Race Report - Cadwell Park 25th April 2004 (Bemsee)
I'm a bit behind with my reports at the
time of writing this, so it's a test of my memory as to what happened this
weekend. What I do remember is that it was sunny and warm for the Friday
practice and Saturday races, but then it turned wet and dull for the
Sunday......very wet as I remember!
I'd booked onto the Friday afternoon practice session not least of all to get
used to the new chicane, but also to familiarise myself with the track
generally. It was August 2003 when I last raced there and Cadwell is a
tight and twisty circuit you need to practice on to get the best out of
it. So we got there about midday on the Friday and began to set up.
I'd just bought a new awning (bloody huge thing 8M x 4M) and this was the first
time it had even been out of the box, but it didn't help that I'd left the
instructions behind so we were doing it by guesswork! Anyway, it turned
out to be not that difficult and it was soon up, albeit looking empty as just
one bike and a bit of kit does get a little lost in there!
Nothing spectacular to report about the Friday practice sessions, other than
first time out it seemed as though I was riding a circuit I'd never been on
before. I seemed to have forgotten each and every turn and as for the new
chicane, well forget it.....I was useless! I came back in and thought it
might be that I was a bit tired after the journey up and certainly I lacked
concentration, so I had some lunch and tried to pick myself up, which worked.
By the end of the day I felt good and I'd sussed the new chicane (or at least
could get through it without falling off), but my laptimes were 1.50's and were
nothing to write home about. I needed to get quicker!
Saturday Races
With the Oulton Park crash and the disastrous first race meeting at Pembrey
behind me, my principal objective for this weekend was to stay on and get some
confidence in the bike, so I didn't really care much about where I was gridded
or the results for that matter.....just stay on and learn! As it turns
out, I was gridded 26th for the first of the SS400 races and was quite looking
forward to getting underway despite being so far back. I don't remember too
much about it now, but I had some great dices with Moose (Deb Cartwright, NC35)
and Dave Harviek (NC35), sandwiched between them and finishing in 15th place and
pretty pleased.
Next up was the 400-650 Minitwins Shootout, which is just a one race per day
event. I was gridded 31st and didn't really stand much of a chance of
getting up with the leaders for this race. That said, I finished in 20th
place so it wasn't too bad and it meant I would get a better start for the
second race the next day. Other than that, it was fairly uneventful.
The second SS400 race was much the same as the first and I was battling with the
same people. I seemed to be quick through Gooseneck, Mansfield, ok through
the new chicane and I was faster than most people through Coppice and Charlies 1
& 2 (the latter being a corner I suffered with last year, so that's an
improvement), but I was losing time through the Woodlands and on the brakes into
and through Park Corner. I didn't improve in these areas much all weekend,
so will need to for the Derby Phoenix meeting in May and especially so for the
Bemsee/MRO weekend in August. I finished the race with an improved 12th
place and my laptimes had dropped to consistent 1.48's so getting better.
Also, I was the first Honda finisher in this race, which was nice.
Sunday Races
It started raining at midnight Saturday and didn't stop or let up at all......in
fact it didn't stop until we were back in the Midlands on Sunday evening!
Now, wet races aren't my forté and I was even more concerned as this was only
supposed to be a weekend of getting to learn about the bike and (most
importantly) keeping it upright, but I decided to give it a go and put the wets on ready
for practice. Before I knew it I was in the holding area and it was then
that as I looked around to see every other rider wearing breath guards, I
remembered that I hadn't got mine. I didn't think it would be too bad, but
as soon as I put my visor down it misted up and it just got worse as I went
round the circuit to the point that I simply couldn't see a thing! Oh
well, at least it's only practice....
I fixed my Foggy breathguard to my helmet and went out for the first race (the
first SS400 of the day). It was still tipping it down. All seemed ok
at first, but unfortunately the Foggy didn't really help that much and half way
through the warm up lap the visor started to mist up again.....I really must
sort this out for next time! I was gridded 12th from my result the day
before and as the lights went out I got a reasonable start, but was cautious
around Coppice and Charlies in the water logged track. I got passed a few
times, but carried on and watched with fear for my own sake as bikes
skittled off at what seemed to be every corner and in particular Park. By
now, the standing water was so bad that riders were aqua planing down the main
straight. I just kept going and if anybody wanted to come past they
were welcome! There was no point in me pushing as I could hardly see a
thing and was having to hold my visor away from helmet down the straights to
allow some wind to clear it.....not much fun at over 120mph! To my
surprise, I eventually finished 12th and got back into the pits in fits of
laughter at the craziness of the whole thing!
The next race was the 400-650 Minitwins Shootout. I tried to fix the Foggy
a bit better, but as I lined up on the grid the visor misted again and I knew
that I was in for much of the same for this race as well. The race itself
was the usual blur you get when you start 20th on the grid and all I can
remember is just concentrating hard to stay on and finish. To my surprise,
I actually finished the race in 11th place behind Moose, who got a very deserved
10th place.
I didn't bother with the last SS400 race. The weather was still as bad as
it had been all day and bearing in mind the objective for the weekend was to get
some practice and above all stay on, I decided to call it a day and we packed up
and went home. All told, I think it was the right decision!