NG, Thruxton, 30 March

Racer: Richard Halford, Club: NG Road Racing

Beautiful weather and an incredibly fast circuit made for an excellent weekend.

Me and Cath arrived at Thruxton after John and Nicola who had parked up with Pete Mitchell and saved us a space. Alan and Leslie turned up for a gander but they were staying in a hotel again (jammy buggers). Cath soon had our home for the weekend sorted so I took a ride around the circuit with Pete and Alan. Ian Wiltshire had sent me a mail giving me instructions on track position and gears and I was trying to compare that to what I was seeing, which is hard.

First practice and I read the notes again before I went out. The main things I remember reading were ‘keep the throttle open and don’t brake’ which is a hell of a lot easier said than done. There wasn’t going to be a novice race so I entered the Open 400 races as well as the Formula 400. Merv fuelled up the bike and off I went for the Open 400.

I was starting on the third row and made a terrible start. The first few corners saw the GP boys get past me and then I managed to get into a rhythm. I kept getting faster and holding the throttle open more and generally just getting to grips with the track. I had one moment where I missed a gear at the faster chicane and drifted wide. I crossed the line that signals the edge of the track and then the front wheel slid but luckily it gripped again and I managed to stay on. I lost 3 or 4 places and had to go hard again to get them back. Eventually I caught up with Steve Pearce and we had a really good scrap. He finished the race 0.5 seconds in front in 25th with me in 26th.

For the F400 race I was on the 3rd row again. Unfortunately I made a terrible start and by the time I reached the second corner I was around 5th from last. On the other hand, it was an opportunity to practice overtaking and there were some gaps between the riders so I got a bit of clear track practice. So much better than last season when I was just bimbling about at the back on my own.

I was pushing quite hard and on the third gear right-hander (Segrave) when I had a big slide. My knee was on the deck and my outside foot came off the peg and went above my head! Somehow I managed to stay on, so I just kept going. I caught Steve who had Rich Sawyer right behind him going round the outside of both of them at Village, 5th gear, throttle on the stop, teeth gritted and hoping it didn’t let go.

I managed to stay in front of Steve and Rich and finished 18th. At the start Alan had taken off like a scolded cat and he eventually finished 8 seconds ahead of me in 14th place.

Pete’s clutch cable had snapped at the beginning of the race. So he’d done the whole race with no clutch. Nutter. He borrowed an RGV cable from Steve and even though it was slipping he managed to finish the days races.

John was having some trouble so I offered to let him tag onto me for the Open 400 race just to see the line I was on (maybe not the right one but at least he’d have other options). I was going to take the Open 400 a bit more carefully as I was getting over-confident and Thruxton is too fast a circuit to fall off at. I also wanted to concentrate on lines and technique. So we agreed that I’d try and get in front of him and if he wanted to pass me then he’d go for it as I’d be going at my own pace regardless.

Last race of the day is always a toughie, you’re caught between wanting to really go for it and not wanting to spoil a great day. I decided to split the difference. I had a reasonable start and then had a really good race with Steve and Paul Lumb. Both were faster in a straight line but Paul and I were well matched in the corners. At the end Paul finished 20th, Steve 21st and me 22nd. Alan finished 17th with an almost identical time to what had got him 14th first time around, so really consistent riding. And John pipped Pete on the line by a tenth of a second.

So that was Thruxton. Karen helped out with the timing again and Merv and Cath kept things running smoothly all day, so thanks to them. Also, a big thanks goes out to all the NG bods and the marshals for such a well-run day. Biggest thanks is split between Cath for the excellent photos and Ian Wiltshire for the circuit tips – thanks a lot to both of you, it was much appreciated.

If you race and you’d like to see your race report on the MCN website, simply send a brief report to angus.farquhar@emap.com, including your name, your bike, the club you race for, and the date of the race.