Nice circuit, great position, bit windy, shame it's 250 miles from Oxford
Clashed with the Post TT at Mallory, so there was a poor turn out, which meant 2 practice sessions and grids were far from full, so a possibility of some points!
I'd guessed at 15/45 gearing and it seemed good enough
First race, pole, as if I'd know what to do with it!
John Hynes managed to lose it in the warm up, so that was one less person to lap me. Fair start and passed by several by the first corner and settle down to chase one i thought i could stay with and did. Not a clue how to take the right hander at the end of the pit straight (School corner i think), but start to get Douglas Out together. Radar complex is a complete mystery. Get passed and manage to retake a couple of times. Just beginning to get the idea of this overtaking business. Finish 6th!!! 10.13 Best yet, with a best lap of 1.00.08. 7th and 8th had quickest laps of nearly 2 sec better, so i must have been doing some appropriate holding up
2nd race DNS, as I'm out of range of the PA trying to get a mobile signal to call the kids. Words were exchanged with the team manager and his attention to the detail of the programme was called into question. Situation exploited - the kids now know that they are so important i missed a race just to call them. Well, they believed it for a second or two
Sunday, Race 3. Chap who'd been running a goldie at the DOCGB track day last year wandered up and offered to show me what i was doing wrong at School corner. Managed to put it into practice and things felt much better round there, but the competition was much stiffer as several of the quick people had turned up. Back of the grid and took 2 places before the first corner and settled down to racing with the also-rans. I'd changed the carb slide and it was worse. 12th, 10.19, best lap 1.00.19
Race 4. Great start. into the 2nd right hander still in the middle of the bunch and Chris Wallace on another Ducati comes by really close on my left. Didn't even ask FFS! Just barged in! Well if he can go that quick, so can I, methinks. Keep close till the straight before the hairpin and the leading bunch is bunching a bit so I go up the inside of him and a Greeves. Chris just moves to the right to squeeze me out but at this point i must have lost my sense of fair play and i ignore him and take the 2 places and seem to be doing everything a bit quicker than before so stay in front till the hairpin where Chris and the Greeves come past. The Greeves drum can't cope and he goes straight on, but Chris gets through and I'm trying hard to stay with him. Half way round Douglas out he's 6 or 7 yards ahead when his back end breaks away and he's down. I really don't want to hit him and bottle out of holding the line, opick it up and go to his left onto the grass. Tyre walls are approaching a little too quickly and I think i touched the front brake. Scenery rotates and i get a glimpse of the bike pirouetting on it's front wheel.
Bother. Was in 7th or 8th, Chris had been lapping in the 57s region and I was keeping up. Honest
Broken screen, cracked tacho glass, bent clipon, steering stop and dented tank, sore wrist for a day or two.