Cath and Jack, Gaz got in on this one some how.
Jim #672
Practice went ok with the group4 bike running fast and feeling good. Martin on the group6 bike did not have it so smooth. He was trying a new teflon coated piston and it did not work. The coating is so thick that you need to get your barrel resized to fit them in. After practice Martin complained that it was running tight and slow and was worried that it would seize. We opted to up jet the engine and short change the gears as we did not have another piston with us. The sidecar felt ok but a bit off the boil. It's the first outing since the winter rebuild so I was not too worried about it yet.
Race 1 solo's. I got a flying start and moved up near the front at the first corner. I was very pleased with the bike off the line and moved from 17th on the grid into the middle of the pack in one corner. I am still learning to ride the bike and just got my head down and worked on trying to go fast and smooth. Before i knew it the race had finished and I forget how many people I had overtaken but I came in something like 5th overall and second in class. Martin did not have such a good race as the bike was running so tight and cruised round to the finish but got it over the finish line safely.
Smoking!
Race1 sidecars. A good start sent us into first position. We were holding the opposition off ok and going well enough when we caught up a back marker from the bikes at the worst place. (the bus stop). We had to stop and select first gear, crawl behind him and relaunch again. By the time we had got going again Ralph and Chris got such a good run on us that we were overtaken on the exit. I managed to get past Chris and was getting my head down to pull Ralph in that I pushed too hard through edwina's and Martin missed his hand grip and fell off. Race over DNF.
Race 2 solo's. Again a good start from me but I got boxed in on the first corner and had to fight in the middle of the pack for elbow room. As it cleared I started making my way through the field but my clutch started slipping and found it impossible to get past a gaggle of group 6 bikes featuring Eddie (mobile chicane) Goode. Two laps from the end my throttle cable popped out of its seating and stuck half on. I managed to get the bike over the finish line in roughly 10th place. Martin did little different than in race 1 but still got it back safely.
Bloody Brummies.
Race2 sidecars. Not such a good start and with Martin a bit bruised after his fall I did not push too hard. The first time we went into Edwina's the front end locked up and I had to go down the escape road and emerged in third place. Ralph by this point was too far away but Chris was catchable. We started pulling him in when when luck started going in our favour for a change and he broke his elastic band and handed us second. We finished in that position but some adjustments are needed on the outfit. It will not rev out like it did last season so we will have a look at that. 
Martin has been gaffer taped on for this race.
A traumatic start to the season but we will get better and smoother as time goes by. The t-shirts are a big success and we look quite professional as a result. Thanks to the crew for the help, next round is Three Sisters (spit).
Track gossip, Well no shortage of gossip and the usual cries of "cheating bastard" could be heard about the place. Loads of engine upgrades could be seen and the racers are all getting faster. Word is that Charlie is kicking out in the region of 40hp and he is certainly faster this year. Also which racer forgot to bring his boots?
Tune in next time and see if get all the issues sorted. Thanks to Replay scooters, Clock Hill scooters and of course the AONSC.
