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AltoVyrus - 8th Round - Ouliton Park - August 08
Friday Practice
Oulton Park was an historical home of some stature. The circuit built in its rolling landscaped gounds features wonderful trees, mature and elegant. As one of MSV (circuit owners) flagship circuits it has everything . Superb Pit and garage facilities, great spectator vantage points and lakes full of fish and ducks. Typically English in feel, smooth and sophisticated. Here Thunderbike UK and BRMCC set up shop ready for round 8.
Oulton more commonly known for British superbike races and world touring cars, is another undulating circuit. Modified in recent years with the ever present chicanes to slow the pace down a little. It still holds the riders imagination with flat out high speed curves and one of Englands only banked corners (like Monza of old). Knicker brook is still off camber and Clay hill still a 4th gear left hand blind rise followed by a flat out in 5th tricky left hander. The amount of straw bales indicates how tricky!
This is a long circuit some 2.8miles long with lots of corners. Due to noise issues with the local population, racing is more restricted than normal so we have practice on Friday and racing is only on Saturday.
It would be fair to say we arrived at a sensible hour on Friday (9am) and got ready for 2 practice sessions. We were confident after Cadwell that we had a suitable base setup and after some work on the Dyno we also knew we had a little more power and better programme. Phil takes the bike out and learns his way around the circuit. He last raced here in British Superbike and that was a few years past. It doesn’t take him long to get 2nd fastest time behind Garry Budgen the championship leader.
Phil returns and is simply astonished that he has such a quick time as in his own words “I made so many mistakes I cant have been that quick”.
In the Second session he goes even faster and comes back in looking refreshed. His shoulder which got hurt in the Snetterton meeting crash is much improved too, everything is looking good.
Saturday 16th August 2008
Race 1: 3rd on the Grid but effectively 2nd as the series leader is still out with injuries. Lights go out and they fire off into the distance. I cant explain the sound of an entire grid of Thunderbikes being revved to the limit but it makes the hairs on your neck stand up. First lap and Phil is 3rd tucked in behind ever improving Simon Baggett and his Yamaha 750 and our old adversary Garry Budgen.
Lap 2 sees Phil in 1st position and then, red flags race stopped. They draw up onto the grid ready for a restart but Phil is waving furiously at our pit crew, the bike has died and wont restart.
I get the information over the radio and offer suggestions but Phil is struggling to understand out on the other side of the grid. After running a long long way I get to the pit area and request that Phil be allowed into the pit lane and join in the new sighting lap from there. The race organisers declare the whole thing a new race and so we are legally able to do this. Phil has to push his bike into the pits and with some tools borrowed from another team we strip the seat unit off...no electrics is the problem. I cant see any faults, no fuses gone, the battery is good...meanwhile the grid has fired up and started to leave doing their warm up lap. Phil looks a little stressed at this point!! I would have been, but I will do my stress after I get the F#cking thing running. No time to evaluate I know that just because the Cann line is not showing the dash, the bike should still work. Time to try and bump. Ever bumped a 1000cc Ducati twin running 12:1. Its not easy. We fail twice and then.....Brrmmmm and as I find neutral Phil arrives from nowhere, flings me aside and disappears out of pit lane. Only now can I see the whole of pit lane has been watching us....it’s a lot of people. The tannoy has reported our every move as we worked under the commentary box. Phil flies around the circuit and arrives in time to take his grid position. My heart stops as the lights go red and then green...if he stalls or the bike fails now he has a grid of riders behind all ready to hit him. The wheelie says it all and as he disappears the enormity of our situation becomes real. Next time we see him he is 2 then 1 and from there on he then proceeds 2nd then 1st and from there on he then proceeds to set the lap record and disappear.
Fairytale isn’t a word I use lightly but this one is. From the jaws of despair comes victory and a lap record, oh my goodness.
Things like this can happen on a new project but why not on Friday practice instead of today. Racing can be so cruel. SO low and so high, but never boring.
He gets a huge welcome from the team, the Champion Hospitality guests and others who have come just see us following the Motorcycle news article.
Result 1st position.
Lap record.
Race 2: Lined up on pole and with a dry track I think it fair to say we are confident that all being well, Phil can produce a good result.
Away from the lights and Phil is 3rd again on lap one.
2nd on lap 2 and that is where he stays for the next few laps. The Yamaha750 looks quick but is clearly holding Phil and the Alto Vyrus up in the corners. Is Phil stuck behind him or is he waiting? We have several spotters around the large circuit giving info and positions. They both break away from the pack and we inform Phil via the pit board of this. He remains in 2nd. The last lap flag comes out and we know if Phil has anything left it will come out now. It does and barely 3 corners into the lap Phil takes the lead and leaves the Yamaha behind 4 then 5 bike lengths. Win number 2 is in sight and the double. We all rush to the last corner and watch Phil clearly taking it easy come into view and cross the line to take the chequered flag 1st....then the red flags go out someone behind has fallen off and the race has been red flagged. My heart sinks I know that the rules say EVERY rider must take the chequered flag in the last lap or the count back to the previous lap takes place.
Sure enough the rule is used and Phil is declared 2nd even though he took the chequered flag 1st
Result 2nd
Its still a great result but for all of the team we feel a little robbed. The points are good though and we are running down second place in the championship. It’s a big uphill battle to get 2 but we shall have a go and the Alto Vyrus is getting nd better and faster.
With this being the second time we have run at lap record pace in 2 meetings we feel more confident that we can take the fight to our competitors. We shall continue developing the bike and package though ready for Snetterton on September 13 and 14th.
See you there.
