|
|
MSA British
Hill Climb Championship |
|
|
|
|
The Old Soaks In The Hut Go Racing After 11 years of commentating at the Jersey hillclimbs, myself and Dave were competitors this year racing our 450 KTM supermoto bikes. Towards the end of 2005 Dave had what his missus described as a mid life crisis. Being just the wrong side of 40 he decided it was now or never to get back on a bike and give it a go for two or three years until old age creeps in and times become slower. Although I’d commentated on a few events with other people over the years there was never the same buzz in the commentary hut without Dave as we are good friends and know when and what each other is going to say. The thought of having to carry on in the hut at all events without him didn’t appeal, as I knew it just wouldn’t be the same. So with that in my mind I had no option but to buy a bike the same as his and give it a go as well. Whilst being the greatest of friends we are also both extremely competitive at whatever we do, the pre race banter and wind ups are almost as much fun as the racing. August 2005 was our first event but we only had one run before the heavens opened, as expected Dave had the upper hand and gave me a good pasting. Easter 2006 saw us both getting quicker and taking a few scalps of guys who’ve been doing it for years. We ended up a second apart with Dave (he’s starting to annoy me now) ahead again. At the May event we were neck and neck as I closed in on his times, I had lowered my PB on every run so gave it everything I could on the last run hoping I would finally jump ahead of him. He saw my time, he knew it was good and then did what he does so well when facing defeat. He stonked up the hill in 46.66secs lowering his PB by a massive 1 second, pasting me again the b*****d. We then went to a UK supermoto school followed by a hillclimb at Wiscombe on the way back. At the school I was amazed to be quicker than him round the kart track we were using and thought myself, maybe just maybe I’ve got the measure on him now. At Wiscombe I was brought back down to earth as he remained a second ahead of me after three runs of us both improving as we learnt the hill. Instead of accepting the fact that he’s more experienced on bikes and should beat me as I had been doing before, this time I found myself frustrated and annoyed as I knew just two days earlier I was quicker than him, why couldn’t I do it now? I changed my rear tyre for the last run as the wet I was running was tearing up badly. I stood aside from the pre run banter and whilst changing the tyre I was continually psyching myself up. I was last to run of all the Jersey riders and saw on the clock on the bottom that Dave had gone quicker again. More psyching took place as I headed for the line and then I gave it my best shot. To be honest I s**t myself going through the “esses” as even after three runs I didn’t really know them. We didn’t know our times until we all returned to the bottom we hadn’t heard them on the commentary. We all went en masse to the results board with me a few paces behind the others. As I arrived I was greeted by four outstretched right hands, “well done mate, you’ve done it”. Eureka!! Not only had I beaten Dave by nearly a second I’d also beaten the lad who wins our class in Jersey at every hillclimb. Next event was the Bouley Bay national, at the start of the year I had said I might not ride this one as I loved commentating on the nationals so much, but that thought had disappeared by now as I’m enjoying the riding so much too. We both messed around in the practice runs backing the bikes in where and when we could as there was a bottle of champagne up for grabs for the best backing it in. Alas, neither of us won it at the end of the day so all eyes were focussed on the times. Unlike Wiscombe I had the upper hand through practice and the first official run, this was a new experience for both of us and I was hoping that it would unsettle Dave enough to give me the win. The pre run banter had all but dried up now as we both seemed to be getting a little too serious, sadly. I went up two bikes before Dave and gave it everything I had, I revved the bike to the limiter on the start as this is what the previous owner used to do and he is the record holder! It worked and I got my best start ever, pushed it hard through Slemens and the rest of the hill to finish with a new PB time of 46.63secs. Dave ignored the marshals calling him to the line as he waited to see my time on the clock in the pits. He saw it and knew it was 3/100ths quicker than his PB, he would have to dig deep to do it. I waited at the top of the hill so I could hear the commentary of Dave’s run and of course the all-important time. I heard them get all excited as he went round radio corner extremely well and thought “oh no he’s going to pull one out of the bag”. How pleased I was when they called the time 46.72sec, at last I had done it, beaten my best friend and arch rival by just 9/100ths at Bouley Bay. Dave came to the top and being a good sportsman congratulated me on a good ride, deep down I knew he was gutted but he didn’t let it show. August 2006 will be our last go at Bouley this year so hopefully I can keep the momentum going and maybe even do a 45sec run. I’m pleased the event seemed to go well as I had a stressful few weeks as pre event secretary, it was nice that the slightly earlier finish allowed all the visiting drivers to collect their trophies before the ferry left for Guernsey. Shame I cocked it up a bit with the awards (sorry Rob) but thankfully Martin Groves was there to help me out! It was good to be able to watch from the start line and also at radio corner as 11 years in the commentary hut has stopped me from seeing other places. At long last Priaulx’s record finally fell with a great drive from Martin Groves and just as importantly Simon Durling bagged his first ever run off win. To be honest I thought he must have won some in the past as he’s always right up the front at Bouley Bay, I remember last year commenting on the fact that his speed on the approach to Radio in particular was faster than everyone else. The cheers and screams followed by the hugs for Simon’s supporters were a great spectacle in the pits; it was great to see first hand the camaraderie we always hear about. I’ve always admired the championship drivers and have never failed to be impressed with what I have seen over the years at Bouley Bay and Val Des Terres but this year my levels of admiration were far higher. Partly because of the record breaking times we saw but mostly because of the great in car footage I’ve been watching on my 2005 Bouley Bay DVD. It’s only when you see the in car stuff that you start to have an understanding for the sheer scale of the grip and acceleration these cars have. Of course both of these elements are pretty useless without that vital third ingredient.
F***ING BIG BALLS
I look forward to seeing you all next year, best of luck for the rest of the season, Martin.
[This page will be updated with some pictures and a bit of web video over the next few days...... ] |
|
|
