T.T. 2003 Race Week - 6th June 2003

TT Production 600 Race

Let Stuey and Jaffa get to the Grandstand first to do the minor jobs on the immaculately prepared Pro-Cet Racing R6 Yamaha before scrutineering, and I tipped up not long after……. The weather was pretty grim as there was mist down as low as the Start line at the Grandstand, which wasn't good so it was just a matter of sitting and waiting for it to lift…… Went to see what pit number I had been allocated and it was a lowly Pit No 77…… crap……. But better than the Pit No 109 which was second from last in the Proddy 1000.

Four hours later we got the nod to start…… and half an hour after that we were lined up on the Glencrutchery road……. Had a bloke called David Castle starting ahead of me at No 32, thought that he would be a good target as he had finished ahead of me in the Production 1000 Race….. behind me this time was John Donnan… so no doubt I'd be a target for him….. No 31, Phil Gilder came over and wished me luck, that was the first time we had ever exchanged words, and he will be tough to beat come the Manx Grand Prix, but a nice bit of camaraderie all the same….. After No 28 got the start there was a bit of gap as No's 29 & 30 were non starters, I soon got the start flag and I was off….. the bike straight away felt less of a handful than the big Suzuki and I kept it nailed all the way down Bray Hill and got a nice couple of wheelies at the bottom……… hard on the anchors for the QB just saw the back of No 32……. Was concentrating hard and trying not to mess anything up, like overshooting or sommat similar…. Hoped that my tyres were warm enough as I banked it over for Braddan Bridge and the Railway Pub in Union Mills, and then kept the throttle pinned wide open…… rolled it a tad for Ballagarey Traffic lights in Glen Vine, but only so I could see the corner, then it was head down and arse up again……. Could see Castle in the distance and I reckoned I had pulled 3 or 4 seconds back on him already……. Took the left hander into Crosby flat out, and because there wasn't much wind could hear the revs rise as I was on the side of the tyre… carried a lot of speed up the hill and got a huge wheelie at the ex Waggon & Horses pub…. Saw a camera flash as I landed so somebody must have got it….. was still reeling in Castle and after the Glen Helen section was not far behind….. the end of the Cronk-y-Voddy straight was interesting again, as again, the bike hopped around a bit, but I kept it pinned…. Was again finding it hard changing direction, and as far as I'm concerned it was taking more effort than it should…… at the bottom of Begarrow I was right on Castle's tail and went around his outside on the approach to the 13th Milestone……. Was a bit shit around Douglas Road Corner, and could feel my arms tightening up a bit……. Bollocks…. I'm friggin 'Boy Arms' me….

There wasn't as many flies out today which was handy and there wasn't anybody directly in front of me either…… in fact I couldn't see anybody in the distance either, so I had a clear road…… next up would have been Phil Gilder, but as he had started 20 seconds ahead of me and had gone quicker in practise I didn't expect to see him either….. Had a pretty lonely ride over the mountain, and as my arms were getting tired again, was breathing in really deeply and trying to give my arms a rest wherever possible….. could do it with my left arm, but as my right hand was keeping the throttle pinned open I couldn't give that one a rest….. Went past the Grandstand flat out in 5th (at 139mph apparently) and snicked top just before St Ninians traffic lights, had a problem adjusting my hand position and went in the wrong line, and had to let go of the throttle to rectify this, but was straight back on it……. Was telling myself off for not being fit enough….. usually, I'm fitter than most, but not this time in the arms it seems…. Just can't seem to shake off this arm pump problem…… going through Union Mills, John Donnan passed me going up the hill into Glen Vine…… and started to drag away from me….. What!??……. I caught him back up at Ballagarey when he rolled it and I never… but again, he just pulled away, and was starting to disappear….. into Greeba Castle, I went in there faster and was up his chuff again… but on the fast bits he pulled away again…… Was thinking if I had gone up a tooth on the rear sprocket this may have given me more revs, and if the engine had been 'Blueprinted', which it hadn't been, then it may have given more power…… but it seemed that his Suzuki had the legs on my Yamaha…… felt that I was slowing a tad, and a couple of times my right hand didn't have enough feeling in it to let go of the throttle…. Was wondering how the hell am I gonna manage 4 laps at the Manx Grand Prix at a faster pace……….. Got a board from John at Ballacraine saying P20…. And I got my board from my mate Simon at Sulby Bridge saying P23 +0……. Shite…….. to be honest I was hoping for a lot better….. I know every time I go through the Milntown section I should be better than I am, and my lines could be slightly better…… there are a few jumps through here, and its not a good idea to hit them whilst banked over, puts you into a bit of a wobble on landing, got a 'Fog on the Mountain' sign in Ramsey……… rounded the hairpin like an old woman…… and fifty pence pieced the next few corners……. Tried hard to get my concentration back and felt like I was getting there, till I rounded the Verandah and the weather really deteriorated…… it was amazing… the mist had come right down and it was desperate…. Got a couple of boards from people up there, one said 'LL'… and the next one said 'Race Reduced'….. I know the mountain road like the back of my hand and I was struggling to know where I was…. The dark Visor I had on wasn't helping matters and I was actually going round at about 50 mph with one hand on the bar wiping the wet mist off my visor with my other hand…… got a board from Josser at Windy Corner saying '2 Lap Race'….. oh well…… the mist was slightly better down the Creg and I went as fast as I could…….. wobbled round the last few corners, and coming out of Governors Dip there was waved yellow flags everywhere……. So I slowed…… then saw the chequered flag at the finish line so sped up a bit and crossed the line….. don't know why the hell there was waved yellows…. There should have been a 'End of Race' sign or sommat… waved yellows mean slow down, so I lost time there……… was glad to pull in and was ushered straight into the scrutineering bay….. 'Random Check' they said…….. yeah… right.

Officially got 26th place which a race average of 110.83mph (fastest 112.10mph)……. which I was disappointed with….. was slightly worried about the replica's as they are calculated on the race winners speed….. you have to be within 105% of the winners time to get a silver replica and 110% to get a bronze one….. and apparently the leaders didn't have to slow because the mist hadn't dropped when they went over the Mountain….. a Marshal had told me the mist dropped as if by magic, around the time when No20 had come through… so everybody behind would have had to slow down for it, therefore affecting their replica time…… and at the TT… everybody wants to leave with a replica….. some people come for years and never get one….. It turned out I had qualified for a bronze one and there was another 3 behind me before the cut off point …. So that was a nice consolation…… Stuey had to take my bike to the Dyno and the one in the paddock definitely read high…. It was alleged that my Yamaha was putting out 112bhp and the winner's bike, Shaun Harris's Suzuki was putting out 111bhp…… That is absolute bollocks…… did anyone see how fast his bike was, and how quickly it passed other top riders machines…. Stuey then told me they wanted to strip my bike when all they did was check the throttle body on Harris's machine…. You make your own assumption ….. They reckoned Farquhar's Kawasaki put out only 104bhp….

Was planning on watching the Senior Race, but after a few further delays they eventually cancelled it, with the hope on running it tomorrow (Saturday)…….. mmmmmm…. The Steam Racket Races down on the Billown Circuit are scheduled for then….. so will have to see what happens, as that is my next event…..

So that was the end of my first TT Races….. Two Races, and two Bronze Replicas….. hadn't set the world alight, but got to the finish and it was good practise…….. Its been a hell of a long fortnight, and I've got so say a huge thank you to all the people who made it a lot easier that it could have been……. Mainly my team of Spannermen…. Stuey, The Wad and Jaffa, my board men, John, Simon and Josser, and all the others who helped in one way or another…….. Cheers.

So, tune in next time for another very exciting, got to get fitter, got to get faster episode of …… ………. Tommy Clucas Racing……