White Dalton Blog

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.

On Sunday John and I rode the 150 mile round trip to see the last MotoGP race to be held at Donington Park.

It was a classic English day for these types of events – and by that I mean rainy

The atmosphere was great as always at MotoGP, the crowd a competing sea of colours for Rossi and Toseland, plus spattered banners for each of the other racers too.

It was one of the most unusual races I have watched, with the two Ducatis making a fatal error by choosing wets over slicks, ending up in a sight I never would have expected – Stoner being lapped by Rossi! That was actually quite a sad moment in my book … I know Stoner is not the most popular of riders on the circuit, but he is the only guy who has tamed that Duke and boy has he done it with style – when he is on form he is a stunning rider to watch – especially when in fierce 1-on-1’s with Rossi.

It was also made memorable by the offs – Lorenzo and Rossi being the main ones. Totally unexpected, the two main contenders for the podium both (but individually) managed to wipe themselves out of the race for first place (and Lorenzo out of the race entirely), giving a chance to others who usually don’t get a look-in. Dovizioso came in for his first win of his MotoGP career, Edwards came in second, and de Puniet third.

We travelled home en masse afterwards, wondering how/why on earth drivers still try to change lane through hundreds of bikes filtering in turn down the M1 … I could just hear the trial in my head … “yes Your Honour I did have 95 bikes go past my window in quick succession but I just didn’t think to check my mirrors for a 96th!”

I did discover that race leather pants and an air-flo jacket whilst brilliant for the ride up in the dry were a pretty rubbish outfit for the ride back in the rain! By 20 miles in I was soaked, but warm enough not to be too bothered by it … although I did start eyeing up other people’s rain suits with rather green eyes!

And I can’t help but end on a quick gloat … when looking out into the sea of bikes parked up in the carpark and admiring several bikes whilst walking around (there were some wicked ones there), I did have a little warm glow inside knowing that there was not a single other bike identical to mine there

The Donington Park round is barely a day away, as the entire ThunderportGB paddock lines up in support of MotoGP. Racing in front of so many people at such a massive event is hugely exciting. Support race slots like this are a big deal, and it’s testament to the organisers of Thundersport that they have pulled this off. Of course, they actually run the British GP and WSB events and have put on support races before, but to cram in every class is remarkable.

The Streetfighters are on track at 1.25pm for 15 minutes of qualifying, after which the bikes will go straight back on the tyre warmers before the race at 2.30pm, and home in time to catch the Tour de France highlights on Eurosport. We have a single eight-lap race, so we’ll be flat out. The biggest motivator of all is that it’s double points. My focus now is on race wins, rather than worrying about the points constantly. I haven’t been the most consistent rider so far, and that’s cost me dearly, but I have been the fastest. I want to win as many races of the remaining 13 as possible, all ideally, and then the points will take care of themselves. If it’s dry on Thursday then I have a good chance.

I love Donington and know the circuit very well. I rode the Tuono to two wins there last October, so I know it suits the flowing nature of the track. The last three corners will be harder work as they are more stop-go, but I think the relatively open nature of the two hairpins compared with those at Mallory and Pembrey will reduce any disadvantage my Aprilia has to the lighter Triumphs. Recent set-up progress has improved braking stability a lot, a vital ingredient at Donington, while actually improving corner speed too. Add in Dunlop tyres, locally made with more circuit expertise than anyone else and with a support truck on hand to recommend compounds to suit the weather on the day, and I’ll have everything I need to feel confident on the start line. The unknown quantity is the weather. The forecast is 50/50 right now. Despite my crash in the wet at Oulton, I’m not too worried if it’s wet. My pace at Oulton had been good up to that point, I know where I went wrong, and I’ve ridden Donington in the wet more than any other track. I’ll also switch to Dunlop wets, as there are none better.

The challenge is certain to come from Andy Denyer again. He tends to take a few sessions to get up to speed, so the reduced schedule should play in my favour. His confidence will be up though, after pushing me harder than ever at Snetterton, so I won’t give an inch. In particular, I’ll be careful not to tow him round in qualifying. Chris Matthews and Keith Smith will be keeping us honest too, and could well be fighting for the win if they click with the track. The very best thing would be for them to get in behind me and ahead of Andy. The worst would be vice versa. The Streetfighter B class will be out with us too. Fortunately, Donny is fast enough that our A bikes should stay clear, though Craig Morely and Barry Utting are sure to be well up the order overall. If you’re coming to the Day of Champions to meet the GP stars, be sure to give us all a cheer too and stop by the exhibition centre to see the ThundersportGB paddock. Just don’t ask anyone for an autograph or you’ll be met with a very bemused look.

Today’s practice day went great. The bike was in recalcitrant mood first thing, slapping its bars everywhere and ruining my confidence. A few set-up changes got it sorted though, and through the afternoon it was a pleasure to ride hard and the times tumbled.
I’m now really happy with my dry pace. The thing is, tomorrow is forecast as very wet. New rain tyres are being fitted as I type and then we’ll see how qualifying goes. I want to win as much as ever, but I won’t take any big risks if the conditions live up to the BBC’s severe weather warning.

Race in 10mins. Changing weather. Changed wheels so many times I’ve lost count. Set pole in the dry on wet tyres though!
More later