Tommy Bridewell's Title winning PBM Ducati Panigale, Birmingham Nov 2023.

Michael Dunlop's Honda Fireblade Superbike, Birmingham Nov 2023

Pete Hickman's 2023 TT BMW S1000rr, Birmingham Nov 2023.

A few words and a little video for interest. Good run at Snetterton. Steadily faster all weekend. For context my fastest lap time on the Superstock bike with at least 45 more horses is a 1:55.8. My goal for this year on the V2 was a 1:56. Realistic I felt so I went for it. Free practice sessions were about set up and learning the track on this particular bike. Without the straight line speed and power of the bigger bike it was inevitably about brakes and corner speed. FP1/2 saw me sitting around the 25th/26th position mark and steady 1:58 laps. More to come. Given my pace and position I was confident of getting into Q2 so I left pit lane for Q1 in full on time attack mode. Out lap saw me nearly crash at the final corner due to a weird cut out of the bike but I kept pushing. By lap 5 of the 15 minute session I was into the 1:57s and finished the session going over a second quicker than in free practice. I was into Q2 by finishing the session in 9th position. We did however have an issue. When I pulled up to re-fuel in pit lane I noticed water coming out of the bike. I took my helmet and gloves off as I figured that was it as the bike had overheated. It turned out to be a tiny pin-hole in a smaller hose near the jubilee clip from motor on the right hand side. Fair play to the crew, they pulled it off the engine. Steam everywhere like a kettle, cut the damaged end off and re-connected it. Top up of water and away I went. Only lost 4 minutes of the session and went out and went faster to finish 26th overall. The sprint race was interesting, 10 laps in hot humid conditions. Start was manic and I nearly hit an R6 up the ass into turn one so lost a few places. Got settled and plugged away chasing lap times. Didn't go any quicker and if I'm honest I managed my pace because the bike was running hot the whole race. They run warm anyway but it just didn't seem to cool at all on the straights which concerned me, probably atmospherics but I rode accordingly. I could see the gap on my board was big enough to not worry too much and I was never going to catch the group in front so looked after the bike as best I could. I had a shock as I crossed the line on the last lap though, .1 of a second to the bike behind. Perhaps eased off too much? Needless to say I pulled the pin a bit on lap 10 so as not to lose a place. Fastest lap of the race for me and unbeknownst to me it was my team mate who had caught me. He knew I had put in a fast lap at the end though so didn't push too hard in the end. I finished 21st.

For Sunday I made a few changes. I had struggled with the front skipping through Palmer and Corum on Saturday so I firmed up the front end and went for the SC1 front tyre over the SC2 to try and solve it. It worked a treat and I had a really good feature race. 14 laps of hard graft but the racing was spot on. Initially a good scrap with Ryan Garside until Ben Currie came through from the back after an issue on lap one. I tagged on the back for a few corners which meant I got by my team mate at Wilson after Ben sat him up. Next was one of the GP2 bikes which moved me into a position to chase down Harry Leigh. I took me a few laps to get up to him and I passed him on the brakes into turn one after slip streaming him on the start straight. It's not often I get that panic feeling but that move got me worried. I genuinely didn't think I was stopping. Compromised my entry slightly which meant he came back at me into turn two but he ran wide and I just rode underneath him. That was it, 1:56.595 and P21 again. Really happy with the bike as no issues with heat and handling. Looking forward to Brands Hatch this coming weekend where I hope to build on progress so far.

Here's a little video walk around of the bike just now when I finished cleaning it. Good scrub for the radiators and it's ready for next meeting. Any questions fire away but the bike is a stock motor apart from a super finished gearbox. The dash, ecu and loom are Solo and required for Supersport. The Termi exhaust has to be fitted, or Akra if you prefer. The bike is pretty much up to spec apart from radiators. Hopefully they are coming soon but they are not cheap. The only other gains are through weight saving overall so it has a lightweight ally tank and I take a shit before I go out on track. Ohlins all round for suspension as I have used before on the 959.

Malvern Truckfest 2023.

First visit to Truckfest this weekend. Some tidy units, both modern and old.

N155 GTR. Malvern, July 2023

First ever truckfest with the unit this weekend. Plenty to see and do for the kiddies but most importantly I got to meet a few people who know how to source parts and keep the old units running. Will be doing the one in September in the South West too.

Cadwell Park Trackday, June 2023.

Few skids and wheel ups today on the V2. Slowly getting to know it. It felt fast today around Cadwell. Not far off the pace on old tyres and in traffic. Next time I ride will be BSB at Snetterton in two weekends time.

N155 GTR June 2023

I have just had a practice load ready for the weekend club meeting at Pembrey. I was adamant I was going to do at least one club meeting in the unit with a bike on the back, just cos I can. As it happens I have had to use my own bike this weekend so on it went. I didn't strap it down as it came straight back off again but I will be heading to Wales in it for a few skids and wheel ups later in the week. Thankfully I have a steep garden with a raised area so loading no issue. Bit tricky getting it back down the steps rather than trying to go back up the grass but just about managed it without dropping it. I will unload and load again at the circuit using the tail lift on one of the wagons.

Oulton Park, April 2023. 

Knickerbrook, same corner two different bikes in two different qualifying sessions last weekend. 

Images Ian Hopgood. 

Oulton Park, April 2023. 

Some words following last weekend on the V2. It was always going to be a busy weekend for myself and the team. There were a few unknowns so I had to hedge my bets and run in two classes. My usual SSTK1000 class on the Suzuki was relatively simple. I knew my set-up from last year and the bike was all good following Silverstone so all I had to do was put tyres on and fuel it. The qualifying format for Oulton was changed but it didn't really affect me as I was never going to be top 18 in the stocks. Saturday was two sessions of 30 minutes in both classes. FP1 was dry for both. Stocks I was mediocre and way off PB pace but a good run out all the same. 

V2 was a little more troublesome. I was out on fresh rubber and went for a middle of the road guess at suspension. As soon as I came out of Cascades on the outlap I knew the bike wasn't right. 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear all came as normal with the quick shifter but when I went for 5th it wouldn't change up with the throttle open. I tried a couple more times but it continued to not cut the ignition on numerous up-shifts. Now I will ride a three legged donkey as long as it keeps going forward at pace so that's exactly what I did. At the end of the day it's a motorcycle and I know how to ride one without any aids. A simple roll of the throttle meant I could continue to ride without the QS. The blipper for the downshifts was still working so I didn't have to worry about a manual blip. I managed just 7 laps and then at the start of lap 8 when I was just getting going I went for 5th gear down Lakeside and there was nothing there. Physically nothing! The QS had snapped half way along and the lever went limp. I managed to get back to pits in 4th gear but that was session over. Job on for the crew to sort it for FP2. 

Conditions for FP2 for both classes were mixed so I didn't do many laps. I opted for intermediate tyres and spent most of both sessions dipping in and out of pit lane doing sighting laps to see if the circuit was drying. I left it until 15 minutes left to do a decent stint on the V2 and did my fastest lap of the session on the last lap. I did just the last 10 minutes on the stocker but decided discretion was the better part of valour and didn't really push. Most riders in both classes didn't even bother going out as they knew they would go no quicker than FP1. 

Qualifying for both classes consisted of Q1 and Q2. The Superstock and Supersport were back to back so potentially I could've been out on track for best part of an hour on two different bikes. Fastest 18 riders from FP1/2 automatically went through to Q2 and the remaining 27 had to slog it out in Q1 to try and be in the fastest 9 to move into Q2. It was wet, really wet so I took no chances on the Superstock bike. I used my board and did the bare minimum to qualify. I really didn't want to be in Q2 and realistically I know my place on the grid (somewhere near the back) so there was no point risking the bike, or myself, when I knew I had to qualify the V2 as well. Getting hosed down to get mud and grass off prior to a qualifying session on the Ducati was not on my agenda. I qualified P39 for the Stock grid. 

Once I'd had a drink and my mechanic ran to Parc ferme to get my transponder from the Suzuki I was ready to go. We put enough fuel in for the 15 minute session to keep weight down. That in itself was an indicator of my expectation levels. It turned out to be incorrect. I find new wet tyres a bit strange for the first couple of laps, probably psychological but I always go steady. I got faster as Q1 went on and dare I say it the V2 is a lot easier to ride in the wet than the Suzuki. I felt like I could run more corner speed and get on the gas harder and earlier. It just felt nice. I ended up pushing on and was blissfully un-aware my team mate had tucked in behind me. We both did our fastest lap on the last lap. I had seen P13 on my board as I crossed the line and was made up to do that considering it was my first time out at the BSB on the bike. Little did we both know we had made it through to Q2. We both had to go back to the awning in the paddock to re-fuel as teams are not allowed to re-fuel in pit lane. 

Q2 started promptly and as we were already up to speed with conditions and tyres we both went for it straight away. I decided to pull the pin a bit as the track seemed to be drying slightly. I got quicker lap by lap and again did my fastest lap on the last lap. Almost a full 3 seconds quicker to qualify 24th from over 40 riders. I think I have a wet set-up now that's for sure and the quick shifter seemed to behave itself. 

There was no Superstock race on the Sunday, just a 12 lap sprint race for the Supersport. The team got the bikes cleaned and prepped for a dry race as that's how it was looking but with about ten minutes to go the rainfall radar was showing wet stuff imminent. I made the call to change to wet set-up whilst the bike was still at the awning. It hammered down and we ended up getting held in pit lane for a considerable time whilst the circuit crew cleared standing water. We eventually got underway with an 8 lap dash. Again it was very wet but thankfully I'd had plenty of laps in the rain already so was up for a good old scrap. Turn 1 and 2 were bonkers in the middle of the pack, all I could see were a couple of rain lights. Just waiting for riders to go down in front of you is a challenge as decisions need to me made really quickly if it happens. Thankfully everyone got through Cascades and Island Bend and it all settled a little. I ended up getting passed by Tom Tunstall on his V2 and he gapped me initially. Now I've raced against Tom before and he is a good rider, I was consistently 5 or more places behind him in the Ducati Cup so I accepted the challenge and went after him. Riding behind someone for a few laps you soon get to see where they are weaker and I could see opportunity to pass. I got right up on his back wheel out of Shell Oils and tried to maintain that all the way through to Druids with a view to out braking him into Lodge. I didn't want to risk it at Hizzys on the brakes as the scope for going down and taking him with me was high. 

It took me a few laps to come up with plan but he knew, he kept staying towards the centre of the track into Lodge on the brakes to stop me trying to go under him. On the third to last lap I swapped to the outside. He was compromising his entry which in turn compromised his exit. I could ride a more sweeping line and get on the gas earlier after carrying the better corner speed. I figured I could make it work. Penultimate lap I did what I had planned and got on the gas hard down into the dip before Deers Leap to ride around the outside and out drag him to the line. Being a bell end I thought I was on the last lap and had beat him so I looked across as we crossed the line. He just kept chin on tank and it took me a split second to realise we had just started the last lap. I was way off line for turn one at that point so had to brake, re-position and get after him again. 

I managed to catch him and repeat exactly the same move even though he tried even harder to prevent me. 0.050 on the line is as close as it gets and P18 for a first result on the V2 was very welcome. 

Monday was decision time. I'm old compared to most of the other riders and as much as I feel 20 there's no way I could've ridden a 14 lap Superstock race then jumped straight onto the V2 to do 16 laps in the Supersport. I made the call to go to race office and pull out of the stock race. There are always reserves so it meant someone was going to get a race, it just so happened that one of John McGuiness's crew was in there when I went in. He got a slot which meant he got a race and more importantly a signature for the Island. He did well too, finished P20 from P40 on the grid. Significantly better than I would've done. 

I was starting P20 for what was to be a dry race and crucial dry track time with the right group of riders. I've not ridden in Supersport before but at the BSB you get to know the other riders in your class. I know a few in Supersport but most I don't so I was a little reserved the first few laps just in case there were any axe murderers out there. I just watched what was going on, took a few overtakes on the chin and got settled. I ended up having a lonely race. 4-5 second gap to the bikes in front and for most of the race a 20-30 second gap to the bikes behind. The exception was the last couple of laps where I caught and passed Harry Leigh. He was suffering arm-pump I think and he came back to me in the latter stages. I spent most of my race chasing lap times and working out how to get the best out of the bike. I tried different shift patterns, different braking and throttle techniques for various corners all to try and see what worked best for me and the bike. I finished P25 and bettered my lap time from Ducati Cup a few years ago. 

Overall I had a very good weekend on what is generally a new bike to me. The Supersport V2 is not really anything like the old 959. It has less power and what power it has it delivers in a different way I think. The wet map is very good but without traction control there is still scope for turning it upside down so even though the bike is nowhere near as powerful as the Superstock bike I still have a healthy respect for it. I am confirmed as riding it again at Donington BSB so I will build on my Oulton Park outing and start chipping away at little set-up gains to try and move further up the field. 

As always a huge thanks to True Heroes Racing for giving me the opportunity along with all the sponsors. Particularly Laguna Motorcycles, they have provided the team with FOC bikes since day one and I have had the pleasure of riding both 899 and 959 machines provided by them. It was good to be back on an Italian race bike again that they have provided. 

Action shot Matt Hallam, paddock and grid shots Paul Hunt. 

Well due to circumstances beyond my control I am back on a Ducati in the British Superbike Paddock. Unfortunately one of my team mates got clobbered at Silverstone and is temporarily broken. This means I get to keep the seat warm on his V2 whilst he fixes. I haven't ridden a Ducati race bike since 2019 in the Tri-Options when I finished a run of five seasons on the 899/959. I have been given the opportunity to ride a Supersport V2, provided by Laguna Motorcycles, this coming weekend at Oulton by the team. I wasn't sure at first as I feel like I finally have the Superstock Suzuki where I want it to produce my best performance. Instead of jumping into it blind this coming weekend I managed to ride the V2 for the first time last weekend at Castle Combe with NG Road Racing. It was very wet Friday for the morning sessions which I was on. I only had three 12 minute sessions and needed to test a few things on the Suzuki so did that first. I tried a harder compound SC2 wet tyre then did my second run on my usual SC1 as a comparison in identical conditions. For my last session I intended to have another run on the SC1 front and rear but to my utter surprise the mechanic got the V2 through the noise test. The bike hadn't been ridden since Silverstone and was still showing a few battle scars and didn't have the lightweight alloy tank on it but it was perfectly functional so I got ready to take it out. It still had the other rider's springs in it and was set up for him but I just softened it off a few clicks and jumped on. I was shown how to use the new dash and popped it into wet mode which has been developed by Moto Rapido. The bike obviously felt familiar as I'd ridden it predecessor a lot but it also felt very alien as I have been on the Suzuki since 2020. It didn't take long to get into it though and the sheer joy of being able to open the throttle hard in the wet without fear of being launched to the moon was immediately noticeable. I managed to go within .5 of a second of my lap time from the session on the Suzuki. The bike has been built over the winter but I hadn't really paid much heed to what has been done to them to make them eligible for the British Supersport. Visually they have the Termi (sounds great) and the dash/ECU combo. The rest of the mods consist of trying to shave off as much weight as possible and I think there are Febur rads on the way for when the warmer weather gets here. Other than that I don't know but I'm sure I will learn more this weekend. They are restricted on power/throttle and I've been told it's somewhere between 70 and 75% but again I will find out this weekend. I raced it on Saturday in the dry and although I had data from my 959 for Castle Combe I don't think the gearing was working particularly well for me. It was hard to tell due to the power restriction so I just left it. I had a good couple of races with Jamie Coward and I was thankful he was there as it made me push on a bit to try and see what I could do on the bike prior to Oulton. Overall I was impressed with the Supersport set up and will see whether I can make it go quick around Oulton with the appropriate group of riders around me. If I can get anywhere near my lap times that I am capable of on the Superstock bike then I will be a happy rider. I will be running #50 not my usual #22 as that is taken in the Supersport. Adding a few pics, wheelie bin included of course and I will get a few more this weekend once the scuffed fairings are off and the alloy tank with the livery is fitted.

22 Dave Mackay, True Heroes Racing Silverstone r1 2023 by DGLpictures

Silverstone, April 2023.

First National meeting of the year and as ever it was hectic. Having only ridden the Superstock bike once prior to the weekend, since October, I was always going to be up against it given the depth of the field. Thankfully Mr Gardner and Mr Curran put a bike underneath me which can do the job and I am grateful for that. The pace as always was quick from the outset and with numbers of competitors high I knew I was going to have to work hard. 

The National Superstock class is using slick tyres this year for the first time ever so that was another factor to contend with. Silverstone is abrasive and notoriously hard on tyres so a specific compound has to be used in the rear of the bike. FP1 saw my lap times slightly off but I knew there was more to come and I finished in 41st place overall and 43rd combined FP1/2. 3/4 of a second away from a PB. 

Bike felt good but I just needed to re-calibrate my brain to how quickly I needed to ride just to qualify. I was feeling confident for FP2 but unfortunately it turned into a workout rather than a riding session. Three laps in, as I turned into Brooklands at the end of the Wellington straight the bike made a louder than usual crackle on the overrun and when I got on the gas it just died on me. As I rolled onto the kerb on the inside of Luffield the rider behind me tapped his tank as he went by. He must've been able to smell the fuel. The main fuel line had become detached from the pump under the tank and essentially I had run out of fuel. Thankfully it happened where it did and I turned the bike off straight away so no real damage done. I ended up pushing the bike back to the race truck so at least I got a bit of fitness out of it. That whole scenario meant I was on the back foot for qualifying. 

I knew I needed to go out in qualifying and push hard straight away. That’s exactly what I did. Within a lap I was within .5 of a PB and knew I had a new tyre ready to go in pitlane for the second half of the session. I came in with about 10 minutes to go for a change and the crew worked fast. As I left I knew it was going to be a challenge to qualify within the top 40 for a slot on the grid. My last three laps were my quickest and I was just about to push for one more. As I came through T1 a rider had run wide and came back onto the track as I approached T2. Every thing was perfectly safe but I rolled the throttle ever so slightly because I was uncertain what he might do. That killed that lap but I figured I’d go again on the next lap. It wasn’t to be and although I was within a tenth of my PB the chequered flag was out. I then had to wait to see how the riders in group B went to determine whether I was on the grid for race 1. I finished 41st overall again so didn’t make the grid on Saturday. 

Not making the grid had a plus side though. It meant I wasn't too pushed for time to help one of the team’s younger associate riders. Grid duties and pit board for him to get him away in a calm fashion for his first Junior Supersport race of the season. 

It’s nothing new to me to miss out on making the grid due to numbers. I readily accept that I am at the back of the class but the first meetings are usually over subscribed, hence two FP and Qualifying groups. Positives from a negative and all that, it meant I got to watch the race and try and learn a few things from quicker riders. Now I don’t wish ill on anyone but I knew that there was a good chance someone would have an issue and I would get a slot for Sunday. That’s exactly what happened and a couple of riders didn’t make the grid. From what I could tell Scott Swann and James Hillier dropped out which meant I was out for Warm-up on Sunday morning. The bike was ready so it was just a case of putting a used set of tyres in and rolling out. 

P39 on the grid for the afternoon and all I needed to do was get a finish to prove the bike was good. Reasonable start and got settled in behind the two riders who were in front on the grid. I could see my lap times coming down on my timer and pushed quite early on for a PB. That led to me catching and passing the two in front. I knew I needed to get my racing with others done before the latter stages because getting lapped by the leaders was inevitable. Once the blue flags came out with about 5 laps to go the dynamic of my race changes. I have to work hard to try not to get in the way as well as keeping the pace up. I only lost a bit of time when the initial three riders passed me, after that the others seemed to catch me on the straights so it was an easy task to keep out of the way. I finished in P28 from 40 starters and with a PB. I couldn’t really ask for much more given how the weekend went. I’m now ready for the next round at Oulton Park, albeit the qualifying format is slightly different so will see how that goes. 

Huge thanks to all crew and sponsors for doing what they do to keep the team going. 

Images, Action Ian Hopgood, Grid Paul Hunt. 

Ducati 749r, 3rd April 2023.

Sun was out today so I wheeled the R out of the garage and gave it a quick once over. Panels off to check for leaks before starting. I didn’t use it at all last year so going to make the effort to ride a few miles on the road this year. MOT soon then tax and insurance. Had a little ECU niggle for a while causing a fan issue. Got a fresh ECU ready to be flashed with the DP map so that’ll be going in at some point. 

AA1I2926 by Pitman 304 Via Flickr: phoenix open - 26.03.23

2023-3-25-000828-3396-Brands Hatch--66261 by Barry Doolan

Bob. Brands Hatch, March 2023. 

A little roll around in the gravel for Bob. Thankfully no real damage done so a quick scrub and a few bits changed before he went out to win his next race.