Off to Wales we went (with my mum).  En-route we met “Big Tone” at a service station completely by accident and he was already looking a bit worried.

We then took a major diversion through the welsh countryside thank to our SatNav having a “well I don’t know where you are now, never mind how to get wherever you need to go” moment. It was very scenic – we nearly ran 2 goats over who were wandering down the lane (not a road as it wasn’t wide enough), we met some locals (very cross looking as they had to reverse up some steep banks to let us and the cazza through) and a lovely local farmer in his tractor waiting patiently to let (bloomin’ townies) pass safely.

Eventually we arrived at Pembrey circuit. We pitched up on the grass area and it was a little wet underfoot from earlier rain but otherwise not too bad weather wise.  Mr Fish instructed us of the planned parking arrangements and once we had parked up the unpacking began. We all helped install the awning and then I left the boys to unpack the bikes etc while i unpacked the cazza. Once we were all installed correctly and fed nicely it was a glass of wine in hand and a nice social chat outside team Gibson’s  gazebo until time to get some sleep before the practice day.

We awoke to sunshine through the window but it was quite cold and there was rain threatening. The Friday practice day then unfolded without too many drama’s  but lots of sessions throughout the day in an attempt to try and learn the track. A few light rain showers throughout the day provided some moments of caution but generally the track stayed dry.  Once the last session was over the Fish, Kev and the bikes all headed off to scrutineering and passed without any problems (except the annoyingly arrogant superteens!). There was more caravan shuffling as Gazz Button arrived (to be pit bitch to Fish) for the weekend.

The bikes were then put to bed and we went to walk the track with “Big Tone” and there were long discussions about each corner. When we returned to the caravan to warm up we decided it was time to eat. The plan was spaghetti Bolognese again but I realised the sauce was sitting at home in the cupboard so luckily Jane lent us a jar of fajita sauce to put with the mince – it kind of worked in a weird way ! A quick wander around the paddock to speak to more YPMers and an early night was needed.

On Saturday morning we had more sunshine and rain clouds passing around us but nothing too bad although the wind was quite cold. The fourth session of the warm ups saw the YPMers out on a rapidly drying track for a quick shake down.  Kev seemed quite happy so no need to tinker with Daphne (the white thing) at the moment.

Further supported in the form of the ever dependable Gazz and Fi then arrived during race 1 so i had to cross the track to get them their tickets and then cross again to get back to the paddock with only a few minutes to spare before Kev went out.

Race 4, just before lunch saw the YPM racers line up on the grid. They all flew off to the hairpin at turn 1 and thankfully all got around. Kev finished in 20^th but was pleased to have at least completed the race unscathed. There were 3 non finishers – Poor Moose again, Rookie Ryan (both pulled in before the start with mechanical problems) and Mungo who had a flat rear tyre on lap 4. So the bike was prepped for race 8 later that afternoon. Gazz Button was on top of it all as chief pit bitch and made sure Fish and Kev both had fuel, tyre warmers, etc, etc. After a supernoodle lunch Kev watched a few of the other racers to check their lines through the corners.

Just before 4pm the YPM’s next race was underway. Unfortunately as he finished 20^th Kev was starting the race on the inside line, not much fun in the bun fight into turn 1. But he got round ok and otherwise looked comfortable on the bike, again finishing in 20^th meaning he’d still be on the inside line the next day. Meanwhile Mr Fishwick started in 5^th and finished in 3^rd.

The boys came in and the bikes were tucked up for the night. Both Kev and Fish seemed quite happy as they had a celebratory drink. The presentations were planned for 6.30pm and as we entered the bar/restaurant the celebrations were already underway. With approximately 300 people in a very small space the heat was almost unbearable. We clapped and whooped as Mr Fish, Jamie Cooper and Mike Smith collected their trophies and were pleasantly surprised when Kev won the Norfolk Line spot prize – again! Another £30 in the pot.

As it was my mum’s birthday the following day we had invited the YPMers to join us for a drink or 2 to celebrate. We returned to the cazza and Kev cooked up the burgers on the BBQ which were gladly eaten and then Nellie and Carol arrived with a bottle and 2 glasses. Closely followed by Gazz Button and Den, Mr Fish and Sharon and even Steve came in for a quick drink. Thanks to everyone who made it a really good evening. And as for  Gazz Button, I now know so much more about you than I ever thought I needed to, thanks for the entertainment.

After a late night an early morning bought a cloudy start but the sun did shine through eventually. The very brief warm up proceeded without problems. And we were ready for the racing to begin. Gazz and Fi arrived having stayed at a local B&B overnight, ready to take some more blinding pictures.

Starting from 20^th again Kev started well but had to come in on lap 2 with fuel starvation problems. He wasn’t a happy bunny but did watch the remainder of the race from the bank. A coming together on lap 2 meant that Mungo had no break leaver to on the bike so had a large off  but he was ok, just a dented tank and a battered faring. Once Mr Fish had finished in 3^rd again and returned to the paddock Button was on the case of the fuel problem. After diagnostics were carried out (with Gazz covered in petrol and even drinking some!) they decided to replace the fuel filter, and pipe which was possibly kinking when the tank was on. The bike (Daphne) was restarted and left running for hours as everyone forgot to turn her off again!

For her birthday my mum cooked us all a full English breakfast which we ate around lunchtime. The next task was to start packing up so that we could leave ASAP after the race. Kev then disappeared and left me to clear up. When he arrived we had removed the awning, lots of boxes and started packing the van. He then came and removed everything as they were in the wrong place, so I left him to re-pack. Although Fish and I kept bringing him more stuff and telling him to hurry it up!

I packed up the cazza as much as possible and turned everything off before the next race (race 14).  Starting at the back of the grid in 22^nd place Kev finished in 19^th. Off the line he went up to 20^th by the 1^st corner and then over the next few laps he passed Kevin Marshall and then he kept his brother Steve in his sights for several laps before settling in to get his signature. So only 1 signature to go and the orange rookie vest can go! Meanwhile Mr Fishwick spent a while leading the race but finished in 3^rd behind Jamie Cooper and Michael Smith. A good race all round though with no DNFs throughout the field, although Mike Smith did have a grass moment and rejoined further down the field.

Having got out of their leathers the boys finished the packing up, hooked up the cazza’s and we pushed each others vans out of the muddy paddock. All we then had to do was our farewells and await a break in the racing so that we could cross the track and head off towards the M4 and the long journey home.

Again commiserations to Moose this weekend, fingers crossed for Brands GP mate. Congratulations to Mr Fishwick on 3 thirds and a fourth this weekend, well done sir. Thanks to Mum, Gazz and Fi for all the support (as always). Well done to “Big Tone” – 4 races and 4 finishes, try to relax a bit now.

The first round of the 2010 season

Ok, so we loaded up pretty much everything we own and packed it into our luxury cazza and tranny van (around the 2 kids) and left home 2 hours later than planned! We hit the road (and the traffic) and arrived about 6 hours later, very tired and needing to stretch our cramped legs.

What then followed can only be described as camper/caravan shuffle to get all seven caravans into the allocated area so that we had the wonder of electricity in our caravan! Watching several men debating the best methods of fitting everyone in was definitely an experience. Once every one was in place we had created a maze through the middle and it took several attempts to find our way to our caravan door.

I was then in my element as I was left to unpack the caravan while the bike etc was unloaded into the Team Norbar garage. Once I was happy that the living accommodation was ready (kettle on, tv and xbox set up, radio blaring, kids beds set up for crashing out, etc, etc) then it was time for pot noodles all round. Several glasses of wine followed while Kev and Moose stuck stickers on their bikes with pinpoint accuracy (for the entire evening!). Team bonding was the order of the day as we all had a bit of a catch up and at 12.30pm we decided it really was time to get some sleep.

An early start was in order for noise testing at 9am and the boys were due out in the 2nd session of the day so it didn’t allow much time to get a failure, thankfully all the boys in our garage passed without any problems so went out on track straight away. Meanwhile in the caravan a 10 year old and a 13 year old slept on.

The day passed in bright sunshine and sessions were called, bikes being tweaked, tea being drunk and the WAG’s exchanging stories of being poor bike widows for the last few months. The kids finally emerged around 12.30pm.

Kev was out in the 400’s and the YPM’s so had several sessions to get out for in the morning, all passing without too many problems. New rubber was required so this was the next job before the afternoon qualifying session for the 400 race. The bike and Kev needed to have technical inspection (scrutinering) before entering, this is where the problems began. The first attempt was refused due to a loose front bearing, so Moose and Kev set about trying to figure out how to tighten it (hitting a screwdriver into it with a hammer!) before the second attempt which was refused as it was still loose. The 400 qualifying session was out in 10 mins so that was out the window while more investigations went on.

Mr Fish (sir) Kev and Moose then proceeded to strip down the front of the bike (off with the fairing, handle bars, front forks etc) to reveal the bearing. I then left to get a cuppa and was later informed that the bearing was loose (and not working properly) because it was in upside down. Another lesson learned by apprentice Kev but a quick fix, thankfully. Lots of jibes then followed while reassembling everything, until fish tightened a bolt and sheared off its head. Cue replacement part and home fix next week. Meanwhile I had decided to get dinner on as two starving kids won’t wait forever for dad to fix the bike! Spaghetti Bolognese was whisked up in our lovely kitchen and enjoyed around our dining table.
Having eaten and had a glass (or 2) of wine we decided to walk the track. It was great to see the track from up close and appreciate the skill needed to ride through each corner at speed and to see the severely steep banking on the hairpin. It was a pitch black night when we finally completed the circuit and quite late so we headed into the warm caravan for an early(ish) night.

Race day was upon us, the sun was shining, and we were up early for scrutinering which the bike passed with a bearing up the right way. So fuel levels were checked and nerves started to rise as warm up sessions got underway. Once all groups had their warm ups race 1 was on, and then off again as a crash meant the red flags were waved. This just meant longer for the nerves to take hold but everyone was holding themselves together well. Both Fish and Kev were out in the 400’s race (race 2) so the bikes were warmed up and ready to get going.

Eventually they were called and were on their way. Kev was under strict instructions to just scrub his tyres, not to go crazy. So having finished the race and feeling quite happy with the bike we were all looking forward to the YPM’s first race.

After lunch the nerves were definitely on show both on and off the track for the start of the new term. The boys all went out and lined up on the grid. After a warm up lap, they all got away and Kev finished in one piece (thankfully) in 18th with Mr Fishwick having his first DNF for a very long time. For Kev it was then back in and tyre warmers on, refuel, etc, etc ready for the next outing and getting stuck in to help Fish get his bike up and running again.

Race two for the YPMers was just after 4pm and having successfully repaired the bike Mr Fish was at the back of the grid but at least he was out there. Into turn 1 he was midpack and he finished the race in 9th place – well done sir. Kev finished in 20th and we were happy that we got through the weekend without any scrapes or any major mechanical problems. When we went to the race office to collect the times sheet we were informed that Kev had won the spot prize from Norfolk Line of £30 – BONUS!

Race meeting number 1 of 2010 being over we packed up and went off to a campsite down the road for a peaceful night of sleep before the long journey home. We spent a few very happy hours in the luxury cazza of Mr & Mrs Fish – thank you for a very entertaining evening.

Commiserations to Norbar team mate Moose – having had mechanical problems on Friday’s practice he then missed race day due to illness and had to get go home early. (And my sympathies go to poor Jane who had to get him there).
Next up is Pembrey.

So its a sunny Saturday morning and the bike gets loaded into the van, joining Steve’s LC which is also strapped securely in, and we’re off to Romford.

We arrive at Team Gibson to find hundreds of bikes already there and on the waiting list. Once we have tracked down Pete we’ re officially on the list too!

We spent most of the morning unpacking the bikes and chatting to other YPMers before lunch. Its no expense spared at Gibson – tea, coffee as well as soup and a roll for lunch! We merrily tucked into sandwiches which I packed (just in case)

Finally we were on (having warmed the bikes up for a while first) and Tony took the white thing in. The noise was deafening but the result was a happy Kev, so all in all a good day out. Steve’s LC was much happier than it had been too.

All we had to do then was pack up the bikes and head home. Bring on the Brands test day now

It’s been a while since my last blog – mainly because I haven’t had to do anything towards getting the bike ready. However, Kev has been merrily working away in the garage, crashing and banging around and he now has what resembles a bike sitting all nice and spangly new on the paddock stands. We have yet to see if it actually starts never mind anything else.

           

Mmm Comfy!

The CTC day….

14^th February, although usually known for being a romantic day, actually marked our first YPM outing in the new caravan. We arrived on Saturday evening to Brands Hatch and set up our cazza before touring the garages. The evening was spent (as is usual at these events) with all hands on deck to rebuild a bike which was a little less than race prepared. In between jobs we ate a proper meal cooked in our proper oven in our lovely caravan and we all started to have a drink or two and the boys spent the evening tinkering with the bike.  By 11pm with a very grateful “Big Tone” and a bike that was at least running on all cylinders the YPMers proceeded to have a few more drinks before turning in for the night.

The following morning we woke to find a damp track and as the snow began to fall we doubted that  there was going to be any track time that day. It did stop snowing though after a few hours, leaving a very wet circuit. It was with some very nervous looking rookies that 2 hours later the track was declared safe and everyone got ready to get out there and start their YPM careers. Meanwhile I cooked a full English on my very effective cooker in our lovely warm caravan.

Firsts things first – a meeting was called by Mr Fish (sir) for a chat with all the rookies and then after a few other groups went out and dried the circuit a little the boys went out.

A rabble of YPMers had arrived throughout the morning and were offering their help and advise to anyone willing to listen.

After a session or two everyone seemed much happier with things and they got into their stride. We had one faller, who managed to get back to the garage where the bike was repaired with the usual gaffer tape and cable ties and he went back out in the next session. The only other failure was from a clutch which didn’t want to play anymore.

The boys practiced their race start and all got away ok, no stallers in our bunch and no bunny hopping either.

As dusk fell the last session started and stopped again after a superteen chucked himself (on a bike which wasn’t his) down the track at the exit of clearways. Apparently this was his third crash of the day so I doubt he will be joining the racing this year!

Generally a good day was had by all and everyone is looking forward to April when hopefully it will be a bit warmer and less snowy.

The pieces of the jigsaw have begun to arrive now.

The frame is in the garage and the transponder has arrived (not that there is anywhere to attach it to yet!).

And now, as you can see…..

……  there are two wheels, a mudguard and a fuel tank IN MY LOUNGE! Now thats not a good start!

By turning them all into a beautiful gleaming white colour,  I must confess that our friend “Banana-Man” has done a great job and you’d never know that the fuel tank had some very large dents in at the end of last season.  And although the wheels should have been black I do quite like them in white. I may be known as Mrs OCD  but I will not be bleaching those every time he comes in… well maybe just occasionally!

So now we just wait and see how long they stay indoors for before migrating to a more suitable location (hint.. hint.. you’d better read this Kev)

Next on the job list is polishing the frame and believe me thats not happening in my lounge

And so the 2010 season begins…..

A week ago we all had a fab meal  (a tear or two in some cases) and a good boogie at the D&D to marked the end of the 2009 season,  and today some of the club members rocked up to the Kentagon at Brands Hatch for the Bemsee open day. The meeting today was an opportunity for anyone who is intending to race next year to fill in some forms and to find out some much needed information. It’s hard to believe it’s only three months or so until the start of the 2010 racing and only a year ago Kev hadn’t even been out on a TZR or any kind of bike track day! That could explain a lot actually!

Very Official looking!

Having bought the Reeve’s  Tranny and Cazza yesterday, we collected the girls from theirs and headed for Brands. When we arrived Mr Fishwick (sir), Mr Button and Mr Muse were already there in their official jackets and in their official capacity as club VIP’s. The Kentagon was already looking like a Saturday race meet prize giving evening, with little room for more people. There were some pretty looking displays, some lovely polished R1’s and some well prepared presentations.

In true YPM form we all stood near to the hot food counter and close enough to the bar. Kev filled in his forms and paid his subs then went off to accost Tracey. Throughout the two hours we were there our little group increased to include current YPMers : Mike Wake, Higgsy, Rangi, Rob, Ken and Ruth, Marcus and Jules and our newbies, including : Big Tone and Mungo. As the eye tests began and there was a feeling of excitement as well as nerves as the waiting has become a reality for the rookies.

We had to leave about 2pm as we had two very well behaved, but bored kids who had no idea what the conversations were about – even I struggled sometimes (tyres/costs per meeting/amount of laps/rookie vs clubman vs YPM championchips/Powervalve vs TDR  vs LC vs TZR/ crashes/ Mike Smiths ebay bidding via Rob Banyard – most of which were not for a child’s ears I might add!).

We headed off with Higgsy to pass on an engine from our new (ex Reevesie) van into his van for Cappo to take home (when he arrived) having already said our good bye’s to the VIP’s.  At the exit I was suddenly apprehended by a handsome and dashing young man known simply as Griggsy…… Thank you sir, I will treasure the memory of the leg thrusting until our next meeting. With that memory fresh in everyones mind we headed off to our van with the Higerty crew, and then we went off to get some lunch before a visit to our new caravan.

Thanks to everyone that attended – a great show of faces, as always,  and a good representation of the class. Well done.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone associated with the YPMers and we look forward to the racing and socialising of 2010. Bring on the parties !