Snetterton - 4 races, wind, rain, floods and oh, a 40th birthday....


With a successful test at Brands Hatch completed at the end of June, I was looking forward to returning to the Norfolk circuit. The last two rounds were at circuits I had never been to before but this one was a place I had done many laps. Snetterton is the fastest circuit we visit with a back straight which we can get up to speeds of around 160mph and a front straight which nearly matches that. It is tough on both engines and brakes, and favours the more powerful machines.

We left Worthing on Thursday afternoon so that we could get to the circuit early evening, get a decent spot for ourselves and Alan, who would be arriving later, and get everything sorted for the Friday test day. Alan arrived at about 10-30pm having got lost by relying on his now infamous sat nav, which sent him into a nearby village! He had the great idea of zipping our gazebos together which gave us a decent size pit area for the weekend.



Friday 4th July and a woke up to a bright sunny day and the beginning of my 40's! I think Alan had spread word at the previous meeting because everyone I met seemed to know, or was it the banner Claire and Gary had decorated the gazebo with? Alan had decided to do only half a test day and enter the Power bike class the next day instead, but I had opted for the whole day to get in some much needed track time.

The day went reasonably well, the bike was working fine and I was matching my race times from last year. The afternoon came and Alan joined the fray, until disaster struck. He was running his new 2008 R6 for only the second meeting and seemed to be going very well on it, putting in lap times considerably faster than last year. We went out for the penultimate session of the day but it was cut short by a crash which turned out to be Alan at the fast Riches corner having been shunted off by a still unknown rider. I returned back to the paddock and Alan followed 5 minutes later via the recovery van.







His new bike was in a bad way. The low exiting exhaust had been crumpled and was now pointing in the wrong direction, the belly pan was hanging off, the right clip on missing and the footpeg was gone. All were repairable if the correct parts could be found but having walked up and down the paddock to no avail, he decided to drive home and collect his trusty Gixer. My day ended slightly calmer with a bbq and few beers to celebrate my 41st year.






Alans 'new' R6, after he was pushed off!


Saturday qualifying
All week the weather man had been predicting differing weather conditions for the weekend, and he was not wrong. Saturday started fine but with the strong wind it wasn't long before the clouds had built up and it started to rain. I made the decision to change to wet tyres for qualifying but by the time we were called there was a definite drying line and dry tyres would have been fine. I felt quite comfortable on the wets and started to push them a little at the end of the session until the rear began to get too hot and slid out on 3 consecutive corners, finally putting me on the grass at the exit of Sears. I returned to the paddock as there was no more i could do without destroying the tyres. I had qualified 23rd on the grid ahead of Alan and Steve.

Saturday race 1
The track was now dry apart from the odd damp patch, but nothing that was going to effect us apart from the wind. I had my now legendary rubbish start and found myself having to make up time going into the first corner. I latched onto the back of Steve, number 64, and started to try and find a way past him. I could make time going into the fast right hander, Riches, and would then get close enough going into the next, Sears, to out brake him. I did this twice but each time he got back past me on the straight - his bike had a definite advantage in a straight line. I ran out of laps to get past him and finished 24th and 11th in class. 1-0 to Steve.

Saturday race 2
Between races, just after lunch, the clouds came over again and there was a massive down pour which flooded the paddock, pits and circuit. Fortunately it was sometime until the second MRO Supersport 600 race and it dried out perfectly for it. I had a much better start and managed to keep the front wheel from rising, I entered the first corner in the pack. There was something quite familiar about this race with Steve right in front of me and Alan just up the road. Unfortunately my same tactics still were not working and Steve had got the better of me again even though I had more speed going into the last chicane, but I messed up the exit and ended up all over the kerbing, 2-0! Finished 25th and 11th in class.









Gazza 'rehydrating'

Sunday race 1
Sunday warmup was quite/very brief, just two laps but at least I knew everything was working ok. It was dry for our first race but they had forecast rain for the afternoon, so this would probably be our only dry race today. I had another decent start (could I finally be getting the hang of it!?) and was ahead of both Alan and Steve. They both came past me down the back straight which meant I then had to follow Steve again for a few laps before I pulled my now predictable Sears out braking manoeuvre. He went past me again down the back straight so the next lap I did it again but hugged the inside line which would force him to go around the outside entering the Esses. It worked and I knew all I had to do was put a good lap together and I would beat him. What I didn't expect was to catch up to Alan so quickly - probably something to do with his excursion to the grass exciting the Esses, and he thought nobody saw him! Finished 21st and 11th in class, 2-1.



Sunday race 2
As predicted it was raining and wet tyres were the only option. Alan had packed up and wanted to put a bad weekend behind, and it seemed quite an inspired decision. The warm up lap proved just how wet and slippery the circuit was and one rider lost the front going into Russells chicane on that lap. Everyone had a very tentative start and we all tiptoed down to the first corner. Everyone safe through that and Sears, and on to the back straight. Then the Esses which was mayhem with riders dropping like flies. I had to ride around people, bikes and various parts only to find another crash around the next corner, the Bomb Hole. It was Sarah Jordan and she was sitting on the grass looking dazed and her bike was about 200m away. With all this mayhem I was in the very comfortable position of following Steve again. He was holding me up but it is very easy in these conditions to just follow somebody, a bit of a security blanket. I finally made a move described by Phil Seton as 'harsh but fair' in the middle of the chicane and immediately pulled out 3 seconds on Steve. Finished 12th and 8th in class, but more importantly 2-2!








a weekend long battle with Steve De La Cour #64

This was best ever finish in this class and meant this weekend had been my biggest points scoring meeting. Next stop Brands Hatch and another circuit I am very familiar with, but then so is everyone else!


Emmett Burke #44, sheltering from the downpour