I’ve used our summer break between race meetings to pack in some good
training and even get in a race on the Brands Indy circuit ahead of
ThundersportGB’s visit there mid-August. You couldn’t call it practice
though – it was a bicycle race and, oddly, we raced around the Indy circuit
in reverse. The pic is climbing out of Paddock Hill Bend.
The one-hour circuit race was for newcomers yet had a brisk tempo and was
tough going with three short but spikey climbs per lap and a brutal headwind
along the start/finish straight. One guy took off from the start so I stuck
in the group which was working well. I still felt good by the end so I made
a plan and attacked the bunch at the start of the last lap, breaking clear
to take second. As much as you all know I love to win, it felt as satisfying
as a victory when I found out that the winner is a semi-pro triathlete
heading for the world championships.
I’d like to do a bit more racing, though I’m under no illusions that it’s
for anything but fun. Through my work at Procycling magazine I’ve had a
chance to ride with a number of elite racers and witness first hand their
talent and strength.
Round six at Cadwell Park is in two weeks and I’ll ensure I’m fully
prepared. As well as training and tweaking the bike that also means resting
and getting some sleep. All five rounds so far this year have been preceded
by a deadline week on the magazine, meaning very long hours. It will be
great to arrive fresh, get a full practice day and have a proper crack at
qualifying. Might do a few laps on the bicycle too…

New pics now uploaded to my website, points tables updated, and results PDF
added. Check it out.

The Oulton Park round will be televised on Thursday 15 July at 9pm on
MotorsTV (Sky 413). There was loads of good action in all the classes so
don’t miss it.

We now have a lengthy summer break brought about by the postponement of the
Donington round. In the meantime, I’m all about the cycling. This weekend is
the BikeRadar Live event at Brands Hatch where I’ll be riding the 70-mile
sportive ride on Saturday and the one-hour race on the Indy circuit on the
Sunday, all of which will ensure I’m fully fit to tackle Cadwell Park in
August. Besides riding a lot, I’ll be watching the Tour de France, which has
been incredibly dramatic already, and cheering for Britain’s Bradley
Wiggins. Vive le Tour!

Second. I went faster but Chris was on it from the start and I couldn’t reel him in, so well done to him. More later – 3hr drive home now.

It seemed especially unlikely, but from 31st on the grid I won the first race. I crossed the line at the end of the first lap in third place and knew then that a win was possible.
With the BST wheels fitted, the bike is fantastic. I’ll need to push hard to have a chance of a repeat win in race two. Matthews now knows that he needs to go for it from the start. Wish me luck.

The ideal preparation for a race weekend probably doesn’t involve an 80-hour work week, massive sleep debt and a 4am start. It’s unlikely you’d choose to miss the practice day and sole qualifying session on the Friday, as you’d rather not be last on the grid. Nevertheless, that’s the situation I’m in this morning.
But the sun is out, my bike is pin sharp and the organic, rythmical ribbon of tarmac that is Oulton Park awaits. The pole time, set by Chris Matthews, is 1m49.4s. That’s encouraging, as I went well over a second faster last year in practice on old tyres. I just have to get up to speed quickly.
The best news, though, is that my BST carbon fibre wheels have arrived from HPS. Some of you may remember I raced on them two years ago and also used them on the road before that. They have always made a big difference to every bike and I’m really excited to get the 750 on them.
I’m up for it today like I can hardly explain. From last on the grid I’ve nothing to lose and it all to gain. It’s on like Donkey Kong…

The first images from Cadwell Park are now in my photo gallery thanks to
speedy service from PLJphoto.com. Check it out, there are some great shots
in there.
The points table has been updated too, and I’ve now included the
Streetfighter B class points too since Nigel’s excellent weekend propelled
him to third overall.
If you take a look at the bikes listed in the top five of Streetfighter A,
you may notice a pattern. Since Matthews and I started collecting wins on
our GSX-R750s from the start of the year a couple more have appeared.
Plaskitt and Andrew have both switched since Pembrey and bought identical K6
models to mine. What do they say about imitation being the sincerest form of
flattery? It’s bound to make for some close racing too, and no excuses for
anyone.
With my background in bike testing, and having run a 750 K6 on the road in
2006, I worked out that it would be the best bike for the class as soon as I
looked at the rules. I raced an Aprilia Tuono last year because Aprilia were
kind enough to loan one to me, and it was good, but always in the back of my
mind I knew exactly what I’d choose. The lightweight, ideal power,
close-ratio gearbox and slipper clutch are just some of the reasons the
GSX-R750 K6 is ripe for conversion. It wasn’t hard to convince my sponsor
Rob from RJW Consult either – he has one on the road himself.
The other bit of news is that the Donington round in July has been postponed
to October 22-24. The circuit now has a new leaseholder and the investment
necessary to restore it to its former glory. ThundersportGB will be the
first club to race there.
Finally, welcome back to Keith ‘Churchill’ Smith, pictured. He won his first
race back with a typically classy ride in the wet and was in with a shout of
the podium in the dry too. He finished third overall last year and is always
a laugh.

After a blinding start and first lap, at the end of which I was already in eighth, the race was stopped for an accident. At the restart not only was my initial hard work undone but, because of the delay, the race was cut to four laps, halving the time I had to make up places.
All I could do was go for it, so I did and battled through the main pack more mercilessly than ever. To my surprise, on the third lap I caught sight of Keith Smith and Andy Denyer scrapping for second. I took Smith exiting Barn, passed the last lap flag and then got Denyer two corners later to seal another, especially unlikely second place.
Congratulations to Chris Matthews for his third win of the weekend and also to Sam Cox for an outstanding ride through the CB500 field. Thanks to everyone for all the support and text messages.
Wilko

After a difficult start the weather today turned out to be fantastic. The same can be said of my race. From 32nd on the grid I had to battle hard to make up ground but came up smiling with another second place. That was especially pleasing today we’re doing eight laps not nine. I don’t think I’ve ever raced as hard.
Brilliantly, Nigel scored another podium in class B, after a tough scrap and working his way past four other B bikes. His progress from total novice to tough competitor has been incredible to watch and there’s more to come.

Unbelievably, I was second, from 32nd on the grid! The red mist was down, big time. And just to make it harder, my seat unit broke on the third lap and I rode the rest sat on the battery. My dad, over for a month from Canada and seeing me race for the first time in years, was having kittens watching.
Nigel also rode great for another top five in class.
Time for bed.

I needed binoculars to see the lights from the 11th row and there were so many slower bikes in front of me that I had to keep rolling off to dodge them on the way to the first corner at the start. It was soaking wet too.
Somehow I made up 22 places to be 10th overall and sixth in class. That’s useful damage limitation as Matthews only regained 6pts on me.
My team-mate, Nigel Davis, was 14th overall and 5th in class after a brilliant ride. I had to work very hard to catch and pass him. It was a really impressive ride for a rookie at Cadwell for the first time.
The weather is crazy. In the time I’ve been typing this it went from sunny to a hailstorm and back to dry. Hopefully it will stabilise for later.