2010 Race Reports

RECENT updates on Danny in Oz

Cadwell Park - 2nd/3rd October

James at KrazyKat Dyno's wanted me to race his 1992 Yamaha TZ250 at some
point this year, after clinching the New Era Sound of Thunder Championship
at Castle Coombe the dates fell right to finally give the Yamaha a quick
race shakedown. I have tested this bike before and some alteration were done
including a front fork rebuild at MCT.
*Saturday*
I had entered the Allcomers race but due to monsoon conditions the day
before even though it was dry the track was wet, i qualified on inter's in
both leaving me 9th in the Allcomers Qualify and 12th in the Open 400.

Race 1.
I lined up on the 3rd row of the grid and the track was now dry, after a
good start i entered the first turn in 6th and drafted past a 125 on the
back straight, i had an RS250 and a Honda 125 in front but on lap 2 they
started to pull away a bit. Entering the mountain section the red flag's
came and the race was restarted, two 250 GP bikes had collided going into
Charlies 1 so it was all back to the line for the restart.
Again i got a good start (getting the hang of slipping and waiting for the
rev's and speed to increase until releasing the clutch) and onto the back
straight i drafted past Dave Wood junior into 5th place. The gap in front
after 3 laps drifted away and on lap 3 Dave Iron's on his RS250 blasted past
(now that's a quick 250), on the last lap into Mansfield the bike coughed
and died, i managed to get it to the bottom of the mountain and pushed it
back to the paddock. Seeing as this is a shakedown test we really did not
know how to fuel it, it seems 5.5 litres was not quite enough :(

Race 2.
I lined up on the 4th row and again got a good start, onto the back straight
i passed an RS125 but the top 4 were already checking out. I tried to hang
onto them for 2 laps but the gap increased, the feedback from the bike was
o.k. but i could not get any feel from the back end which affected corner
speed. On the last lap a ZXR400 closed and i held him off for 5th place

Castle Coombe - 4th Sept

Off to the final round at Castle Coombe, this was the final points round of the New Era Series and i needed to wrap up the championship.

Qualifying 1.
It's been 13 years since i last raced here so i was pretty sketchy at best round the bumpy Wiltshire Circuit, i managed to beg a practice session before the Sound of Thunder qualify with the Allcomers and we managed o.k..

Off for Sound of Thunder practice, we were mixed in with the Ducati 848 Championship and Fast Bike magazine journalist Alistair Fagan towed me round for a bit until i picked up the pace a bit more and got my head down.

Since 1997 they have added another chicane which was tight and twitchy, i had one back it in moment there which was a bit hairy but everything was o.k. bar that, i qualified 3rd (2nd in class) and was pleased with the time.

Race 1. Les Liney was my only championship rival and if i finished in front of him i would be Champion, I got a great start and followed Leon Morris on his JHP Coventry back Ducati into the fast first flowing section. On lap 3 we settled into a pace and Darren Fry on the other JHP Bike passed me, we started to pull away and on Lap 5 i could have pushed for the lead, with Les Liney off the pace i started to tense and Lee Reveley on his Ducati 1098 came past , on the last lap my pit board said +2 so i just followed the 3 in front to take the Championship. My lap time had decreased from 1min 15.6 to 1min 15.1 and i new i had more in the locker.

Race 2.
After a nice lunch with my folks & sponsor Chris (+wife and youngest son) i knew it was time for a good ol fashioned race with no points issue. My 2 niece's and nephew had come to support their Uncle so it was show time.
Again Leon got the drop on Darren and i, Darren pushed past on lap 2 but i was in no mood to accept it, i re-passed Darren into Turn 6 (he tried to close the door but i re-opened it) then i set on Leon, On lap 6 Darren was all over me and i was on Leon's tail, the Ducati groan weakened and it was left for Leon and i to go for the win on the last lap, we both went into the 1min 13's time bracket but although i was close i could not get a sniff of an overtake so i won my class and was 2nd overall in race 2.
On the slow down lap and in the pit lane i saw Chris and family and celebrated with a big fat burnout. JOB DONE.

Review
Well what a great season, we had 5 Win's and 8 podiums, the Triumph was faultless throughout and other than my Faux pas at Cadwell everything was bang on.
Big thanks to Martin, Mum & Dad, Richard and Tweek for the pit/mechanical help throughout the year.
Also a big thanks to sponsors and supporters, they are PLI Consultants, No Limits TrackDays, GLF Accessories, Holbeach Tyres, Held gloves & EBC Pads.

Cadwell Park will hopefully be on the TZ250 of James @ KrazyKat Dyno's, here's hoping for 1 more racing installment.

Pembrey 21st/22nd August

After a 6 week break Martin (Ratty) and I headed west to the Pembrey Circuit just outside
LLanelli in South Wales.

After arriving at the circuit my Friend Chris Hayes Adams or Sheep Racer as we call him
had saved us some tarmac space.

I had not raced at Pembrey for 6 years and could not attend the practice day on Friday
due to work commitments.

Sound of Thunder Qual
Saturday was wet and misty, Martin placed the wet’s on and we measured the fuel, after
a few exploratory laps I started to up the pace, I was rusty round Pembrey but managed a
1min 9.1 on my final lap and qualified in 2nd place.

Race 1
The siren sounded to get yourself to the warm up area, we left it late(ish) but was inside
the timeline, when I arrived Norman (marshall) told me the riders were already on their
warm up lap and I was to join at the back of the grid, I was confused the riders went past
and I joined them but was allowed to take my slot.

My start was good but missing the psych up lap placed me at a huge disadvantage and
Les and Andy Blackman drove away from me , conditions were quite wet but not sploshy
and I struggled to find a feel, Chris Norris overtook but I got him back and got my head
down to finish 3rd.

On the slow down lap I pulled in to see the flagman who then apologized to me for
starting the warm up lap too quick!!!! I was pretty moody about the whole thing but that’s
racing!

Race 2
10 Minutes before this race the rain started then stopped then started again, Martin and I
changed wheel’s 3 times and it was very stressed, I am leading the championship but only
by a small margin and slicks on a wet course is suicide.

New Era gave us 15 minutes to resolve , the rain then properly came down and we lined
up on the grid.

I got a good start into 2nd place and felt comfortable holding Andy Blackman’s pace,
on lap 5 I started to look at an overtaking opportunity but then my visor started to mist
up, Les Liney overtook and I started to drop away, I still finished in 3rd place but was
understandably unhappy.


Sunday.
Qualifying
The track had finally dried out , so Ratty put the slicks on and we headed out for some proper racing, in the middle of the session i started to catch up Andy Balckman on his Aprilia and passed him but in my peripheral vision i could see a blue and white Ducati of les Liney pulling about the same lap times as me in the distance.

On my last lap i placed in 1min 1.9 which even though was only good enough for 3rd on the grid was only 0.4 secs off pole which surprisingly Mark Lister on his 999 Ducati took.

Race 1.
I lined up 3rd but was 2nd into the first corner, i then dropped to 3rd place as Les and Mark wanted to play and in reality for Championship reason's i don't need to squabble with either, Mark started to make a break so i outbreaked Les and started my attack, Mark was riding very well but i trimmed the gap from 2sec's to 1sec's on lap 7, on the last lap i could not breach the gap but Les was all over me on his 1098 Duke, going into Dibeni Bends for the last time i opened the gas too quickly and the back came round, i held it and regained composure and finished 2nd with Les trying to outdrag me too the line, Few...
Chris Norris who is 2nd in the Championship was 4th, Andy Blackman went down and with his DNF and a check up at hospital his championship hopes went as well.

The 2 Duke's got into the 1min Dead's were the 675 recorded a 1min 1.1 fastest lap, i think i need more horsepower!!!!

Race 2
Mark Lister never rode in this one and to be honest this was the best race so far this year, I got a crap start but bullied my way into 2nd place at the hairpin, Les was leading and i thought i would ride shotgun for a while, Chris was matching the pace but on lap 6 he started to drift away, that gave me the incentive to start a dice with Les. On lap 6 i passed him outta the hairpin only for him to return the favour down the back straight, this went on for 2 more lap and then i stuck in overtake into the right hander after Dibeni for good measure, on the last lap i out accelerated Les out of turn one held my lead onto the back straight where he overtook me, into the kink and onto Honda curve (last corner) i let the brakes off and dove up the inside, Les took a wide sweeping line and as we drove out of the corner towards the finish line i hit a bump which started a small tankslapper meaning i had to roll off the throttle a touch (this was done with less than a meter separating us ) so Les won by 2/10th's of a second, annoying but bloody good fun.

To shows you the pace we were riding at both Sunday S-O-T Races were quicker than the Pro Bikes races in lap times and race times.


Review.
Championship very much in my hand's now, a big thanks to Ratty and Chris Palmer (PLI) for coming down to watch and help, also Sheep Racer & Family for his 400cc heroics and finally a top 10 position, well done.
I am now 28 points clear with only 2 races at Castle Coombe to go with Chris Norris 2nd and Les Linney 3rd.

Snetterton 10th July

After my 2 wins at Mallory it was time for the hardest race of tghe season so far, Snetterton.
I usually go well here but i knew i was up against it fighting with the Ducati's as they have big horsepower compared against the Triumph.

Qualy 1.
After arriving on Friday night with Richard (Web-Site Creator) and Catherine (birthday girl) we put on a new set of boots and headed out, i had entered the Allcomers race for extra practice and after 3 scrub in laps i started to up the pace, the team new if i recorded a 1 min 12s lap i would pull in as i had set that as my time goal, i recorded a 1min 12.7 on lap 6 and pulled in.This Qualified me amazingly in 2nd place but because the S-O-T Championship is the one i am racing in this was practice and practice only!

Sound of Thunder Qualy 1.
I headed out late and had a semi tow off Robin Hookers 200 BHP Ducati, on lap 2 i recorded a 1MIN 12.3 then on lap 4 &5 i recorded low to mid 12's , the bike was geared well but for some reason the front end just did not seem to be so positive through the bombhole section. I came in on lap 7 and placed 2nd on the grid to Robin Hookers Ducati, next to me were an 1198 and 1098 Ducati's so i knew a good start would be imperative.

Race 1.
Well what a ball's up, i jumped the start stopped then continued, i entered the 1st Corner in 3rd place and battled my way through to 2nd position on Lap 2, then i was outdragged by the 1198 Ducati and slotted into 3rd place.
I kept with the Ducati but for everytime i closed my bike would literally get blown away on the straights, slightly annoying but that's the way Snetterton is. On lap 7 Les Linney on his 1098 Ducati draughted past and even though i got him back a couple of times 4th was gonna be the best i could do. When i finished the race the clerk of the course then gave me a 10s penalty and 1 place deduction so i ended up in 6th. Great!!!

Race 2.
I made sure i saw the green light come on in this race, i pushed past Andy Blackman on his 1000cc Aprilia and even nudged Robin Hooker's 200 BHP Ducati out of the way on lap 1, onto the start and finish i was then placed into 3rd with Robin leading Sam on his 1198 Ducati in 2nd place, i pushed past Sam a few times but then the cycle of overtaking on the straights continued.. I sat back a bit but realised that Les Linney was catching us both, on lap 8 Les passed me , so i passed him straight back but on the last lap he came past again on the straight and i really had no answer, if i had tried a do or die lunge i would still get beaten to the line so again for the second time running i finished 4th on track only 1 second behind 2nd place.

Review
Whilst this article might sound a bit depressing i enjoyed my race day and Richard and Catherine were in good spirits. Due to my impending house move i had decided not to race on the Sunday but should still lead the championship going into the Pembrey round.
Thank's goes to, Richard and Tweek for Pit Board, Mechanic and piss taking help. PLI Consultancy, No Limits,GLF Accessories & Holbeach Tyres for their continued support.

Link to some pics

Mallory Park - 31st May

After Testing a Yamaha 92 TZ at Rockingham on the Sunday i travelled to Mallory with the Triumph in the back on the van ready for Round 4 of the New Era Sound of Thunder Series.

Qualifying.

After ensuring Cuz Chris and Theresa, Mum and Dad got in it was down to buisness, the Championship Leader Chris Norris did not show so i was here to ensure i made the most of the races. Qualifying went well, on lap 3, 5 and 7 i posted a 56.4 lap time , the bike was going well and my combination of a Bridgestone rear and Metz front seemed pretty cool.

I came in with a slightly misted visor but Dad reckoned i was over 1 second quicker than anyone else out there so we parked it. When the times came out i had qualified in pole position by over 1 second which was smart.

Race 1.

I got a magic start and entered into Gerrards leading , by the end of lap 1 i had a 2 second lead which i kept extending throughout the race to win by 11 seconds. No issues through the race , my fastest lap was lap 3 which i posted a 56.2.

Race 2.

Again i lead away leading the pack into Gerrards, this race i calmed it down a bit and enjoyed the ride, my lap times were mid 56's throughout the race and i won by 10 seconds, on the slow down lap i pulled a nice stonking wheelie to celebrate as well, magic!!!!

Review.

My mum has not come to a race meeting for about 11 years so it was good that she turned up to this one, to be honest a couple of quicker guy's did not turn up for this meeting and i now lead the championship.

I did not compete in the Allcomers race as fighting against powerbikes is to be honest a bit silly , i have everything to loose.

Next round will be the 10th-11th July at Snetterton, on the Sunday i will be racing KrazKat's Dyno TZ250, that will certainly be interesting.

Silverstone - 25th April

ALLCOMERS FX-1300 Table

SOUND OF THUNDER Table

As i live close to Silverstone Mechanic Ratty and i went in the morning, weather was cool with possible showers but both races ended up dry for me. Since the Cadwell Park round was only 1 week before i had no tyre issues the only thing i had to do was to get the Fairing bracket fixed (Cheers Steve)

Qualifying
A junior Stocksport front runner decided to rock up for the race so my chances if winning was sliced, qualifying went well, Silverstone is not a track i am overfamilier with but i had raced on the club circuit before which other's in the Sound Of Thunder hadn't.
I posted a low 1 minute 2 which placed me 3rd on the grid with a Ducati 848 in 2nd but they had a separate grid so when the races commenced i was 2nd.

Race 1. John Simpson lined up on pole with yours truly 2nd and 2 1098 Ducati's in 3rd and 4th, Silverstone is quite a flat fast circuit so the 675 would be at a disadvantage on the straights against the Dukes.
I got a good start but John led away, i tried to hang on but he was riding really well and pushed away, this meeting was all about getting points back on Champ leader Chris Norris, throughout the race i was left alone in 2nd position and with Norris in 5th this is how the race finished.

Race 2. Again John got a good start and led me into the 1st turn, i managed to hold onto to John a bit longer in race 2 , and we managed to extend the gap throughout the race with 3rd place man a further 5seconds adrift. John won and he rode very well, again Chris Norris was 5th so we caught back up in the Championship and i moved up form 3rd to 2nd place i also shave a further 7/10ths of a second off my lap time with my fastest being a 1min 1.1.

Review. The races were quite static for this round, we achieved exactly what we set up for this round which was a points scoring exercise. Many Thanks to Ratty for Spannering/Pit Board, James and DavE Arch for coming along and Ced his wife and children for the support.

Cadwell Park - 17th & 18th April

After a quick re-think about dates I decided to enter the Sunday round at Cadwell Park (New Era Championship). I had not ridden since Mallory and I had completed a quick oil change on the bike as the engine is still fresh/Tight and a gearing change. 

Ratty and I arrived on Sat evening as I have entered the Allcomers and Sound Of Thunder races. 

Qualifying.

                    After changing the rear tyre we headed out for Qualifying 1 in the Allcomers Race, on about lap 5 I started to up the pace and was really left alone on the track with no one to follow, on lap 8 I decided to pull in, I recorded a low 1min 38 which was not very quick but due to me being a little under the weather I pulled in. I qualified in 2nd position which was good enough though 

Sound of Thunder Qual.

After trying to get some paracetamol and water down me I headed out for SOT Qual, on lap 4 I recorded a low 37 and pulled it in, everything from gearing to handling was good but again I did not feel the front tyre was giving me much feel but we placed it on Pole by 0.4 of a second. 

Allcomers Race.

I lined up for this one conscience of the fact that I surrounded by superbikes, I got an o.k. start but was passed down the back straight relegating me to 5th. The top 2 pushed away and I was following Mark Littler and a black Gisxer, the Gisxer pushed past Mark and even though his bike was incredibly quick I passed him only to be pushed back on another straight. We changed places 3 times and I lined him up again into Mansfield, into the corner everything felt good but on the Apex the front tucked and I fell down breaking a clip on and clutch lever. Rider was o.k. if a bit miffed. 

SOT Race 1. We missed it as we were busy repairing the bike, Stones and dust everywhere. 

SOT Race 2.

After repairing the bike I headed out to try and redeem myself, I lined up on pole and was ready to make amends, I got a flyer of a start and lead into Coppice, onto the Park Straight and into Park corner I was demoted to 2nd by a wild pass from Race 1 winner Mark. On lap 3 he made a mistake into Mansfield and I capitalized and pushed away recording on lap 5 a 1min 35.9 (fastest lap of the weekend), Chris Norris who is leading the Championship pushed through to 2nd place but I won the race by 10 sec’s which was great considering the crash. 

Review.

I made it hard work but overall I was quite happy, big thanks to Ratty who supported me throughout the day even though he has cracked ribs from his Rockingham Crash and PLI Consultants who helped with the tyre bill. Also Thanks to Graham and Les from GLF Accessories, Mark at HolBeach Tyres & Les Liney.

Roll on Silverstone.

Mallory Park - 21st March

ALLCOMERS FX-1300 Table

SOUND OF THUNDER Table

After a successful holiday race in January at Philip Island it was time to get back to the real world and racing back in the UK. My Triumph ‘s engine had been refreshed by Steve Linsdell at Flitwick Motorcycles and a Dyno session at KrazyKatt’s showed us that all was healthy.

I practiced at Mallory Park on the Thursday before so I had a base setting and all was o.k. My friend Dave Lawes (Force India Technician) times me and whilst I was circulating with BSB Rider Christian Iddon I got down to 56.3 which was about on the money.

Sunday (Race Day)

We arrived at Mallory on a wet Saturday night, my usual pit bitch Loz has been unwell as late so super sub Martin (Ratty) stepped in to be my no 1 for the day.

Untimed Practice

It was patchy damp for this so I took my time to up my speed , I had entered 3 races for the day the Allcomers Race (Unlimited) and Sound Of Thunder (2 Races) and this was the order of the day. After scrubbing in my new Bridgestone Slicks I was ready for timed qual.

Allcomers (Timed)

Gerrards was still patchy damp but the rest of the circuit was dry, again I took my time to get up to speed but in fairness lap times were dictated by traffic and clear laps. After my 10 minute session I posted a 56.4 which was good enough for 2nd on the grid with only a proper Yamaha R1 in front.

Sound of Thunder (Timed)

Much less traffic in this one , I got my head down and strung consistant mid 56’s for this and qualified on pole by 1 second.

Race 1 (ALLCOMERS)

Because of the slicks I decided to change the rebound settings on the front fork, I got a good launch but was overtaken by 2 bikes into Gerrards, I hung on in 3rd place but the bike’s front end was not working properly , after 2 major front end scares into Gerrards I was forced to ride to the bikes strengths, on about lap5 I dove up the inside into the hairpin to take 2nd but overshot and relegated me to 4th, I got a bit of gusto up within 2 laps I was back in 2nd place and started chasing the leader, I brought the gap down from 4 secs to 2 secs at the finish to record a 2nd place finish (1st 600 home) which was pretty good with a lap time of 55.9.

Race 2.

Ratty , Tweek and I worked on the bike a bit between lunch, we altered the yokes to run a higher front end. This it transpired was the wrong direction but again I got a good launch but was 2nd into Gerrards with Michael Booth leading the way, Michael set a good pace and I followed in his wheeltracks, the bikes was way too hard on the front and Gerrards was a complete nightmare but I stuck with him , with 2 laps to go Michael managed to squeeze a backmarker between us into Gerrards, on the last lap I reduced the gap and as we came into Edwiners I decided to have a lunge at it, I was too late and Michael and I went up the escape road, I had to give him the corner and the win as my move was wrong too hot so I finished 2nd but got fastest lap.

Race 3.

Rat, Tweek and I discussed the situation and I softened off the compression on the front fork. The bike felt instantly better and again I got a good start, Michael beat me into Gerrards and tried to escape. On lap 2 I was still with him and I felt that this time roles will be reversed , on lap 4 Michael overshot Edwiner’s and I passed him , I then strung consistant laps together to win the race by 4 sec’s. It was nice to take the chequered flag and the team were pretty pleased.

Review.

Big shout and thanks goes to Ratty, Tweek, Cousin Chris and his Mrs , Graham and Les form GLF Accessories , Bridgestone/Holbeach, Held, Oxford Products, No Limits and PLI Consultants .

Welcome to Race reports for 2010, the year starts here (well technically in Oz but thats on another page)

A bit of a mish mash with clubs but you'll see why!

I will be competing in 2 Championships New Era Sound of Thunder and Bemsee Stocksport 600, my bike has been re-built by Steve Linsdell and we are going to the Dyno on Sat to see what she produces.

Again i will be contesting the Triumph 675 , for the New Era races we can use Slicks and for the Bemsee races it will be on Treaded tyres.

Preparation has gone well and i am already raced in having raced abroad in Australia in Jan.

Any product support would be great (most of you donate already so thanks), if you want to book any tickets early for any meetings please let me know in advance.

I will keep you all upto date via my web-site (www.imbergracing.co.uk Ta Richard) on the how the season progresses, ideally this year i would like to see a few more Trophies with 1st and 2nd on them as last year i seemed to always end up 3rd.

My 1st shakedown test is Feb 20th at Oulton Park with No Limits Track Days, i will send some pictures over of some bike shots then.