Rock(ingham) and Roll

Well we rolled up to Rockingham for the final meeting of the year and on the approach it is an impressive site. The circuit was built in 2001 on the old steel works grounds and is situated right in the centre of an industrial estate in Corby. Rockingham is dominated by the banked oval circuit that has hosted Indy Car races and has a lap record of over 242mph! Unfortunate we were not due to use this circuit but the National Circuit that is situated on the infield of the oval and is 1.7 miles long. As this was the first time that bikes had raced there for more than 5 year both Leigh and I chose to do the practice day to learn our way around.

My aim for the weekend was to get Birdy’s new ZX-4RR up to speed and Leigh was in with a slim chance of taking 2nd in the championship and so had his eye on that. As I had to learn a new circuit we decided to use the forks off the old bike as we would not have enough time to set the new ones up plus we had to make sure everything else on the bike was working correctly.

The first session out on track was very slightly damp, I was out on slicks and Leigh was on dry tyres, not ideal and the track was very slippery but not wet enough for wet tyres, or so we thought. We didn’t even manage to get around the first corner before we saw Leigh’s teammate Chris Boland sliding on his arse across the track! Ooops. Leigh lasted a few more laps before a very slow tip off at the hairpin which saw him up and picking the bike up within half a second of tipping off; most people commented that they have never seen him move so fast. By the second session of the day it had dried out so we were able to get our heads down and learn which way the circuit went. I have to say Rockingham is not my favourite circuit as it is a bit soulless and the track itself does not flow very well, I am not in a rush to get back there. This was the feeling amongst many of the riders and from a spectators point of view it was terrible, not very good for all the people that have come along to help. We had some fuelling issues with the ZX-4RR and it had a flat spot around 12000rpm-13000rpm, due to it running a bit lean. We lifted the needles in the carbs and adjusted the air screw correctors that did make an improvement but didn’t eradicate it totally. This is one improvement we will be able to make over the winter.

Race day came and it was straight out into qualifying, the weather although very cold was dry and this was something to be thankful of as the track had proved very tricky in damp/wet conditions. I managed to qualify in 2nd place on the grid just missing out on pole position to Steve Tomes (an ex British Champion) who was having another one off ride, Leigh qualified in 12th position overall and 4th Minitwin.

Race one came and as the lights went out I managed a cracking start and hit the first corner in the lead, after my usual starts on the 400 this year I was a little surprised and not sure what to do with myself with no other bikes to chase. I put my head down and lead the race for 5 laps when Steve came past, I held onto him for the remainder of the race but could not manage a pass, 2nd place it was to be then. Leigh’s chances of gaining 2nd in the Minitwin championship took a big step forward when one of his main challengers Clive White crashed out on the second lap of the race. Leigh managed to be the 4th Minitwin securing a good haul of points.

Race two on Saturday saw me make a complete pigs ear of the start as I wheelied off the line and wondered whether someone had put kangaroo juice in the tank. I came out of the first corner in 9th place which was not good at all. It was then that I realised that Rockingham is not he easiest of circuits to overtake, and it took me 3 or 4 laps to work my way up in to 2nd place, by this time Tomes had built up a 5 second lead and this was way too much for us to close down so 2nd place it was to be once again. Leigh’s race was similar to the first, taking fifth. After nearly being taken out of the first race by another bike’s rear wheel at the hairpin, bringing it home safely seemed more important than any heroics.

Sunday came and once again although very cold it was dry and we were looking forward to the races. Race one saw me 3rd into the first corner just behind Rob Elsmere (this years Junior Powerbike Champion) and Steve Tomes. It took me a couple of laps to find my way past Rob and then I set off after Steve. By lap 5 I was closing in on Steve and the gap had come down to just over a second, unfortunately it was at this point that the clutch started to slip, this did not help at all and I was concerned it would not last the race. Therefore I had to nurse the bike home and was once again the bridesmaid in 2nd place. Leigh only had to get a 4th and a 5th place in the Minitwin class in the two races today to secure 2nd place in the championship. He got a cracking start and was up to 2nd place immediately, which he held onto for a few laps until Jamie Morris managed to sneak past. Still getting third place meant all Leigh needed to do was finish in the last race for 2nd in the championship.

The last race of the year started at 3pm, as the lights went out I managed another cracking start, this bike certainly flies off the line when you get it right. I held on to the lead for 4 laps when Tomes tried overtaking at the hairpin and clipped my handlebar. Luckily we both stayed on, but ran wide. A lap later and Steve squeezed past on the fast right and he manage to pull out a couple of seconds lead over the remaining 4 laps. So that was me again, coming home in 2nd place. 3rd place in all the races over the weekend was over 10 seconds behind me so we had a good cushion in hand. Despite missing 3 rounds of the series which equates to 10 races and a possible 250 points we only just missed out on 2nd place in the championship by 3 points! In this last race Leigh only had to come home in 6th place or above to get 2nd in the championship. His race started much as the previous with a blinding start. He held onto 2nd place a little longer but again settled for third realising the championship runner up spot was in the bag.

Mick Smith (Sister) did us proud all weekend with his culinary skills on the BBQ, cheers Mick.

Thanks to everyone for their help and support this year, to our sponsors for their continued help, it is greatly appreciated. Lastly a quick thanks to ThundersportGB & the marshalls for a very well run and organised series.

Remember:- You can catch the race action from Rockingham on Motors TV on the 2nd November 2009 from 7pm

Leigh has now sold his bike in an attempt to pay off his debts that he has accumulated throughout the season and is hoping to build a ‘budget’ version, but hopefully just as quick ready for next year.

As for myself I hope to be riding Birdy’s ZX-4RR next year, Sean Kelly has already intimated we can use his Honda RS250 again for selected events and who knows what the Smith Sisters may come up with. Updates will be provided over coming months as things progress.

Check out http://www.racing-lines-photography.com/ for some fantastic photos.