White Dalton Blog

Some pictures have emerged that show the full scale of the ecological disaster that struck Brands Hatch in Kent two weeks ago.

This bike, immaculately prepared by Mark Hill Performance in Stevenage, blew itself to smithereens and dropped several million gallons of oil on the racing line.

With no warning flags, this had the predictable effect of causing several crashes and led to me breakdancing at 80mph. It’s a shame I didn’t manage to catch that expensive bit of carbon fibre as it passed me by. I never saw it again.

My good friend Chris Matthews was kind enough to crash in sympathy so that I didn’t feel singled out.Thankfully he was unhurt and his bike escaped significant damage too.

The clean up operation is ongoing as Greenpeace and a number of environmental agencies battle to save local wildlife. My Aprilia Tuono is being nursed back to health and stands a good chance of making a full recovery by the final round of the year. Sadly, they don’t think there’s anything they can do to save my championship bid.

Thanks to everyone who has sent encouragement since Brands, and especially to the people who have been helping me to sort the bike out. Thanks also to Racing Line Photography, whose pics feature in this news story.

Had all gone to plan at Brands Hatch ten days ago, then this weekend’s
Anglesey round near Hollyhead in north west Wales couldn’t come soon enough.
As things stand, with me, the Tuono, and my championship hopes all taking a
pounding at Brands, I’ve been willing the clock to slow down. And not
because I’ve just turned 30!
Spares for the Aprilia Tuono are hard to come by from breakers, savagely
expensive new, and slow to arrive from Italy when ordered. If everything
went my way, it was always going to be very difficult to get the bike ready
in time. My luck hasn’t changed yet though, and the bike is still in
pieces. This is club racing – there isn’t a big truck out the back with
enough spares to build two whole bikes.
Thankfully, there are still some incredibly kind people in the world, one
being Rob ‘Nobby’ Garland, who loaned me his second bike at Brands to ride
for the three races after I crashed the Aprilia on spilt oil. Another is
Mark Hooper, who works with Rob near Heathrow and has offered to take the
bike to Wales and save me a 200 mile detour with my box trailer. Gentlemen,
scholars, bloody good blokes.
With a bit of careful packing, I should be able to squeeze all my stuff into
the car and leave the heavy box trailer at home, which should take some of
the sting out of the 300 mile trip. I’d feel daft turning up with the
trailer and no bike, that’s for sure. Having run out of fuel in a race
earlier in the year, no doubt some paddock wag would suggest I forgot my
race bike.
The disaster at Brands left me 107 points behind in the championship. Being
without the Tuono at Anglesey means I have no chance at all to regain ground
and changes the aim to remaining second overall. Rob’s Honda FireStorm is
his wet bike and isn’t capable of winning in the dry, but it’s a sweet
steering and grunty thing that has a good shout at finishing top five
throughout the weekend. If I can manage that then I’ll stay second overall
by a small margin ahead of Chris Matthews and Keith Smith, ready to take the
battle to the last round. The plan is to have the Tuono tip top
by Rockingham so I can end the year on a high note. Until then I’m hoping to
enjoy the awesome Anglesey circuit and some good racing.

I rode the loaned Honda Firestorm again today, and used the warm-up session to work on the suspension. By adding loads of preload the ground clearance improved loads and I felt like I could really ride it. By the end of the day I was two seconds faster than the first time I rode it.
That put me right in the mix and I had good scraps in each race, netting sixth and fifth in the class. I’m pleased with that as I rode my heart out and scored a total of 29 points, which is useful damage limitation as I turn my attention to staying top three overall.
I’ll write more soon. For now, thanks to the many people that helped this weekend, most especially Rob Garland for his bike.
Wilko

Not a great day, but I’m ok.
I was leading at half distance in race one and had just set a new lap record, when a backmarker bike’s engine blew, dumping oil all over the track, and i was first one there. I crashed at around 80mph, slid across a kerb and rolled over the grass. Five others crashed too.
I got up in case there were more bikes heading my way, but my lower back hurt so I lay down again. That prompted a trip to the medical centre for a check over by the brilliant staff there. I’m only a bit knocked about though.
The bike isn’t so good. I don’t know the full extent of the damage, but it isn’t rideable this weekend and it will be a challenge to sort it by the next round in two weeks.
I was just about to pack up and go home, when Mark Hooper turned up with Rob Garland’s spare bike. “Here you go,” he said. It’s a converted Honda Firestorm and it would do very nicely to get me on the grid and score a few points. We rushed to get ready and change the numbers, and I lined up a most unlikely bike on pole position.
After a steady start I got used to it and did ok, finishing 12th overall and 8th in class for eight points. I think 6th might be possible tomorrow.
The championship is almost certainly out of reach now, so I’m aiming to make sure I can finish in the top three overall. I’d like to make sure I have the most race wins too.
All the best everyone.
Wilko

There’s a big grin on my face because I’m on pole by 0.8s from arch rival Andy Denyer. Even better is that the next three are close behind him and might keep him busy. Good luck Chris, Andy and Craig!
The gap may not sound much, but 0.8s at Brands is a lot, believe me. The cherry on top is that I went under the existing lap record and had time to come in early to save my tyres. I could run my best times consistently too, so I’m confident and relaxed for the races.
My friend Andy, who works in a sports shop, has made some team shirts. They’re awesome! I’ll post up a pic soon.
Hello to everyone taking the time to read this. I appreciate all the support.
Wilko