Preparation time was very limited by work and home commitments, which was lucky as there was not much that needed doing apart from checking valve adjustment, changing oil, raising the gearing to 17/44 (from 17/46 at Pembrey), and fitting a different rev counter - the venerable white face Veglia stopped at Pembrey, and it appeared to be something inside that had failed. Luckily I had a Smiths 10k 4:1 that I'd taken off my road bike a few years back, and I just happened to have kept the cable for it. I looked at the rear tyre and it is probably too shredded at the sides.
Left home late as usual as work expanded to keep me in Reading till after 6, and then the builder needed to talk about joist hangers for an hour or so. Finally got underway by 9.30 for the drive up to Lincolnshire, with a stop in Oxford to wish my Mother a happy birthday, and another for a MacD before getting on the M1 at Northampton.
Pulled into the very full paddock at about one, parked up, unloaded and slept. Bit bl$$dy cold, and a little rain overnight as well
All dry in the morning and still cold, but nothing a cup of tea couldn't fix. Formalities completed and ready for practice session 2. Practice 1 red flagged. Everything slips. Eventually we're under way and I do 4 laps of this wonderful circuit in very mixed company - I'm sure there is some logic to the allocation of bikes to practice sessions, but I can't work it out. There's a little clutch slip on lap 1, but it goes as the oil heats up.
Check fuel, re-check tyre pressures, worry about everything, including the rear tyre (very ragged edges), and wait for race 2. It's a long time coming as more people crash out or break down during practice, and collection and cleaning up takes time. Eventually we're called.
Well blow me: gridded 2! Dave Hamlett at 1 is another mid-field racer so I have good chance of being first into the first left hander.
Flag drops and the little Duke gets off well as usual
Great start does indeed see me first through most of the first corner until I change down for Charlies 1 (duh: not from a standing start as you're already in 4th...) and Mike Smith takes me on the outside. I hold a decent second placed up Park straight and round Chris curve. At the Gooseneck Mike is about 30 yards ahead and high-sides it on the way out, landing in a pile of dust and bike. Back in the lead!!! Mansfield's OK. The chicane, not so good. I back off unnecessarily before the right hander at the Mountain, but have a good Woodlands section as usual. Barn I *always* get wrong, taking the entry way too slow and usually too early; this is no exception. 3 pass me just after the S/F.
The process repeats for the rest of the race, but I keep the leaders in sight all the way and stay quite close to the two in front of me, and the back does get a bit lively in a couple of places. Tyre is gone. There's a small highlight as someone takes me on the inside going into the Mountain and I find myself pointing at the grass way later than I should be, so I just throw it over and round it goes. This bike will do much more than I ask of it....
Finish 8th, best lap 2.00.7. So near.... (Winner does a 1.52 and the 250 Euro lap record is 1.50.5 on a Ducati)
Take the rear wheel to Ken Inwood and he agrees the tyre is well past it. He fits a new one.
Lunch.... one of the pleasures of being away from the family is Forbidden Foods. This time it's sardines on toast. Forgotten how much I like them!
Gridded 8th. Good start and make up a place round Charlies. But going up Park straight it seems a little hesitant, almost missing. Back off the throttle a tad and it's better. Race continues, hardly using full throttle, and I finish 10th.
Back in the paddock I check the battery - 11.5 under load, so it's not that. Go to check the carb and notice that it isn't actually attached.... held in place by the fuel pipes! That would explain it.
Fiddle around with the mounting rubber, the spare one and the hose clips until I'm happy that it's firmly held
Buy stuff to barbecue, blag space on one, consume beer and wine and talk bolleaux till silly o'clock.
Wake up at 8 ish. Three cups of tea restore equilibrium
3rd row. Warm up is fine. Back to the grid. Flag up, give it some revs. Flag drops, full throttle and it stops. Just like that. Just as if the ign has been turned off. Arm up, I sit very still and get three feet narrower as the whole paddock full of bikes screams past 2 inches from my elbows. After they've gone I try to start it - nowt. Push it off the circuit and try again. Then look down to see the carb hanging right off!!!!!
Sit there next to a Swedish guy with a dead battery. After the race a van comes and collects the Swede, but there's only room for one. Borrow a screwdriver and re-fit the carb. Head for the paddock after the next race.
Use of wider hose clips to hold the carb rubber in place is suggested. One of those fine suggestions of the blindingly obvious that hasn't occurred to you. I find I have some and fit them. Much more secure!
Talking of Swede's there's loads of Scandinavians in the paddock: Fins (two thousand miles to race at Cadwell?), Danes, Swedes and several of each. There's French and German too. Apparently the meeting is part of a European championship thing.
Gridded 34, next to Mike Smith, who in every race is either in the top two or crashes out. Guess what it was last race....
Great start and I'm 17th across the line! (admittedly, there are some empty spaces on the grid) and I make up several more before catching up with a Swede. Mike Smith comes past on Park Straight. The Swede is holding me up round Chris curve but I can't see a way round (I know its just lack of aggression) and as we head towards the chicane the yellow flags start waving.
Yes, Mike Smith has binned it in the middle of the chicane (4 starts, 1 finish in 2nd.....)
All avoid him and it's back to chasing the Swede. He's not quite keeping pace with the two in front of him, and he's still holding me back. Lap 3 I keep it pinned between Charlies 1 and 2 and tip in to Charlies 2 later, coming up nicely on hs inside on the exit. Slip into 5th and it's not there... Try again and all's well but I've lost momentum and have to tuck in behind. Haven't got enough speed on him to get along side round Chris curve, but down the hill to Mansfield I stuff it up the inside and take him on the brakes into the corner. Hold him off the rest of the way and beat him by a couple of seconds, with the next two places only 4 sec away.
Very happy!!
Go see him in the paddock - beautifully prepared bike, and he invites me to go racing in Sweden. The wife has always been nagging me about going to Sweden...
10th place. Best lap 2.01.9 If I could get Barn sorted out I could get under 2 min.
Next year..
In the King of Cadwell race on Sunday, Lea Gourlay won and set a new CRMC lap record of 1m39.189s on a Summerfield Manx Norton .