The off season has been a looooooong one for me, having competed more than expected in 2017 in order to attain a clubman license, funds were a little low coming into 2018.

But the down time gave chance to have a refresh of the bike in some key areas and it seems to have been worthwhile! The first things to go were the over-sized and rather heavy GSXR fairings. In their place a narrower and lighter Daytona 675 set, complete with extra tall screen to scoop the air over my larger frame!

I've even been on a diet.....which is a change for me! Losing around 3kg in the last month and a half.
Taking it seriously at last!

As a means of testing the bike, I entered the Saturday at Cadwell park with NGRRC, saving time and money versus doing an entire weekend elsewhere. Also with a view to re-joining the Bemsee paddock come August when the minitwins come to town!

Photo credit: Paul Denton Tracksnapz

Having waited such a long time to get riding again, its fair to say I was ready to attack with full gusto, any opportunity of giving the little SV a thrashing around a circuit. I also wanted to take things easy initially to ensure the bike was safe and working properly. In the first practice session I did take things easy, recording a time just under the 1m50s mark around Cadwell Park's glorious 2.2 miles of narrow tarmac.

I was also able to test a new revision of a home built GPS lap timer which hadn't previously worked at Cadwell Park, and seeing all was working well, I aimed to hit a quick time in Minitwin qualifying and then rest up knowing my fitness may come into question after such a time off.

Finding some clear space in the session, the bike was running really well, I could tell it had more pace on the straights and was really giving grip in the corners. But still I wasn't expecting to post a new PB of 1m45.56 seconds!

Obviously when I saw the time, I backed off and headed for the pits satisfied!

Supertwin qualifying was a chance to just practice being on track with traffic and generally getting back into the mindset of a race. A time of 1m46s saw me happy enough to pull back into the pits, knowing the race would likely be a wet one anyway, and qualifying position, not so important.

Race 1 - Minitwins

Unfortunately my start was poor yet again, and I dropped from 7th place to 10th in the first lap, the adrenaline pumping meant that I was making some mistakes pushing a bit too hard. Thankfully I kept calm and smoothed things out. After a few laps battling for 9th place, I pulled away and began chasing down 8th position. With only a 7 lap race, the chance to close down the bike ahead was quickly diminishing, but with what turned out to be my fastest ever laps around the circuit, the gap closed right up with the final few corners approaching.

Rounding the final corner I found myself right in the tire tracks of the bike ahead, I pulled into the slipstream and tucked in as hard as possible! I was gaining fast and as the finish line zoomed closer, I pulled out to make the pass. We crossed the line nose to nose and all I could do was hope my timing transponder was somehow further in front than his, we were literally crossing the line at the same time.

After refueling the bike, I ventured off to find the time sheet, only to discover I had missed out on 8th place by 0.005 of a second!!

Having no expectations of a top ten finish, 9th place was still very welcome and the new PB lap time of 1m44.495, the cherry on the cake.

Photo credit:  www.abbyandianphotography.com/

Race 2- Supertwins
The race came with the expected wet conditions. Usually something that helps me whilst others struggle. This time, after a great start and opening lap, I somehow lost faith in the tires and began to ride tense. When I finally stepped off the bike after the race, my neck and shoulder muscles were rigid! A lesson learned there, must remain calm!
With 9 starters in the race, I managed a 6th place, so it was OK I guess. I think the desire to just finish in one piece overruled any competitive nature.

All in all though, a really positive race day. Riding faster than ever and the bike performing well (Some improvements still to chase down with setup) I made the journey home in a positive frame of mind.

Next time out, hopefully we can be straight back on the same pace!

Thanks to all who make this possible. The wife, Mum and Dad, work mates, Callum at Tidal Syling, Paul and the team at Faith Fueled Racing, thank God for you all!

Its been a while since my last ramble so here goes!
The last round at Snetterton was a great challenge, firstly because I only took my first lap around the circuit during the qualifying session on the Saturday morning. There were some sections of the track I immediately liked and others I most certainly did not! I struggle with slow hairpins and therefore took a dislike to those!

But over the weekend, I would enjoy some great on track battles and even though my results were not so impressive, I was relishing in the close racing and really it was my first real experience of going toe to toe with my adversaries and trying to execute passes of unknown outcome!!


​So yes finishing 10th, 11th, 11th and 12th was a little underwhelming BUT the fun of the racing far outweighed any dissapointments of the finishes. I will take away lots from the weekend and we'll see what we can make of it when we return in October (God willing!)

The next round is at Oulton Park, again a track I've never been to. However there will be some test sessions to enjoy before getting down to the nitty gritty, so maybe I will place a little higher there. Its a track I am greatly looking forward to, it looks like my kind of place!

The bike needs a little tinkering, the brakes were suffering from sticking seals so I aim to resolve that pronto, the plan for the rest of the year is to race at Oulton (August), Cadwell Park (September) and the final round back at Snetterton (October). Having not attended all races in my championship, the results I get aren't especially the main aim for me, the only thing that kind of matters is to get my signatures needed to move up from a novice license. Something I'd like to achieve simply as a personal challenge :)

I want to acknowledge again, the great support I receive when racing with the Bemsee "family". I enjoyed the time spent with the fantastic Faith Fueled Race team, their passion for racing and Christ is something to truly cherish and I will do so for a long time to come. Wil was pushing hard all weekend and took away some fantastic results. Paul, Tony and the rest of the crew helped me out a lot, with great advice and practical help, so a big thanks to them. I even snook into the group photo!! Please go support them if you can: www.faithfueledracing.co.uk/

​Also shout outs to Andrew Kite, great to meet and enjoyed trying to keep up with him on track, also to Hilary Hardy who supplied the great photo at the start of the blog, look forward to our next catch up.

Thanks to Dad and Daniel for coming to support too, much appreciated, especially the warm food on the cold evenings! In danger of sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech I also give thanks to my lovely wife Ania, for dealing with Oliver all weekend at home while I escape! I'm truly blessed!


ACTS 20:24 =  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace


​

Well what a weekend!! Simply the most fun I've had on a bike.....ever!

Firstly a great big thank you to Faith Fueled Racing for making me welcome and making the entire weekend a most memorable one.

On the Friday testday, I was just there to setup and get myself and the bike scrutineered. All went well with that and so I was able to enjoy watching the rest of the Bemsee riders enjoying the track. Wil from FFR was performing well on the minitwin, already under the 2 minute mark on his first visit to the track!

But soon enough it was time for me to jump on the race bike for the first time since October last year. Qualifying went well enough and I was lining up 5th on the grid for race 1.

However when it was time for our first race of the weekend, a decent shower had made choosing tyres that bit more interesting! I think most chose the dry tyres and it turned out to be the correct choice. Race 1 was my most succesful of the weekend! In the early laps whilst the track remained damp, I was able to use some local knowledge and perhaps previous experience of a damp Cadwell, to gain 3rd place on lap one.

After a brief scare from Ed Watson, I managed to hold onto 3rd for the remainder of the 7 lap race and claim a podium finish, which was completely unexpected and was yet another great highlight of the weekend.

Race 2 was a different story, in the dry, the remainder of the grid were gaining pace whilst I was still warming up after the long winter not riding. I started from 4th on the grid but consistently fell back to finally finish in 8th place. A little disappointing but I knew that a sprocket change was now needed after I had increased my pace enough to need more top end speed.

But soon after, we visited the bar to watch the trophy presentation and I collected the race 1 3rd place cup and red cap which are now residing next to the TV in the living room :) so another memory to cherish.

Sunday provided some close racing again in both races (Dry weather again) and although I came away with two 6th places, they were two completely different races.

Race 3 of the weekend started well again but I was stuck in 6th place for most of the race, however my pace was now much improved and I was able to dip into the 1m 48s lap times. This meant I was catching 5th placed Ed Watson for the last few laps. Unfortunately a false neutral heading into the mountain section caused me to lose vital time. Although I tried again to grab the 5th spot in the latter stages of the final lap, I had to be happy with 6th place and the enjoyment of the challenge.

The last race of the weekend saw me tiring badly! Laptimes suffered but I still enjoyed it a lot, mainly because Wil from FFR was now putting in crazy fast laps as he raced Dan Harris! So when they came past me it was great fun to watch their battle unfold! After some truly gutsy riding Wil bagged himself a 4th place finish! Incredible to think this was only his 2nd race weekend and first visit to Cadwell park.....ever!

So of course the whole FFR team were on a great high to finish the weekend and it was brilliant to be a witness to what that team are achieving with the help of God and His wonderful grace!

Right now the plan for me is to race again in August at Oulton park. But that is a long time away so still thinking what to try and do before then. Watch this space!

The long winter is nearly at its end and soon the wheels will be turning once again!

This year sees a subtle new direction and brings with it an exciting new venture in more ways than one.
Over the winter I had the joy of discovering the Faith Fueled Racing team, a team created to not only race in the Bemsee national championship, but to share the good news of the Christian gospel whilst doing so!

So after speaking with Paul and Wil, its an honour to be supporting and racing alongside them in this coming year. Sadly with budget and time restrictions I cannot make all the eight rounds of the championship, but at three rounds, we shall be there to support and help however is needed.

They, like all race teams need support too, there is a programme launched to help raise the necessary funds for outreach and if you can, please help using the link found above or here also: support

So if you can make it, I shall be racing at the following Bemsee events (God willing!):
Cadwell Park: April 1st / 2nd
Oulton Park: August 4th / 5th
Cadwell Park: September 16th / 17th

The Faith Fueled Team will be racing on the dates seen here: FFR dates


It'll be great to see you there, best get the bike ready, times running out!

​Mike.