Going Racing

Always remember, there is no disgrace in going slow. In fact I once knew a guy who got a 12th in the Senior TT, on the IOM with a Triumph 500 in 1948. He said to me 'when you start racing, it is a good idea to force yourself to go slow, and get faster slowly'. He used to work for the Triumph factory and was involved in making the first splayed port heads. His name was Baldo Meli. Another experienced rider told me 'you need a lot of racing miles under your belt and the bike has to do something for you'. In later years, I really discovered the truth in that with my Seeley 850 - it is a really good ride. A good bike makes a good rider, a bad bike teaches you how to crash safely. When Mike Hailwood started racing, his daddy bought him a Mondial, NOT some shit heap.

trident sam said:

Thursday ride out looks great.
Visiting Just Jane the Lancaster, and watching the old war bird taxi down the run way.
Really looking forward to it, ride out begins @12.15 from Cadwell.
sam

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Now you’re just saying that to make me feel EVEN worse about missing out this year !

Nigel, at least you live near the action. For me it is 12,000 miles away.
Are these races covered anywhere on the web ?

Thanks for posting this stuff. It makes me feel really great to think there are still people enjoying their nostalgia kicks. The thing I really like about the Brits, is that always do it so well. I've got my Android MXQ Pro box all set up for the Goodwood Revival in September. But I don't think I'll be able to watch the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy races and record them at the same time.

acotrel said:

Nigel, at least you live near the action. For me it is 12,000 miles away.
Are these races covered anywhere on the web ?

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It is a track day not a race , well
not really a race.
Look up Beezumph on youtube

storm42 said:

I believe you can ride in Just Jane on those taxi runs, for a fee of course. Cannot go on the ride out as I won’t have a road bike there. Bugger.

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Yes, my mate's missus has done that. It is (or was) booked up months in advance but will ask when I get there, being in a Lancaster is on my bucket list.
Several years ago at Beezumph 17 when we had the American match racers over I looked into having a B17 Fortress fly over Cadwell, but the cost was prohibitive. Still wish it could have been done even now.

There is some great videos of Beezumph on youtube showing all classics being hammered around the track including Triples, Commandos, Vincents etc. The noise is a bit special !
sam

Race one over and finished in one piece.

My start position was 34th on the grid?? Looks like qualifying doesn't mean anything. I really don't know what is going on but there is nothing unusual there.

After thinking about all the mistakes I am making, I managed to knock another 5 seconds off the lap times and that got me down to 2:10. After the race I got the position sheet from race control and I finished in 6th place in my group but one lap down. Alex Sinclair and Luke Notton both lapped me 2 corners and a chicane from the end, Alex's fastest lap was 1:52 so I still have a way to go but I am having fun.

I was going a lot slower in the chicanes and the corner that I ran off on, and that is how the laps time have improved, slow in fast out seems to work.

Next race 15:45.

trident sam said:

Yes, my mate's missus has done that. It is (or was) booked up months in advance but will ask when I get there, being in a Lancaster is on my bucket list.
Several years ago at Beezumph 17 when we had the American match racers over I looked into having a B17 Fortress fly over Cadwell, but the cost was prohibitive. Still wish it could have been done even now.

There is some great videos of Beezumph on youtube showing all classics being hammered around the track including Triples, Commandos, Vincents etc. The noise is a bit special !
sam

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When I was at Goodwood Revival in 2008, the Lancaster and Spitfires were flying about. My wife still says how good it was to see the Lancaster flying so low over the crowd. You have to hand it to the Brits. Nobody does a nostalgia kick better. If I am lucky, I might get back there again before I die. Life is all about values and quality. I only know of one Lancaster in Australia - G for George which is in the Australian War Memorial Museum in Canberra. But when I was a kid the RAAF had Lincoln Bombers which I used to love. I will have a look at Beezumph on Youtube, thanks for the heads-up. I often download what is on Youtube and make DVDs which I pass on to the guys in our Vintage Japanese motorcycle club. Many of them are not computer literate, but most can play a DVD..

acotrel said:

When I was at Goodwood Revival in 2008, the Lancaster and Spitfires were flying about. My wife still says how good it was to see the Lancaster flying so low over the crowd. You have to hand it to the Brits. Nobody does a nostalgia kick better. If I am lucky, I might get back there again before I die. Life is all about values and quality. I only know of one Lancaster in Australia - G for George which is in the Australian War Memorial Museum in Canberra. But when I was a kid the RAAF had Lincoln Bombers which I used to love. I will have a look at Beezumph on Youtube, thanks for the heads-up. I often download what is on Youtube and make DVDs which I pass on to the guys in our Vintage Japanese motorcycle club. Many of them are not computer literate, but most can play a DVD..

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Best fly past at Goodwood...ever...was the Vulcan. Teary eyes everywhere when it was there for the last time. Took me back to an open day at RAF Gaydon in the early '60s, the earth shook!

The Vulcan probably meant more to those of use who were children of the '50s, '60s and even '70s.

(Gaydon has some history itself, V Bomber base, part time motorcyle race track, car testing ground, and is now the home of the British Motor Heritage museum! I have been there in 3 out of 4 of those guises.)

Come on Ralph......Race 2?

Lap time down to 2:05?

Young Alex is a fast, and by now, very experienced rider, normally on some of the best kit around.

SteveA said:

Best fly past at Goodwood...ever...was the Vulcan. Teary eyes everywhere when id was there for the last time. Took me back to an open day at RAF Gaydon in the early '60s, the earth shook!

The Vulcan probably meant more to those of use who were children of the '50s, '60s and even '70s.

(Gaydon has some history itself, V Bomber base, part time motorcyle race track, car testing ground, and is now the home of the British Motor Heritage museum! I have been there in 3 out of 4 of those guises.)

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I saw the Vulcan when I was at school in Melbourne in about 1958. It flew over, and stood up and went almost vertical. - Very impressive.

SteveA said:

Come on Ralph......Race 2?

Lap time down to 2:05?

Young Alex is a fast, and by now, very experienced rider, normally on some of the best kit around.

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Sounds as though he is going well. When I first started racing, I never looked at my lap times because my watch did not record times so big.

Sorry guys, we have been traveling, and today getting ready for the Beezumph. Will update tomorrow.

SteveA said:

Best fly past at Goodwood...ever...was the Vulcan. Teary eyes everywhere when it was there for the last time. Took me back to an open day at RAF Gaydon in the early '60s, the earth shook!

The Vulcan probably meant more to those of use who were children of the '50s, '60s and even '70s.

(Gaydon has some history itself, V Bomber base, part time motorcyle race track, car testing ground, and is now the home of the British Motor Heritage museum! I have been there in 3 out of 4 of those guises.)

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The most memorable air show event for me was an English Electric Lightening, it came across the tannoy that it was taking off from down south near London and appeared over Doncaster seemingly from nowhere and went vertical above us on after burners, the memory might be failing but I have it in my head that was 6 minutes after take off, I swear the ground was shaking. As a kid in short pants that feeling gets burned permanantly into the memory.

Best lighting take-off was when one went down the runaway and stayed parallel with the tarmac when it lifted off, while the pilot tucked the undercarriage in, then did a 90 degree turn and pointed the nose up to the clouds and jut climbed vertically . . . .

When a few Lightening were sold to South Africa, you could pay to go for a ride in one right up into the stratosphere- then they were all grounded, dam missed that opportunely.

Race 2, sorry Steve, slower than the first, best lap 2:13.

I wriggled into my leathers for the race at the allotted time only to find it was delayed by 20 minutes. The days heat by now was in the range to anneal aluminium and by the time I got to the line I was starting to melt.

It was a case of going back to all the mistakes in the chicanes that I was making in practice and as you will see in the video of race one I hadn't really got my head round them anyway.

Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the weekend, I mean, whats not to like, I survived my first road race, got a 6th and an 8th in class and got to meet some nice people as well, top weekend.

I quickly found my space in the race and spent it playing with a 350cc TZ, I bet he was getting annoyed with me, he would pass me into a corner only for me to ride past again on the straight, couldn't stay behind him as his bike stunk.

As in the first race I was lapped but this time by 3 of them, the first two came by into the first chicane and the third just before the third chicane.

The winner of my class was the second past and that was Alex Sinclair and he was following Luke Notton the winner of the 2 stroke class, I believe the next past was Glen English on a TZ. I have no problem being lapped by those guys so close to the end of the race. And anyway they won't do it next year

The two right handers after the third chicane are where I was loosing a lot of time, I know they can be taken flat but I need more experience before I try that, I reckon I will do the second one flat first but that is where I have dodged the bullet of the weekend, I was struggling to see the apex because it is so close to where you go under the trees and the eyes don't get chance to adjust to the gloom, and when the sun shines through the trees it gives the road a mottled look just like camouflage. What I didn't see all weekend was that the tarmac doesn't go right up to the armco and it would be possible to run off the inside of the track, it is plain to see in the video but from the bike it wasn't visable, I think that would have been a bit dodgy at the speed you are doing through there.

Video of the first race.

Bernhard said:

Best lighting take-off was when one went down the runaway and stayed parallel with the tarmac when it lifted off, while the pilot tucked the undercarriage in, then did a 90 degree turn and pointed the nose up to the clouds and jut climbed vertically . . . .

When a few Lightening were sold to South Africa, you could pay to go for a ride in one right up into the stratosphere- then they were all grounded, dam missed that opportunely.

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Have you seen this?

https://migflug.com/

I realise that you were probably busy finding your way around the circuit, but you have not told us whether your bike is better with the 6 speed gear-box. If you were passing the TZ350 down the straights, it sounds as though the box is probably helping you. The big difference I found when going from the standard box to the 4 speed close box, was the improved acceleration of the bike. Did you get to use all 6 gears ?

Hi Al,. it is a five speed TTI, I was advised to go for the extra heavy duty 5 speed when I mentioned I wanted to go racing on the roads.

Great stuff Ralph, well done ; so thats Spa, Chimay and next week Cadwell so you should be ready for Tonfanau at the end of August !