| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
Snetterton June 10/11 2006 Following our disappointing weekend at Brands Hatch for rounds 5 and 6 of the Thunderbike championship, we were looking forward to getting some better results at the fast Snetterton circuit in East Anglia over the weekend of 10/11 June. We'd had the opportunity to test our new chain drive at Bruntingthorpe before this weekend's racing, confident that the gearing options this gave us would improve our performance and give Phil a better drive onto the straights, which is all important at ultra quick Snetterton. Phil hadn't raced at Snetterton for a number of years, so attended a track day on Thursday to familiarise himself with the circuit once more. The weather was kind to us for a change, and temperatures soared in to the high 20's (80's F) all weekend. Saturday did give us a welcome stiff breeze but by Sunday the weather was just hot, hot, hot. Saturday Practice. With just 10 minutes of practice to set the bike up we opted for a conservative gearing of 21T front and 50 rear. We had also switched from the Metzeler Racetec treaded Supersport tyres to Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks, and were hoping that these would work well in the scorching temperatures. As the end of session flags came out Phil came back into the paddock, expressing himself very satisfied with the handling, and had set the 5th fastest time at 1' 21". 215. Gearing was not quite there yet, with the bike revving to only 6300 on the fast back straight, but we decided to see how it went in race one and make any changes later in the day. Saturday Race One The grid positions for race one were decided on current championship positions, and after our dismal weekend at Brands Hatch Phil found himself back in 15th place on the 4th row, so had some ground to make up. As the lights changed Phil got a lightning start and had already overtaken 4 or 5 riders at the first 2 corners and onto the Revett straight for the first time. By the end of the first lap he had settled into 7th place and had the two riders ahead firmly in his sights. By lap 2 he had despatched Gary Morris on the SV650 Suzuki at the Russell Chicane, and set about closing the gap on the similarly mounted Ian Mayhew in 5th place. The Buell was noticeably quicker out of the Russell Chicane every lap and by lap 6 the deed was done and Phil was through into 5th spot. By this time the SV700 of Sarah Jordan in 4th had opened up a gap of some 2 seconds, but Phil got his head down and by the chequered flag just missed out on 4th place by 0.14 seconds. Phil's best lap time had also dropped down by 2.5 seconds to 1' 18".7, achieved on the penultimate lap. A great result for Phil and the team, and things looked good for race two, where we would start from 5th place on the grid. The only slight negative was that Phil reported that the bike had cut out a couple of times on the fast right handed bends, but had immediately restarted by flicking the kill switch. Saturday Race Two Between races we concentrated on trying to find the cause of the mystery ignition/fuel glitch that was causing the bike to momentarily cut out, but after checking all the electrics were still no wiser by the time race 2 came around. Phil was definitely pumped up for this race and we knew that a podium finish was very possible from such a good grid position. At the start Phil showed his intent straight away and was into third place at the very first corner, diving up the inside of Sarah Jordan and Nick Lewis. As they entered the fast Coram corner for the first time though disaster struck. The drive chain came off the rear sprocket, forcing Phil to freewheel down the hill and into the pit lane. The frustration was obvious and such a disappointment, not only because we missed a probable podium place and some valuable points, but also because it meant we had to start Sunday's first race at the back of the grid in 19th place. When we got the bike back into the paddock it was obvious what had happened. A rear sprocket bolt had worked its way loose and had hit the top of the swingarm. The resulting jolt must have dislodged the chain, which miraculously hadn't caused any major damage except to the carbon fibre front sprocket cover. The chain itself showed some signs of damage to side the side plates in a couple of places, and was replaced by a new chain just to be on the safe side. While the wheel was off we swapped the rear sprocket for a 51T to give us abit more drive onto the straights. This was applied accompanied by liberal splashing of loctite of course! Worryingly, the electrical problem was still there and Phil reported that the bike had cut out on the parade lap but immediately restarted. Sunday Warm Up With the bike back into fighting shape and a few minor changes made, Sunday warm up was the only opportunity to see that everything was fixed and ready to race. Phil was immediately on the pace and set the 4th fastest time of the session, which boded well for the first race. Even though we had checked and re-checked all the electrics the ignition problem still stubbornly refused to disappear, although Phil was now content to ride around the problem for the rest of the day. Sunday Race One 19th on the grid and a long way from the front row, we were just hoping for a solid points scoring performance in race one and a good finish that would move us up the grid for the second race of the day. As the lights went out Phil got a brilliant start, and as they came into sight at the end of lap one he was in 9th place! By lap 2 he had closed onto the back of Phil Polden's quick starting Kawasaki 400 and drafted past him on the main straight to take up 8th place. Next lap and it was the turn of Ian Mayhew (SV650) and Paul Barlow (SV650) to hear the Buell thunder past them into 6th position. The gap to the 5th place runner Phil Polden was now 2 seconds, so with 4 laps to go Phil set about trying to bridge the gap. On the last lap Phil made up yards in to the final chicane and was right on the back of the Suzuki onto the final run to the flag, but just couldn't get past the 5th place man and had to settle for a remarkable 6th place by just 0.7 seconds. Phil had even put in his best time of the race on the last lap at 1' 17".6, another one second improvement. Sunday Race 2 No major work to do before race 2, so fluids were checked and the bike re-fuelled as usual. The misfire was still present, but as we couldn't duplicate the problem in the paddock decided that we would have to live with it for the rest of the day. Phil lined up 6th on the grid for the last race, and by this time the weather was unbearably hot with little or no breeze to offer any respite. At the lights he didn't get the start he wanted and had dropped a couple of places into the first corner and into 9th place. At the Russell chicane for the fist time that was quickly changed to 8th place as Phil dived up the inside of Daniel Couzins and into pursuit of Phil Polden and Ian Mayhew ahead. By lap 3 he was through and back into 6th place by taking Mayhew on the fast left hander entering the Esses, and once more set off in pursuit of Polden's SV650. At the flag it was another really close finish, with Polden just getting the drop and 5th place by 0.09 seconds. Altogether a successful weekend racing with one 5th place and two 6th places under our belts, although slightly disapointed at not getting the podium we knew was there for us. This gives us a very useful 31 points to add to our championship tally, and moves us back into 12th place in the series. Unfortunately we will miss the next round at Cadwell Park due to Phil having commitments made prior to joining the team. We will of course be back for the Brands Hatch round on 28/29 July. Just the niggling electrical problem to solve and a small gearbox oil leak between now and then. What am I going to do with all my extra time!  Phil Read gets down to work!  The Buell XB12 gets amongst the traffic. | ||
| Trojan |
 Phil Read on the warm up. The XB12 looks tiny compared to the SV Suzuki behind, even with 6'3" Phil on board.  Phil freewheels in after the chain lets go  Martin Courage on the S1W makes the most of his chance. The Laverda (number 61) meanwhile outbrakes himself and takes to the grass  | ||
| Xlcr |
What a shame. It sounds like with a bit more luck and a few less niggling problems you guys would have a winner there. Always nice to see Buells do well across the pond. A Yank bike CAN be a winner. Remember, no one gave the Indian team much credit when they showed up at the Isle for the first time in 1911. Great pics, BTW. | ||
| Diablobrian |
sounds like you guys are making incremental progress. That's not a bad thing. Podium spots are just around the corner. | ||
| Steveshakeshaft |
Both Matt (XB12) and Martin (S1W, http://www.teambegger.com/ ) are doing great things for the world of Buell in the UK. It is great to see it too. | ||
| Blake |
Thanks Matt for that wonderful race report. I really enjoyed reading it. Y'all are doing us proud. Hope you find the gremlin with the cut-out issue. No idler sprocket on the drive chain? | ||
| Trojan |
Hi Blake, Yes there is an idler sprocket on the chain (you can just see the silver triangular bracket) but as it is black it doesn't really show. There is also another roller hidden behind the left rearset that stops the chain hitting the swingarm on the over run. I think we may have found the electrical gremlin, but won't know for sure for a couple of weeks probably. The UK Thunderbike series is now at around the half way point of it's inaugaral season, and although we are getting more entries every round, and the series is looking safe for next year, it hasn't turned out exactly as I expected it to. The series is being led by Rob Wittey on his immaculately prepared and incredibly trick Suzuki SV700. Rob has finished evrey race in the top two and has only failed to finish once at the very first round.  His bike has flat slide carbs, GSXR 1000 K6 front end, Dymag wheels and is Soooo trick. Most of the other runners in the series are running either big bore or stock bore SV650 Suzukis as well. This is a very popular UK race bike and even in 'restricted' 72bhp Minitwin format are lapping as quick or quicker than the Thunderbikes at the moment. There are also a handful of modified ZXR400 Kawasakis and they are incredibly quick at just about every circuit (even the fast Snetterton). There are just two Buells in the series, ours and the S1W of Martin Courage. I had expected to see some UK dealer teams participate but was badly let down on that score. There is no involvement of any kind from any of the UK franchised dealers or from Buell UK. The reason for this baffles me entirely. The UK is so sportsbike focused that racing is sure to translate into sales, as well as giving a really strong brand image. We are approached by loads of people at every meeting who say that they would love to see more Buells racing and are really enjoying the series. These are almost invariably Jap sportsbike riders who have never considered owning or riding a buell, and who are surprised but pleased to see one racing. As the season continues and the series starts to look safe for next year we are now getting more enquiries from potential entrants on all sorts of machines, so it is looking strong for the future. I would like to see a few more Buells racing though  (Message edited by trojan on June 15, 2006) | ||
| Steveshakeshaft |
Thanks for that review Matt, I've been unable to get to any of the rounds this year due to business committments, they come first I'm afraid. I'd just like to add that at Martin's website- http://www.teambegger.com/ Martin lists Manchester HD/Buell (of the UK) as a sponsor. I have no real idea of their involvement, but I'd hazard a guess and say they're supporting with parts and lubes where they can. The bike is immaculately prepared by Maz Matsell at the Emporium, the UK's leading independant Buell workshop. If anybody from the UK is interested in Martin's exploits I'm sure he'd be pleased of your support. Thanks. |
