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2005 Season Review |
Wow! What a fantastic and hugely successfully season it turned out to be!
I had three main objectives at the start of the 2005 season; to be competitive in all of my race entries, to not crash and to finally win a race. Well, I’m pleased to say that I achieved all three and in addition, won the Derby Phoenix 2005 Formula 400 Championship as well! Click here for the full season results and reports.
I actually had no intention of competing in a full championship at the start of the season and certainly didn’t think I could win one. In fact, I’d only decided to race with Derby Phoenix so much during the early part of the season because they were holding their races at so many tracks I had not been to and wanted to experience. Croft, Anglesey and Snetterton were all places I’d never been to before and the club favourites like Cadwell Park and Oulton Park made them a natural choice for me, at least for any meetings at those circuits. In contrast, when I looked at the NG and Bemsee calendars, there were few meetings I wanted to compete at and whilst there were many old favourites like Donington, Thruxton and Pembrey, I don’t particularly have any desire to race at Brands Hatch Indy (basic, expensive and too far away) or Silverstone National (flat, uninspiring and slippery, with a Mickey Mouse chicane!).
The first meeting of the season for me was the NG meeting at Pembrey. I’m not actually that much of a fan of the Welsh circuit and predictably didn’t do particularly well there that weekend. I finished with some fairly ordinary results (compared with the rest of the season) and a best placed 7th. I did improve on my 2004 laptime by 3/10ths of a second to a 1:05.78, but this is still very average and didn’t give me any confidence that I could compete at the front. However, the overriding tragedy of this weekend was the untimely death of Miles Tripp in a startline incident. RIP Miles.…...sadly missed.
Not too long to wait before I got to Croft with Derby Phoenix and a new circuit to learn. I didn’t know there was a Friday practice, so first time out was a bit tricky, but I enjoyed it and found myself running top 6 all weekend and in some good company (Mike Saunders and Steve Smith to mention just two). It was at this meeting that we also met up with Davo, Benzo and the rest of the crew we would spend the rest of our season with.
Next up was Anglesey and another first time at a circuit for me. This time I did book myself on the Friday trackday and it reaped rewards for me in the races. The circuit is short, tight and twisty and suited the RVF very well, in fact, probably better than many of the other 400’s on the grid. I improved all weekend and was on the podium for every race, the best result (and the best in terms of racing) was my second place in the last race, when I finished just 0.13 of a second behind Steve Smith. All of a sudden I was starting to gain confidence in the bike and realise that I could be competitive.
Come the first of the Derby Phoenix Cadwell rounds I was gaining in confidence, but very nervous about a good result as this wasn’t a circuit I did very well at in 2004. Again, the Friday practice proved worthwhile and I improved my laptimes by over 3 seconds, so was then confident of a good finish. In fact, I was only off the podium once and the weekend’s results consolidated my second place in the championship, albeit this was still not a feature of my season ambitions. A week later we were back at Cadwell with NG and I secured my first race win. I didn’t race on the Saturday as Lesley was unwell and had to go to hospital, but on the Sunday everything was going well and I was on the pace (oh and Lesley was ok!). The first race went well and I got a second place, but it was the second race of the day that I got the win. This was the Open 400 Qualifier and I started 10th on the grid, but quickly got up to the front. I remember going around the outside of James Cox at Coppice to take the lead was good, but I’ll never forget that moment going over the line in first place for the first time! It was fantastic and at a circuit that up until this season I hadn’t done too well.
| By the time Derby Phoenix got to Donington, I was starting to think quite seriously about the championship. I was 40 points behind Steve Smith, but some good results there would put me within reach of the lead. I did a track day a couple of days before and the bike felt great, lapping 1:19’s by the end of the day. Come race day and I was fired up, having some great battles with Steve and the Frear brothers, but the best I could manage was a couple of 2nd places, meaning that the gap was increased to 50 points and those thoughts of the title were slipping away. As for the laptimes, the pace was really hot and both Steve and me were running 1:18’s with the Frear's not too far behind. That’s quick on a 400! |
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So, going to Mallory in July I thought any chance of the title was gone and that Steve would now build on his lead, leaving me with a second place at best. However, this was the meeting that changed both our fortunes! Steve had decided to do the Allcomers race on his Dad’s old Yamaha OW01 and being in heat three, it meant that he would have to quite literally jump off that bike straight onto his ZXR400. I lead that race from start to finish and with Steve only managing 3rd, the points gap closed a little. However, the real change of events came in the second F400 race as Steve briefly took the lead on lap 1 around Devil’s Elbow and then highsided badly, breaking his collarbone. I took third in the restart, just 0.01 second from Graeme Frear! Mike Saunders cleared off to win that one by a long way. |
Thoughts of the championship suddenly came back into mind and I was really fired up for Snetterton, despite this being another circuit I’d never seen before! I had a superb weekend and got two wins on Saturday and two 2nd places on Sunday after some great battles with the Frear brothers. I was now the new championship leader by 65 points! Now, this was something that I hadn’t realistically considered before the Mallory weekend, to the point where I had actually entered the NG Donington Park meeting on the Sunday of the next Derby Phoenix meeting at Cadwell in August (we were going to travel down on the Saturday evening). However, I was leading a championship now, so we had to change plans to stay at Cadwell…..luckily NG gave me a credit note for my Donington fees!
| The next round at Cadwell was a damp and torrid weekend, with the tragedy of Gareth Cutts killed in yet another startline incident. Nobody felt like racing much after this incident and we didn’t actually get out at all on the Saturday whilst the investigation took place. On the Sunday, I was just wanting to stay on and collect some points, preferably with Steve Smith behind me, but either way just finish. However, it was on the warm up lap of the first race that Steve highsided badly again and put himself out of the weekend’s races altogether. I finished 4th in the twice restarted first race, but this meant that with double points in the second race (to make up for the lack of Saturday races), all I needed to do was finish 4th or better to win the championship! I was a bag of nerves for that second race at Cadwell and all I could think about was just finishing, hopefully 4th or better. It turned out to be quite eventful, with several changes of leader (none of them me!) and a hatful of fallers up front, leaving me to finish 2nd and win the title. Crossing the line knowing I’d done it was another very special and unforgettable moment, although I’m not quite sure what the commentators or the spectators thought about my somewhat over the top celebrations! |
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The next two Derby Phoenix rounds were just going through the motions, especially Oulton Park where I was pretty poor and off the pace really. I was just back from holiday 4 days before though, so used that as my excuse! I faired better in the final round at Mallory and got a couple of 2nd places, although I was kicking myself a little as I had the chance a few times to take the lead in the second race. Going up to 600’s next year means I probably won’t get the chance of another win for a while, so maybe I should have pushed harder!
My final meeting of the year was with NG at Thruxton and it turned out to be a bit of a disastrous weekend. The RVF was up for sale and this was to be its last outing, but going into the chicane before the start/finish line on the last lap, I over revved it and tipped a valve, destroying the otherwise fantastically reliable and robust motor. Oh well, it’s gone to a good home now and I’ll be watching with interest next year to see how it gets on with its new owner……not better than me I hope!
So, the highlights of my 2005 season are many and there have been some poignant moments too. Wining the Derby Phoenix 2005 Formula 400 Championship has to be the highlight, but my first race win at Cadwell Park was also special and I still can’t believe that I managed to complete the year without crashing and without any DNF’s…..incredible! I’ve carried the number 4 of Miles Tripp on my bike all year and I’m sure he’s been looking down on me and kept me upright…...keep it up for next year Miles! On that note, the low points of the season were definitely the tragic deaths of Miles Tripp and Gareth Cutts, as well as Ross Paine and the many others this year. It is truly sad when a fellow competitor loses his life doing what we all love so dearly and lets hope that in 2006 we do not have a repeat of what seems to have been a bad year for the sport in 2005.
Finally, I have to say a massive thank you to my long suffering and very understanding girlfriend, Lesley. She comes along to every practice and every meeting to look after me and make sure I’m properly fed and watered, as well as mucking in and helping to prep the bike, change wheels and remind me to do things like tyre pressures and refuelling! Thank you Lesley and let’s hope that 2006 can be as enjoyable a season as last year!
A quick mention also for young Alex, who at the tender age of 7 is eager for his first motorbike........you never know, if we could ever teach him to ride his pedal cycle he might become the next Valentino Rossi!
See you all out there again soon………
 Me and the bike with the collection of 2005 trophies |
 Collecting the Championship trophies presented by Rob McElnea |
