Just the Highlights I'm afraid,
I was too busy to run a web site, take notes and etc. You'll see...

The first season I did with a National license was a huge step up. no excuses, everyone out there is trying to beat you and its your job to stop them. Get as brutal as you like unless you happen to have a bigger goal in life than just picking up gold coloured trophies !

  First pic of the year comes from Donington and guess what it rained. Without any wets I very nearly gave it up as a bad job but the Avons seemed to cope and I was passing people that had pissed all over me in the dry first race of the day.

Only when the rain really got going did they cry enough and nearly skittle me at Coppice on the last lap costing four hard won places. I got back to the paddock and to everyones surprise I was laughing my head off. That was fantastic slithering about and saving it time and time again. Shame about the result though.

At Cadwell for the first time it poured down so much so that I had to travel through floods to get to the circuit then wait half a day while they tried to pump the lake from the bottom of the mountain. No good we settled for the short club circuit and set too on a drying track with rivers running across it notably at Mansfield.

The first day I did just what I had too, pottered round and got some points then sat out the trophy races.

The following day I was up for anything so after the points race where again without wets I was running a poor 6th, I entered an additional race, the 1300 open just for some track time on the now drying circuit before my final trophy race of the day. Starting that race with warm tyres from the voluntary race before made a huge difference and for once I could stay with the guys on tyre warmers during that mad first lap. Into the gooseneck for the first time I was 3rd and watched as the leaders lost the front as he flip flopped right then left, then amazed sat watching 2nd place runner totally spaz out trying not to run the fallen leader over. I got my head down and was never headed again. I won the race by half a second as the bunch tracked me down after a couple of crazy moments when the feeling of immortality crept in and I was spat out of the seat trying to get back on the gas too early out of Park etc.

I don't know who the win surprised more, me, the commentator or my wife and friends watching. Nobody had videoed it! I was so far ahead they presumed I was the faller at the gooseneck and was now running as a backmarker in front of the leaders. Knickers. My first trophy on the VFR, a win at that, and nobody knew apart from other friends that were listening to the commentator harp on about "...Dez Chand and his diminishing lead..."

Well, pride comes before a fall. Next time out was Mallory and riding on a wave of confidence I was in no mood to be trifled with. I came out all guns blazing in the first race only to have my clutch lever wiped off at the hairpin in the first lap tussle. I tried to continued but missed too many gears and finished the race well pissed off as you can tell by the photo and close up of the one fingered clutch action.

No hope.

I went out all fixed up and raring to go but almost straight away the worst thing possible happened.

Out of the Devils Elbow, hard on the gas, I missed 5th gear and the motor blew itself to bits. A valve head detached and wrecked everything.

OUCH!

 Lets Play Count the Valve heads !!

I had been hassling MCN to get their finger out and test my bike before something like this happened. Sure enough they rang the very next day asking if I could make it to Mallory on Wednesday. I blagged a loan motor off Bernie Saunders and did the test the following Wednesday with strict instructions for them not to miss any gears. The loaner was 10bhp down on my original motor but they enjoyed themselves anyway. When I explained that I now had Ron Haslams motor instead they were just as impressed. I didn't tell them it had spent 4 years in a shed !

I shouldn't moan about a motor that came free of charge and kept me on circuit while my number one engine was being stripped and rebuilt by the renown V4 expert, Nick Webb, but it was down on power and I hardly had a look in for the next few meetings until my favourite circuit of all time, you guessed it, Snetterton reared its ugly head and I was strangely drawn into several duels which I enjoyed immensely. Just as I began to enjoy myself the inevitable happened.

The rear inlet camshaft sheered right next to the sleeve that covers the cut & pinned section.

Pretty ain't it !?!

I pinched one of the cams from my engine and had it running again ten minutes after I  got home with no other damage evident which was a blessing.

The Avon tyres I had been running were somewhere near the end of their life. Reluctant to replace them with similarly aged technology I bought and fitted a 17" wheel in place of the 18" rear and chose Dunlop 207GP's like the rest of the Paddock.

First time out on them was my beloved Cadwell Park on a rare sunny weekend (rare for 1998). I had a great time and having tried tyre warmers for the first time, I bit the bullet and stumped up the £300 for my own set. What a fantastic investment. I haven't looked back since. Modern rubber with the warmers on meant that first lap could be attacked rather than Tip Toed waiting for the rubber to reach its working temperature and I was back in the thick of it almost straight away. Just what the doctor ordered.

The Manx Grand Prix fell in the later half of the season (see separate page) and the first race after was back at Pembrey for only my second time ever. I had a fantastic time, leading race one before slipping back to 4th then taking race two by the neck, pinching the lead at half distance and romping away with the win. When I checked MCN's results page the following Wednesday I was chuffed to see that I had been credited with the fastest lap of the race too! Lovely.

That just left the final meeting of the Year at Cadwell, I was leading the points table and needed only a third and a second to take the title regardless what my competitors managed.

I started the weekend on a high but the weather dampened that down then as I slithered around regretting not splashing out another £300 for a set of wets. Then the most unlikely thing in the world happened, AGAIN. Yep the inlet cam on the other head sheered. That was my weekend over and the title blown.

I ended up third overall and not at all happy with it. Thanks must go to Nick who had his old man run all the way up from Evesham on the Sunday morning with the other Camshaft from my number one engine so that I could splash around on the Sunday rather than sulk away on Saturday night. At least I finished the season on my wheels with a running motor, not having a single crash all year. There aren't many can say that, that I know of.

 
My trophy hoard from 1998.