ATTACK THE CLOCK!
to thrash your Think you’re fast? Well there’s no betterway –and here’s why! mates than this new track day concept
So what the bloody hell is Moto Time Attack? Well, it's a brand new concept for bikes that's been going for donkey's years on the car racing circus, and thanks to Mark and the team its finally been brought to two wheels. It's basically an open invitation t d '11d 1 , stupidest and fastest machines possible with some incredibly lenient regs. before battling it out for the ultimate fastest lap times. So basically: build an animal, ride the living shit out of It and win some cool prizes - all around one of the best tracks in the world. Do Sundays get any better? Absolutely not. Which is why we couldn't resist assembling a dream team and heading on down, in the name of research and hopefully tasting some champers. With Bruce ducking out at the last minute (I can only imagine he's putting off by the prospect of getting spanked by his junior on track f it was up to the rest of us at Team Fast Bikes. I entered on the old trusty Ducati Panigale 899 in the Club Pro 1000cc class, and then we had the absolutely rapid Heave twins fresh from their Snetterton British Superstock podiums on ZX-6Rs, alongside Bruce's little bro Brod Wilson on an R6 in the Pro 600cc class. For the first event as well the entry list was pretty damn strong: Guy Martin showed up for his last ever outing on the Honda Racing Fireblade, TT Racer Dan Hegany came along on that stunning DR Moto prototype and then there was a whole host of different standards and talent; from Superstock 1000 podium finisher Chrissy Rouse to trackday regulars, a 46-strong entry list is a pretty impressive feat by any means. As if that isn't enough, the chosen arena would be the beautiful Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire, which has got to be one of the best tracks in the world. If you've never had the opportunity to attack it then get on it now; it's fast, flowing, unforgiving and incredibly technical, meaning you really do times. need to have your wits about at all Oh, and it’s incredibly tight as well… So after a nice long (and almost emotional) to business briefing, it was time to get down out of the and get those first practice sessions For anyone way; and it was bloody awesome. test, who hasn’t been on a British Superbike traffic this was as close as it comes – the had time was absolutely minimal and you down, and space to really get the hammer unlike focus on your riding and not worry; on a the usual hectic madness you’d find of riding standard old trackday. The standard that was pretty impressive as well, meaning riders faster riders gave space and slower weren’t all over the place, and literally ball. everyone I spoke to was having a as well Having three free practice sessions a bucket was absolutely awesome, giving you with just load of track time, although armed as fast two sets of scrubs it was about being by the time as you are smart. This meant that it was qualifying came about (although and essentially another practice session my didn’t actually count towards anything) absolutely trusty old Pirelli Supercorsas were of a f*cked, and I was just on the cusp podium finish; 0.4 off as we finished Even though times were tumbling qualifying. though, so were some of the riders, ... unfortunately with ours included
Holding down the fort in the 600 class it was much the same for the rest of Team Fast Bikes, with the Neave twins really putting it in to get some solid silverware. I mean these boys were absolutely on the pipe and not far off lap record pace, while Brod’s main machine had some engine issues, forcing him to jump on an unfamiliar R6. In all fairness to him it was hard work trying to keep up with the rest of the boys on a bike he’s not massively comfortable with, and was doing a wicked job until he decided to go for a little lie down at the bottom of the mountain.
Nevertheless, these guys were absolutely gunning for it and looking awesome going into the final, as Tim’s ZX-6R decided the front tyre had had enough mid-way through Charlies Two, forcing a pretty quick low-side and putting the rebuild operation into full effect as qualifying came to an end. So, can we pull a few podiums out of our arse then?
Damn straight we can, as we really pulled our shit together to put in a good show when it mattered. In all honesty qualifying is a bit pointless as it means nothing – I mean imagine if qualifying set you a starting position and the final was a one lap dash… now that would be something else. Anyways! With me up first, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I mean, imagine the stick I’d get if the other guys stuck it on the box and I didn’t? F*ck that for a laugh. So with a newer rear tyre stuck in it was time to give it the berries; and that we did.
Lap after lap I brought my times down, and after a little coming together with a slower rider, I came in for a little regroup. I had my girlfriend/crew chief waiting in the top pits with live timing on so I could check it out half way through, and with 10 minutes to go I was sitting in P4 with a 0.2 gap to the champers. In all honesty I absolutely love the pressure having to pull something out of nowhere with very limited time, so heading
HE WAS DOING A WICKED JOB UNTIL HE DECIDED TO GO FOR A LITTLE LIE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN
back out with about enough time for another three laps I stuck it out – and boom. 1.36.2 on a Panigale 899 with a relatively soft Snet set-up and fairly far out gearing? I’ll take that; and a P3 in the process!
Tim and the team got the Kwak back together as the session started and made it out to do a few uncomfortable laps, putting in a time slower than he’d done earlier due to the knocked confidence but still good enough for a P3, while Tom managed to get the old girl a P1. So three out of four of us managed to nab a podium in our class? That isn’t a bad day’s work at all if you ask me! To top off the day, you get a bottle of bubbly, a big trophy and a get to step on a massive podium. There was £7500 worth of prizes as well, and I managed to walk away with a £50 voucher for 100% Suspension.
As we packed down everyone looked happy, and the smiles spoke louder than words. There’s a lot of talk about 2018, and with the chance of a full season coming we’d love to see it back as a championship format. In all honesty if I was in charge I’d love to change that last session to a one lap Superpole style event so qualifying is a bit more serious, but it’s still cool as is. If you’ve got some spare time over winter, why not build a one lap animal and come show it off to the world next year? The rules are slack compared to what you’d find in a competitive series and the professionalism and success puts some club racing to shame.