Season 2001 Summary Well, my second race season has come to an end and I improved again the more I did it........ would have liked to have been on the bike more than I was, but when the bills start flying in you have to start missing a few meetings, as cutting corners is something I won't do......... because anything that goes that fast and revs that hard needs looking after. This year on the CBR600 Honda I greatly improved my corner speed, which was an area in which I was lacking on the R1 Yamaha, but the smaller bike steered so much better and the power was more usable which resulted in my lap times tumbling at every circuit that I went to again, the greatest improvement was eight seconds a lap quicker at the Oulton Park Circuit in Cheshire, where I competed in my first MRO event........ which was an eye opener compared to club races and no mistake. With the lap times coming down the results started to come as well and I won the Isle Of Man Clubman's Centre Championship, with 11 race wins, this was the first year that the Restricted Championship had been changed to a Centre Championship, so was well pleased that my name will be first on the new trophy. Was also extremely pleased to finish 4th in the IOM Centre Championship, being the first 600cc machine, which was the best I could have hoped for with three of the Islands most experienced riders on bigger bikes (and lots more expensive) finishing in the top three spots. One of the highlights of the season for me was being awarded the 'Man of the Meeting' at the Jurby TT week meeting on June 2nd, where I notched two wins, a second, a third and a sixth........ The crystal rose bowl now takes pride of place on the top of my telly. I upgraded to a National Racing Licence in July, which is what I've strived for since I started racing since last April, and was pleased to eventually do it. By doing this it enabled me to enter my first real road race, The Ulster Grand Prix..... I had no intention of ever doing it but because the Manx GP was cancelled, decided to give it a go and I finished 24th in the Lisburn Council Open Race, which I was well disappointed about after qualifying 17th, but as it turned out I never got enough laps in to go faster safely, so that would have to do me, but it was good experience nonetheless. Tried to be upbeat about the Manx being called off, but it deflated my whole season, being that close to doing it after all the years of dreaming about it only for it to be cancelled. I had been accepted for the Newcomers, Junior and Senior Races, three rides in a week, which is practically unheard of for a Newcomer......... but to no avail....... the only consolation, I told myself, was that next year, I'll be a years more experienced with a better bike........ and true to my own word the better bike has already been acquired by Team P.C.Racing ........ it should do the job. Its the V&M Yamaha R6 that won the British Championship last year with Jim Moodie on board, and David Jefferies rode it at last years Junior TT, and at The Ulster GP this year....... so the bike should be fast enough for me..... although the maintenance schedule is pretty comprehensive..... I cry myself to sleep thinking about it. Still, if you want the best kit, you have to look after it. The only downside to racing, as Mick Doohan so aptly said, 'If your gonna race........ your gonna crash', and unfortunately I yee-ha'd three times this year, luckily with only bruises, but looking back I know the reason for all three crashes, and hopefully I have learned from them, but as the season neared it's end I discovered something in setting the bike up to my liking, and after setting it up that way, I felt a lot more confident......... there were lots of times this season, where I felt that the bike was more in control of me than I was of it, and it took me nearly two seasons to figure this out, hope I can carry that knowledge into next year on the new one. So, a bigger year for me next year, and hopefully the Manx Grand Prix will go ahead and see how I do in that...... Don't know what I'm going to concentrate on yet, and as always I will probably be restricted to what I can do because of the cost, but hope to have a crack at the MRO Championship, with maybe the odd wild card ride at the British Championship, that would be a good one, because I never ever thought that I'd be any good on a short circuit....... I thought I was just a road racer, me....... but its a funny ol' game innit? Again, I wouldn't have been able to do half as much without all the people behind the scenes that have helped me out throughout the year and sponsored me in one way or another, it may take only one person to ride the bike, but it's definitely a team sport, so, a major THANK YOU to you all..............
Cheers,
|
