PEMBREY CIRCUIT - MRO ROUND 7.

16th - 18th Aug  2005.

Not the luckiest weekend ever, part 2.

FRIDAY PRACTICE SESSIONS.

For the first time since the opening round at Brands Hatch, we had a completely dry practice day. We made the most of the good weather and did five twenty minute sessions during the day. Andy's best laps of the day were just outside last years lap record. These lap times were done on old tyres, so we knew all would go well for qualifying.

SATURDAY QUALIFYING.

Qualifying 1 - 15 minutes.

We started the session hoping to get under last years lap record which was 60.46 seconds. We had fitted a slightly harder rear tyre than usual, as Pembrey is usually quite hard on tyres. Andy did a few steady laps to get settled in, then as he started a fast lap, the red flag come out which called a halt to the session for about 5 minutes. The session was restarted again.  Andy did a few more steady laps to get the tyres back up to temperature, and again, just as he started to go for it, the session was stopped due to yet another crash. This time the session was abandoned with about 5 minutes remaining. The remaining time from this session would be added to the second qualifying session. Andy's best lap was a disappointing 1 min 1.122 seconds, which was provisionally 8th on the grid.

Qualifying 2 - 24 minutes.

As this session was going to be longer than usual, we decided to call Andy in about half way through the session for a quick refuel and make any adjustments which might need making.
Andy seemed to be struggling to get a good lap time, though he did look like he was trying very hard. At the mid session refuel Andy had managed to get a 1min 0.8 second lap which was quite a way back from pole position. Andy went back out again and carried on trying. Right near the end of the session, he managed to get in  a 1min 0.141 second lap.
This was still not good, but at least now he was on row 2 of the grid.

At the end of the session, Andy had qualified 7th. Pole position went to Dan Tarratt with a lap of 59.724 seconds. The top 9 riders were all under last years lap record!!

We now had to try to find where we could find another half a second per lap to get nearer the front runners, which is not what we normally have to do, It was our worst qualifying position of the year so far. We found that the harder compound rear tyre was hardly worn after the two qualifying sessions, so for the races we got hold of the usual tyre to give some more grip. Also, we checked the datalogger and decided on some internal gearing changes for race day. We believed we could get some decent results with the changes we had made.

SUNDAY.

Morning warm up.

Andy went out with a new rear (softer) tyre, and the revised gearing, and in the ten minute session, he managed to equal his qualifying time from Saturday. This was very good as the circuit was very busy as the 125's were out with the 250's, so it was impossible to get in a clear lap. Even so, Andy topped the time sheet for the morning warm up. The gearing changes were good, and the rear tyre was working superbly. All was looking good for the races.

Race 1 - 12 laps.

Andy needed to make one of his famous starts to get a chance of the race win. He pulled up onto the grid after the warm up lap, and as he clicked into first gear the bike started to drive itself forward due to the clutch no disengaging fully. The start was bad, and it got worse, as the clutch was slipping under full throttle. To Andy's credit he carried on regardless to see what he could manage with a sick bike. He finished lap one down in 11th place. After about three laps the clutch started to get a little better, giving Andy a couple more MPH on the straights, allowing him to start overtaking the riders in front. The group in front was getting smaller by the lap as they started to crash out. At the end of the race Andy had passed a few more riders to get into 4th place. All considered a good result.

Race 2 - 12 laps.

We fitted a new clutch, and also did some carburetion changes as the bike was not pulling well in the high rev range. Again we hoped for a good start to get away with the leading bunch.
Andy made a reasonable start and was in 7th position at the end of lap one. The bike now looked much quicker on the start finish straight allowing Andy to get in positions to do some overtaking. By lap 7 Andy was up to 5th place, and right on the heels of Barry Utting in 4th position, and closing down the leading 3 riders. At the start of lap 8, Andy went up the inside of Barry to take 4th, but then gave the bike a little too much gas while cranked over taking a tight line through the hairpin. Andy had a huge highside crash, he landed very heavily, and the race was stopped to allow medical treatment.

CONCLUSIONS.

Race 2 was going so well, Andy had managed a lap of 59.5 seconds while catching the leading group. But racing is a hard sport, it only takes a split second error to end the race. It was Andy's first crash in almost two seasons, so it is a bit of a relief to get it out of the way. His first question to me when I saw him in the medical centre was something to the effect of "Will the bike be ready for Brands Hatch".  He was in a lot of pain, but could only think of the next race....

Watch this space, the bike is not too badly damaged. So if Andy can get himself healed for the next round surely another race win could be on the cards for this season.

The next race meeting is the MRO at Brands Hatch on the 14th - 16th October.