Knockhill – 23rd and 24th April – BMW to Yahama R6 the ups and downs

It’s been a week of rebuilding the BMW back up after the crash last weekend. On first inspection the bike didn’t look too bad, although once we started stripping everything it became clear that there was a lot of work to be done. After late nights all week, we almost had it ready for Sunday’s racing but our plans have been scuppered with some unknown electrical faults. Unfortunately, the first opportunity for us to rectify this with the use of the diagnostic equipment is on Tuesday. Clearly this writes off racing it this weekend.

We have have now been able to make the Yamaha R6 available for Sunday’s races. Although I would have liked to use the BMW at Knockhill, this does give me an opportunity to get in some practice before the BSB meeting in June where I will race the R6. It’s been a difficult week with sourcing parts, collecting parts, repairs and unexpected problems but I will be glad to put that all behind me when the flag drops for Sunday’s racing!

I am very grateful to all my sponsors, Motorrad Central Scotland, Charlie Johnston, Brenda Mitchell of Motorcycle Law Scotland, Horsetiger , Alder Enterprises, Paramed UK and my supporters who have provided continued support!

Nip and tuck at East Fortune

It was mixed fortunes for me at the 1st and 2nd rounds of the Scottish Championships. I was back on the BMW for this weekend’s racing. I got off to a great start with pole position, heading the 30+ grid. It was dry racing all weekend with very close and fierce riding from the top 3 or 4 riders.
In race one, I lead from start to finish but for the whole race I was followed closely by the YPE Suzuki of Torquil Paterson. I expected him to pass as I could hear his engine noise for the whole race! But I was able to bring it home without the fight. Race two was very close again and due to the pace of the front group we were upon back markers very quickly. This played a massive part in the positions and in my opinion caused the final stages of the race to be quite dangerous! I finished this race 2nd.

It was another great start on Sunday, I got the hole shot and tried to put in some fast laps to break away but I couldn’t create a gap very easily. It turned into a very exciting race with three riders swapping the lead several times! I rode as aggressively as possible and I took the win by just fractions of a second.

So the weekend was going great and it looked like my good fortune would continue in the final race. Unfortunately, however, whilst in the lead, I went a little wide into a fast left hander onto the greasy part of the track and crashed out. This obviously put a dampener on the weekend for me and hinders my Championship fight. I am not disheartened and I am looking forward to making amends at the next round.

From Metzeler to Pirelli

The 2011 Scottish Championships kicks off this weekend and for me that means the beginning of my Scottish Superbike title campaign. After a perfect weekend on the 600 last weekend I am looking for more of the same on the big bike this time round. I have only had 2 or 3 ten minute sessions on the BMW this year but having achieved a perfect ride set-up last season, there should be no problem getting straight back into the swing of things with no further practice.

For this weekend’s racing, I am moving away from the Metzeler tyre I have used previously. I am replacing these with the Pirelli option. The Pirelli is for sure a better tyre and will definitely make running at the front of the race less ‘gnarly’. I only ever used the Metzeler tyre before as this was the control tyre for the British Superstock Championship and I prefer to keep it consistent. This year I will not ride in the British Superstock so I need not worry about this.

Looking at the weather forecast for the weekend, it looks very promising so no doubt we are in for good fast racing! I am told that there are over 180 competitors set to race at East Fortune this weekend!

2011 Pre-season

It seems like such a long time since the final round of my 2010 season at Knockhill in October. Since then there has been a lot of preparation and physical training for the forthcoming season. Motocross riding has been a key part to my training this year having completed and won two of the three Scottish Hare and Hound Championship rounds. In my opinion it is the ideal training! Still, I am glad to say that its time to swap the ‘nobblies’ for ‘slicks’.

This season, 2011 I am riding the BMW s1000r in the Scottish Superbike Championship and also a Yamaha R6 in the British Supersport Championship! It’s going to be a packed out year but I am definitely up for the challenge.

The East Fortune practice event was the first outing for me this weekend, and what a day it was! The sun was out which made perfect conditions for a full day of riding. I had one or two new add-ons to try with the BMW this weekend. I had a new ‘quickshifter’ and secondary fuel module which caused some problems as this kind of electrical wizardry can be very difficult to set up… after persisting with it for the first two sessions I finally decided to remove the new add-ons for the time being as they were hindering my riding. This was in order to get some valuable track time in and blow the cobwebs off! I now have time to ensure the add-ons are on and working well for our next ride.

The remaining sessions were perfect and before the end of the day I was back into the swing of riding a bike without sticking my foot out and using my knee instead! All in all a good shakedown and very excited for the next practice at Knockhill Race Circuit this coming Friday where I will ride our new Yamaha R6.