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At the New Era meeting we didn't get to good an entry but I feel this may well be due to the cost. For the last couple of years since we started running with them New Era have averaged their entry fee over the circuits they have done, however this year the fees have been in line with the circuit hire fees i.e. the "bigger name" circuits cost more. Unfortunately as far as entry fees go these are the circuits we are doing with them, but please remember these are the circuits many say they want. Please remember we have got two days at Three Sisters that go some way to balancing it out. It's the difference between two 6 lap races at Cadwell for £110 a day or 6 six lap races for £85 you pay your money and take your choice. In race one on the Saturday the proceedings came to an abrupt halt on lap three when the red flags came out after a bit of an accident on the entrance to Hall Bends. John Turner had managed to get past Nigel Griffths between the top of the Mountain and Hall Bends but from where I was standing, on the apex of the left hander at Halls, under the trees, this was achieved by ignoring the fact that Hall Bends existed. All credit to him and one day it might work but not this time and down he went and got caught under the bike and to make matters worse the X7 caught fire. Now I'm not into criticising marshals who do it voluntarily but let's say it was clear that fire is something that they don't encounter too often and it showed but in the end it didn't matter as John came out of it entirely unscathed unless he's good at hiding things. In the restart held over four laps it was Karl Scott who took a clear win and he was followed home by Adrian Sanders on his Srx 600, who was in fact only 0.07 seconds ahead of Pete Boyles on the GSX750. Following Pete was Mike Annesley on the Laverda 750 and he was in turn followed home by Cass on her RD 400 She was in turn followed home by Nigel Griffiths who to be frank wasn't quite as quick in the re-run. Afterwards he was the first to admit he couldn't get John Turners accident out of his mind and the decision he had to make do I run over John whose not on fire yet or his bike which definitely is. In the end his indecision meant he did neither. Joking apart it's not something anyone wants to see at any time let alone in front of them and of course on the restart Nigel hadn't got much of an idea how John had come out of it. What Nigel didn't know is that this is the third time that John Turner has somehow perfected the crash and burn technique. John Hardwick on his X7 was next to finish and he was in turn ahead of Graeme Acott who went out on his MZ as he was still having teething problems with his X7. Mick Baillie failed to finish after the Gpz 1100 he was running for the first time suffered teething problems while Trevor Wagland didn't get out as the problems that plagued him at Mallory continued. In the second race the weather wasn't quite as good as it started to drizzle ten minutes before it got under way and then poured down at mid distance. Once again it was Karl Scott who took the win but he was pushed hard by Adrian Sanders who closed to within a second of him as conditions deteriorated. To be frank Adrian looked quicker on the last couple of laps but being quicker and being able to get past are totally different things and he had to settle for second place. Mick Baillie was next to finish and he was in turn followed home by Mike Annesley. Cass was the next finisher and she was in turn ahead of Nigel Griffiths and Graeme Acott. John Turner missed the second race as he headed off to Lincoln to Robbie Taylor's to rebuild the bike overnight. While Trevor Wagland didn't get out in either race as his Gpz 1100 just kept cutting out. On Sunday the weather did an exact repeat of Saturday i.e. a dry first race followed by heavy rain that started just before the second. There were also quite a few changes as several had only entered for Sunday while Adrian Sanders had only entered for Saturday. Trevor Wagland was also missing after deciding the weekend wasn't going to get any better. His weekend started with a puncture on his trailer and with no spare the recovery company he was with didn't want to know. He eventually managed to sort it out but arrived very late and to cap it all the caravan he was due to stay in never even made it to the circuit after the car towing suffered problems. John Turner however was back with hardly any sign of damage to his X7. In the race Karl Scott again took an outright win and was followed home by Pete Boyles. Allen Bowers was next and he was in turn ahead of Mike Annesley, Cass and Nigel Griffiths who were never more than a second apart for the whole race. Graeme Acott was next to finish and he was in turn ahead of John Hardwick and Giles Hepworth. Several failed to finish and the first to go out was Pete Mabberley who's GSX1100 suffered a flat battery while John Turner ran out of fuel on the fourth lap. He didn't actually run out empty but ran onto reserve as the fuel tap on the replacement tank he was using has main and reserve transposed. Mick Baillie managed 4 laps as well but his 1100 was getting slower and slower for a couple of laps before hand. In the second race Mick Baillie went out on his spare bike the GPZ 750 he used last year but now bored out to run in the 1300 class and took an outright win. Karl Scott was second and he was in turn ahead of Allan Bowers. Then came Graeme Acott who had this time got his X7 running well and he just got the better of Mike Annesley. Giles Hepworth was next and he was in turn ahead of Cass and John Hardwick who just made it to the line ahead of Pete Mabberley who was closing rapidly after passing John turner only a few yards from the line. Pete Boyles was next to finish after deciding to go out on his XJ 550 as he thought it would be better suited to the conditions. He never got the chance to find out as it suffered battery problems, ironic really as Pete Mabberley was running with his spare battery he had lent him. Nigel Griffiths was last to finish after his 1100 kept dropping onto two cylinders and then coming back on all four normally at the worst possible time. Steve Bailey. |