Most expensive race of the season!

May 29, 2004 - Just before leaving Kailah said to me: "There's something wrong with the left wheel." I said "What?" She said: "I don't know, but there's something wrong."

There was nothing noticeably wrong so off we went. About 1/2 hour from the ferry port, I looked in the mirror and noticed smoke billowing out behind us. A second later I saw our caravan wheel go bouncing off a full 3 lane motorway narrowly missing a biker and causing cars to swerve all over the place! I somehow managed to get us safely over to the side of the road, in a matter of seconds and with sparks flying everywhere.

We got out of the van and saw that the grass had caught alight and the fire was spreading rapidly. Doing a comic "Cha-Cha" the fire was stamped out and we went to investigate what had happened. The bearing had seized and melted the caravan axle, causing the wheel to snap off. It was the left wheel (always trust your 6th sense in future)!!!!!!

Kailah started making calls to the ferry port to beg them to wait for us and was trying to get local garage numbers when the police turned up. He retrieved the wheel and apart from it being red hot, it looked fine and he also concluded that the culprit was a bearing.

We started loading what we could into the van until you could just about get an envelope in it. The tow truck turned up and we explained we had to make this ferry and he said just unhook the caravan and go - he didn't even want my credit card number!

We got to the ferry port and Kailah ran in pleading to let us on, saying we had a whole team waiting for us in Ireland and that we HAD to get this ferry. Fortunately, we were let on and after no eating all day we went and ate at about 11.00 p.m.

The whole day hit Kailah then and she got a major migraine, slept fitfully and awoke at 5.45 a.m. to drive from the ferry to Bishopscourt. We arrived about 8.30 and there was already a queue at the gates, which were locked! After numerous phone calls, we were told they should open at 9.00. The queue was getting longer with all the caravans/vans causing chaos on the local road but we waited until 10.30 for the circuit gates to be open!

Moore's racing allowed us to share their awning as we were unable to pack everything in the van, so we set about helping them get that up. Phill from Moore's arranged for us to stay in their B & B (in the hall on camp beds as all the rooms were booked) but at least it would be a place to stay. Practice went reasonably well, we went shopping and had a nice BBQ to finish the day.

Saturday dawned as the perfect day. Having expected rain, we were thrilled to see sunshine and warmth. We had one of our best qualifiers and were placed 16th on the grid out of 34. Mark decided to do another start for us. He had a brilliant start, sprinting across the tarmac like an Olympic racer.

Then disaster struck again on lap 2. An over exuberant racer took Mark out on the hairpin. The other rider carried on but Mark ended up in the gravel. He got the bike up and with no clutch, front or rear brakes, he miraculously rode the bike back into the pits, although the Moores pit crew had to physically stop the bike!

Apart from the clutch and brakes, we saw that the steering damper had come off as well. We didn't have a spare one, so the pit crew concentrated on repairing what they could. We were short 2 people on the pit crew, so Mark's dad, Richard, the Moores pit crew and even the scrutineers pitched in to get us back out on circuit. We had lost about 20 laps, but with all the help, it was much better than we had expected.

The bike's steering without the damper and on the bumpy, uneven circuit was going to be difficult and would make racing the R1 even more technical and tiring. Know this had still shaken by the crash, Mark got straight back on and went out. By this time, we were last but Mark rode a brilliant session and brought us up 4 places to 31st position with a fastest lap of 1.19.37.

I took over taking it easy to get used to the handling with the steering damper. I found that the handling was OK other than on the power coming out of corners where it tank slapped a lot requiring me to ride really smoothly. I had to rely on corner speed rather than power and doing this I set my fastest lap of 1.18.70 bringing the team's position up to 26th.

Shelly then took over after the pit crew adjusted the handlebars, which were still quite bent. After 3 laps, the race was red flagged for some 20 minutes requiring the riders to sit on the circuit while the incident was sorted. Once re-started, she rode well and smoothly, maintaining the team's position of 26th.

Mark went out for his second session and again got up to speed quickly. Coming down the start straight, however, the bike's handling took a nose dive and he had a massive tank slapper that left the entire pit wall gasping, fully expecting him to come off. His riding skills were at 110% and he managed to bring the bike under control. He set a fastest lap of 1.18.60 and picked up another place for the team.

I went out for his second lap and again relied on corner speed rather than power and set my fastest lap of the weekend at 1.17.93, the 10th fastest of the day and brought the team to 24th. Shelley took the final session and rode extremely well taking the chequered flag with a class finish of 8th and an overall finish of 24th for the team.

Although it was a hectic and expensive weekend, we felt this was a good finish considering we had effectively started last and we will still get class points for the meeting. Special thanks to our team for their consistent hard work and loyalty, to Mark's Dad, girlfriend and her brother for helping with the timekeeping (we had none) and with the pit crew and to Moores Racing who helped us with everything from pit crew work to accommodation and food.

For Kailah and I, the weekend will end up costing somewhere in the region of £2k once the caravan is fixed and retrieved, but it was priceless to see the team working and performing so well together. We are hoping to once again find sponsorship for Mark so that he can compete at the Pembrey round in June.
 

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