White Dalton Blog

On Sunday, John and I went on a daytrip to watch our sponsored racer, Jamie Wilkins, storm the track at Snetterton.

The ride there was bright and (very) early, and so we were able to take advantage of the lack of traffic to enjoy some country bends and faster roads.  Before we knew it we were passing signs welcoming us to Norfolk, and we were at the track.

Jamie was pretty highly strung when we met him at the gate … not dissimilar to those cans you open and the springy snakes leap out!  But that’s understandable when you have such a passion to win … as Jamie put it “I just hate losing” – and in his book, coming second is losing!

Jamie’s races were so exciting … the first was a testament to how hard this guy works – to jump from 10th to 7th to 3rd in consecutive laps to make up for going wide at that bend earlier on was just stunning!  The second race was proper nail-biting stuff – I lost track of how many times he and Andy Denyer swapped positions through the race.  But Jamie went all out and bagged another win and yet another interview & photo shoot on the podium.

We pottered around the paddocks in between Jamie’s races, and were really impressed at the friendliness and general fun feeling of the place.  People were quite happy to chat to us about their bikes, vans, set-ups etc, and it was lovely how many racers had family and friends cheering them on.

We got some great photos of Jamie battling with his main rival at the chicane, and have since been sent some stunners of Jamie at another corner further round by Bedford photographer Tony Margiocchi.

The ride home started embarrassingly (stalling in the paddocks ) but it soon picked up and despite some hairy filtering in the Norfolk/Cambridge traffic due to an accident holding up a large section of the A11, we arrived home a couple of hours later with big grins under the helmets, still very chuffed with the Daytona and the GS.  Now I just need to learn how to get my knee sliders more like John’s and Jamie’s and less like the bricks they currently are.

The last race was the fiercest of all, and I was hugely up for it after the morning’s disappointment. The upside of getting beaten was that I was a lot less nervous and felt less pressure.
After a decent start I slotted in to second, bided my time, and passed Denyer when he ran a bit wide in the Bombhole. He slipstreamed past me soon after and then I got a false neutral into Sears, costing me time and briefly dropping me to third. I really wanted this win though and chased furiously for about six laps. With good drive and some slipstream I was able to pass on the brakes into the Esses. That had been my weak spot, but I’d finally got the forks stable with a few more tweaks between races. When Denyer fought back on the outside I let the brakes off a little and held the lead.
The next time past the line the last lap flag was out so we were all out. I went slightly defensive into the Esses and braked very late. He showed me a wheel, but my plan worked and he couldn’t get by. In the last corner I lunged under a backmarker and knew I had it. The run to the line was tense as the slightest touch of the rev limiter, let alone a missed gear, would have ruined my acceleration and cost the race. As I went under the flag I let out a huge scream in my lid and punched the air – this win really meant a lot.
The points gap now stands at 26 with 13 races remaining. The single race at Donington Park on the Day of Champions is double points though, so I’ll make sure I’m very well prepared to capitalise on that. Bring it on.
Finally, thanks very much to everyone that supports me by reading this and especially to S&B Automotive Academy and White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors. I couldn’t race without their fantastic backing. It was also great to have Richard and Rob from S&B along yesterday, and Rhiannon and John from WDMS today. They all travelled a long way, and they were great company for the weekend.

I’ll keep this short because I’m out again soon, and I’m still gutted about the race.
I ran off the track on the second lap after the forks bottomed out under braking and sent me wide. I rejoined in tenth place and then fought back as hard as possible, reaching third just 3.2s behind winner Denyer and 1.5s back from second placed Smith who produced a great ride. The only consolation was getting the fastest lap of the race.
My tyres were a bit shot, so I’ve splashed out on a new set of soft rubber just for the last race. I’m mad now and I want to win more than anything.

Phew. I won the second race, but it was the hardest yet. I found it difficult to do the times from qualifying so Denyer was all over me like pink on a pig. I can’t even remember how many times we swapped places, and the overtakes were getting increasingly imaginative – round the outside on the brakes into Russell’s chicane was a highlight.
The points gap now stands at 22, which feels better. Tomorrow will be hard because there’s no way Denyer will let this go. I can’t wait.
Third went to Keith Smith, who nipped past Chris Matthews out of the last corner. Well done to both of them.
To sign off, here’s a pic of Thundersport’s youngest fan, Chris’s five-month-old daughter Lola.

That was a hell of a race! I was second into the first corner behind Denyer, making his usual fast start, but dived up the inside into turn two and got my head down.
After a couple of laps I had a small gap, only to miss a downshift and run very wide into Sears, costing me drive onto the back straight. Denyer repassed me and we got into a big scrap, battling through lapped riders at the same time.
At one point I lunged through into turn one and ran desperately wide, almost into the cabbage field. I regrouped, got back in touch and when Denyer hesitated behind some backmarkers on the penultimate lap I grabbed the lead back and held it to the line. I’m really happy to have won again, after what seems like ages.
I’ve made some changes for race two which should help. The pace wasn’t great before, so if I can get back to the low 13s from qualifying then it should help a lot.
Race two news in a couple of hours.