2012 Round Three: Cadwell Park Saturday

I'm guessing the story really starts on the Friday evening where, as I pointed out at the time to my Dad, we arrived earlier than I had ever remembered. In all the years as a young boy we had either arrived late evening or early morning. The aim was to have a stress-free journey and it really worked. We got there just after 7pm and had missed the sound testing but scruiteneering was still taking place.

After unloading, getting the Scooters checked over and having the leathers and helmets looked at, we had done most of the things that usually stress up the Saturday morning. Fixing up the Gazebo in record time even gave us a shelter for the bikes - even if it was only temporary. One gust of wind was all it took to ruin two of the joints rendering the cover the only useable item. Need to invest in a slightly more robust solution for the next race.

Despite turning up in shorts due to the "good weather", it didn't take long to change and wasn't long before we changed and had a beer or two to keep us warm for our maiden sleep in the Bongo's roof sleeper. However as we found out that night, it was freezing without a substantial blanket. Another thing that needs adding to the list.

Waking up on the Saturday to the morning arrivers, we freshened up and got into the leathers as the weather had certainly not improved overnight. Infact it was declared a wet race and the noise testing was cancelled. However the practice session jumped up on us quickly and it wasn't long after frantically changing tyres that we were off around the circuit.

There wasn't much positive for me in the practice session. Having never ridden a Lambretta prior to this year, not surprisingly I was also new to the wet conditions. It didn't help that it was a new track to me too. Even having watched Stuart Day follow Charlie Edmunds on YouTube hadn't helped me much. It was all a lot to take in for 15 minutes and I was possibly the most nervous about it as I had ever been on the bike.

As some supporters turned up for me with my 21st birthday surprises though, my worried thoughts certainly became less so and as the track dried and my dry tyre was put back on, I certainly became a little more confident. I described the wait for the first race as me "digesting" the track. There were cakes too (as a few of you will know) and this too cheered me up.

The first race came and after the sighting lap, I felt really good. However, I still surprised myself passing a fair few people and finishing 8th in class. One bonus though was that due to clutch problems, I overtook my Dad (43) quite early on giving me a lot more confidence than I had before the race. I was also duelling with Rob Sumner (84) for part of the race which again felt really good. My fastest lap was in the 2:19:00 bracket.

When we got back, Dads clutch was fixed and we waited for the next race. This time though we were both a bit more ready than before. Over the four laps that we had, I slowly gained places and caught up with a faster group. The autos made the race that little bit more interesting as we all compressed together on the last lap. I saw my Dad overtake Gary Biddle (58) at Mansfield and in the closing seconds, it was tight!

 

Due to some very strange antics at the hairpin, the order didn't significantly change but I was very close to Gary as we crossed the line. Dad amazingly finished 5th in class and I achieved the highest finish I had yet with a 7th in class. Things certainly seemed to be improving with my times reducing to 2:14:00 and my chicken strips had also been significantly reduced.

After more cake, a birthday meal out and a great day, we had a well deserved sleep in the bongo - this time was warmer with a duvet. Thanks literally to eveyone that came to watch, supported or generally made my 21st birthday a day to remember.

Watch this Space for 2012 Round Three: Cadwell Park Sunday

Race Scooter: All events occurred 19th May 2012