Anotherracing truthfor me at this level: theguys
thatgrit their teeth andwould wrestleyour granny
for aplacing in the racesturnfrom Adolf Eichmann
to Ronald McDonald at themere waving of a
chequeredflag. It’sthe way it waswith theYamaha
Past Masters on the TZRs and thankfully theway it
is her eatEMRA: hardbastards onthe track,good
friends offit!
So round twowas atoughone,really. Gary
struggledwith his bike all day and hadto endure my
racing tales andbanterwith Nickand James.Ileft
the circuit withtwo finishesin the points in theCB
racing,somedecent battles and rivalriesregistered,
and areal hankering for roundthree the following
month. Garyhad sorted his bike andteste ditto
makesure it was readyfor astrongroun d, as we
gathered oncemore at Mallory Park.
As ever the Saturday night catch-upwhile
preppingforthe morningwas magical; paddock
banter really is likenoother Ihaveexperienced.We
were out for qualifying firstthing Sunday morning
and Gary was on fire,into the1:01s for boththeCBs
and Mini-Twins, andIwas delighted for him ashe
put ahuge amountinto thisracing;hedeserved
agoodrun.
James Barley had steppedup hischallenge,
promisingto eat into my times andseek revengefor
losing out inround two,and was going well in the
qualifying...only alittl etoo well. Overcooking his
exit from Gerard’shedrifted too wide.Hisback
wheel clipped the grass,which threw mud up over
my visor,losttraction andhe was sliding androlling
beside me on thegrass.
James returned with hisarminasling andasmileyon his face as Gary,Nickand Iheadedoutfor race
one.Garywas positionedright up thegrid, Nick and
Iweremid-pack and‘Pink Nig el’ had qualified next
to me.The lights went out,Igot agood start and we
jostled for position.Igot agood distance ahead of
Nick with Nigel onmy backsideso knewIwas in for
abattle, butwas reallygetting the hang of late
braking intoEdwina’s, making up places each lap.
However,exitingfor the third timeIsaw thefamiliar
CaptainAmericaCBofmyteammate seeminglyin
two piecesont he verge. Gary wa soff!
Justover aminutelater Iwas round again and
could seeGary was sitting next toamarshal,looking
in somediscomfort, but had to be okay.Apparently,CLASSIC RACING
TOP:Gary's crashed
'Captain America'
looks sorry for itself!ABOVE:The big man is
ok. TheTarmac came
off worse!78 /classic motorcyclemechanics