We’re proud to support The Royal Air Force Classic Racing Motorcycle Club
Race report: Cadwell Park 2018 round 7
Intro
It’s time to cast our minds back to Friday 5th October; the beginning of the end of the 2018 CRMC season. For the final meeting of the year, the CRMC hold their normal 2-race program on the Saturday and hold a longer “one-off” Race of the Year on the Sunday, no Championship points are awarded but the races have their own trophy and presentation.
Friday saw Davin Williams, Gavin Heggs, Paul Kirkby and Symon Woodward find their way to Cadwell Park circuit to set up camp for the weekend. The day had been reasonably warm (for October), however the afternoon’s sky quickly darkened. As Williams and Heggs set off on an evening walk of the circuit, the cloud dropped, signalling the incoming weather we were all expecting for Saturday.
Post Classic 350 GP
#51 Kirkby
Cadwell was only my third meeting of the year so despite it being my local circuit whilst I was racing in the early 90s, I felt very race rusty. With heavy rain forecast for the Saturday I left Scotland on Friday morning and headed south. Thankfully the sun was out by the time I arrived which allowed us to set up in the dry at least. The weather didn’t disappoint and we awoke to wet and misty weather on Saturday morning. Fortunately I had set my suspension for the wet weather before leaving home to save time. Having not ridden the bike here in the wet before, setting up the gearing wasn’t quite so easy and I was only just sorted in time for practice. Once we were finally allowed out on the track, and with only 10 minutes of practice allocated, I made sure that I was near the front to prevent being held up by anyone. Slowly I picked up my pace as quick as I dare and despite feeling like I was tip-toeing round the track I managed to qualify 4th fastest out of 30.
Race 1
Despite starting near the front of the grid I got off to a terrible start after taking two attempts to slip the clutch and get the bike up to speed. The problems that I had at Donington were back to haunt me and I quickly slipped to the middle of the pack. Thankfully by the end of lap 1 I was back up to 6th place and despite pushing as hard as I dared for the rest of the race, I could only make a small amount of inroads to the 5th place man. A P6 finish and I was happy enough.
Races 2 & 3
Race 2 was held in the dry on Sunday morning having been postponed from Saturday afternoon. With the bike suspension now set up for dry conditions I was at a loss as to what the clutch problem could be and decided to see how it pulled off the start line on the warm up lap. ‘Dreadful’ was the answer and bikes were soon whizzing past me on either side. Disappointed and scared in equal measures, I pulled in after the warm up lap on the grounds of safety. After the disappointment of race 2 and the ACU Post Classic race, I decided to give the final race of my weekend, race 3, a miss.
ACU Post Classic
#51 Kirkby
For this timed session, following on from the 350, all that I changed was the gearing by adding one tooth to the rear sprocket to ensure that I could make it through the Mountain section in second gear. Again with my dad’s wise words ringing in my ear I went out near the front of the group. Despite continued atrocious conditions I managed to knock another 1.7 seconds off my lap times and finish 6th out of 28 in a class consisting of other TZ350s as well as big GSXRs, P&M Kawasakis and GPZs.
After it turned out that the inner clutch plate on my dry clutch (as had been recommended) was the problem, I replaced it and headed down for the open class race. Despite managing to get the bike off the start a lot better the larger bikes were soon whizzing past me and I quickly slipped back again. I also soon found out that the gearing I had fitted last minute was totally inadequate and I was flat out before even reaching the dip on the back straight. I continued round for about half of the race distance, whilst holding 15th place before pulling in to the pits and calling it a day/year.
Post Classic 500 air cooled
#157 Woodward
For my latest attempt to try and keep the wheels in contact with the tarmac throughout the race, I had fitted a borrowed Rear Shock from Andy’s “well-stocked” shed. Practice (timed) was in torrential rain and after half a lap my throttle stuck half open, I retired without a qualifying lap time so started at the back of the grid for race 1. The weather did not improve for the first race, but at least the reduced speeds meant that the bike did not handle too badly. With a not very inspiring ride, I managed to make my way up to 6th.
Although the weather was a lot better, the second race was still a wet race and despite starting further up the grid, I was out-ridden by the blokes at the front and finished fourth. This was disappointing as I arrived at the meeting with a good chance of finishing second in the Championship, but it was not to be as I finished third. Just need to make up for it by winning the “Race of the Year” on the Sunday, (I thought).
For the Race of the Year, you start in your Saturday’s qualifying position, so yet again I was at the back of the grid. I was not too concerned as I knew I could get good starts and the extra laps would give me a chance to make it to the front. Unfortunately it was not to be, the bike continued to buck and bounce around the fast corners and the riders at the front were riding well. This meant that I failed to finish on the podium, but at least it encouraged my motivation to get the bike to handle as well as it should. A different set of forks have already been sourced from the States and they will be having some magic worked on them over the winter.
600 Junior Production
#61 Williams
Cometh the rain, cometh the man!
A few season stats before the race report – on completion of this final round, the FZ has finished every race it started; 36 starts, 36 finishes. No offs (going too slow?) and nothing had come so loose it needed marshal recovery (Woodward to note). 2 sets of tyres, 2 sets of brake pads, it hardly used any fuel, at least not in comparison to oil. If it was a 2-stroke it would be running nearly 1:1. Unbeaten in the Dave Williams v Sy Woodward all-comers championship, (although by luck more than judgement). Now regularly achieving top 10 finishes out of 40-odd riders in arguably the most competitive class in the club. In summary, very happy.
Back to a very wet qualifying on Saturday. First Post Classic 750. I made a concerted effort to get out at the front of the pack and do my own thing. I felt good straight away resulting in my first front-row qualification of the year. Unfortunately, the monsoon conditions eased a bit before race 1 but I still managed an 8th amongst much more powerful machinery, some of which had sets of wheels more valuable than my entire bike (£10). By Sunday the track was dry and I got humped by the faster stuff. But it was still great racing and good preparation for the main event with the Junior Production pack.
I’d qualified in 5th for the first Junior Production race but failed to capitalise on the good grid position as the fast-in-the-dry guys started to feel more confident in the track conditions. 12th was the best I could manage. The second proddy race was on Sunday morning and I finally got a decent start, chasing the front runners for a lap or so before losing the tow, by which time the riders behind didn’t have time to catch up – result 10th! The final race was the last race of the season in class and for the CRMC. The light was just starting to go and the temperature dropping. The paddock was either packing up or had already left. To my surprise the last race was an epic 7 laps of battling with riders I’ve competed against all year. Overtaking, getting re-taken and then re-paying the compliment. It was, as advertised, Race of the Year for the Production riders and although the result wasn’t important to me I came 13th with a stupid grin on my face.
Post Classic 750 SUPERSTOCK
#74 Heggs
For this meeting, the VFR was out after the RD250 so I always had an idea of what to expect before I got on the bigger of my two machines.
Practice on the VFR was damp and my Pirelli Supercorsas did nothing to inspire my riding. I put in an awful time, unwilling to join the growing number of other riders replacing levers and patching bodywork after pushing their bikes that little bit too far.
As a result of practice I started my first race on the Viffer close to the back of the grid. I was however heartened to see a few familiar faces with me who had clearly the same idea as me. The circuit was pretty tractable in many places now, allowing me to stretch the legs on the VFR a little, but regular yellow flags with accompanied tumbling motorcycle-rider combos kept my enthusiasm well in check. As such I finished safely having made back 3 places by the chequered flag.
The next two races were carried out on a dry and mostly sunny Sunday. Race 21 saw me starting in 29th on the grid for my efforts in the wet the day before. The circuit had a clear dry line by now with the only really bad area being in the woods. I had not long been out on the RD so chatted with Mike Gilson about where the wet bits were in the paddock before we headed out.
As we set off on our parade lap I was on the green flag quickly and made up a few places to get with the faster riders. Unfortunately a GSXR decided to swerve to his left as I went to pass him and we collided, a common danger on busy grids such as this. We continued unbothered and re-gridded ready for the start a short while later.
The start was okay, clawing a few places, but I was then let down a little by the bike not holding second gear, allowing that few riders back past me including Gilson who had clearly had a very good start. I followed Gilson on his very similar VFR750 as we plowed forward, passing a number of riders till the pack started to thin out.
I had managed to pass Gilson on lap one but he had the pace on me out of Barn corner and my VFR continued to not want to hold in gear allowing Gilson to get back in front. I spent the next few laps harassing Gilson wherever I had the opportunity to, but failed to get more than along-side him. On the last lap, as I really wound the pressure on, I was passed by Gary Varman on a GSXR750 who had caught us up as we scrapped. We were entering the chicane and I knew I was now in the weaker half of the circuit for me. I was going to struggle to pass either rider now but as I readied myself to brake into the hairpin before the mountain, Gilson’s front end washed out sending him and his bright red VFR into the grass on their sides. Verman and I made it round the incident safely and onto the finish line where Verman, predictably, managed to keep a safe distance in front of me finishing 16th.
By the time my last race of the season had come along it was late and I was ready to go home, much less ride a longer finale to the season. I did however head out, hoping Gilson had fixed his VFR for another go at trying to beat me. Unfortunately he did not materialise and after an average start I followed an FZR for a while before getting passed on the straight by Paul Holiday on his big BMW rocket ship. I was able to close him in the corners from Coppice to the gooseneck but never got close enough to bother him much. As the last lap flag was passed, some of the superbikes came to lap us whom I tried to stay out of the way of and in doing so let James Vigurs sneak past, the git.
Post Classic 250 air cooled
Race 1
#74 Heggs
I qualified poorly due to an unwillingness to bin my bike on the last meet of the season and was gridded accordingly towards the back. By the time we came to race, the rain had backed off which made things a bit more comfortable even if the surface was no more grippy. Some set off with more enthusiasm that I and many of them paid for it. I still made 4 places however and more importantly finished upright.
#157 Woodward
Qualifying was tricky, but I was happy to be starting fifth. On Pole was Fast John, (I don’t think anybody told him it was raining), and in Second was Graeme Acott. John had an unassailable lead but depending on today’s results, Graeme could push me down into third in the Championship. By the second lap, John had broken away and Graeme was really going for it in second. I would like to say that I let Graeme go as I did not need to beat him, just finish near him, but in truth, he was too quick in the wet. On the 3rd or 4th lap I came over the brow of the hill into Park Corner to see both Graeme and his Suzuki sliding across the track and grass. All I needed now was to stay on, (easy eh???). The trouble was every time I came to a slow corner I could hear the “thud, thud, thud” of Richard Cheetham’s far less powerful Honda, and I was determined to keep him behind me. That was until the penultimate lap when going into the Hairpin in the Woodlands part of the circuit, the front wheel locked and tucked in. Luckily I managed to stay on, (not sure how) but took a detour through the grass. Although it is a relatively slow corner, the tyre wall is not far away and I only just managed to get the bike turned on the wet grass before reaching the tyres. By the time I returned to the tarmac Richard and another rider had passed me, so I just settled down to finish the race and confirm my second place in the Championship.
Race 2
#74 Heggs
Sunday morning was chilly but the sun was out and the track was fast drying. By the time we got out, there was a clear dry line with only the start finish line and Barn corner where you might have to contend with a soggy bit.
I started extremely well, passing some poor hapless chap as he wheelied and shed parts in a Mick Rudd inspired display on the start line. As I entered Coppice I had stuck myself in front of Andy Guy and was closing on Chris Wallace. Andy went round the outside of me into Chris’s (just as he said he would) allowing me to enjoy the tow past Chris Wallace and onto the tail of Graeme Acott. Now I had two riders who I would benefit strongly in following and this I did as I followed Acott for a couple of laps before the TD2 of Jason Burrill dropped between us and started to drag Acott out of my reach. I couldn’t find the pace in the wooded sections to stay with them and before long I was alone racing myself. Regardless of my lonely finish I had managed to make 13 places on the grid and finished 4th.
#157 Woodward
With John Warick failing to make it to the start line my main competitor was Graeme, but on the drying track I managed to break away at the start and take the win.
Race 3
#74 Heggs
I was disappointed to find out our start positions for the Race of the Year would not be taken from the results of the previous race, so my previous efforts wouldn’t help me here. We all sat warming our motorcycles in the holding area, whilst I watching leaves fall through the smokey haze and reflected on the season so far. I was brought back to the world by Woodward shouting into my helmet: something difficult to hear or understand, but I got the gist of it as being something to do with the possibility of a double RAF podium to finish the season. I thought that would be nice if I could manage to keep with and better still beat Acott but then I saw John Warwick roll into the holding area and the numbers suddenly didn’t look very good.
As it happened I made another really good start and caught the front group by the exit of Coppice. They had started strong too however and this made it difficult for me to stay with them. Then Warwick, who had started from the back of the grid, passed me into Hall bends. I was very surprised when he didn’t immediately pull away and I had sudden flashbacks to following Rudd in a similar manner last year and that did not end well at all. I was relieved to exit the old hairpin on my wheels but began to lose Warwick out of Barn where he had pulled a good lead on the start finish straight. I held this gap up into Coppice but in keeping the same pace I entered the right hander too tight and very nearly lost the front end, which by the time I had recovered it and got my gearing sorted, had left Warwick a speck on the horizon. I powered down the back straight to try and keep with those in front of me but the bike wasn’t feeling as eager as usual and they quickly pulled out of sight.
Not long after, Burrill caught and passed me on his TD2. I managed to keep with him through the woods, which was reassuring, but as I wound on the power onto the start finish straight it became very apparent something was not right. The bike bogged down and a glance at my TTO and EGT gauges told me that all of my temperatures were low. A pair of bikes blew past me as I messed with the throttle and changed gear to see if it would clear when the EGT gauge shot back up again and I was back on power. I closed the two bikes that had just passed me and contemplated where I should pass them when the power dropped out again briefly. I decided to stay put and keep an eye on my gauges. The bike wasn’t running right but the power was still there all be it a bit lumpy and hesitant. I didn’t pull in that lap and immediately regretted it when the bike bogged up the mountain allowing another machine passed. I made it round, allowing people past whenever the bike lost power and retired at the end of the lap. This was a disappointing end to the season for the little RD but at least I could have another go on the VFR.
#157 Woodward
Whilst waiting in the holding area for my last race of the season to start I was thinking what a shame it was that all of the fast bike/rider combinations were not out there. In the class there are at least 10 race-winning riders, including our own Andy Green (and I have to admit it, Dave Bond had the potential), but due to circumstances, mainly injury, today’s race would come down to myself, John and Graeme. When fast John failed to make it to the start line for the sighting lap, numbers where looking even thinner.
After a good start I got my head down and broke away at the front, after a few laps I was in my own company and thinking how stupid I would look if I fell off now. What I did not realise was that John had started the race, all being at the back of the grid, and was riding like a man possessed to catch me up. With about 2 ½ laps to go a shadow appeared next to me on Chris’s Curve and then a green streak swooped around the outside going into the Gooseneck. I gave chase for about a lap but he gradually pulled away. I could not lap as quick as John, but if I knew he had been catching me, I could have perhaps gone fast enough for him not to make all of the ground up in the time. In the end I finished second to the faster rider on the day, can’t complain about that.
In Closing
#51 Kirkby
At the end of 2017 if someone had said to me that despite only completing three meetings in 2018 I would manage two top 6 places in one of the most competitive classes in the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club then I wouldn’t have believed them. This success in part goes to the lads and lasses that help to make the RAF Classic Racing Team work. Thanks also to the team sponsors for all of their help. Roll on 2019!
#61 Williams
Roll on next year when the FZ will come out refreshed from a winter’s tweaking and with a big VFR brother to keep it company. Thanks to the team for constant encouragement, piss taking and tepid tea, also all of the team’s sponsors who contribute so much to keeping the bikes stopping and going in testing circumstances
#74 Heggs
Finishing 4th in the Post Classic 250 air-cooled class in my second year of racing has been a huge achievement for me. I know that; to an extent it was a case of turning up and finishing that got me there but I do believe I have made some good progress this year. The VFR has come together nicely and has taught me a lot, as well as introducing me to another group of great riders. I am now looking forward to a winter spent tinkering and titivating the bikes ready for next year.
I will be lucky to get to compete in every event next year like I did this year, but I can certainly hope so, as this was a very enjoyable season. I shall keep my thanks brief as I hope to publish a journal entry for that specific purpose soon, but for now I would like to thank the CRMC, our amazing support and sponsors for helping us enjoy the sport we love.
#157 Woodward
As they say in Motorcycle Racing, another season, another overdraft. Time to regroup and rebuild over the winter. It has been a shame that due to a collection of reasons, the amount of air-cooled 250s in the Team has dropped from its high of 9. On the bright side, we are getting a broader spread of machines, with TZs, K4s, VFRs, FZs and XJRs, just a pity they are not 2-strokes bar the TZ. Saying that, despite its many flaws, I really enjoyed racing the FZ this year and actually do have a track VFR and ZXR in my garage. Perhaps I am getting old, next thing you know I will be playing Golf.
Leave a Reply