Aintree 15/5/10

I didn't have a ride in 2008, except for a one off in the R1 Cup, so after that I decided to do some MotoX.  But I missed the track racing, so I bought a Suzuki K7 1000 Superstock bike and with Andy George, Adam and Josh, I set off for my first meeting at Aintree.  I had ridden at Aintree a few years ago, but I was a little nervous as I didn't know what to expect, how fast the other riders were and what sort of racers they were.  I had entered two championships, the Superbikes and the Powerbikes for up to 1300cc bikes.  There are some long fast straights at Aintree and I ended up overriding in the corners and making a few mistakes, so I finished the first Superbike race in 3rd place which determined my grid postion for the championship race.  Next race up was the Powerbikes qualifying race, in which I started finding my "feet" again and finished a good 3rd.

I didn't do so well in the Superbikes championship race with a 4th place finish.  My last race of the day was the Powerbikes championship race, and I think I surprised a few people by winning it.  Once I was back in the groove and back into a good racing rhythm I got going and went for the win, against the Aintree regulars.

Mallory Park EMRA (Round 3) 23/5/10

Next stop was the EMRA round at Mallory Park, another circuit I'd raced at before, but again I didn't know the riders or what to expect from them.  I qualified 2nd for the two 175-1300cc races, and 6th for the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race.  I was dicing with Tim Howells, also on a Suzuki, in the 1300cc races.  I made a good start to the first race, but he got the better of me and I finished 2nd.   In the second race I got the jump on him and went on to win the race by 3.9 seconds and also set the fastest lap.

I made another good start from the second row of the grid in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race, and finally got into the lead when they red flagged it.  The result was taken back a couple of laps so it left me with a 2nd place finish, but I got the Rider of the Meeting award as a consolation.

Aintree 12/6/10

It was back to Aintree in June for the second round of the championship, and this time I was a bit more prepared, only this time there was a bit more wheel to wheel racing going on at times.  I got a flying start to the first race and won it, also setting the fastest lap, so that meant pole for the Superbikes championship race.  Next up it was the Powerbikes qualifying race, where I was in a bit of a scrap for the lead but came out second best with a 2nd place.

I got away well in the Superbikes championship race and I was leading when it was red flagged after two laps, but the result stood.  Again I got a great start in the Powerbikes championship race and set the fastest ever race time at Aintree.  Now I'm leading the Superbikes and Powerbikes championships.

Mallory Park EMRA (Round 4) 4/7/10

Once again it was off to Mallory Park for the fourth round of the EMRA championships.  I qualified on the front row of the grid for the two 1300cc races.  I won the first race from Tim Howells (Suzuki) and Michael Nibblet (Honda) a local Mallory specialist.  After that Michael started flying and beat me in the second race by just 0.7seconds.

I qualified 3rd for a front row start in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race.  I got a good start, but this time Michael really was on form and flying, and I finished 2nd, 1.9seconds behind him.  I was struggling for grip and the rear shock wasn't working properly, it hasn't really suited me since I've had the bike, so I must sort a new one.

Aintree 10/7/10

Well here we are at Aintree again and I didn't have quite such a good weekend.  It started with a 2nd in the Superbikes qualifying race, and then a 3rd in the championship race, but I am still leading the championship.  The Powerbikes races were better with a win in the qualifying race and another win and fastest lap in the championship race.  I now lead the Powerbikes championship with a maximum 45 points.

Croft NEMCRC 24-25/07/10

I decided it was time for a change so I entered the Croft meeting, another circuit I know well.  This time I had a new Bitubo rear shock in, and it made a big difference.  I set pole in qualifying, and then lead the first race until it was red flagged, and then they sent us all back to the start line again.  I lead the restart for 3 laps but then Jimmy Storrar on his BMW came past.  I was running in a safe 2nd place until the last lap when the bike kept nearly cutting out as I was running out of fuel and AJ Venter on his Triumph just managed to beat me into 3rd place.  In the second race I lead off the line but Jimmy got past into the first corner, with me finishing in a safe 2nd place, 6 seconds clear of AJ.

The first race on Sunday continued where I'd left off with a 2nd to Jimmy again.  Then it was time for the Ken Redfern Trophy race where I made another good start, but the inevitable pass by Jimmy happened almost straight away, so it was another 2nd place finish again for me, but I put in a lap of 1.23.9seconds, the first time I've got into the 1.23's.  Jimmy didn't compete in the last race of the day, where I lead off the line again, and for 5 laps, but AJ was pushing me hard and he got by to lead for a couple of laps, then I passed him on the last lap for the win.  I also set a personal best lap time of 1.23.7, that's a second quicker than I did here in BSB Superstock in 2007, and only 0.2 of a second off Steve Brogan's 2009 Superstock 1000 lap record set on the HM Plant Honda.  I had a good weekend and collected a few trophies, although I was never going to beat Jimmy on his 2010 BMW with my 3 year old Suzuki, but I'm happy with what I achieved this weekend.

Mallory Park 11/08/10

I decided to do the test day at Mallory Park this afternoon in preparation for the EMRA round on Sunday.  We had 3x20 minute sessions and I enjoyed being at Mallory again.  I changed the rear suspension spring, but then I changed it back to the original one which I preferred.  It was a nice sunny afternoon at the beginning although it was a bit chilly later.  But it turned out to be a good afternoon for me as I did my fastest ever lap around Mallory with a 53.53 seconds, and I usually go quicker in the races, so roll on Sunday.

Aintree 14/08/10 and Mallory Park 15/08/10

This was not the weekend I expected or wanted, in fact it was a complete disaster.  There was a long delay at Aintree due to a serious incident, so the qualifying race was cancelled and we went straight on to the Superbike race.  I started from pole and got a good start and I was soon in the lead and broke the lap record just before someone else also did.  But then disaster struck on the penultimate lap when the engine blew up and I coasted across the line to a standstill.  This means I have now dropped from leading the championship down to 3rd place.  The Powerbike race was cancelled so I'm still leading that championship with only one more round to go.

I took the bike home and started stripping it to find it had dropped a valve, which meant no racing at Mallory Park the next day.  I was very disappointed because although I missed the first two rounds I stood a good chance of finishing well up in the Unlimited and Buildbase Mallory Trophy championships.  But with double points at the last round there's still a glimmer of hope.  I also found out I did a faster lap on Wednesday than the fastest lap in the race on Sunday of 53.98 seconds set by Michael Niblett (Honda).

Now I'm on the hunt for a replacement engine for my Suzuki 1000 K7, so if anyone knows of one for sale, please contact me.  Thanks.

NEWS 24/08/10

I managed to get an engine for my bike, it's being refreshed and should be ready by the end of the week.  So it's looking like I'll be doing a one off in National Superstock 1000 at the Croft BSB round.

The final Aintree round on the 18th September has been cancelled due to the tragic accident there at the last round, but they are looking at holding it in October.  As it stands I've won one championship there.

Mallory Park 5/09/10

Hi all, it's Joan here, I'm writing this report because John is too modest to tell the real story.  Having got his new engine back on Thursday and fitted it into the bike on Friday he decided to do the Auto 66 Club round at Mallory Park to try it out ready for the National Superstock 1000 round at Croft next weekend.  He had also removed his quick shifter, changed his double bubble dark screen and fitted standard brakes as per National Superstock rules.  He entered the Super 1 class and the Man of Mallory class.  After a 10 minute practice it was time for the first 4 lap Super 1 race to decide grid positions for the two main races.  Grid positions for this race were decided by championship positions, with John having to start from the back of the grid on row 6.  He made a brilliant start to be in 9th place by Edwina's, and finished in 3rd place with the fastest lap.  The next race was the 4 lap Man of Mallory where, with less entrants, he started from the 4th row.  With another flying start he was in 6th on the first lap and finished 2nd with another fastest lap.  Mark Littler, a Mallory specialist won both these races on his ex-Hawk Superbike Kawasaki.

Next time out it was the first 8 lap Super1 race in the rain, which was stopped after 2 laps due to a crashed bike spilling fuel and oil on the track.  The track was still slippery although it had stopped raining, John got the hole shot and had a good lead for a couple of laps.  Then Mark littler took over the lead for 2 or 3 laps, but John got back in front and had a good lead until the last lap when he didn't get the run through the back markers and just got beaten on the line by 0.07 seconds by Mark Littler.  With not much rest in-between races it was time for the first Man of Mallory 8 lap race in the dry, this time John got the hole shot from the front row of the grid and was never headed, going on to win by 13.2 seconds from Mark Littler and setting another fastest lap at 53.4 seconds, which proved to be the fastest lap of the weekend.

Once again, with a demon start from the front row of the grid in the last Super 1 race, John was away and had about half a second up on Mark Littler along the back straight on the first lap.  He went on to win after 8 laps by a massive 19.9 seconds.  The last race of the day was the final Man of Mallory race, with John starting from Pole this time.  With another one of his demon starts he was away again and won by 10 seconds, again from Mark Littler.  He set the fastest lap in every one of his races and the Auto 66 Club lap record in both classes.

Now I would like to thank John for such an amazing and enjoyable day, and to say thank you for putting JMW (my initials) on the bike, as I am so proud to see them there.  Thank you so much John.

BSB Croft 10-12/09/10

It was back to Croft to do a one off in the National Superstock 1000 class at the BSB round.  A couple of friends were paying for my tyres so I thought ok, why not give it a go.  I also had a bit of a point to prove at the same time as people look at my club racing results and think I'm slow, but after 2 years away and being 35 now, riding my Suzuki K7 I proved them all wrong, and showed them I still have what it takes to run with the best in National Superstock.

It was very windy on Friday afternoon for the 30 minute practice session, but I was determined to ruffle a few feathers and put in the 4th quickest time behind the three BMW's of Jimmy Storrar, Tristan Palmer and Jon Kirkham, and I was only 0.005 seconds off Kirkham's lap time.  The first 25 minute qualifying session on Saturday morning was after a heavy rain shower, there was a dry line but with some damp patches in places.  I'm not a fan of these in-between conditions so I took it easy, hoping for a dry session in the afternoon.  Consequently I was down in 14th place, but still only 2.1 seconds off Kirkham's provisional pole time.  Fortunately it was nice and dry for the second qualifying session in the afternoon, so I decided to go for it and try and put it on the first two rows of the grid.  With a personal best lap time of 1.23.5 I qualified 5th to head off the second row of the grid, there was only the three BMW's and Scott Smart on his Ducati ahead of me.

Sunday race day stayed dry all day and we were the last race of the day, but by then the wind had turned a bit cold.  I was ready to give it my all and show exactly what I could do.  I got away well at the start and I was running in 6th place for the first two laps, then I passed John McGuinness on his Padgett's Honda to move into 5th place.  I put in another personal best lap at 1.23.3 on my fourth lap and I was catching the leaders.  With the demise of Scott Smart I was in a strong 4th place, but by lap 6 I was experiencing brake fade and I dropped down to 6th place.  I managed to keep going until lap 10 when the brake lever was coming back to the handle bar so I was forced to retire.

Although I didn't finish the race I'm happy with what I achieved, putting a 3 year old bike on the second row of the grid and running as high as 4th in the race at one point showed all the doubters that I can still do it, and my best lap time was the 5th overall fastest lap in the race.  A job well done!!  But 3 days at the circuit for just one race is not for me, plus the expense, so it's back to EMRA at Mallory Park in a couple of weeks time.

Oulton Park NGRRC 18/09/10

It was a last minute decision to go to Oulton Park, my friend Shaun Preston had race prepared his new BMW and he wanted me to try it out with a view to racing it at the last BSB round there in October.  The day started dry but a bit dull, and things were going ok, but it takes a little while to get the lap times down when riding a new and different bike for the first time.  I do like the BMW, it's slim and very fast.  The first race was a 6 lap Powerbike qualifying race to decide grid positions for the championship race.  As I wasn't in the championship I had to start from the back row of the grid ..... again.  There was a lot of traffic and it took me a little while to work my way through to finish 3rd, which meant a front row start for the next race.  Next up was the 15 minute timed qualifying session for the Phoenix Open race and I qualified 2nd for another front row start.

I had my own "the beast" Suzuki there in case it rained ........... and guess what, it did.  It started by just spitting, then it got a little bit heavier, but the track wasn't really wet.  A few riders decided not to go out, but I chose to ride my Suzuki with a wet front and dry rear tyre, which proved to be the right choice and I won the 8 lap race by 12 seconds.  It was raining properly by the time we went out for the 10 lap Open race so it was full wets, and there weren't many of us on the grid.  I got a good start and lead for the first 2 laps, then Jack Kennedy on the DR Racing Yamaha R1 Superbike came past me.  I decided to let him go and run my own race, I will admit he beat me by 27 seconds, but a 2nd place was better than a DNF in the gravel, with racing at Mallory next weekend.  I did finish 17 seconds in front of Phil Bevan on another Yamaha R1 Superbike, and got in some valuable wet weather riding practice.  Overall I enjoyed the day, and thanks to Shaun for letting me ride his BMW, and to Josh and Joan for coming to help and support me.

Mallory Park (Round 6) 26/09/10

It was the last round of the EMRA championships at Mallory on Sunday, and with double points at stake there was a good chance that I could finish 3rd in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy championship, and the 1300cc Unlimited championship.  I was riding Shaun's BMW again and the two qualifying sessions went ok with me qualifying 2nd to Michael Niblett, and in the second qualifying session I was only 0.19 of a second behind him.

The first race was a 10 lap 1300cc race, and I lead off the line only for a three bike accident to occur right behind me on the first lap, with Michael Niblett, Tim Howells and Mark Littler involved.  They decided to have a lunch break then for the clear up operations, and luckily non of the riders were seriously injured.  The restart was after lunch and I accidentally turned up a bit late for the grid, so they made me start from the back row and without a warm up lap.  I made a good start and with 10 laps to make up  ground I wasn't too worried.  The three riders involved in the accident were missing, so Alan Moreton (Yamaha) pulled out a good lead, but half way through the race I was in 3rd and then soon chasing him down, once I got past him I pulled away and won by 11.9 seconds.

Next up was the 15 lap Buildbase Mallory Trophy race, this time I made sure I got my rightful front row start, as Michael Niblett (Honda) was back in the race.  I got the hole shot, with Leon Jeacock (600 Yamaha) on my tail for the first couple of laps.  Then I started pulling away and won by 7.6 seconds with Niblett in second place, which guaranteed him the championship, with me finishing it in 2nd place, despite missing three of the six rounds.  The last of my races was the second 10 lap 1300cc race, and once again I got the hole shot and started pulling out a lead to take the win 7.9 seconds in front of Niblett.  He got the championship, but I finished second again.  I set the fastest lap in every race, my best being a 53.3 which was 0.1 of a second faster than at the Auto 66 round on my Suzuki.  I could have done with a bit more competition to push me into some quicker lap times.  I made a few minor changes to the set up of the BMW so by the end of the day it felt more like my bike, and how I like it set up for my riding style.  Although it was the last EMRA round I still have a couple more events lined up before it's the end of my season, so please keep checking the race reports section.

BSB Oulton Park 8-10/10/10

I wasn't originally going to do the National Superstock 1000 final round at Oulton Park, but I got talked into it by Shaun who wanted me to ride his BMW and Steve Bowes who offered to help pay for the tyres, so I decided to give it a go.  The Friday morning practice session was at 9.0am and the track was damp from some overnight rain.  I was pleased to end the session as 3rd fastest, although I was running in P1 for most of the session.  It proved to be a totally different situation for the two qualifying sessions, with the first one being around midday.  The track was now perfectly dry and I was finding the handling of the BMW was not right, both front and rear, and I ended up down in 18th place.  We made quite a few changes to the suspension for the second qualifying session, but this time it was the rear suspension that was giving me problems, and I nearly high sided twice, the second time I had a very lucky escape after practically doing a handstand on the bike, I really don't know how I saved it.  Although I went a second quicker I ended up down in 20th place, which is where I would start on the grid, not exactly where I wanted to be.

We took the rear shock out and got Guy at Buildbase Kawasaki to look at it, and it proved to be set wrongly, so Guy put it right.  With even more changes to the suspension I went out in the 8 minute warm up on Saturday afternoon, the bike was handling better and I finished in 12th place, but everyone's times were slower.

We made a few minor set up changes for the race on a beautifully warm, sunny afternoon on Sunday.  I made a really good start and was up to 15th place on the first of the 12 laps, then I slipped back to 22nd place after missing Hizzy's chicane, but I started working my way up and got into 19th place.  At one point I out braked myself at Britten's chicane and ran straight on, for which I was given a 5 second penalty although I didn't gain any places at the time.  By lap 9 I was in 14th place and going quite well after putting in my fastest lap, a second quicker than in qualifying, but then on lap 11 I lost the front at Druids, so I stood it up quickly, headed for the gravel trap and stopped about 3ft from the tyre wall.  I put both feet down in the gravel and it pulled the sole of my left boot away so it was hanging off.  I was going to pull in but decided to finish the race, which put me in 17th place, but with the 5 second penalty I was down in 21st place.  This wasn't what I had planned, but hey, that's racing and things don't always go to plan.  I decided to have a bit of fun on the slow down lap and did a few stand up wheelies, with the marshals clapping and laughing after seeing my near crash.  In the end I was happy to finish the race with me and the bike in one piece.  Next stop is Aintree on Saturday and anyone there is welcome to come and say hello.

Aintree 16/10/10

It was the last round of the Aintree Championships on Saturday, and as it's a fast circuit Shaun was kind enough to lend me his BMW again.  Handling around Aintree is not quite so critical, and after two short practice sessions I was ready for the first 5 lap Superbike qualifying session.  The track had been damp earlier on but now it was dry, and starting from pole position I made the hole shot and went on to win by 6.7 seconds, and set the fastest lap time.  The BMW is really quick around Aintree, and in the next qualifying race for the Powerbikes I got off the line first again, won by 6.5 seconds and set a new Powerbike lap record at 100.83mph.

The two championship races took place in the afternoon, and we changed the gearing a little.  I got the hole shot from pole again, and on my second lap I set a new outright lap record at 101.50mph in a time of 54.44 seconds.  Although I won the race by 4 seconds there was an unfortunate incident on lap 5.  Just as I approached Village bend there was a back marker slightly off line, so I went round the outside, expecting him to go for the apex on the inside, but he drifted further off line and into me.  Unfortunately he crashed, but I managed to stay on, although his handlebar hit my right arm and my left foot came off the foot rest.  They red flagged the race a lap early, on lap 6, and on the slow down lap I stopped to see how he was.

My last race of the day was the Powerbike final, and I had already won the championship.  Starting from pole again I was first off the line for the 5 lap shortened race.  With yet another win by 7.9 seconds I had had the perfect day, except for the incident in the Superbikes race and I wish the lad a speedy recovery.  The weather had been good and there were quite a few friends who turned up to support me.

Now I would just like to thank a few special people, my wife Tracey, Josh for all his help, Shaun for lending me his missile of a BMW, Adam, Steve, and Joan for her help and this website.  And of course thanks go to all the marshals and medical staff who are there in all weather conditions, and the organizers of all the events, as we wouldn't be able to race without any of you.

And now I'm off to take my family on a well deserved holiday for a week next weekend, and then it's the EMRA presentation evening on the 6th November.

NEWS 17/10/10

Well, shock, horror, I've sold my Suzuki, so it's goodbye to "the beast".  Now it's save up time for a BMW, so if there's anyone out there who would like to help me with a bit of sponsorship then please contact me through the CONTACT page.  You would always be made very welcome to call round for a coffee and a biscuit at any of the events you might want to attend.

MORE NEWS 19/10/10

Guess what .......... some good news, I've bought a BMW at a very good price...... I don't hang around when I've made up my mind.  Now all I've got to do is race prepare it over the Winter, with race suspension, race exhaust, race fairing, spare set of wheels for wet tyres, and other bits and bobs such as handlebars, rear sets, extra gearing sprockets etc.  So I'm still on the look out for any sponsorship, no matter how small it may be.  I'll keep you all posted as to how things are going over the Winter.

EMRA DINNER 6/11/10

Hi all, it was the EMRA awards night on Saturday and we all went along, our little team of me, Josh and Joan, my wife Tracey and my Mum.  We all had a good time, the food was good and the company was good.  I came away with three trophies, one for 2nd in the 1300cc Championship, one for 2nd in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy Championship, and the Richard Jones Trophy for winning the 1300cc Invitation race, but I have to give that one back next year, although my name will remain on it.  There are some pictures of the presentations and a couple of informal photos on the picture page.  I also won some money which will come in handy to spend on something for the BMW.  Until the next update..............!

NEWS 2/12/10

I've now got the BMW running on the road, as it only had 16 miles on the clock when I bought it I need to run it in a bit.  I've also got some spare wheels for it and some other bits and bobs.  I've still got to get the exhaust, rear sets, fairing and suspension, plus a few things to keep as spares.  So I'm still looking for sponsorship.  Joan is trying her hardest to find me some sponsorship, but it's hard times, so if anyone reading this knows of a company who would like to help out a friendly, happy team then please get in touch, thank you.  Any amount of help is very much appreciated by myself and all the team.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.  From John and the team.