (especially without sponsorship
to be able to buy a tuned bike). As long as I'm enjoying
myself I'll keep going!
What do you do in your spare time?
What spare time??! At the moment my life revolves around
making sure Nige is recovering from his injuries well,
working to pay the bills and either preparing for races
or being on track! We currently have a large van which
we sleep in at the circuits but I'd really like to buy
a caravan as I don't like the cold (and it was freezing
in March), so that's my latest project.
Who's your favourite racing
hunk?
I used to think Matt Llewellyn was quite cute,
especially after he helped load my bike onto my trailer
after one of the Ducati Ladies Days! It's probably got
to be Ben though, although he needs to lose those side-burns! |
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2004 is Loz's first season. |
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