M.G.P. 2003 Practice Week - Saturday Afternoon, 23rd August 2003

Wasn’t planning on doing this session, as I wanted to save the Team PC Racing R6 for the race, decided it wasn’t that important to top the leader board and the laps I had put in would do…… Stuey suggested that I take his Silverback Racing R6 out for a spin just to see what it could do…… I said that I’d think about it, and told him I’d only be going for a ‘play’ if I did go out on it…… Stuey lashed it through scrutineering so that I’d have the option of going out for a lap if I wanted to……

Driving to the paddock it was raining in Glen Vine and all the way to Douglas, when I got there told Stuey if it didn’t clear up, I wouldn’t be going out…… but with the heat in the air and on the ground it looked like it would clear up when it stopped. We were told over the tannoy that there were dry roads apart from under the trees which was no surprise.

We were first session out tonight, which was handy, so that we could get ready early doors afterwards and go out on the lash. Walked through the holding area looking for me ol mate Keith McKay, and sure enough he in the line of bikes behind me and I wished him all the best again and he did to me, was glad he was there, as I’ve had a safe run this week and I’ve been doing the same thing most nights to make sure that it continues, and seeing Keith is one of them. I lined up on Stuey’s bike alongside David Bell, who finished third in the Newcomers Race last year, and is near the top of the leader board this time…… aahh…… thought that this would be a laugh, I’ll have a run round with him…… tried to attract his attention but he was having none of it and he just looked straight ahead, and when we got the nod, I was going to let him take the lead, but it never quite worked out like that……… haired off down Bray Hill flat out in top, and wheelied as usual at the bottom…… saw three bikes tipping into the QB as I approached, which was unusual, I’ve seen two before, but never three…… haired off down to Braddan Bridge and was nice and steady round it, and passed a couple on the way to the Union Mills Post Office…… Haired off up to the Ballagarey Traffic lights and had to roll it because of the traffic and again had to roll it into the Crosby Corner and up the hill by the Crosby pub……… was shaking my head in disbelief at the lines these two in front were taking, and managed to nail one of them down by the Highlander…… into Greeba Castle was thinking of going around the outside of this Geezer in front of me but thought that I’d best bide my time after watching him take all sorts of positions on the road…… had to roll the throttle that many times, I thought that Beller would be running in the back of me…… passed this Geezer into Greeba Bridge and pulled away…………… Thank God for that.

Felt pretty comfortable with the bike and because it was Stuey’s bike and I wasn’t out for a fast lap, I was really enjoying it……… because of the humidity, there was loads of midgies out and there weren’t half getting splattered all over my screen and lid……… passed a couple more in the Glen Helen section and actually got my knee down at the left hander at the Pub and the right hander at Kate’s Cottage………… well, I never!…………… well, not this week anyway. Thought that was smart. Was in two minds whether to take the end of the Cronky Straight flat out as I still had what Iain Pattinson said ringing in my ears, that he thought that the bike was really nice but felt it drifted a tad wide mid corner…… said to myself ‘Bollocks to it’ and never shut off, and it was fine and dandy…… It had different gearing on front and back than my bike, but it felt really good and was pretty much ‘bob on’ although I didn’t think that the actual bike was quicker than mine, but I did feel that it was handling slightly better, but I put that down to not going as fast.

Didn’t really have that much of a clear run and there were a few damp bits under the trees, and the front brake lever on this R6 was’t in the same position as mine which was a bit strange, but I carried on all the same…… ripped one of my visor tear offs somewhere round Ballaugh, and it took bloody both of them off at the same time……… Bollocks!……… knew from this point that I would now only be doing one lap as there were that many of the little winged beasties out, I’d never see where I was going if I didn’t go and get a visor change……… But, the whole point of the exercise was that I wanted to see what this bike went like as Stuey had offered it to me as a spare in case sommat happened to ours. Had a bit of a moment coming out of Ramsey Hairpin. As it was damp, I took a cautious approach, and when I fed in the power I had a look behind to see if Dave Bell was there and saw that he wasn’t and at the same time the front lifted……… that wasn’t too bad but it crossed up on landing, and the tyre squealed……… oops then it did it again!……… bloody gearing had made a huge difference out of slow corners…… warned myself to be wary going into and out of Governors Dip.

Had a steady run over the Mountain, and caught Maurice Hogg into the Verandah and the mist……… it looked a lot worse than it actually was, and as soon as you went into it, it pretty much disappeared, but was thicker in some places…… Sat behind waiting for my moment, but as he was using all of the road, it was hard to get past…… decided on taking him into the Bungalow Bridge and he totally wiped my nose…… so much so that I stood on the brakes that hard I’m sure the back wheel lifted off the deck…… I’m pretty sure he must have seen me, but he never waved me past or moved over, which I thought he might. Into the Bungalow, he either moved across or overshot and I can’t really tell which one he did, but all the same I went underneath him and haired off up to Brandywell…… feathered the throttle a couple of times, just in case the mist thickened and I didn’t want to be caught out, but on the run down the mountain, I had no such worries and passed a couple before I got to Governors Dip…… Must have been the slowest anyone has ever been round here, and to make matters worse my visor steamed up completely coming out of the dip and I couldn’t see a bloody thing…… its ‘Highside City’ at the best of times never mind when its piss wet and you can’t see, so wobbled round there like a shopping trolley…… haired over the line much to Stuey’s disappointment as he wanted to see how fast his bike was through the speed trap…… oops…… soz mate.

Pulled in and said that I had a comfortable run except for the ‘Hogg’ incident, and would have gone for another had I had another rip off visor…… but that would do me, so go and park it…… The Clerk of the Course Neil Hanson, approached me and asked me again what conditions were like, and I said that there was mist but not much to worry about, and he seemed happy enough with that, thanked me and disappeared…… had a looksee in the Hailwood Centre at the timing computer and saw that I had again topped the leader board with 114.43mph, which was a surprise (But got knocked off the top by Alan Jackson on his 2nd lap with 114 .45mph)…… I could have gone loads quicker, and was well impressed at how the bike went as Stuey had just bounced on it to set the suspension, and I went out and tried it…… Was a bit pissed off that I had never tried it earlier in the week, and we may have learnt something…… would like to try a few more changes to mine, but we’ve run out of practise…… Bollocks.(Told you so, I hear Stuey cry…) But I think we’ve got to go with what we have as I know I can go faster on that too……

So have to get the bike fettled with new tyres and give it the once over and I’ll go out and scream the beJeseus out of it in Wednesday’s Junior MGP………

So tune in next time for another very exciting, hopefully podium placing, hopefully on the top step episode of……………………… Tommy Clucas Racing.