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FINALLY, ALL THE HARD WORK BEGINS TO PAY OFF.

After the last meeting at Castle Combe where we struggled to get the engine to perform, we spoke to Dave of Dave Cooper Racing about our troubles. We said what problems we were having, and his set up instructions and words of wisdom were quickly passed on to us.

Saturday Superclub Round 4.

QUALIFYING - 15 minutes.

We made some rather big changes to the carburetion set up before qualification, and just hoped the engine would be OK. In the end, we need not have worried, the bike was again strong right through the whole rev range, a far cry from the nightmare at Castle Combe.
Andy was seeming to be catching traffic on every lap (there were 25 - 250's and 6 - 125's on track), so the lap times were not what we would normally be happy with, but on his last flying lap he found a clearish piece of track, and grabbed pole position for the days two races by nearly a second.

RACE 1 - 10 laps.

Andy made a good start and ended lap 1 in second place. He spent a couple of laps in a bit of a dice with Ben Johnson. Andy then managed to get in front and pull a comfortable lead, which he kept right to the end to take his first win of the season.

RACE 2 - 10 laps.

Race 2 was pretty much a carbon copy of race 1. Andy took a couple of laps to get settled (very Rossi like), then pulled to the front of the pack. He then put in a few fast laps to pull clear, then backed off a little to maintain his lead. Andy again took the chequered flag. Two wins from two starts for the day.

Sunday Superclub Round 5.
 

Overnight the bike had been given its usual engine strip and rebuild. No problems were found, and we decided we could alter the carburetion a little more to try and gain a little more power for the days racing.

QUALIFYING - 10 minutes.

Again there was a lot of traffic, but again Andy got in a half decent lap in near the end to again take pole position for the days two races by nearly a second.

RACE 1 - 10 Laps.

Andy made a good start, and was battling with Ben Johnson again. This time Ben seemed even more determined to beat Andy, as he looked to be pushing that little bit harder than on Saturday. By lap 4 Andy and Ben were still swapping places when the race was stopped due to a crash involving Darrell Higgins. We didn't get to hear anything about how Darrelll was, but we hope he is OK and will be ready for the next championship rounds.

The race was re-started over a distance of 6 laps.

Andy didn't make such a good start this time, but by the end of lap 1 was right back up with Ben. Again Andy took a couple of laps to get the tyres warm again after the long stoppage. Andy and Ben were again trading positions for the lead, until Ben made an error going into the hairpin and crashed out. Andy now had a big lead, so eased off for the remaining laps and took win number three.

RACE 2 - 10 laps.

The pressure was now on. Could we make it 4 wins from 4 starts? I am sure Andy was thinking a little of last year at Pembrey when the last race of the weekend ended in a visit to Carmarthen hospital with some quite serious injuries.

The race went pretty much the way of the previous 3. Andy taking a few laps to settle in before taking the lead and pulling a safe gap. Obviously the Accident from last season was no longer on Andy's mind once the race had started. Andy took his 4th chequered flag of the weekend.

Conclusions.

After the bad start to the season, it is great to see Andy riding a bike he is now feeling comfortable with again. Now the engine now back on song, and the Chassis working how he likes it, I would think we are up for a good end to the season.

I must say a HUGE thank you to Dave Cooper for his advice, as we had lost our way with the engine set up and were thinking of reverting back to what we ran last year. His sound advice though shone through, and in the end the bike was actually 4 - 5 kph faster than it was at last season Pembrey races!

A great weekend for Triple MMM Racing.

Andy and Craig showing off the weekend's loot.

 

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Click the blue titles below to read our previous news updates.

2006 - New Era Superclub Round 3 - Oulton Park.
2006 New Era Superclub Round 1&2 - Snetterton.
2006 Testing Sessions News.
2006 Pre-season News.
MRO 2005 Round 8 - Brands Hatch News.
MRO 2005 Round 7 - Pembrey News.
MRO 2005 Round 6 - Cadwell Park News.
MRO 2005 Round 5 - Knockhill News.
MRO 2005 Round 4 - Snetterton News.
MRO 2005 Round 3 - Silverstone News.
MRO 2005 Round 2 - Croft News.
MRO 2005 Round 1 - Brands Hatch News.
Pre Season News Update 2005.