I didn't get the bike completely ready and running until the night before and with only one track day on it and only having ever done a few laps at the island, it was going to be a weekend of discovery!
Since I hadn't managed to get spare rims and wets organised for the EXUP I took the VFR as a wet bike and back up for the dry if the FZR ran into trouble.
The weather was looking ominous for the weekend and Saturday morning dawned wet and windy. I left the slick-shod FZR on the trailer as it didn't look like it would get a run. Had entered both bikes in P6 and Pre Modern. Practice was wet and very slow. The Honda had decided not to start, unusually, and we finally got it running on a set of rollers. I got one practice lap in before the end of the session. First qualifying session was P6 and unlike most rounds we had a lot of P5 bikes running as practice before the Historic titles there in a month's time. Qualified 9th outright, 2nd in class. It was only a couple of sessions later until Pre Modern qualifying but the track had dried considerably - I contemplated coming in and swapping to the Yamaha which was now off the trailer (and had also not started until put on the rollers) . Parts of the track were bone dry, other sections were still quite damp. I believe you'd do the same time on wets or drys. I stayed out on the wets and was conscious not to chew them up, but stayed out a couple of laps too many, as you can see:
It was worth it however, as I qualified 3rd out of 31 bikes, well pleased.
So the first race up was P6 and it was dry and sunny, not something we could have imagined in the morning. Now to this point I have had very little time on the EXUP and on this track. The race prep and changes to the bike are untested; I don't know for example if my dodgy bellypan will stay in or fly out through one of the fast turns and so on. Hence taking it easy then, I came in 6th outright and 2nd in class which was still pretty good, but I was struggling to adapt to the bike - different clutch action making it hard to get off the line and changing down is scrappy; power and handling all very different to the 750.
The Pre Modern heat came round and I knew I had to put in more of an effort since I needed to beat Andrew Lind on his Z1000 as he lies only a few points ahead in 3rd in the points. bad start again, but managed to chase him down and passed at Lukey Heights on the last lap. Already the reasons for getting the EXUP were paying off - on the 750 I might have got past him but would be dragged off on the straight - not this time! Fourth outright and 2 points nearer 3rd in the title. improved lap time by 4 secs, did a 1.51.7, I thought I would be sub 1.50 but that's going to have to wait.
There was a pile up off the line in the 600 novice race, I didn't take much notice at first but then it became apparent that it was serious, there were three ambulances there, word was going around CPR was being performed on one rider, which to me meant very likely he was lost. And sadly he was - the race meeting was abandoned for the remainder of the day then cancelled on Sunday morning. It was pause for thought, and I was interested in how people react.....you could see the devastation and incomprehensibility in the faces of his family and girlfriend, while others joked about as if nothing had happened. I was very very keen to get back and see my kids that night. It wouldn't take much for me to pack it in. After this year I'll certainly be toning it down a bit.
Well, the bike finally got a run and its good - but I need a lot more time on it and it needs some fettling and set-up, but that's fine. Here's a garage shot, my bike with Craig Beswick's two early model FZR 1000's - one and ex factory bike, the other a wet set up!! SP1 in the foreground is a Moriwaki bike, 160+bhp....can't get away from those Honda's !!
Did the job obviously.
