M.G.P. 2003 Practice Week - Wednesday Evening, 20th August 2003

Stuey had the bike all ready and lined up for scrutineering before I tipped up in the paddock…… he then set about fettling his own R6 Yamaha which he was lending to Iain Pattinson via Martin Bullocks team, as he had problems with the Bullock 750 Kawasaki…… all round good egg that Stuey bloke……… salt of the earth, Diamond Geezer…… Blah Blah…… etc etc.

Lined up in the holding area, as Stuey had tried to get me near the front again…… The weather forecast for the Thursday session wasn’t very good, so I wanted to get a good lap in tonight…… My target was to try and dip under the 19’ 30 second bracket, which would be 116mph +…… but really wanted to get to the 117mph mark…… had new boots on the bike, and it had now done 3 laps so it was time to give it some berries……

Saw that Ray Porter was starting 20 seconds ahead, and he turned round and clocked me…… he seems to usually have a steady first lap, then up his pace, whereas, I go from the off…… well that’s what you do in a race innit……

Started off with Stephen ‘Cargo’ Carr, but got a better start than him and haired off down Bray Hill…… its getting like I can do it in my sleep now…… not so scary when you’ve done it a few times…… but still hit the bottom with a thump and the customary wheelies ensued…… Had a wobble on over the jump down to the QB, but it didn’t faze me too much…… wobbled round Braddan Bridge and got me head down and try to put in a decent lap…… passed a couple through Glen Vine and Crosby then caught a bunch of three at Greeba Castle…… One of them was Jonathon Ralph on the MacaDoo 750 Kawasaki…… he went underneath somebody at Greeba Bridge and I followed, I got better drive and pulled alongside, he had more power, but he waved me in front, he had to roll it, bless him…… have to thank him for that, cause I could have been stuck behind for miles…… took Gorse Lea flat on the tank in 6th and headed off down to Ballacraine…… I used all of the road here, and took it pretty damn quick, and kept going…… passed the odd rider but no sign of Jackson or Porter who had started ahead…… was trying pretty hard and caught sight of two riders as I rounded Schoolhouse Corner in Ramsey…… Couldn’t really make out who it was till I got closer and saw that it definitely was Porter at the front and I thought that it was Jackson behind him because he had yellow leathers, but I think it was Liam Quinn on his 600cc mount…… got past Quinn at the Hairpin and set off after Porter…… caught him at Gutheries and said to myself, right, just sit behind and watch…… did just that and it was quite good fun and we were pretty close together, my bike was slightly quicker than his and he seemed to brake earlier than me, but his lines were very good and he’s impressive to watch…… watched at how he took the Verandah, and it was better than I had been doing, so just sat behind and slipstreamed him for a bit…… a couple of times he sat up earlier than I normally would and I had to stamp down an extra gear to scrub some speed off, and nearly showed him my front wheel at the Bungalow…… could have passed him a few times but was wondering what he was like everywhere else, and knew he’d be upping his game come the second lap, also thought that it would be fun to chase him down Bray Hill and the like…… Could have followed him all day at the pace we were doing and was starting to be in two minds, about getting past, because my big plan was to put in a hot lap and I felt like I could be going quicker, but was trying to learn something at the same time, as now doubt he’s a talent……… Watched as his bike squirmed braking for Sign Post Corner, the back end was weaving all over the shop, at least he was trying then………… Rounded Bedstead, and it was pretty much short circuit stuff and must have been good to watch, because it was good fun to be in. Coming out of Governors Dip he got better drive than me, as I reckon I’m ultra shite round there, but over the start/finish line I was right up his chuff…… hit the bottom of Bray Hill about 5 yards behind him and pulled a wheelie each, didn’t see how high he went cos I was looking at the sky…… wobbled round the QB and out into the country…… he was far better than me into Braddan Bridge, I was too busy watching what he was doing and wasn’t in the right line myself, but through Snugborough and Union Mills, I was slipstreaming him again, so much so I was rolling the throttle loads and was still doing the same speed…… this was handy…… saving fuel, as it seems to be a problem for everyone this week, using more fuel than normal for some reason. Was interesting to see that he took Ballagarey in 6th gear and was the fastest I’d followed on that dodgy corner into Crosby…… we took two very different lines at the top of the old Waggon & Horses pub, I always take the line that DJ did and Ray was on the opposite side of the road…… was a bit too close for comfort into Greeba Castle, but was still following him and felt very comfortable with it…… couldn’t believe how close to the wall he was at Doran’s Bend and there was no room for error there in my opinion, but it seemed to work for him as he was fast enough round it……… followed him up through the Glen Helen section and the yellow flags were being waved at Sarah’s Cottage, so we slowed to a crawl, I think it was a Ducati up against the hedge, then off we haired again…… got really good drive and up onto the Cronk-Y-Voddy Straight I thought that if I wanted to do my hot lap I’d have to get past and see if he could keep up……… pulled out of his slipstream and passed him…… hoped that I would now pull away…… straight away I felt more uncomfortable knowing that he was now slipstreaming me…… so kept my head down and kept trying…… rolled the throttle a couple of times when I shouldn’t have and was thinking all the while he would be catching me back up, when all the while he was right up my chuff…… decided on having a look behind me when I got to Sulby Bridge and he was about 2 yards behind ……mmmmmm haired round the Ginger Hall and was thinking that he might show me sommat through this section so after the jump at Kerromoar, pulled close to the hedge, slowed a good bit and waved him through…… he never came past so waved him through again…… then I had a look and he wasn’t there……… Shite! What happened to him??…… had to carry on regardless and did so, was trying hard and forgetting the things that I had learnt through the week and was sweating cobs…… got to the Waterworks and the Marshals were in the road waving Yellow and Oil Flags…… slowed and nodded to them, and wobbled round…… saw them tending to somebody by the side of the road, so looked away and carried on…… had a few looks behind me to see if Porter was anywhere, and he wasn’t…… but did think a couple of times he might be on my blind side…… didn’t see anybody else until I got to the Hillberry and went up the inside of a bloke just before the corner, was slightly wide at Cronk-Ny-Mona and the bike hopped around a bit, just managed to get it stopped for Signpost and then was pretty steady away, but pathetic again at Governors Dip…… haired across the line and pulled in…… Stuey refuelled me and had me back out before the cut off point and off I sped again…… Nearly overshot the QB, and got Braddan Bridge wrong again…… I had lost my concentration for some reason…… Really tried to settle down and took Ballagarey in 6th Gear, and no problems there…… noticed this time rounding the Crosby Corner, when I banked the bike over onto the side of the tyre the engine bounced off the rev limiter…… mmmmmmm……… not too good an idea that…… was thinking at the time that it maybe a good idea to go back down another tooth on the rear sprocket, something that hadn’t really suited me on Saturday Night, but as I was going quicker, it might work for me now…… Had a bit of a scare at Doran’s bend, when I tried to take it flat out in fifth gear, instead of my usual fourth…… and it wasn’t a good plan, I have to say…… hit a bump mid corner and it sent me straight across the road and mighty close to the friggin pavement…… oops, won’t be trying that again, I’m sure they were taking this corner in 5th at the TT, but Stuey reckons it was 4th…… so if he’s right, me taking it flat in 5th gear, was a little ambitious…… gave myself a bollocking and carried on……… not much traffic out this lap, and was quite uneventful, till I got to Quarry Bends and the bike just lost power……… Bollocks!………… Baaaaaarrrr baaarrr barr…… so pulled the clutch in and coasted…… banged it into neutral and hit the kill switch and hoped I would make it to the Sulby Glen pub…… and I did…… just…… Pulled in and parked the bike up against the wall…… Couldn’t believe it, it had only done 5 ½ laps…… but the way it was pulling I might have been revving it too hard…… not much you can do when your already in 6th gear…… Eddie and Rosie in the pub were great and furnished me with food and drink, and if you want to break down anywhere, the Sulby Glen seems the place to do it…… and no mistake…… a big thank you for their hospitality…… I phoned my Team Manager, Chris, from the Marshal’s phone box to tell him I had broken down, wasn’t wanting to start it up as after last year’s completely wrecked engine, it sounded the same, but this time there was no smoke bellowing out of the exhaust…… thought it best to leave it alone…… Watched the rest of the practices and waited for Stuey and Chris to come and pick me up. They turned up and I explained what had happened and said it sounded like it had dropped a valve, so we tried starting it and it burbled into life, sounded as sweet as a nut…… Was well happy, but will have to check it properly tomorrow……it could now be something as simple as Spark Plugs, a kinked fuel hose or the battery going flat…… Fingers crossed. Loaded the bike onto the trailer they had borrowed and headed off for the Grandstand………

Found that I had posted the fastest lap of the week with a 19mins 29.35 (116.16mph) so did manage to scrape under 19mins 30 secs, but reckoned with the yellow flags, rolling the throttle to let Porter who wasn’t even there back past me, I lost at least 5 seconds which would have made it faster…… my first lap was 19mins 35.55 (115.54mph) which was good for the average speed, and it was two personal best laps in the same session…… Lets hope I’m even luckier and there’s nowt wrong with the bike…… Gonna try new plugs in her first.

So, managed to do what we set out for today, but Dave Bell and Alan Jackson also upped their pace to the 115mph bracket, so will have to keep my foot down…… Heard that Porter had crashed at Kerromoar and broken his collar bone, but he might have clipped the bales at Ginger Hall, will try and find out tomorrow, couldn’t find him in the paddock.

The weather hasn’t been given too good for tomorrow, but will have to try a lap to test the bike, would rather not if its pissing down, but needs must…… as they say………

Tune in soon for another very exciting, who knows what the hell’s happening, episode………………………………………