Endurance Round 1 Snetterton

After a winter of no testing and not expecting to ride I get a last minute call from TM72 Endurance Team - it seems one of the riders has had a nasty fall and wont be able to ride for the near future. When offered a spot with the team to fill in at Snett I jump at the chance - although I wish Eric a speedy recovery I can't hide my excitement at getting to ride the bike again.

Its been a long winter and although I have been putting the hours in down the Gym we all know its not the same as being bike fit so I am slighty concerned I may not be fit enough or on the ball enough to pull it off without anyone noticing!

I have to say a thanks to the already well established TM72 team (and TM17) for welcoming me into the garage and making me feel so at home straight away - awesome. Also a huge thanks to Karl from Turner Motorsport for his help on the spanners all weekend I really would have struggled without you.. (happy Birtday Mumsie)

Come Saturday morning and I have some fresh Michelins fitted to the bike - very different from the Dunlop Slicks I am used to running - I have half an hour qualifying to get the bike set up and learn how to ride fast again whilst popping in a half decent time for the timesheets - the weather is very on and off and this session may count as Sunday is forcast as even worse weather. I start of slowly as would be expected but within a few laps I can feel where the set up issues are and I pop into pit lane for Jack to make some adjustments for me (thanks!) - out again a few more laps and in for more adjustment - this carries on until I think I'd better stay out and pop some times in to get us on the right end of the time sheet. We had got the bike set pretty good considering and somehow managed to pop it on pole. All in all pretty happy and tyre wear seemed ok.

Sunday brings better weather than expected although it is very cold, unfortunately I didn't have the same tyre to go out on again so had to use a different carcase - it wasn't as good as the Saturday tyre and I could not get the same times although I felt bettter on the bike the times didn't drop - we ended up 3rd on the grid. our qualifying was lengthened to 1 hour and I stayed out pretty much the whole session - felt ok at the time but afterwards I knew I had done it - I was lacking bike fitness for sure but my over all fitness levels where carrying me through.

Race time and the team decide that I will start the race Le -mans style. I have now the same tyre as the Saturday session back on and the bike feels better straight away and I drop to my Saturday pace straight away, we are running 2 bike 2 riders where as one of our main rivals - and the team on pole have one bike 2 riders. Their bike is endurnance spec with the large tank so they can stay out for longer with less pitting. This shows early on as they take a decent advantage- I can lap consistantly - but with the new tyres (and other excuses) cant hit his pace so we lose some time to them, my session flies by and I'm called in for the pitstop, I knew I had problems with the clutch as I was having real difficulty changing down the box but when I get to the stop box I cant stop in gear so have to stall it - more worryingly I cant start it again in gear so have to get it rolling and engage first the hard way. Andy is ready to rock and he's out with a perfect pit stop. This makes it look worse on the timesheets that it actually is as we have pitted and they have not - but we know this will come back when they eventually do have to pit. My clutch had gone half way through the session so we were straight on the case getting it bled through and trying to sort it - which we manage to do. Before I know it Andy'sback in after an excellent session and I'm on it again.

This time I hit the track the same time as Dean riding for Graphic uk and in 3rd place - his bike is a real missile and we are able to lap a very similar pace, I get past him once but he;s right back at me and I slot in again behind him. We have an awesome session carving through the traffic and having a really good ride - before I know it my clutch has gone again but I'm still able to stick with Dean but have to be a bit carefull on the brakes! The session is over before I know it - excellent fun - then in again to change over - this time getting nutrual before the stop box! Again Andy's out and on it.

The time sheets are much closer now as they have now pitted - we have 2nd place pretty secure but we are not sure whether pushing for the win is on or not. We bleed my clutch again and can see that my rear tyre has had enough - it was a soft compund tyre and had done ok to last as it did. I had no more tyres so we put on a scrub from the back of Buckos van (cheers Bucko!) which again was a different compound size and tyre wall!. When Andy comes in the times are close enough for me to have a crack at chasing down the leaders (if the tyre works!) so after a few gentle laps to get the feel I'm off - I set my fastest laps of the race in the last session - the tyre feels better in this size and i'm getting used to riding properly again and I can consistanly get the times down and get through the traffic easier. Again the clutch goes and slows down the last few laps but we are closer and in with a shout, in for the pit and off goes Andy like a scolded cat - he can smell the win too....

Team Mate Andy Mcknight in action

In the end just 16 secs seperate the times - they were very clever on the last pit stop and didnt swop riders to slow it down which just gave them the win. All in all though very happy with 2nd and what an excellent weekend we had.

Also, from this, some very kind individuals who wish to remain nameless have offered to pay the season entries for me - WOW and thanks!!! We are searching for a tyre sponsor and some fuel to carry this into wins - we are budgeting on £350 per meeting which is cheap motorsport! So if you want your name on the bike and want to see some close action team work PLEASE let me know so Team 72 racing can have a shot at the top spot on the podium!

Roll on Round 2 and thanks once again to the whole TM72 team for giving me this opportunity.