Wednesday March 28, 2007
Jen Crosby's Racing BlogBlogging my first race season.... |
Wednesday March 28, 2007
Lydden Hill - report coming soon i'm in the process of moving house at the moment, and I don't have internet access at the new place yet, so please bear with me, I'll be doing the writeup soon! A short summary would be - rubbish weekend. :o( ( Mar 28 2007, 07:37:11 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkWednesday March 21, 2007
Finally! Race Report - Brands Indy I can't believe it's nearly time to set off for Lydden when I haven't even managed to do this write up for Brands yet! My life has been somewhat hectic recently, so I just haven't had time to do it, I apologise. So, the first round of the year. I
spent all winter begging for the time to go quicker, I wanted to get
back to the paddock and onto that grid so badly, and finally it was
time again. As previously mentioned, I was somewhat gutted that I
hadn't got a spot on the practice day, but that did give me a few
freedoms I wouldn't otherwise have had. I spent Friday cleaning the
bike, getting new tyres fitted, changing the gearing and other little
maintenance tasks which I could carry out at my leisure instead of
having to rush about. No bad thing at all. I was sharing a garage
with all my friends – the LP racing guys, Oli, Pat, Aaron and the
Palmers, and James next door, and it was great to actually be there
with them instead of traipsing up the paddock for a natter every 5
minutes ;o) Red also came along for the whole weekend, driving up
with me in the van on Thursday night, and she was her usual superstar
self all weekend helping me with tyre warmers (apart from when she
burnt my front one out Saturday morning arrived in no time as usual, and I was dying to get out for practice, seeing as I hadn't actually done a lap around Brands since December! The session went ok – I was putting in vaguely decent times and I felt alright on the bike. I did feel distinctly like I'd missed out not riding the day before though – Saturday's session is usually just a tidy up from the day before, just getting those last minute concerns out of the way, but it felt like I had so much to do in so little time. With all the practice I was going to get now over, I was definitely looking forward to the racing, even though we were pretty late in the program and it wouldn't be for hours yet. I was gridded 18th out of about 30-ish riders, so was fairly happy with that. The usual race fear was kicking in good and early over lunch, and I was really itching just to get on with it. Finally we were called to collecting, and I sat on my mock grid spot with that familiar feeling of excitement mingled with trepidation. I'm not sure I really had any kind of plan together, I really just wanted to finish the race in one piece and try and get into the 55s with my laptimes. My fastest last year was a 54, so if I could manage 55s in the first round of the year I'd be happy. The scary thing is the boys at the front are doing 51s!! Not that I needed concern myself with what they were doing, my race was going on way back behind them. My start wasn't too bad, and I spent the first few laps chasing and finally overtaking my old sparring partner from Clubman 400, Rob Pragnell. Looking back my riding was a bit laughable to be honest – I think I'd forgotten how to handle the hecticness of a race, and my laps were very ragged and inconsistent. I actually felt like I'd ridden a bit like an idiot to be honest, it's not my style to be like that at all! I put it down to the long break though, and assured myself that the next race would be better. I finished in 18th, and managed to get into the 55s, so I wasn't too unhappy with that. It felt like race
two was ridiculously late in the day. The sun was already getting low
in the sky making some of the corners a little blind on the entry!
I'd made sure I'd been eating and drinking plenty to try and combat
my usual appalling afternoon performance and I was actually feeling
pretty good as we formed on the grid for the race. I made a good
start, and by lap two I found myself on the tail of James Williamson,
who to my surprise I managed to pass. I knew he'd not like that
very much and would be right on my back wheel, so I concentrated on
putting in some good smooth laps to try and keep him at bay. It
seemed to work – I felt a lot more in control in that race, getting
my markers sorted and being consistent, so although I actually didn't
beat my previous race's lap time, I felt like I'd ridden better, and
given myself a better chance of beating it at some point over the
weekend. I finished the race in 15th – which I was very
chuffed with – my first championship point! Saturday night was
spent in the bar, as you might expect! It was a good night – we
watched Steve and Andy pick up their well deserved trophies before
grabbing some food and starting on the bar. The usual dancing and
messing about shortly followed Sunday morning I decided it would be a good idea to get out for practice, and I think it helped me get my head in gear ready for the days racing. Race one had me getting a pretty rubbish start off the line, and getting pushed to the inside of the track for Paddock Hill. I tipped in for the corner and found a bike smacking right into my leg as he tried to pass me up the inside! It stopped me from getting on the power early enough as the bike settled itself down, so I lost a few places, but no harm done. The race felt a little hectic – Pat Mills crashed out (for the third time this weekend, poor guy!) in a rather big one at Surtees, and Rob Pragnell went out at Druids a couple of laps later and both of those crashes seemed to put me off my stride more than I'd have liked. But Rob's crash enabled me to close on James again, which gave me a bit of incentive to try harder and catch him. I was doing really well – closing on the brakes at Paddock and Druids – something which I'd never seemed to be able to do before – and I was getting to the stage where I was thinking about where I was going to put my move on him, but then I made a stupid mistake at Graham Hill, and just seemed to drop off after that for some reason. I couldn't get back on the back of him in the two or so laps we had left, so had to settle for where I was. Final position 18th, but I managed to beat my Saturday morning time, even though it was still only in the 55s. Sunday afternoon –
my worst race of the weekend traditionally and this didn't
disappoint. I was really tired and although I tried really hard to
make sure my head was sorted, I don't think I really achieved it.
I found myself just settling into a comfortable rhythm in the race,
never pushing hard enough to make much ground and challenge myself.
I pulled in a little bit disappointed with myself to be honest.
Final position 21st Overall through the weekend, I actually really enjoyed myself. I can't tell you how great it is to be back out on the grid again! It's a whole new challenge this year, and although I realise I have a lot of work to do yet, I'm not unhappy with the start I've made. I really have missed racing the bike, rather than just riding track days, over the winter – there's nothing like a race to make you feel like you're really riding a bike. I think the only
bad thing I can say about racing in the SBK400 class is that I don't
get to see the fantastic racing that goes on at the front. By all
accounts the class delivered some first class battles as usual, and I
missed them all! Huge congrats to Steve and Andy Palmer for some
stunning results, this year is going to be a great one for you guys,
that's abundantly clear. Also massive well done to my fellow rookie
graduates Greg and Gary, who put in some stunning results for their
first non-rookie race. My condolences go out to Pat Mills though,
who sadly didn't finish a single race this weekend due to some bad
luck with the bike. It was heart-breaking seeing him constantly
fixing up the bike after showing in practice how dominant he was
likely to be in the races. Somehow I don't think he'll let that get
the better of him though! I'd like to just point out while I still
can though that I'm ahead of him in the championship at the moment.
Sorry Pat So, next, to Lydden.... ( Mar 21 2007, 08:30:31 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkThursday March 08, 2007
It feels like an awfully long time since I've posted about getting ready to set off for a race weekend! The van is packed, I'm on an early shift at work, and this afternoon I'll be making the oft-driven trek to Brands Hatch for round one. My first year in the Superbike400 class, this is going to be a year of learning - less about getting trophys and more about beating my lap times and personal targets. And how do I feel about it all? Well it's completely different to how I felt this time last year - back then it was the prospect of being out there for the first time, experiencing something new and incredible. This year, I pretty much know what to expect - I've ridden with many of the racers on track with me, and I know the kind of lap times they're doing. On the one hand I'm really positive about it all - racing with faster riders will undoubtedly help me to improve, and I really want that to happen, and I'm sure I'll have some fantastic races this year. On the other hand, I'm going to be further down the grid, something which I think might be hard to swallow for a while. It would seem that the psychology of the second year is very different to the first. It's all too easy to think negatively about how my riding will be, but I'm determined that I should remain positive and focused. I know I can improve this year and prove to myself that I can achieve my goals. More than anything else, as ever, I'm going to make sure I have the time of my life and love being out there, and to be honest, I don't think I'll have too much trouble remembering that. Being around the paddock, hearing the bikes, it just sweeps me up in it all and I'm totally under it's spell again. Racing, as Rob so often reminds me, is ace. ( Mar 08 2007, 07:42:52 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [1]Wednesday March 07, 2007
Oh - I ought to mention, I've changed race numbers for this year. I'm now #34 instead of #43. Look after #43 for me Steve - I'm sure you'll do it justice ( Mar 07 2007, 09:43:43 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink
Uh oh. I had a call from the race office yesterday saying that there was no room for me on the Brands test day this Friday!! When Tracey told me my stomach just knotted - I *really* need the practice!!! My first race in the Superbike 400 class, having not ridden in anger around Brands for months, with a new front end on the bike too, and I don't get any more practice than the 15 minute session on Saturday morning! PANIC! Ok, so now I've had a chance to let that sink in a little, and having whinged at a lot of my friends who've tried to reassure me, I guess it could be worse (somehow). At least I know Brands, better than any other circuit, and at least I have had *some* testing at Lydden. It also means I can spend Friday doing some of the stuff to the bike that I would otherwise have had to do on Thursday night. And I've saved about £100. And the forecast looks rubbish. Not to mention, there's nothing I can do about it anyway. I really need to learn to have some confidence in my ability, and be positive. Thank you to my friends for reminding me of that. ( Mar 07 2007, 09:39:12 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkTuesday March 06, 2007
After spending an evening at Toby and Ale's house on Friday night, the three of us set out for Lydden just after 6am. It's a long old trek down there, but we made it in pretty good time, and found ourselves at Lydden with time for a tea and a spot of breakfast before having to get out on track. It was very quiet as test days go, and thankfully we had no problem getting power for the tyre warmers and battery chargers; we were just hoping that it stayed dry as we didn't have a gazebo to shelter in! Despite it being absolutely freezing, the weather seemed like it was going to play ball, and we didn't get any rain throughout the day. I wasn't exactly nervous about testing, but I was concerned that I would need to put in some effort to try and at least *feel* like I was riding half decently. The first session was pretty slow - for one the track was stone cold meaning the grip was fairly bad, but also I just wanted to ease myself in a little. I pulled in from session one feeling ok, but I seemed to have forgotton how to use the brakes with anything other than a pathetic weedy and way-too-early effort. So that was aim number one for session two - set the braking markers and move them forward each lap. Brake hard!! The next couple of sessions were better, and I slowly wound up my speed and gradually got better on the brakes. I was trying to get on the throttle harder through Chessons Drift, the long right hander, and trying to make sure my body position was half decent. By the final session before lunch I was feeling much more confident, and I had a fantastic session having a good race with some of the other riders on track. That session finally gave me a little re-taste of what it's like to race - that need to get ahead of the guy in front, or get back the rider who just overtook you. I chased hard and made some good overtakes, and generally felt a lot better about the prospect of racing again! After lunch the sidecars joined the parade, with them going out in the first session. And sadly, one of them dumped oil all the way round Chessons Drift. By now the sun was out, and I was really getting into it, but that oil really put me right off my stride! It was reasonably avoidable, but it was just at the point where you want to get the power down in the corner, and the oil's presence meant that had to be delayed slightly. I just couldn't seem to get my head round it very well for some reason. I pulled in early from that session, having completed maybe 8 laps, and I did the same in the following session. I think partly it was just that I wanted to finish on the high of my last session before lunch, but I was also pretty tired, and found myself losing concentration. I really didn't want to be crashing the weekend before the first race! I skipped the final session and started to pack up just as it started to rain... All in all not a bad day, and it certainly gave me some much needed faith that I could actually still ride a bike. Big thanks to Toby and Ale for putting me up for a couple of nights, and well done to Toby for a really successful day's testing - you looked great out there!
( Mar 06 2007, 08:29:55 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink |
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) and paddock stands and generally keeping
my head together and keeping me calm.
