Saturday 11 July 2009

Oulton Park - Round 7 - 4th July

Hello again!

It's all been happening since I last posted on here!

Following the Anglesey 'incident' the bike was stripped and I found out the Ohlins shock's pre-load adjuster was leaking. Not a massive problem in itself, but it did explain why the bike responded so well to the new 'taller' Bridgestone. Colin at Shockwave looked at it and I was told Ohlins want it back under warranty as "they are aware there is a problem with the TTX!?". As it couldn't get fixed by the time we went to Oulton it was set at the correct 'sag' and it's being fixed as I type......

Which brings me onto Oulton....

The usual test day prior to the meeting was a bit of a farce to be honest due to the weather, dry, heavy rain, dry again, more rain! then dry for the last session. But I did manage to get my head into the track and quite enjoyed myself!

Race day was dry and a quick run round for practice got the adrenaline coursing through the veins. The first race was OK, 20th on the grid and a reasonable start got me up to 12th on the first lap. At the flag I was disappointed with my position of 16th as I was hanging onto and then began to close on the group in front of me but couldn't quite get there. I had lapped Oulton quicker than on the K5 though, so it wasn't all bad.

Race two started really well and I was 8th as we ran round the back of the circuit, unfortunately I was a little too eager going into Hizzy's Chicane and as the rear of the bike slid round on the brakes I was forced to run straight on through the cones. By the time I rejoined the action I was down in 12th place but although I lost a few places by the end of the race I was even more frustrated to learn that I was slower than the first outing and although I hadn't gained any places with my shortcut on the first lap I was given a 5 second penalty. Charming! It actually felt like I was going really well too and had a few dices with other riders.

On a positive note I have made some changes to the bike and indeed have a few more planned too, before the next outing at Cadwell the end of the month......

Keep tuning in and I'll catch you all soon.

Jagger

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