NBT- I'm going racing 😳

[ChrisW]

You're absolutely right about the flag/lights moment - hope you enjoy the season.

[weeksy]

Top job mate.

I still get goosebumps when I think back to race day, on the grid at Mallory, Donny etc and waiting for the lights, even writing this

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I absolutely hated starts, I'd get so nervous, once past the first corner I'd settle down and be fine, but it's why I prefer track days to racing.

[weeksy]

I absolutely hated starts, I'd get so nervous, once past the first corner I'd settle down and be fine, but it's why I prefer track days to racing.

I didn't mind them, but I got very very few right.

The one major one I got right I was in P3 into Gerrards, as we were on the exit I had my rear wheel taken from behind and the bike went very upside down as did I. I was absolutely fuming.

Got away with a small fracture in wrist which considering it was 100mph+ I thought wasn't too bad.

[Bigyin]

Also - can one just wander into the pits area at Oulton if one comes in as a normal spectator?
I realised that it's years since I went there as a normal fee paying member of the public. Are the pits accessible?

IIRC for club racing yes you can wander into the pits/paddock area once the entry fee at the main gate is paid.

[Bigyin]

I absolutely hated starts, I'd get so nervous, once past the first corner I'd settle down and be fine, but it's why I prefer track days to racing.

Without putting a downer on things starts are the most risky part of any race with all the field together and trying to win in the first few moments. When i was running/in charge of corner marshals for Bemsee if a 1st lap incident could be cleaned up and the race kept going then we did, with the thanks of race direction, even if it meant waved yellows for a lap or 2 as the restart ramped up the risk level.

[Dodgy69]

Good luck with the weekend events @Tricky . Looking forward to updates and pic's.

[Supermofo]

Yeah, knock em bandy mate

[weeksy]

Morning started cold and damp, but last 2 sessions he's feeling a bit better so he's all good

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Morning started cold and damp, but last 2 sessions he's feeling a bit better so he's all good

Where abouts is he?

[weeksy]

Oulton, practice today, race tomorrow. I'm sure he'll update later

[Tricky]

Well, I've got my first couple of races under my belt now, and I can truthfully say that was a real education in quite a few ways!

This first round is different from all the others in that it was just Saturday racing, rather than the usual Saturday and Sunday- am not quite sure why, but it meant that the programme is a bit more compressed than normal and instead of the first race grid positions being set by Saturday morning timed qualifying, they were decided by a combination of where you finished in last years championship, along with some other fudge factor which meant my first race grid position was 15, back on row 5.
There was also the (usual) Friday test day which I was booked on too, so we (just Isabella and me at this one) drove up Thursday PM, and got to the circuit just after 18:00 with the idea that we’d get a spot in the paddock, set up the gazebo, unload the bike etc into it before buggering off to the Premier Inn down the road where we were booked in for the next two nights.
It was pretty packed when we got there, I found a spot, got the gazebo out but abandoned the idea within 10 mins or so because it was so farking windy that without having the van to tie one side of it to overnight (as we of course needed to drive to the hotel), I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be there in the morning.

So a couple of pints and a sandwich, then bed, didn’t sleep much at all, and got to the circuit for just after 7 am.
I found space again (next to a really nice unassuming bloke who finished 2nd in the Bandit series last year and is running in it again this season as well as the Streetstocks on a 765RS Street Triple), and put the gazebo up and weighed it down with a couple of his spare water canisters, unloaded, fired up the genny and got tyre warmers on the bike as although dry and the sun was breaking through, the wind and air temp meant it really was quite bitter






It was still dead windy, and f. cold, but I was there, got signed on and kitted up ( no scrutineering on test days), and headed out for my first session at about 9 am.
It was patchy damp everywhere on the circuit first thing and I was getting buzzed all over the place the first few laps but I soon settled down, and by my third session, I was working out where the track was, overtaking people and starting to enjoy myself.

It didn’t rain all day and the weather was pretty nice later on, I had to stiffen up the rear of the bike a bit as it was getting bouncy and weavy coming out of Druids as I got a bit quicker, but overall it was a good day with no real incidents, apart from a coming together with another Bandit in Cascades, but we both somehow stayed on and he came over and said sorry afterward so no issue.

On-off rain was forecast for Saturday, so before we left for the PremierInn on Friday eve I hedged my bets and put the (brand new) wet front in, with the thinking that whatever the weather dictated in the morning, I’d only have one wheel to change.
I also got the bike scrutineered Friday evening, one less job for the morning, and got picked up on two points- having plastic valve caps (metal ones are mandatory, which was the opposite of what I’d have thought), and the position of my transponder mount- apparently it can’t be on the fork leg between top and bottom yoke where I’d put it, and the scrute actually suggested that I attached it to the lower fork leg which I found bizarre, and wasn’t happy with so I’ve fixed it to the end-can bracket instead, which is also OK.




So, Saturday morning came and when I got to the circuit it wasn’t raining but was damp, so it looked like dry tyres would be the order of the day so that's what I had on, but just as I got it off the stands and was heading out the heavens opened, so I turned around and decided to sit morning practice out as I I didn’t need to set a time and couldn’t see there was anything to be gained by wobbling around in the pissing rain on (fairly knackered) Sportsmart TT dry tyres.
But as I was putting it back on the stands , one of the more experienced guys came up and told me I had to do at least a couple of laps to register the transponder though, so out I went and splashed my way around for a few laps.
The rain stopped just as quickly as it started, and that was the pattern for the next couple of hours or so- some very short hard showers of rain, and at one point hail- it came down and stopped so suddenly you really had no warning, I swapped my wheels in and out 3 times before the first race and really started to properly understand why so many people have “wet” bikes.
Anyway, bottom line was my first race came up, I had the wets in and as I was on my own didn’t feel I had enough time to swap again, so thought fuck it, it’s my first race, and even if I’ve made the wrong choice and it’s completely dry out there, the worst that will happen is I’ll knacker a rear wet so out I went.
I headed out to the assembly area and saw that I was one of only two or three on the grid on wets, and yup, track was just about completely dry.
What I hadn’t accounted for though was how weird (and TBH really unstable) the wets now made the bike feel, I was nearly off on more than one occasion on the first lap- as soon as I tipped in it was horrible, like riding on a sort of wobbly knife edge and meant I had to grit my teeth. towards the end of the race I was coming to terms with it and getting a bit quicker, but I lost loads in those first few laps, and ended up 21st over the line, which was 13th Bandit out of 19 ( we had the F400s and “last chance qualifier “ National 600s out with us too).
In terms of time, my best lap was my last one a 2:06, some 6 or 7 seconds off the top couple of Bandits, which is a country mile away, and while I was not happy, given the issues I wasn’t too disheartened by the pace difference.

The instability of the wets was worrying me a bit though, so I chatted to two or three of the front runners, all of whom are on MKII Bandits (mine’s a 1998 Mk I) to see if they changed rear ride height or anything else when running wets, and all said no changes between wet and dry and no issues for them.
The consensus seemed to be it’s most likely the narrower (3.0 v 3.5) front rim the MKI has meaning the (mandatory) 125/80 Dunlop wet profile on that size rim is causing the issue, so a new wider front wheel is now on my shopping list- this is it( after that first race)- that tyre definitely looks too wide for that rim to me



And this is what the rear looks like after(dry) race 1 - wasteful!




It was really interesting talking to them and I learned a fair bit about the differences between the MKI and MKIIs, so much so that if when I bought mine I knew what I know now, I would have got a MKII instead. Still might, we will see….

Anyway, no such worry with the second race, it was completely dry- I hadn’t helped myself with my race 1 performance as it meant I was 21st on the grid, I managed to get a flier off the line but wow, those first couple of corners at Oulton on the first lap on these bikes are manic- I really am not exaggerating when I say it’s 5 or 6 abreast and a contact sport, if that doesn’t get your blood pumping you’re dead I reckon, top fun but something I need to man up on, really is quite similar to the old LC racing days in that respect

I got beaten up a fair bit early on in that race and had a bit of a frustrating too-ing and froing with another Bandit for a good few laps which held me up a bit, so not the result or lap time improvement I was hoping for (17th over the line, 11th Bandit and still slow at 2:05 lap times), but I loved it, and TBH did not want that race to end, really is just so different to a trackday session, I had forgotten just how much.

So, not the results I would have hoped for, but not a disaster either.
Crucially for me, I had no offs or mechanical disasters and the experience has given me plenty to work on for the next round both in terms of the bike, and my approach, and I am confident a bit of work in both areas will get me closer to the front.

The bike popped a fork seal in the second race so that needs sorting, it will also get a good check over and crucially a new pair of tyres as the ones on it are the ones that came on it when I bought it, they are 5 years old and now pretty shagged…
One strange (at least I thought it was) thing that happened over the weekend was that the front mudguard bracket/fork brace bolts came loose – not sure whether it’s a result of the popped fork seal, front tyre or anything else , but I thought it strange as they all have spring washers on and were torqued up tight at the start of the weekend, but suffice to say, they are now loctited




So, the next round is Cadwell in three weeks time- it’s a track that I know fairly well and love , it’s a proper full week-ender and I should have someone to help with any tyre changes / general sorting on the day so am really looking forward to it, and hopefully getting a bit closer to where I think I should be

[weeksy]

That's a proper write up you're a race god again !!!! Hapy days.

[Dodgy69]

Did Isabella fit in the overalls ok.

[Tricky]

Did Isabella fit in the overalls ok.

They're strictly for in the house only - she bought another new coat for Oulton, her "Arsene Wenger" I call it

[Zimbo]

Nice one Tricky, first couple of rounds are a very steep learning curve but you'll be settled in no time! Good write up!

[Count Steer]

Nice write up and looking forward to the next one.

It sounds like a really good category, everyone seems helpful, sounds like a good bunch.

[Nobby]

Well done. Always a steep learning curve whether new to or returning to racing.
Oulton have restrictions on the amount of Days they can run. I believe they are not able to run 3 consecutive days which explains your Friday Practice and Saturday Race.
Mounting the Transponder that far back ? I would find somewhere closer to the pointy end. I put mine inside the front of the fairing after I lost out on a win by 8 thousandths !! ( I know you haven't got a fairing)
Could you post up your Race Calendar for the year ?
I plan to be back from my travels for 3 weeks in August and quite fancy a day at the Races.
Good Luck at Cadders.

[Tricky]

Well done. Always a steep learning curve whether new to or returning to racing.
Oulton have restrictions on the amount of Days they can run. I believe they are not able to run 3 consecutive days which explains your Friday Practice and Saturday Race.
Mounting the Transponder that far back ? I would find somewhere closer to the pointy end. I put mine inside the front of the fairing after I lost out on a win by 8 thousandths !! ( I know you haven't got a fairing)
Could you post up your Race Calendar for the year ?
I plan to be back from my travels for 3 weeks in August and quite fancy a day at the Races.
Good Luck at Cadders.

Cheers old bean , your trip looks mega, and that's good input on the transponder, I hadn't thought of that- am hoping that it will matter!

As for dates, they run at the NG meetings, schedule is here https://www.ngroadracing.org/events

[Tricky]

Postie brought me two (old) new 3.5" front wheels from two different sources today - one dry, one wet, for a total delivered cost of £82 , which is going to bring me seconds per lap improvement ( either that or not )- one even already has red "Bandit" rim tape I installed, which will save me a job I guess



Anyway, they will be cleaned and have new bearings fitted , and more details and pics etc will follow over the next day or two when I find out if they actually go straight in, or I need to fabricate/get fabricated new spacers, but either way, this is a significant upgrade for the old girl