MRO Round 6 RSV Cup
Castle Combe May 19th.

Fast and Very Bumpy, it must be Castle Combe

My first ever visit to this Wiltshire circuit was also my first run on my replacement engine, and having spent most nights in the garage sometimes past 2.00am I was not exactly prepared to meet the challenges that lay ahead. Many thanks to Darren Turner for selling me his spare engine, good Luck at the Manx GP mate, I hope you don't miss the motor !!
Having been astonished at the tidy paddock layout we walked the circuit as soon as we were set up and I was impressed with how open and flowing the track looked, wide and smooth, but the new Chicanes were all too apparently ruining what would otherwise be another Thruxton. The circuit layout is very undulating and resembles a roller coaster in places, with repair patches in odd places to catch out the unwary. Just before I was due out for morning warm up I bumped into Darren Fry who looked well flustered. "You've ridden the Isle of Man haven't you Dez??" he gasped,  "Yes" I replied "but why ?" "Well you should be prepared for just how bumpy and nasty it is out there, set your bike up as soft as it'll go and hang on for your life !" Thanks Darren, just the encouragement I needed ! Sure enough I was out of the saddle and out of control as I pottered around to scrub in my new tyres. It was horrendous. The chicanes have turned this fast track into a series of stop go penalties and the bumps and patches make it tank slapper city ! I was less than impressed not to say frightened. Quiet the opposite to the motor's first performance I must say. It was running very rich but very strong in the mid range with no signs of the pinking that the old motor was prone to. Superb.

The only time you reach peak revs in top is roller coaster the before a  Hairpin!

The only place I got to the red line was running towards the right handed Hairpin after the start finish, over the bumps and ripples, so I knew the gearing was somewhere near, if a little low on 16/50. We set the bike up softer and I went out for Qualifying geared up a tooth to make good use of all that midrange.

 Front wheel on minimum contact, throttle wide open at 120mph = SLAP SLAP SLAP !

I pushed initially until a series of near fatal tank slappers hampered progress. I backed off for a few laps, deciding to run around trying to find a smooth line for each corner but they just don't exist ! As one of the front runners flew by I tagged on as he looked smooth and wasn't wriggling like my bike so he must know some better lines. I hung on for grim death as my bucking bronco tried to stay with his floating missile that was cornering like it was on rails. As I crossed the line for the final time I had another typical tank slapper as the front kicked off a bump while I was hard on the gas and it was all I could do not to crash into the start finish tower. Eek ! Now I was scared, no matter how I rode it the handling just wasn't there. Every one was struggling but some more than others. The new tyres were looking decidedly punished and the front end was feeling far from forgiving. We removed the steering damper and found it to be useless, barely damping at all. This none re-buildable nor adjustable standard unit was well past it's sell by date and we couldn't find a replacement despite Dave's best efforts around the paddock. He did find me some replacement sprocket bolts and other bits and bobs so it was well worth the wander around cap in hand. Thanks Dave. We took the oil level down 10mm in each fork leg in a bid to get some more droop and keep the front end on the floor, then softened the rear rebound a couple of clicks in a bid to stop it squatting in comers and spinning the back tyre up.

The race started badly as Charles #80 jumped the lights so early that it broke my concentration and I was dead last into turn 1. Bugger.

The front felt more planted but it was still hitting the lock stops as I charged down the straight and pushed through the kinks. Not good for the confidence at 140mph ! I pushed really hard to make damn sure Charles didn't benefit from his premature launch and it gave me the incentive to push. I was mad ! By the first right hand Hairpin at Quarry Corner I had made up a couple of places by charging through Avon Rise on the gas instead of getting ready to brake and forced a couple of riders to give up places or risk a big tangle.

 There had been many a free ambulance ride through the day and I knew everyone would be keen to avoid a pile up so as I leaned on them they buckled. Cool.

By the end of Lap 2 I was running 12th right behind Charles #80 and wasted no time charging past into Bobbies Chicane on the brakes and leaving him a huge dark black line as I exited in an attempt to stick rubber on his visor as a protest ! It was spinning wildly and getting worse throughout the race.

I was heading a train of guys, Charles #80, Neil #42, Rikki #74 and Paul #50 so I had a scrap on my hands and was happy to be in a race, all be it for 10th place. There had been a coming together at Old Paddock Bend and two bikes were leant against the bales looking very sorry for themselves, the scrape marks on the tarmac told a tale of a wipe out leading to a collection. Ouch.
By third race distance I'd made the break but Neil had over hauled Charles and was gaining on me. Sure enough a couple of laps later we were fighting over every corner. Finally he made a pass stick by squeezing me into an apex and forcing me so far off line I couldn't hold the speed on the exit. As my back tyre began to evaporate I came under attack from Rikki and he finally squeezed past on the right kink that had been giving me all the tank slappers.
He had seen me struggling there and used it very effectively against me. Nice move. I was getting mad at this point and determined to have a go back, so started using higher gears than I normally would in an attempt to get some traction out of corners and save whatever rubber I had left for the end of the race. 
Rikki had caught and passed Neil, only to be jumped right back and while they fought it gave me the chance to sneak back up to them.
#96 is eventual winner and superstar Francis Williams.
 
I began to real Rikki in and my last three laps were the fastest of the weekend. I jumped him on the last lap and made it stick to take 12th  and was closing on Neil by the end.

I wasn't thrilled at the result but had enjoyed the punch up all the same. We stood chatting in Parc Ferme aghast at the state of my rear tyre. Charles was impressed with the black lines I'd been laying and they'd all enjoyed the wriggling and tank slapping from behind. John Rhodes came over to give me his professional opinion of my bike and pointed out we had far too much rebound damping, he'd discovered a couple of races earlier that these huge beasts liked running soft in order to keep rubber on the rims. Thanks John, I'll try that next time out at Thruxton. Jamie, Graham and Steve left me in Parc Ferme while they packed up the van and caravan so we had time to watch a couple of races before heading off home. It's nice not being last race of the day for a change. In the bath that night I couldn't understand all the bruising on my chest until it dawned on me that it was in the same area that my "Dog Tag" hangs. The bumps and dips had been physically lifting me out of the saddle as the tank hit me in the chest three or four times a lap, crushing the Dog Tag and its connecting ring into my breast bone. Ouch. It smarts even now, so I think I'll wear it around the back of my neck from now on. A tip from Dave and Graham's off road experience. Cheers chaps. I'm still learning ! I wish someone would write a book about bike racing so I could have all this figured out by now and just concentrate on the racing !!

 Thanks to all the chaps, the engine is strong and I'm up for a fight so when we get the chassis somewhere near I'll be pulling through the pack, any day now. Watch this space. The rear 1998 Pro-Flex shock is going to Manx Cat Motorcycles for a strip and rebuild, and Sprint will be pestered for one of their latest steering Damper kits for the RSV Mille because lets face it,

"Power is nothing without control."