Scottish Championships at East Fortune – 18th/19th Sept 2010

It was back to the Scottish Championships this weekend at East Fortune Raceway to continue the fight for the Premier class trophy. I was coming from a good result at Croft BSB and was hoping to carry on that form.

We had three championship races scheduled over the weekend and the prestigious Steve Hislop Memorial Trophy Race too.

It was mixed weather conditions for us, making tyre choices tricky. We were mostly riding in dry conditions but we did have a wet race.

The championship races were as fast and aggressive as ever; the lap record was broken and there was plenty of fairing rubbing and tank punching! Again, consistency was my aim as I had closed the gap between myself and the leader from 60 points to 37! I knew that I definitely could not afford to DNF but I also had to push hard to finish in front of the championship leader.

I was able to win the first race but it was not easy with 4 riders in the mix for 10 laps! The remaining two Scottish championship races were again very close and I managed 2^nd position in both but most importantly… I finished in front of the championship leader.

After these races, I have narrowed the point’s deficit to just 17 with two races to go so I have certainly not given up hope yet!

The final race of the day was the 20 lap Steve Hislop Memorial race. The grid is picked from a hat and I was fairly fortunate with row three as there are nine rows! I had a good start but was beaten to turn two by Torquil Paterson.. the 3 time winner of this trophy and lap record holder. He was able to pull a gap of around 3 seconds initially but I chased him down until I was in a position to pass at around lap 13. We caught back markers and I was extremely unlucky with the timing of approaching them. This allowed Torquil to pull a big enough gap to make catching him in the remaining laps impossible. I did not give up but was beaten to the line by 2 seconds and was 22 seconds ahead of third place! I was gutted but happy to finish and I know that I will be going for the trophy next year!

Croft BSB 11th/12th Sept 2010

I had been looking forward to the Croft round for a while as I really like Croft as a circuit and have gone well here in the past. I didn’t get off to an ideal start, finishing the first free practice session in 17^th position but I kept my head up as I knew it was close and small improvements would fire me up the standings!

We have the bike set up well now after plenty of trial and error it has to be said. In the qualifying sessions I gained more confidence in the bike and managed to secure 14^th place! My best of the season so far. Obviously I was happy with this especially as I was in great company on the grid… with very well established riders all around me!

Going into the race I was very determined to hold my position throughout to make sure I could finish in the top 15 and take my first Superstock points. After an average start, I was able to make several passes and work my way through the field and into 7^th spot! Unfortunately after a race long battle I was pipped to the line by none other than Steve Plater! Nonetheless, I was over the moon with 8^th. Again I found the tyres towards the end of the race to be very loose and hard to manage. I suppose it’s the same for all the riders.

So things are looking up for the next round at Silverstone and we are managing to continue to improve which is our main aim!

Jock Taylor Memorial races- Knockhill 14th-15th August

What a cracking weekend we had at the Jock Taylor memorial races this weekend. I feel a great deal better and more comfortable on the BMW after the last two races… Brands Hatch and Knockhill, I feel I am learning every time I’m out on the bike and am happy to have a few race wins under my belt and also several Championships within reach! It’s definitely taken longer than I had expected to get to grips completely with the 1000cc bike but now the BMW feels great and I’m having great fun riding it! The weekend at knockhill was hard nevertheless, it was a struggle not to get frustrated with the aggressive riding styles of some of the other riders but it was a case of staying patient throughout the races and picking the right opportunities to pass. I am happy with my recent results and excited about the final stages of the season. Thanks again to my mechanic Erich Schonwalder for his hard work and also to the sponsors  Charlie Johnstone, ParamedUK, Digby Brown, Motorrad Central, Alder Enterprises and Horsetiger and everyone involved for their help!

DP.

Team Update- Testing and East Fortune

Well its been a busy week. We were off to Donington for a track day on Tuesday 12th May. Wallace and I drove down the East Midlands on Monday night after work and i was anxious to see how it go after all the time off the bike and I was unsure whether the pain in my wrist would be bearable whilst riding.

We arrived at the circuit early to get some room in a garage and we met up with Jnr Superstock championship leader.. Patrick Macdougall, The weather looked good and we were set for a good day.

Into the first session and being on the bike felt very unnatural and strange, I knew after just a few laps that I had my work cut out to find a decent pace. Throughout the day I had six 20 minute sessions and completed over 50 laps but still I could not get any feel of feedback from the bike. Unfortunately this is how I left the circuit. Fortunately my wrist was bareable and had finally had some time on a bike after almost 9 months!

This weekend it was the NEMCRC at East Fortune. Again we were lucky to have good weather. I am very glad to say that the weekend was a big turn around from Donington. I started the weekend well with pole position but the time was slow, a 1m2.9s. I had two races on Saturday and was able to win both by several seconds. By the end of the day I had brought my time down to a reasonable 1m1.3s. I was in high spirits for Sunday after gaining some feel for the bike again. It was also good to be able to work amongst my team, Wallace and Erich worked well to get me comfortable with the bike, I had also entered the open Unlimited class for the sunday and again I was able to win both the 600 races and one by 9.7seconds,  Unfortunately I had to start the Unlimited race from the very back of the grid as I had not qualified. For me this race was great fun and I managed to pass every rider in the 10 laps and won the race by 1.8 seconds from Bob Grant(Yam R1) and Colin Thomson(Suzuki 1000). I am very pleased with how the weekend went and I was happy that I have gained some experience on my Supersport R6 and that I was able to cut my lap-time to 1m0.4s. We are all looking forward to Donington now and some more track time.

Thanks again to all my excellent sponsors and supporters, especially Parameduk, Digby Brown, Kinsley and Bolton, Horsetiger, WMMotorcycles and Erich Schonwalder.

Beginning of season

Well reflecting on my 2009 season shakedown, I am satisfied that it got off to a flier… literally. Chief tech’ Wallace and I set off for Cartagena for 4days of pressure free time to test our new team paramed-uk supersport Yamaha r6. We had a flight early on Wednesday morning, which meant a 4:30am start! We travelled right through the day eventually arriving in Murcia town at around 6pm. Thankfully the great guys at Raceways had sorted us out with some smashing accommodation at La Roda golf resort.

Having never been to Circuito de Cartagena before, we arrived early on Thursday morning to check out the track and get our space in a garage. We were placed alongside some good British competitors including Jimmy hill and Joe Burns. The weather forecast for the first day showed showers but the remaining days were to be glorious sunshine.

For the first session I used some scrubbed tyres which, to say the least, turned out to be quite poor. Nevertheless this session allowed me to see the track. The track was awesome; it’s very tight and technical in the first section before opening up to some fast turns and also a series of hairpins. There was some rain in the air so I ended the session after seven laps. The rain came down heavier for the second supersport session so I decided to sit it out… well we knew the weather was to get better. It brightened up and I got out for the third session with some new Pirrelli Dragon Supercorsa Tyres. It was turning out good, I could begin to feel the bike and see how quick it was. Obviously I was a still a long way off a quick pace for this circuit but was beginning to enjoy it. Around 6 laps into the session and approaching turn 9, a fast 3rd or 4th gear left hander, I felt a massive bang to the side of the bike as another rider strangely smashed into me! I think I was unlucky not to fall off the bike right then as it knocked my right hand off the handlebar. I couldn’t then brake and I rodeod the bike into the deepest gravel trap in the world. It fired me into the air, when I landed I was knocked out until I stopped. I went to hospital where I spent the night due to a serious concussion and a freshly broken Scaphoid bone in my wrist.

For me this test turned out to be a little disaster and I think it was just a case of bad luck. We got back to Scotland late on Saturday night and I think we were both glad to be home to sort everything out. WMMotorcycles have been very busy building our bike back together as it was badly damaged, and this is well under way. Already my wrist is feeling good and it won’t be long before I am back for a crack at the British Supersport Cup. Although this has not turned out to be the test we had hoped for, it was still a test which we managed with the help and support of our team and sponsors. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the team including, Sammy and Paul from Paramed-uk, Brenda from Digby Brown solicitors, Ian from Kinsley and Bolton, Mike Dooley at Rainbow International, Rod from Horsetiger management, marketing and media, Wallace from Wallace Mitchell Motorcycles and AGV Helmets.