First up for the day was the Allcomers and I was listed in the programme for Heat Two.  I picked out row 3 from the bucket in the holding area and was the first on that row to grid me 9th, although looking ahead at the other two rows there were lots of blank spaces so in reality I was more like 6th!  When the lights went out, I got a good start and headed for the first bend with just Darren Bellworthy and another rider in front of me and I passed them both to take the lead instantly.  Anybody who knows me will say that I'm not a fan of the wet by any means, but I know from the wet meeting I was at with New Era in May that Oulton Park is actually quite grippy in the wet and it didn't take too long for my confidence to start building.  As the race went on I concentrated on the job of staying on and staying in front, the weather being pretty horrible and lots of standing water around.  The conditions worsened considerably on the last lap, with the rain now torrential and the wind gusting very hard blowing the bike off line, so I took a look behind to see how much threat I was under.  I was surprised to see there was nobody behind me and taking another couple of glances to make sure, I backed off a little to make the last lap a little safer and took a comfortable win by over 17 seconds!

The rain was still persistent and heavy at times for the start of the first Formula 600 race and I was more than a little apprehensive about it to say the least!  Mick Daly is a very good rider in the wet (and the dry for that matter!), so staying with him was going to be tough, let alone challenging for the lead.  The lights went out and it was me and Mick to make the first corner, with him leading.  The pace was electric right from the off and in the first lap I knew we were up for a battle, this being he quickest I've ever ridden in these conditions, but I wasn't going to let Mick get away.  For the next three laps I was tucked up right behind him and was working out how I might make a challenge, possibly through Hizzy's Chicane and up through Clay Hill and into Druids where I was just that little bit quicker and I actually managed to get a wheel alongside him a couple of times, but it was nothing good enough to make a pass.  We battled on and then on lap 4, Mick took a look behind after Old Hall Corner and could see me up his chuff!  This obviously fired him up and he immediately started to gap me, putting a second between us despite my best efforts to reel him in at my stronger points on the circuit.  For the last lap, we came across a backmarker through Old Hall and Mick managed to get past him through the corner ok, leaving me to pass him through Dentons and into Cascades.  Then just as I was apexing Cascades, I saw Mick's bike go down on the exit.  I couldn't believe it and was absolutely gutted for him.  I looked across when I came over Hill Top and could see him up and walking so I was a little more relieved, but I was still quite upset about the whole thing....Mick is a good friend as well as a good competitor and you just don't want to see that happen.  At Hizzy's Chicane, the marshals were indicating to me that I had a big gap and to slow down, so I backed off quite a bit and took the win by nearly 34 seconds at the finish!  However, this was not one I particularly celebrated and I came across the line in a somber mood with barely a raised hand to signify the win.

The conditions for the second Formula 600 race had improved a little, but it was still wet and light rain/drizzle.  We had a couple of false starts with Mark Talbot crashing on the warm up lap and a start line incident involving Jeff Cosby (both of which I understand were not badly hurt), so it ended up on the second restart as just a 4 lap race.  This was a good thing, as with Mick stuck on the back of the grid and it not being so easy to past in these conditions, a short race suited me!  We eventually got going and I went straight off into the lead and concentrated on getting a couple of quick laps in to make a break, knowing that Mick would be charging through.  As I came out of the Shell Oils hairpin each time, I could see him battling through, but I knew there wouldn't be enough time for him to catch me and I made sure I focussed on getting the bike back home safely to take another win, this time by nearly 10 seconds.  I looked back as we turned off the circuit to see who was 2nd and I saw John Robb and then Mark Whiston (who rode to an excellent 3rd after a good solid 4th in the first race....good to see Mark back on form again), but no Mick Daly. 

When I got back to the garage, I heard he had fallen again on the last lap and was up at the Medical Centre.  I made my way up there and found out he was ok, apparently arguing with the ambulance crew that he didn't want any treatment....sounds typical Micky!  I caught up with him in the garage when he got back from the Medical Centre and whilst he looked physically ok, he had a vacant look on his face like 'the lights are on, but there's nobody home' so went to lie down for a while!  I've spoken to him since and he's all ok, so that's good news.