be careful out there this weekend, especially if you are out in derbyshire, the police are waiting for you! [small plates, black visors, noisy exhausts = points and fines], you have been warned!, like the prodigy said, fuck 'em and their laws.

ducati 250 at mallory park, 'festival of a 1000 bikes', bloke had stuck a piece of duck-tape to his tank to remind him which way to change, after my recent excursion at cadwell i'm considering reversing my linkage and going to 'race' pattern, one up, four down, i kept selecting a box-full of neutrals especially third to fourth changes.....

BMCRC MZ 250 Cadwell Park 24/08/09

bmzrc racing at cadwell park, 24/08/09, think your fast?, get out on the track with this lot and find out www.bmzrc.org.uk

clarky, #6, over the mountain at cadwell, amazing.

one of the 'zedders wag's at the recent cadwell meeting, mint.

............5.30 am and i'm awake, dangerous is snoring gently so i grab my wash bag and towel and walk through the deserted paddock, it's a lovely morning, the clouds are thinning and there's some sunshine starting to break through, i shower and shave and make my way back to the tent, van open, brew on, i pass dangerous a mug of tea and walk back to one of the catering van's to score us a couple of fried egg cobs, i pay the lady and get my morning practice pass from the race office, dangerous is up now and we sit in the warm sunshine chowing down, des is up and about, apparently he called round for us last night for a beer but we were dead to the world, dangerous makes us another brew and we sit and chill in des's awning, the paddock slowly comes to life and before long we are out for morning practice, the track is dry now and i know which way it goes which is always a bonus, the bike is running great and i feel a lot better today, back in the paddock des gives me a few pointers, 'you need to hit coppice the left-hander at the end of the start and finish straight in fifth boyo, don't change down, the hill will slow you down enough for charlies one, then, drop into fourth at the apex of charlies two', morning practice goes well and the first race is called, sidecar's first, powerbikes and then us, i get my kit on, the bike starts easily and we make our way to the holding area, sighting lap, race, brilliant, i'm 17th again but more significantly i'm 2.5 mph a lap faster and a massive 7 seconds a lap faster, race three and i'm 19th but this time everyone finishes, no fallers but again i'm faster by 1.5 mph and another second a lap, mission accomplished, i got three races in, i didn't come last
and i was getting quicker, honda aren't going to be knocking on my door and offering me a works ride but it was never about that, i'm having a laugh and enjoying what i'm doing, me and dangerous bought a 300 quid knacker and turned it into something that i can ride around the best circuits in britain, the lad's in the club are great, no ego's, good crack and everyone helps you out, i'm living the dream me, roll on snetterton!

.......wipe the bike down, down to the bar for two pints, we watch the last two races and have a meal in the clubhouse, can't be arsed to cook, we walk the circuit, first impressions?, narrower than a narrow thing, very technical, very up and down, i have a lot to learn, i'm riding like i ride on the road, i need to use all the track and forget the last 35 years of road riding, we drop the bike back into the tent, a couple of can's and discuss the day's events, it's getting cold, 9.30pm and we call it a day, into my sleeping bag and i'm reading the 'zed newsletter by head-torch, i'm gone, lights out.

my nerves are shredded now, 'attention paddock, attention paddock.......' i half expect the bike not to start, it does, i follow des down to the holding area, we get a round of fucks for riding through the scrutineering area, 'row 7, 16' says the marshal, the noise is unreal, i close my visor to block it out, my eyes are streaming with the fumes from the two strokes, i ride down to the start line, sighting lap and form up on the grid, watch the starter, he coils the flag and points at the lights, the red light comes on, five seconds and it goes out, bang, acceleration, you could throw a coat over us, first corner and it's mayhem, bikes on the grass, someone is off, i get caught in the back of my leg with a footpeg or boot or wheel or whatever, this is what it's all about,i get lapped by the leaders twice, there's 20 starters and i end up 16th, i'm second from last and as i get the flag i'm whooping, i feel like i've won, it doesn't get any better than this, fuck!

fuck, fuck, fuck, des looks at me and shakes his head, dangerous is shouting 'bastard' at the bike, i join in like it's going to make a difference, the 'zedder's make their way to the holding area, i throw my lid on the floor and change out of my leathers, bike on the paddock stand and i whip the plug out again, no spark, whip the pvl ignition off and brian rogers takes it off me and drops it on his test rig, broken, frigging wire, bastard, crimp it back on and stick it back on, it starts first time.....

........i get four lap's in, the track is still very wet all the way through hall bends down to the hairpin and barn corner where the trees overhang the circuit, i've been doing my homework the previous week, got some on bike footage off 'youtube', the superbike footage is just too fast to take it in so i got a scooter race up and watched that, what 'youtube' doesn't prepare you for is how up and down the track is, it's like a bloody rollercoaster!, i try and learn some of the lines through the corners by watching the yam boys but to tell the truth i have all on just to concentrate on keeping the bike on two wheels, the flag comes out and i make my way back to the paddock, dangerous is waiting, bike up on the stand and leathers off, i mash and we go around the bike checking it over, the next two hours go really quickly and des is giving me the nod to get ready, kit on, bike off the stand and we decide to start it using our 'bench' method, dangerous plugs the drill into des's genny, takes out the rubber bung in the case to give access to the crank nut, cover off the carb, kill switch off, fuel on and press the trigger, it fires instantly and i push the bike over the mud and wet grass onto the paddock road, i'm blipping the throttle evenly and the motor sounds good, then it just dies.........

........push, push, push, nothing, down to the holding area, marshal scans my transponder, i see the rest of the lads making their way onto the circuit, 'one more go mate, that's it', says the marshal, i push the bike back up the hill, dangerous is pushing like a madman, nothing, 'sorry mate, that's it' say's the marshal, i dismount and push the bike back to the van, i'm gutted, leathers off and we set to trying to find the fault, barse and gordy turn up, kettle on, steve cannon, my tuner arrives, i take the plug out and drop it on the cylinder head, no spark, new plug, try again, no spark, fiddle with the wires to the pvl ignition and bingo, spark, crimp the wire and the bike starts, rest of the 'zedder's back now, i need to qualify or i can't race, i make my way down to the office to plead my case and meet chris rogers, he's one of the top men in the series, 'here you go mate, i've boxed it off with bemsee, your'e out in qualifying with the yamaha past masters class, get back and get your kit on quick!', i sprint back to the van, leathers on and make my way to the holding area, andy saunders, another 'zedder who is leading the championship is also waiting to qualify along with another guy on the 'renta racer', we shake hands and wait until the yam boys join the track, the marshal waves us forward, this is it then.......