Round 5 Cadwell Park
This was our second trip to Cadwell park this season, and we were hoping for some good things. Erol has got quicker all year and was expecting great things. The weather was good for testing and things seemed to be going well, although you can never really judge test day times to race day times.Qualifying
There was one 20 minute qualifying session for this round. Things didn’t go to plan. Erol was pushing had to get a front row start, but felt the bike was moving about a fair bit and thought nothing of it. He ended up 16th, yes 16th! On the grid. His worst ever qualifying. It turns out that in the rush to get out for qualifying the team had for gotten to set the correct rear tyre pressure, and so he had over double the psi he should have. This has never happened before and will never happen again. He is lucky the bike didn’t throw him of and suffer serious injury.Race 1 (14 laps)
Erol got and ok start, nothing fancy. The race was dogged by very changing weather conditions, wet in some areas, damp in others, and dry in others. The conditions changed every lap. On lap 8 they eventually caught out Luke Tansley in a big way and he highsided coming out of park causing the race to be red flagged. A result was called and Erol finished where he started 16th. Bad days.Erol got and ok start, nothing fancy. The race was dogged by very changing weather conditions, wet in some areas, damp in others, and dry in others. The conditions changed every lap. On lap 8 they eventually caught out Luke Tansley in a big way and he highsided coming out of park causing the race to be red flagged. A result was called and Erol finished where he started 16th. Bad days.
Race 2 (10 laps)
Erol got a better start, and by lap 2 was up to 10th place. There was a freight train of seven bikes fighting for 7th to 14th place, it was a close race, but one in which Erol hoped would have been for higher positions. He was having trouble getting close enough to people in the braking zone to pass, he would get better drive out the corners, but even in the bike in fronts slipstream they would just pull away. Something was not right. Anyway, on lap 8 Erol was pushed wide at Mansfield and another bike sneaked through. Erol finished a despondent 11th.Race 3 (10 laps)
Unfortunately Erols problems were getting worse and after a pretty uneventful race he finished 14.The problem with Erols bike stemmed from the accident he was taken out in at Oulton. His exhaust was very badly damaged and with no money to get it fixed, Simon Gardner very kindly lent him a full exhaust system. Unfortunately Erol didn’t have time to get the power commander set up with the new system and the bike was loosing a fsair bit of top end power. At a circuit like cadwell with 2 long straights this was all ways going to be a problem. So due to the two poor rounds Erol has now dropped to 4th in the championship.
The next round however is at his home circuit of a newly resurfaced Brands Hatch, and with his own exhaust back on he is on a war path to regaining lost points! Watch out!!!!
A massive thank you to Simon Gardner (see rear shots of the bike ;-)) and Darren Tritten for the parts they either mad or lent me for Cadwell, without you we would not have even been there. Shame the results weren’t there to back up every ones efforts.
Round 4 Oulton Park
Erol was looking forward to Oulton Park, it is a great circuit to ride and very undulating. We only race there once a year and the weather was fantastic!Qualifying
Qualifying was always going to be tough, because we had a few British Superstock front runners playing with us for this meeting. It went well however with Erol qualifying well on the send row next to championship leader Seb Bulpin. Without the BSB boys being there Erol would have been third on the grid, so not a bad performance with only half a days testing.Race 1
Erol got a good start off the line but just as everyone was getting on the brakes Erol got a thump up the backside, then something got caught between the wheel and tail unit, Erol tried to tip in, but couldn't nor could he make the corner or stop before the grass as he was being pushed along by the errant bike attached to his. He ended up piling into the tyre wall at some 60mph, being followed in and hit by his own bike. Erol was knocked out and suffered whiplash and bruising. It turned out Mark Newland had lost control of his machine on the brakes and collided with Erol, taking them both out.These things happen in racing sometimes, but with the help of friends the team will be back at Oulton Park tring to make up for scoring no points at Oulton. Erol is still 3rd in the championship, but only by the slender margin of 8 points.
Round 3 Cadwell Park
We arrived at Cadwell having not been there for a year, needing some dry setup time. Unfortunately the test day was a complete washout with every session bar one being very wet indeed.Qualifying
1st qualifying was Saturday afternoon in the wet. With a few bsb boys turning up to play, Erol could only manage a time fast enough for 7th on the grid.Qualifying 2 was on Sunday morning when the weather was supposed to be better. Everyone went out on a dry track and Erol was floating around 3rd or 4th on the grid, then it started to spit and then the heavens opened with hailstones bouncing off the track. Erol knew he wouldn’t be improving on his time so pulled into the pits happy with a front two row start. Unfortunately, just before the rain came those just behind Erol on the track popped in faster time just at the right time, bumping Erol down to 10th place. With only 3 bikes to a row at Cadwell, that meant starting way back on the 4th row. Not a good place to be on a track that is notoriously hard to pass on.
Race 1 (14 laps)
The race started off well, with Erol making a few places up off the line. The riders were getting into there rhythm when on lap 4 the heavens opened again with a massive downpour. The race was stopped and the riders given 12 mins to change wheels and get the wets in.For the second start (race reduced to 7 laps) Erol didn’t get away so well and bogged down off the line. He was battling for 7th place when Lennon the rider in front, rolled off early for the gooseneck, Erol had to take avoiding action and ended up running down the wet grass at the gooseneck. He did a very good job of staying onboard the bike at that speed on the wet grass, and rejoined in 11th place. Fired up by this and with the track now drying out, Erol was matching the leaders’ times and was making up the time he lost with this of track excursion. Erol made it back up to 9th place, by the checkered flag.
The race started off well, with Erol making a few places up off the line. The riders were getting into there rhythm when on lap 4 the heavens opened again with a massive downpour. The race was stopped and the riders given 12 mins to change wheels and get the wets in.
Race 2 (10 laps)
Due to the people improving in the Superpole race and people lining up on the wrong grid slots, Erol started from 13th (!) on the grid. He got a good start and made up a few places off the line. He made up a few more places battling past Nick Anderson, Rob Brown and Marty Lennon then set off after Dean Brown. Erol was faster than Brown in the corners but couldn’t quite nose ahead, and Browns bike was quick on the straights. Erol tried a few moves but had to settle for 6th place in the end, happy with his lap times but disappointed with the final position.
Race 3 (10 laps)
Erol again got a good start, and knew from the off this time that if he wanted to get near the leaders he needed to not get held up like in the previous race. He got passed Lennon on lap 1 then took both the Browns on lap to diving under them into park corner. On lap 5 he did the same thing to Ballerini. The following lap, Scott Wilson, who had been following Erol the whole race did the same thing, and the two had a great battle to the end, Erol just missing out on 5th place by 2 hundredths of a second.So not a brilliant weekend, no podiums, but a good load of points in the bag. This meeting goes to show how important qualifying is when the class is so competitive. Thanks to everyone who helped out and roll on Oulton Park in a few weeks time.
Round 2 Snetterton
Qualifying
Qualifying was split up into sessions, one Saturday and one Sunday. As the weather was relatively warm and sunny, with possible rain on Sunday, we put a new set of tyres on the bike and headed out. Erol seemed to get held up quite a bit and couldn’t get any clear track. It wasn’t until the dying seconds of the session that he found some space, he got his head down with only enough time for one flying lap and posted a time good enough for third on the grid.Sundays qualifying session was indeed wet, and very slippery. No one stood a chance of Improving their time from Saturday, but Erol went out to sus out the track conditions.
Race 1 14 laps
Erol got an okay start from the front row and kept his third place into the first corner. At Russells chicane, the final corner of the first lap, Marc Hughes went down right in front of Erol. He avoided the sliding Hughes but this allowed Bulpin to gap the field.On lap two Gazzard rode past Erol on the back straight and this is how race finished. Bulpin, Gazzard, Erol.
Go Go Go!!!
Race 2 (10 laps reduced from 12)
Not a good start to this one! Erol lost a place into the first corner, then another down the back straight. Bulpin had got away in the lead again and Gazzard, Brown and Hughes were have a battle just ahead of Erol. He closed the gap on the 3 in front to make it a 4 way battle for the remaining podium positions.On lap 6 Brown tagged the rear tyre of Gazzard going into the right hand part of the esses, this slowed them both down allowing Hughes and Erol to get past. The group was now split, Hughes and Erol pulled away from the other two in their battle for second place.
Erol was all over the back of Hughes and was looking for a pass. Going into the first corner on the final lap he made his move and dove up the inside, Hughes on his normal line shut the door on Erol causing him to brake a little harder to avoid a collision, the front started to slide and then tucked. Erol was pretty much crashing when the tyre gripped again, Erol was on the case back after Hughes! By the end of the lap Erol was right on his tail, but just missed out on out dragging him to the line. Erol finished third again.
Race 3 (10 laps reduced from 12)
It was a good start for Erol this time as he nearly grabbed the lead going into the first turn, he settled into second place but was passed down the straight by Hughes a few laps later.Gazzard was hindering Erol for the whole race and finally got passed him down the straight (anyone else seeing a pattern here?!) on the penultimate lap. Erol was non to pleased with this and going into the esses on the final lap out broke Gazzard to retake third place which he held to the line.
So 3 podiums, 3 third places, 3rd in the championship! Maybe Erol should have kept his number 3 from last year!
Despite the dodgy weather conditions we had a pretty good weekend. Our bike is obviously not the fastest, but we hope that now we move on to some twistier tracks we can be fighting for some more podiums and race wins. Roll on Cadwell!
Round 1 Pembrey 2010
With Erol not having ridden his bike since the accident at Rockingham around 6 months ago and the fact that the team was trying out some new tyres, Pembrey was going to be a tough round for Team Highside Racing. However the weather was gorgeous and Erol was looking forward to racing again. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse during the test day when his front tyre let go sending Erol and the bike down the road, with the bike coming to rest in a lot of pieces in the tyre wall. Erol was ready to through the bike in the van and go home, with no money to fix the severely damaged bike. He was told to “go away” for an hour and chill out. While he was away the team stripped the bike and had made a start at trying to repair the damage. By this time Erol was back and in the right frame of mind to race again. Parts were bodged back on the bike, a few bits sourced (thanks Jason and the Cox brothers) and a lot of cable ties and gaffa tape was used to hold the bike together.
With the tank held on with two bolts, the seat with one and a bent rear sub frame Erol was back out on track trying another front tyre. By the end of the day with the help of Chris at MKW Suspension Erol felt he had an ok set up to go out in qualifying with. Unfortunately he could only manage 10th on the grid.
Race 1 (18 laps)
Not wanting to give up with the hard work everyone had done on the test day Erol rolled up on the grid with the new tyres, ready to see what they could do in a race situation. Erol got a cracking start and was up to 5 at the first corner, unfortunately though he could not match his qualifying time and with his confidence going he slipped back down to 8th which is where he finished.
Race 2 (12 laps)
With a last minute sponsor turning up Saturday night, Erol was back on the Dunlop tyres he knows and loves from last season and was rearing to go.From 10th on the grid Erol was up into 4th place at the first corner and 3rd by turn 3, throwing the bike underneath Ben Field where he had his big crash on the test day, showing his faith in the front had returned. He set off after Seb Bulpin who had pulled a bit of a gap and on lap 3 Erol out broke Bulpin and rode round the outside of him at the hairpin, Erol then gapped Bulpin as he set off after Marc Hughes who had opened quite a lead. On lap 8 Erol got a false neutral going into the hairpin and the bike died, he had to thumb the starter to fire the bike up and get going again, this allowed Bulpin (who did a great job of not hitting Erol stricken bike) back in front. Again Erol charged after Bulpin and was all over the back of him, but he was riding a good defensive race and Erol couldn’t get passed. On the last lap going into Brooklands the tight right hander, Erol saw an opportunity and dived up the inside, he ran a little wide and as he got on the gas the rear broke loose firing Erol out the seat and nearly over the highside. Bulpin retook the place and Erol followed him across the line in third place.
Race 3 (12 laps)
The lights went out and Erol again go a good start, up to 4th at the first turn again. He got held up for half a lap by Field, but when he got passed rapidly pulled away chasing after Hughes and Bulpin who both got cracking starts. Erol could have had an easy 3rd place, but as a true racer was pushing to catch the two in front of him and ran wide and onto the grass at some pace! He managed to control the bike, got back on the track, but Field got passed with dirty tyres Erol couldn’t push so hard straight away and this allowed Field to gap him slightly, so had to settle for a fourth place. He was kicking himself for loosing a certain podium position, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles!The next round is Snetterton in Norfolk, a track Erol likes and tends to go very well at. So we hope for a little better fortune there and a continued help from our sponsors.
Erol would like to thank, Wifey (Lucy) and Simon for all their hard work and for not sitting the dummy like he did and encouraging him to stay and race. Chris for his fantastic suspension work as always, and Mark from Holbeach Tyres for his help and understanding. Cheers Lee for letting us use your super dooper awning! Cracking pics from our new photo sponsors Racing Line Photography (cheers Paul and the gang) And to those who cannot be mentioned, you know who you are!
Round 9 Rockingham
ThundersportGB were to produce the first bike racing at Rockingham in five years. Most of the riders hadn't been there before, although some had managed a sneaky track day a week or two earlier. Erol hadn't, it was the first time he had set eyes on the place. He thought it was a bit Micky Mouse when he walked it in the morning of the Friday test. It was damp and very slippery. He went out in the first damp session to find his way round, it was very slick out there on dry tyres, but he had fun sliding around and now had some idea where the track went.
The weather dried up and although chilly there were sunny intervals, Erol was getting quicker all day and putting in respectable times, and was looking forward to being on the pace come race day.
In the penultimate session of the day Erol had a little tip of on a corner that had caught out 21 other riders that day, and was unfortunately hit by another rider at around 60mph as he slid down the track. The results was a holed left buttock, bruised leg and pelvis, damaged cartilage, muscle and nerves in the abdominal area, and a broken rib. He was taken to hospital and was unable to race at the meeting. He was gutted, as he was looking to gain second place in the championship.
As it is after a tough start to the year and an unfortunate end, Erol and the team managed to finish the season in 3rd place!
The Final points are as follows:
We hope to be out racing again in the same class next year, and really want to challenge for the title, so please have a think about whether or not you may be able to help us achieve our dream.
Round 8 Anglesey
After the 6 hour drive to the top of Wales and the isle of Anglesey we were pleased to be bathed in beautiful sunshine. Testing was the order of the day on the Friday. Erol went out in the first session to check gearing and to try and remember where the track went. But then decided to try a new trick Ben Spies style and get his elbow down. Which he did at will at the fast right hander after the banked hairpin! He then wandered around the paddock showing everyone the scuffed leathers, to many congratulations and much back patting!
He then decided to follow Phil Crowe around who just so happens to be on a 200bhp gsxr1000 and a very good rider. Erol lent the bike over a bit to much going into rocket and the foot peg lifted the wheels off the floor and Erol went down. Ooops! Oh well that’s what test days are for, not much damage done and he was out again in the next session putting in some good times. With a few suspension tweaks (Cheers Chris at MKW Suspension) the bike had settled down on the brakes and wasn’t backing in to much anymore. So with the day over and good times put in, it was time to rest and get ready for racing. Or be kept up by Jays gut rot!
Qualifying
Qualifying was pretty undramatic really, Erol was in 4th place for a long time but dropped to 5th as the session came to an end. Not a bad starting position behind pole sitter Dan Miles.
Race 1 (14 laps)
Erol got a flyer of a start and was into second place at the first corner, which is about 50 yards up the track from the start line! He dropped to 3rd for the second corner, and was sat up as he nearly ran into the back of wild card Marty Lennon, who seemed to stop mid corner. That allowed Chivers to dive up the inside and Miles followed him through as Erol lost momentum demoting him back to the 5th place he started in. A few laps later Jonathan Lodge another wild card got passed Erol dropping him to 6th. On lap 10 Miles crashed out of the lead handing the lead to Chivers. Erol was closing on his main rival in the championship Tom Gazzard who is ahead of him in 2nd place in the title chase. He was caught and passed on the penultimate lap. Erol crossed the line for another 4th place, earning a front row start in the rest of the weekends races.
Race 2 (12 laps)
From the inside of the front row Erol got another flying start but again got sat up as Chivers turned in on him at the first corner. Erol was in 5th place for the first two laps then got passed Gazzard and set off after Chivers, Lennon and Lodge. Erol got passed Chivers on the exit of peel and was hot on the heals of Lennon, who he passed on the exit of Church, but out braked himself at Rocket allowing Lennon back passed.. On the penultimate lap Miles passed Erol going into the Corkscrew. Erol got right behind Miles on the run up to Rocket, rode round the outside at the very tight left hander, that put him on the inside for rocket out, and Erol took the 3rd place back. He held Miles off to take the 3rd spot over the line.
Race 3 (Reduced to 10 laps)
Again Erol got a great start, but again it came to nothing, and he was 6th for the first few laps. He passed Lodge on lap 5, chased down Chivers and passed him on lap 8, and finished 4th again! Erol did well to stay upright though as he lost the front end numerous times during the race.
Thanks to Simon for a cracking job crew chiefing on his own for the first time. Bex for the grub and constant reminders to eat and drink! And for the lovely food! Daz, Jay and Anni for help in the paddock, driving and pics, respectively. Finally a special thanks to Lee for letting us use his Military tent as our garage for the weekend and for putting up with us!
Rockingham is the final round on the 10th and 11th of October, but don’t forget we will be at Cadwell on the 3rd October for the Dave Holland Festival meeting.
Round 7 Brands Hatch
As Erol is third in the championship, and wants
to stay there if not move up, we thought he better get some testing in at his
local track. The weather was great but the traffic very heavy in the testing
sessions. The bike was pretty well set up, a few changes were made on the
advice of Chris from MKW Suspension, and the gearing we chose was spot on. With
old scrubberd tyres on, Erol was managing 50 second laps all day so was quite
happy with how testing went.
Qualifying
We had one 20 minute qualifying session on the Sunday morning. The times were close with seven riders under the 49 second barrier. Erol put in a time of 49.7 for 6th spot on the grid. Pole man was MRO Front runner Simon Gardener with a very quick 48.8!
Race 1 (15 laps)
The lights went out and everyone shot off the grid, Erol held his sixth place off the line as the bikes barreled down Paddock Hill bend. He dived up the inside of Ricky Simmonds at Driuds to take fifth spot. The following lap he did the same to Alex Barkshire for fourth. He the set about chasing down Gazzard in third place. Around lap nine or ten Erol got great drive out of Clearways and was right on the tail of Gazzrd down the start finish straight, he popped out the slipstream and dove under Gazzard at Paddock to take third place, the tighter line had compromised his exit speed though and Gazzard managed to carry more corner speed and passed Erol back going into Druids corner. That’s how the race finished Gazzard third and Erol fourth. This meant that Erol had another front row start for the two races on the Bank Holiday Monday and another brolly dolly!
Race 2 (15 laps)
Erol got his first and hopefully last bad start of the year! From the front row he ended up about eighth place at the first corner. Not very happy with this he dived under two people at Driuds the second corner as he knew he had to make up ground quick before the leaders made a break for it. There was a coming together of about six bikes further down the field at Driuds bringing out the yellow flags at Druids and Paddock. This held Erol up a bit as these are the two main passing places, but he had to hold back from passing Simmonds for a few laps, but finally got past Simmonds on lap five. Unfortunately the leading 4 had pulled a fair gap on Erol by this time so he had to dig deep to make up the lost time. He did! And in doing so posted his fastest lap of the weekend a 49s flat! That was faster than the BSB Superstock 600 race winners time! He closed down and passed Stuart Wickens to take fourth and only had two laps to close down and pass Gardener. He closed the gap very quickly but just ran out of time to pull the pass and finished in fourth just 100th of a second behind Gardener!
Race 3 (15 laps)
This time Erol got a better start but got boxed in at the first corner and was demoted to six place. So with more hard work to do Erol set to with Barkshire, the two having a ding dong battle for half the race, not helped when Erol overtook him under a yellow flag by mistake and had to let him through again. Erol did get the better of him though by mid distance and gapped him by just over a second, but it was to late to catch Gardener in fourth place who ended up finishing four seconds in front.
Thanks as always to Simon and Lucy for their hard work, and to Anni (little devil studios) for the photos and brolly dolling. And also to everyone who turned up to support us at our local round!
This time Erol got a better start but got boxed in at the first corner and was demoted to six place. So with more hard work to do Erol set to with Barkshire, the two having a ding dong battle for half the race, not helped when Erol overtook him under a yellow flag by mistake and had to let him through again. Erol did get the better of him though by mid distance and gapped him by just over a second, but it was to late to catch Gardener in fourth place who ended up finishing four seconds in front.
Thanks as always to Simon and Lucy for their hard work, and
to Anni (little devil studios) for the photos and brolly dollying. And also to
everyone who turned up to support us at our local round, especially Mick and Darren for the sponsorship, and our secret sponsor, you know who you are!
Thank you.
The next round is the furthest away for us at
Anglesey in Wales, roughly a seven hour drive. It’s a great track however and
if the weather is as good as it was last year it’ll be another cracking
meeting, watch this space!!!
Round 6 Snetterton
We turned up at Snetterton, on the Thursday night, in what
can only be described as a tropical storm! Luckily we had a garage and we got
set up for the test day the Following day. We woke to glorious sunshine Friday
morning. Pleased to see this Erol went out for his first session, to try some
changes the team had made to the bike. He managed a total of 1 ¾ laps before
throwing the bike down the road, admittedly in some style, and ended up in the
one and only and very deep puddle on the whole circuit. Bum.
Still hardly any damage done to the bike, and Erol should have known better about the cold left hand side of the tyre as he has seen many people do exactly the same thing in many races. Anyway after this little misdemeanor, and with the bike fixed Erol set about the days testing. By the end of the day the team were happy with the times Erol was doing and Erol was very happy with the setup of the bike.
Qualifying
There were two 20 minute qualifying sessions Saturday morning. By the end of the first session Erol had put in a time of 1.12.4 and was in a provisional 4th place. Unfortunately in the second session Erol didn’t go any quicker and ended up 8th on the grid. After being a little disappointed he realized that it was the inside of the second row, and if he got off the line well, he could get away with the top guys.
Race 1 (18 Laps)
Well the start could have been better but Erol held his 8th place round the first lap. He made up a couple of places in a the next couple of laps, but on lap 4 he was passed by Brown and Gazzard into the esses pushing him a little wide and loosing him a bit of time. The following lap it started to rain at varying degrees around the circuit. Erol was determined to gain back his lost time despite the rain. He got past Simpson into Russels chicane the next lap, then Gazzard the following lap into Riches. He chased down Brown and was looking for a way past at Riches. Erol was a matter of inches from Browns rear tyre when Brown launched himself over the highside. Erol avoided collecting Brown and passed circuit specialist Barkshire two corners later. He was now in 3rd place and was closing in fast on Danny Miles the championship leader who was in second place. Erol was a few bike lengths behind Miles when the red flags came out due to a crash at Corum. Unfortunately for Erol, this meant the results would go back a lap, and therefore he finished in 4th place.
Race 2 (12 laps)
Due to the fact Erol finished the Superpole race in 4th place, he would start both Sundays races from that grid position.
He pulled up on the grid to a nice young lady in hotpants with a brolly and had tv cameras and photographers pointing at him snapping and filming away. We think he enjoyed that bit!
The lights went out and he got a cracking start he and Danny were matched neck and neck off the line. As the tipped into Riches (the first corner) Erol had the inside line and Danny lent on him not realizing he was there, they rubbed elbows but Erol came out in front, and lead into Sears. He ran a little wide on the exit and over the rough concrete at the side of the track, this caused a big tank slapper slowing Erol down enough for Simpson and Miles to whiz past.
Erol caught and past simpson going into the chicane on lap 4, but Simpson later retired with clutch problems. He set about chasing Down Miles, but couldn’t quite close the gap. He had a healthy lead over third place man Gazard of 3 seconds, so decided to pull a celebratory wheelie out of the chicane! He also managed to put in his best lap of the weekend, a 1.11.9.
Race 3 (12 laps)
Erols tyre wasn’t looking to good going into this race but
it was the only one he had so it would have to do! He got a good start , but it
quickly became clear that the rear tyre was done, he couldn’t get drive out of
the corners because it was spinning up , and it was even coming round on him
mid corner. He lost a couple of places and was running 5th when he
missed a gear going into the chicane, the bike stalled and he had to restart
it, the allowed Brown who was way back to pass. Erol chased Brown and was
always on his tail into the corners but Brown had the grip coming out and
pulled a gap down the straights, it was a game of cat and mouse. Mike Russell
had been catching all the while. A couple of times he pulled ahead down the
Revitt straight, making the most of Erols lack of drive, but each time Erol
would out brake hime into the esses and retake the position. The race was red
flagged with one lap to go as Simpson and Gazzard had a coming together. Erol
ended up in a disappointing 6th place. But considering the tyre, he
did very well, most said he did well just to finish after seeing the state of
it. Erol asked Russell if he could see the back spinning up when he was
following. “Spin up!?” he said “You were f***ing sideways everywhere!”
Erol is now lying 3rd in the championship and is looking forward to his “home” round at Brands Hatch on the bank holiday weekend at the end of August.
As always Erol would like to thank his team who did another fantastic job throughout the weekend. Also thanks to those that turned up to support him, good to see some old faces back in the paddock! Also to Maria and Anni for the photos throughout the wekend. Finally cheers to Danny Miles who leant Erol a front sprocket for the weekend, Cheers mate!Round 5 Donington Park (World Superbikes)
Qualifying
We stuck a new set of rubber on the bike and Erol pushed his way to the front of the group the first lap out. He put in some fast laps from the off and help pole position until the final three minutes where he was piped by 200th of a second, and ended up in 3rd spot on the grid. The two guys who qualified in front of him were both British superstock riders, so not a bad showing at all for Erol, despite him being grumpy having held pole for so long! And not forgetting this was a 44 bike grid!
Race 1 (10 Laps)
Erol got a good start and tipped into the first corner in 3rd place, but as he headed to the apex he was inches from hitting Danny Miles in the ankle with his bar end and brake leaver, so had to sit up and run wide. This allowed Tom Gazzard and Rob Brown through as well, dropping Erol down to 6th place.
Erol chased down Brown and made a move up the inside at the
Foggy Esses on the 2nd lap, but ran wide and Brown took the place
back, Erol tried the move again and made it stick the following lap, then set
off after the lead four.
Unfortunately Erol started to get arm pump halfway through the race, and a five second gap he had built up over Dean Brown was diminishing fast as Erol could hardly hold on to the bike or twist the throttle. Erol ran a bit wide on lap 8 going into the Melbourne Hairpin and Brown dived up the inside running wide himself and again sitting Erol up forcing him wide. Erol stayed with Brown, and was much faster through the fast flowing sections of the first half of Donington Park, but because of the arm pump couldn’t brake as hard as earlier in the race and couldn’t make a pass stick. Erol finished just behind Brown for 5th place.
Race 2 (10 laps)
Again Erol got a good start and this time wasn’t going to be
pushed out wide. Miles got a cracking start and pulled just in front of Erol so
he altered his line and dived up the inside to take 4th place at
Redgate, the first corner. The freight train thundered down Craner curves the
top four separated by a split second. On lap 4 Gazzard made a move up the inside
of Erol going into the Melbourne loop, Erol shut the door, but Gazzard got good
drive out and the two went up the track into Goddards elbow to elbow. Gazzard
got in front as they came onto the start finish straight. Erol dived up the
inside into Redgate but the tight line pushed him wide and slowed his exit
speed allowing Gazzard back in front.
Erol kept Gazzard in sight but the dreaded arm pump had returned and it was again becoming hard for Erol to push much more with his right forearm locking up.
Going into the final corner Erol saw two bikes on the grass and assumed the riders had had a coming together, what he didn’t realize was it was second and third place men, Irwin and Miles. Erol crossed the line in 3rd place much to the delight of his team jumping up and down on the pit wall.
Erol joined John Simpson and Tom Gazzard on the World Superbike Podium for the trophy presentations!
Erol would just like to thank Lucy, Jez and Simon for their help and support as always, and to Chris from MKW Suspension for the slight tweaks here and there we needed.
Snetterton in two weeks time, hopefully we can do something to stop the arm pump situation and get a couple of steps higher on the podium.Round 4 Oulton Park
Erol hadn't been to Oulton for two years let alone raced there, so he got himself booked in to the test day on the friday, as it was only a one day meeting for double points. We had some new tyres to test from Dunlop and with the help of Chris from MKW Suspension We go a superb set up. Erol was putting in some great lap times and felt the most comfortable on the bike that he has ever been. The whole teams spirits were raised and they were looking forward to some close exciting racing and a good result.Qualifying
Unfortunately all the good work the team and Chris did during the test day, pretty much went out the window, as qaulifying was very, very wet. Erol went out and took a couple of laps to asses the conditions, then got the hammer down trying to put in some fast laps. He kept getting position 5 on the pit board, and tried to push a little harder to get on the front row. Unfortunately though, he got cought in a lot of traffic and was unable to get a clear lap in. Others though did manage a clear few laps and Erol was bumped down to 9th place on the grid. Gutted!
Race (13 laps)
The race was shortened due to incidents in earlier races to 10 laps. It was still raining and the track very wet as the grid lined up for the off. The lights went out and Erol got away ok, but only made up a place or two. With a wall of spray in front of him he couldn't really see his braking marker and didn't want to take any chances.As they tipped toed round the first half of the lap, coming out of Brittens chicane for the first time Simpson launched himself out of the lead, as everyone tried to avoid hitting him and his bike stranded in the middle of the track.
Erol was up to 6th place at the end of the first lap and was battling with Dean Brown. Brown got past on lap 3, pushing Erol down a spot. With handling issues, Erol was trying to keep with the guys in front but had a moment at Cascades on lap 5 when he lost the front and had to pick the bike up, go up the escape road, stop turn around and get back on track! This allowed Sam Parry to get past who was some 15 seconds further back! Erol got back past Parry at Hizzys chicane, but got bad drive out of Driuds a few corners later allowing Parry to draw along side into the braking zone for Lodge. Parry was about two inches in front of Erol when he pulled a little to hard on the front brake lever and went down right in front of him. Parry was lucky Erol didn't run him or his bike over as he slid down the road.
Erol finished the race in 7th place, which he was very disappointed with, but in a race with tricky conditions (there were 9 fallers) he did well just to stay on the bike! He is now 6th in the championship, and there are only a handfull of points between 2nd to 9th place, so things are still really close.
Thanks again to Chris at MKW Suspension, who helped us out a lot, and Maria from www.moto-photos.co.uk for the pictures.
The next round is at Donington World Superbikes on June the 26th - 27th. See you there!
Round 3 Pembrey
What a long drive it is for us to get to the fabulous circuit of Pembrey in south Wales, five and a half hours away! Anyway it turned out to be a cracking track, but one which Erol had to master quickly to be on the pace as it was the first time he had ever been there.Qualifying
There was a mix of weather for qualifying. It started off dry but overcast, then rained for a while, but as the surface at Pembrey is made of some super special tarmac the grip levels didn't decrease to much so everyone stayed out on dry tyres. It did dry up towards the end of the session, and Erol was running in 5th place until a few minutes from the end when a few guys put in some cracking laps and Erol dropped down to 10 on the grid for the races.Race 1 (18 laps)
Erol got a good start, and slotted into 6th place behind Rob Brown at the tight first corner. Jeacock got past lap 3 as Erol knocked it down 1 to many gears into Brooklands, and got far to sideways causing him to run wide. Again on lap 4 Erol backed it into Brooklands to much and Charlie McCarten got past. Erol lay 8th all race until Gazzard fell off on lap 14 at the hairpin finished promoting Erol to 7th and that's where he finished.
Race 2 (12 laps)
Erol didn’t get a great start this time and held his 10th position into the first corner. He moved up to 9th on the second lap, and pretty much stayed there until the last lap where he made up another position to finish 8th.
Race 3 (12 laps)
Erol again got a mediocre start and ended the first lap in 9th place. By lap 2 hed had gotten past Ricky Simmonds and Ashley Chivers and was now fighting with Rob brown for 5th place. Unbeknown to Erol it was actually a 4 man dice as Simmonds and Chivers were right on their tail! Erol and Brown swapped places 3 or 4 times during the race and Erol finished just behind Brown by just 7/1000ths of a second for 6th place.
Round 2 Cadwell Park
We arrived at Cadwell on Good Friday night before the test day, to a very wet and dark scene! We hoped it would clear up for the test day, but alas it didn’t. Showers interrupted the day and as Erol hadn’t ridden the bike there before it made gearing selection difficult for race day. He also crashed at the hairpin on someones spilt fuel during one of his sessions, which didn’t help, but Jez and Simon did a great job of sorting the bike out for him.
Qualifying
The track wasn’t to bad round the back of the circuit but there was only a very narrow dry line around Barn, the last corner that leads onto the main start/finish straight. One lap through here Erol touched the wet part of the track with his front tyre and the bike started to slide away from him. He managed to pick the bike up on his knee and carry on. While the track was damp Erol was struggling and was down in 14th to 17th place. But at the end of the session he pushed hard and avoided the wet bits to post a time for 7th on the grid.
Race 1 (14 laps)
The weather had turned dryer by the first shortened race (10) laps. It was still pretty cold but dry. Erol got an ok start and was 7th into the first corner. He passed Parry on the next lap and pulled away at about a second a lap to take a comfortable 6th place 9 seconds ahead of Parry.
Race 2 (12 laps)
The weather for Bank Holiday Monday was much nicer, dry and
quite sunny, but still cold. Erol got a bad start as the bike bogged down,
he went round the outside at copse the fast left hand first corner, but was
pushed wide and nearly onto the grass, where he lost a large number of places.
Fighting his way back through the pack he dived up the inside of Jake Newstead
into Mansfield and as Newstead turned in with Erol unsighted, Erol clipped the
back of Jakes bike. Luckily the both stayed on and continued to race. The
following lap two riders crashed on the exit of Mansfield and the race was
stopped while they received medical attention.
Race 3 (12 laps)
Erol again got a pretty good start, and was away with the leaders. Tom Gazzard was out in front, while Daniel Miles, Dean Brown, Parry and Erol all fought for 2nd place. Sam was leading the group for a few laps but made a couple of mistakes allowing Miles and Brown through, Erol had also made a little mistake and had dropped a few bike lengths back. He was reeling in Parry though, and with a couple of laps to go and got right on his tail, but on the penultimate lap made a mistake going into the micky mouse chicane allowing Parry to pull away enough not to be caught. So Erol finished 5th again.
Erol was disappointed not to have finished on the podium at Cadwell, but in dodgy conditions and with a relative lack of testing at the circuit he pulled together some solid results. He is now 6th in the championship standings only 7 points off of 3rd place.
2009 Season is GO!
Round 1 Mallory Park
So with the new season now upon us Erol and the team set off on their way to Mallory Park race circuit near Hinckley. It has to be said that no one in the team including Erol really likes the circuit, but that is where the championship starts, so tough! Qualifying
The weather was cold but dry with a light breeze. Due to lack of funds Erol had to qualify on old used tyres that had been used for testing a few weeks earlier. The pace was very quick, but Erol was holding his own in 6th place for most of the session until the rear tyre cried enough and he could go no quicker. So with no grip left he pulled in. Unfortunately in the last 5 minutes a few other riders upped their game a bit and Erol was demoted down to 12th place on the grid, with a 57.43. 1.8 seconds off pole. Just so you get an idea of how close it was, there 9 riders in the 57 second bracket!Race 1 (18 laps)
This is obviously Erols first race on the bike and he had never had a chance to practice his starts. As the lights went out he got an ok start, but was boxed in on the inside and lost a place into gerrards, the first corner. He then got by the rider in front and settled into 12th place.
He was closing in on Tom Young and as Young ran wide and onto the grass on the exit of Edwinas chicane Erol nipped up the inside to gain a place. As Erol was chasing down another rider into the hairpin, the rider in front ran wide and again Erol nipped through. He was now on a charge and rapidly closing in on Ashley Chivers and Sam Parry. Chivers passed Parry into the hairpin. Erol got a good run on Parry out of the Devils Elbow and down the start finish straight and dived under him into Gerrards on lap 13, and set off after Chivers.
Race 2 (12 laps)
Erols rear tyre was looking a little worse for ware but again due to the lack of funds it was the only one he had to use for the whole days racing. With nearly everyone else on the grid in front of him on new tyres Erol knew he had his work cut out!
He got a cracking start and made up 6 places off the line as he slotted into 6th place at the first corner. He settled into a rhythm behind Young, and was closing in until on about lap 7 the rear tyre really started to drop off, meaning he couldn’t get the power down coming out of the corners allowing Young to pull away a bit. With the lack of corner exit speed compromising Erols speed onto the main straight, Bruce Winfield managed to slipstream him down the straight and take the place off him going into Gerrards. On the final lap of the race Chivers managed to do the same thing and Erol ended the race in 8th place. Despite a now very knackered tyre he had still managed to go faster with a lap time off 56.3. Now only .8 of a second off the fastest lap.
Race 3 (12 laps)
Erol had been on the phone to his suspension man (Colin form 100% Suspension) in between races to see if there was anything they could do to make the bike handle better with the worn rear tyre. A few adjustments were made, and Erol went out and lined up on the grip. Again he got a great start and was 6th into the first corner. He settled down into this position and was chasing down Daniel Miles. The tyre was to badly gone and he could not keep up the pace, with the bike sliding and moving round every corner Erol had to back off otherwise he would have had a big crash. This allowed Winfield to again get past Erol. The race ended with Erol in 8th place.
It was the teams’ first race meeting with the bike and they learnt some valuable lessons about set-up and tyre wear. The Dunlop tyres were great when new, but we had to ask too much of them because we can’t afford as many sets as most other teams out there. Erol rode his bum off in that last race and even with the tyres as they were managed to set his fastest lap of the weekend a 56.2. If he had new tyres for qualifying he would have at least been on the second row, and again for the races would have given him another half a second on his lap times putting him in the top 3!
If anyone is able to help out please get in touch by emailing erol@teamhighsieracing.co.uk. Even if you help him to get a couple of sets of tyres it would really make a big difference.
So after the first round Erol is lying 7th in the championship. With 30 riders competing, that isn't to bad for his first outing on the bike. He got quicker evrytime he rode the bike, and is now looking forward to the next round at Cadwell over the bank holiday weekend in April.