Gazza’s gaff!
As with Charlie (the man, not the drug), racing is an extremely aggressive narcotic and neither of us could resist doing a full season. It was either that or a trip to The Priory Group for some intensive detox sessions!
Usually racing Pigs are mechanically sound, but look like full-on MOT failures, so with a full winter to prepare I decided to ‘improve’ the aesthetics of mine. I’d already had a paint job on the bodywork, which had a star on the side that looked a bit like Captain America’s shield. After this was pointed out, Captain America was born!
Not wanting to be outdone by Charlie, I sent my bike off for some further visual enhancements: blue frame, total engine rebuild, shot-blast and spray job, powder-coated wheels. After receiving the bike back and re-assembling it, Lezzo informed me that his nephew had a Hydro Dipping business! “He doesn’t do a Captain America dip, does he?” I asked. “He certainly does, Slick,” was the reply. Slick is my racing nickname, in honour of my total inability to wield any type of tool. My Pig’s new clothes would be a little secret… even if that secret did leak out a bit…
The pre-season test day went well (I didn’t crash) so all was ready for round one. The first meeting went pretty well, even if I was full of cold and had returned only the day before from a Press product launch in Morocco – a place I would have to return to the Sunday night right after the race with some bike dealers!
My goals then were simple – even if my schedule wasn’t! A top 10 in every race would be a solid start to the season. First qualifying out with the 650cc Mini-twins sees the glorious Captain America in 9th spot overall, but 5th in class. In race one the line was crossed in 10th place overall, but 3rd in class: lovely. In race two I dropped a place to 11th and 5th in class as more and more riders began to o find their speed as the day went by.
In CB500 qualifying my grid spot would be 11th so not in the top 10 where I wanted to be, but anything can happen in racing with 30 angry Pigs on the grid: bad starts, bad luck, crashes, mechanicals, you name it. After 10 mind-blowing laps I lost out in a fight for 8th to Mitchell Baines and Tony Campana, coming home in 10th. Goal one for the day accomplished.
In race two, I got a mega start from 10th on the grid and got away with the top boys. I managed to stay with them for a while, but with their better race pace they edged away, lap by lap. Once they’d gone, I settled down and it dawned on me that I could only see five bikes ahead: I was in 6th!
With no lap boards hanging over the pit wall (this is club racing) I was worried who was behind me and if they were gaining. I could spot my
mate Chris ‘Ronnie’ Smith standing at The Esses holding up some fingers. Normally he holds up the middle finger to me, but he’s holding up eight… what does that mean: my position or the gap behind? I knew I was in 6th so took the gamble, slowed a touch and brought Captain America home in 6th. A rostrum in the opening round of the year was a great result. Stay tuned for how my season would pan out!