Gary Johnson
Well, we’re basically at the end of the year already! To be honest I can’t believe it, especially as a lot of the time, on the roads especially, I’ve barely been able to get some good mileage in thanks to the bloody weather… and the classic TT was much of the same.
I was riding the big old York Suzuki which is always good, as even though it’s an old thing, the bike is absolutely mint, and the team are mega as well. The Classic is always a lot more chilled out as well, so I was absolutely buzzing to get over and spin some laps, but the weather and the bike had a load of other ideas! I mean, first session out I didn’t even complete a full a clutch issue, then I had to wait a whole six days late to get my second lap in! Well, when I say a second lap, t was for another half a lap before there was another pro m with the engine. Thankfully, I got out in the emergen y practice with a second engine, but I had a proper scare on that thing. Coming through the top of Barregarr w my foot slipped off the peg, and when I looke down it was bloody covered in oil, which was . Luckily, I had time to get off the rac ng line and by the time I stopped at Ki kmichael, my RST leathers were absolutely co – it was grim. At least I reckon t they’re waterproofed for the foreseeable uture though.
Mind you, the lads did an absolutely mega job of getting things sorted – they ripped the two mashed up engines apart and built one working one in the end. Alright, it wasn’t the fastest engine in the world by any means, but even so, when we finally got racing I was third to Glen Helen. It was a bit too sluggish for the rest of the lap, but at least that was something! It was going really well to be honest, until the second lap when I found a touch of oil on the pegs again. At that point the engine let go and it was game over – so in the s o weeks I only ended up doing about fou . How crap is that?
Mind y u, I did manage to keep busy in other ways, if you know what I mean! We had a good craic nonethele nd I’m already on the case for next year, before thi one has even finished. To keep things busy I’ve been ut with the rest of the Fast Bikes lot at No Limits, an I’ve been having a right good laugh there still, havi roper good battle in the Triumph champion hip. It’s incredible how good those bikes are straight o he box, and I’m really hoping to do that again next year. There’s even talk that they’re going to have their wn grids, which is good, as the bikes are properly ni e to ride and the weekends work out fairly cheap as w – for racing anyway. Until then though, I’m going to kick back and relax a bit. I think I eserve it, don’t I?