Jen Crosby's Racing Blog

Wednesday 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 ) and paddock stands and generally keeping my head together and keeping me calm.

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 18^th 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 15^th – 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 21^st

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 )

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