Coyote at Pembrey and it's dry!

July 4, 2004 - The bike had been fitted out by Shelley with a new (second-hand) frame for this round, a new EBC race clutch and fresh paintjob. The colours were still the same but the whole bike looked really good. The bike was looking to be about the best we've had so far.

The weather forecast was quite variable but we all expected it to be wet and miserable. Nice surprise though being warm and sunny for both Saturday practice and the race on Sunday.

The team had a new rider, Simon Taylor, for this round. Simon currently competes in the Sound of Thunder class on an Aprilia.

Saturday practice showed up a couple of problems in the first session. The new clutch was slipping and the bike was very unstable. We tried a couple of solutions with the clutch after borrowing parts from GB Moto, but still had the problem. Simon and Pete had the bike on it s side changing and checking the clutch. Obviously the EBC race clutch is not up to the job so we will have to spend a bit more and buy standard Yamaha parts to be assured of a decent quality clutch.

The handling was a little more worrying as the bike s front end was very unstable turning into corners, especially the 120mph kink on the straight. We lost some practice time trying to fix the clutch, then spent some time trying to get a better base setting on the suspension. Simon and Shelley had most of the track time to get Simon used to the new bike and new circuit combination. I had one session then a short 5 lap blast to check the handling. By the end of the day we had run out of time and had most corners covered but still had an unstable front end into the fast kink and the exit onto the main straight. We had also decided to run with the slipping clutch in the hope that it would do t e complete race.

Sunday qualifying went as well as could be hoped for, with the team starting the race from 20th position from my best lap of around 1:04.

Simon started the race and soon settled in to do consistent lap times. He knocked of a couple of seconds from his previous best. I went out for the second hour session and tried to keep in consistent lap times in the 1:04/1:03 s. The bike was borderline rideable with the front end and the
clutch slipping still present. Shelley went out for the third hour session and put in her normal consistent laps to complete the session. Simon was out next and rode well and consistently again. I went out for my second session, the fifth hour and had to work really hard to maintain consistent 1:04 laps with a rear tyre that was sliding badly at full lean. I had a couple of near moments and some nice long slides but otherwise uneventful. Shelley took the last session with a very worn rear tyre and maintained consistent lap times throughout the session.

The team finished 21st overall and 11th in class. As usual the pit crew did a superb job, but did miss Darren who unfortunately had a last minute problem that meant he could not make it to Pembrey. The teams thanks go the whole Coyote support crew and to our appointed marshal, Danny, for spending the day at the marshals post. Also a special thanks to the Moores team for sharing their awning and facilities with us.

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