After a leisurely 5 hour drive, we arrived at Pembrey for Round 4 of the NG Road Racing championships. Due to the short gap between Darley Moor Round 3 last weekend and this meeting, we decided to skip the Friday test day and used the day to travel instead.
With both bikes fully repaired and prepared (and our trusty yellow van working again!), once we had unpacked we popped to scrutineering and then did a track walk with Darley-regular Daniel Nurrish.
The weather was forecast to be dry all weekend - so we put the bikes on paddock stands (and on unplugged tyre warmers) and headed for a peaceful night's sleep - on what would end up being an eventful weekend!
With both bikes fully repaired and prepared (and our trusty yellow van working again!), once we had unpacked we popped to scrutineering and then did a track walk with Darley-regular Daniel Nurrish.
The weather was forecast to be dry all weekend - so we put the bikes on paddock stands (and on unplugged tyre warmers) and headed for a peaceful night's sleep - on what would end up being an eventful weekend!
The end of an eventful weekend...
Saturday Race Day
We were hopeful that the unexpected overnight rain had disappeared by the time we awoke, but it wasn't to be! So we swapped the wheels for wet tyres and headed out into practice on the Kawasaki ZX6R and then the Aprilia RS660. These sessions gave us the chance to reacquaint ourselves with the circuit, which was getting drier by the minute...
Into the Supertwins qualifying session and we had chosen to go with wet tyres. A dry line had started to appear and after a few laps the wet tyres were starting to overheat so we pulled in - we qualified 6th in class (10th on the combined grid). Next up was the Open 600 qualifying session. Knowing what we knew, we had changed back to dry tyres - but in the assembly area the rain started to fall again! We went as quickly as we dared but were only able to qualify in 15th position on the grid.
 Photo by A.P Photographic |  Photo by A.P Photographic |
By the time Supertwins Race 1 began the track was fully dry (and no further rain appeared all weekend). Despite our optimism at Darley Moor for improving our race starts, a poor race start demoted us to 13th on track after the first corner. We then spent the remainder of the race attempting to regain positions, putting in decent laps any time we came across clear track. At the end of the race we finished 4th in class (5th on track) and were only 0.03 of a second away from the winner's pace - which was both disappointing and optimistic at the same time!
We then headed out for Open 600 Race 1. A good initial start was thwarted when we were too cautious into the first corner and we lost a bunch of places. Once again we found ourselves just trying to lap as quick as we could and trying to pass anyone that appeared in front of us. A little dejected, we returned to the paddock only to be informed that we had finished 3rd place in the Open 600 race!
A lot of bikes in front of us! (Photo by Mick-Sid Road Racing Photography)
Knowing that we had good speed, we had a think towards the strategy for Sunday and it was decided that the limiting factor was front end grip - probably not helped due to the Kawasaki ZX6R tyre having done 181 laps & the Aprilia RS660 tyre having done 142 laps - so we purchased some new tyres ahead of the remaining races.
With the bikes ready to roll, we headed to the bar for some socialising, then returned to the caravan to watch "Bolt" on DVD with the kids!
With the bikes ready to roll, we headed to the bar for some socialising, then returned to the caravan to watch "Bolt" on DVD with the kids!
A true family race team! :-)
Sunday Race Day
We used the Sunday warm-up session to scrub in the new front tyre on the Aprilia RS660 and to get ourselves up to speed for the day.
Our first race was Supertwins Race 2, from our improved grid position on the second row. Our race start was appalling and the first corner was messy. Once again (there seems to be a theme occurring here...) we set about lapping as quick as we could in order to pass as many people as we could - and this time we managed to finish in 3rd position, once again being the second-quickest person on track! It appeared that we have the speed, but are struggling to put all the pieces together in order to capitalise on our strength.
Photo by PulseFoto
We started Open 600 Race 2 from the second row and got a good start. Throughout the race we lost a few places and made a few places, but put in the best lap time of our weekend (a 1'02.600) and finished in a respectable 5th position.
 Photo by A.P Photographic |  Photo by A.P Photographic |
For Supertwins Race 3 we got to start from the front row of the grid. Yet another poor start meant that we were demoted several places on the start, but we managed to recover a few positions following some chaos at turn 1 - coming out in 5th position (4th in class). This time we could actually see our competitors on the opening lap - we just needed to catch them... Unfortunately at the start of lap 3 we were pushed wide at turn 1 from a late move by a PreInjection 600 rider and then we spent the rest of the race involved with them, eventually crossing the line 7th on track (5th in class).
After partially-packing up whilst waiting around for our last race of the weekend (in anticipation of the long drive home), we eventually started Open 600 Race 3. We got a good start and made a clean entry into turn 1, when a rider behind knocked us to the ground... :-(
Our leg trapped underneath the bike, we were initially unable to move until a marshal lifted the bike - but fortunately all of our fellow competitors managed to avoid us. Sat on the side of the track after having a bang to the head, we assessed the damage. Our bike was not too bad but our shoulder was aching. We were taken to the medical centre (but can't actually remember how) and assessed with a mild concussion and presumed shoulder muscle damage. The rider was advised that he would not be driving home today!
Our leg trapped underneath the bike, we were initially unable to move until a marshal lifted the bike - but fortunately all of our fellow competitors managed to avoid us. Sat on the side of the track after having a bang to the head, we assessed the damage. Our bike was not too bad but our shoulder was aching. We were taken to the medical centre (but can't actually remember how) and assessed with a mild concussion and presumed shoulder muscle damage. The rider was advised that he would not be driving home today!
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We would like to say a Massive Thank You to Daniel Nurrish for assisting with the remaining cleardown and packing of our setup - as the one-handed rider was pretty useless at clearing things away...
Thanks must also go to Lorna for her assistance - not only for stopping at A&E on the way home for the rider's injuries to be assessed and x-rays to be performed (no broken bones - yippee!). On the Monday she took an emergency holiday to take part in an 11-hour round trip back to Pembrey circuit in order to recover the abandoned van and caravan. What an amazing woman! :-)
Thanks must also go to Lorna for her assistance - not only for stopping at A&E on the way home for the rider's injuries to be assessed and x-rays to be performed (no broken bones - yippee!). On the Monday she took an emergency holiday to take part in an 11-hour round trip back to Pembrey circuit in order to recover the abandoned van and caravan. What an amazing woman! :-)
A lonely caravan in a very empty paddock!
With some more solid points gained, we have started moving further up the championship tables. Unfortunately, due to missing both the opening and closing rounds of the NG championship season we are not able to put in a proper championship challenge this year - but after this weekend we have moved into 4th in the Open 600 championship and remain 3rd in the Supertwin championship.
Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 5)
Ricky Elder 238
George Edwards 231
Michael Rees 128
David Carson 102
Jed Bird 101
Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Brody Crockford 223
Steve Moody 166
David Carson 143
Alex Sinclair 95
Edward Giles 94
There is now a 4-week gap until our next race meeting, when we will be returning to Castle Combe for Round 5 of the NG championships on 28th-30th July.
Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 5)
Ricky Elder 238
George Edwards 231
Michael Rees 128
David Carson 102
Jed Bird 101
Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Brody Crockford 223
Steve Moody 166
David Carson 143
Alex Sinclair 95
Edward Giles 94
There is now a 4-week gap until our next race meeting, when we will be returning to Castle Combe for Round 5 of the NG championships on 28th-30th July.
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