Round 2 of the Classic bike championship was held at the new re-designed Anglesey circuit, very few people had ridden there before consequently it was going to be ‘carte blanche’ for everyone.
As normal there was a test day on the Friday which would be invaluable for everyone particularly me as I had new suspension to set on the 500 – now named ‘Buster’.
We arrived late Thursday and met Vanni and Tommy, and before the light faded we all walked the circuit.
I was initially surprised how fast the circuit looked but halfway round the lap at the top of the hill the circuit became tight and twisty. The surface was very smooth and appeared to have good grip, but on one or two sections even though it was dry there seemed to be damp patches but the water was coming out of the tarmac!
I concluded that it would prove to be a very challenging track to both learn and ride!
The weather forecast didn’t look good, cold with lots of showers and heavy rain at times.

Friday started off damp but drying out, first out was the 350 which like ‘Buster’ I had decided to name – she’s a great little machine, sweet as a nut, and the name that seemed most suitable was ‘Betty’.

On track, everyone was tentative first session, just looking around and feeling where the grip was, the fact was in reality it was anywhere and everywhere.

Next up was Buster, he was sporting new Maxton suspension front and rear, we’d guessed a base setting to start with and by now the track was almost dry. Because I now had some idea where I was going I pushed on to see how he felt.
Unfortunately as we were guessing the settings he pattered even more the original suspension, this I realised meant we had a job on our hands!

Then the weather turned and down came the rain, it meant that pushing Buster to the limit now would be impossible, so we decided just to concentrate on improving circuit knowledge instead.
I was amazed just how much grip there was, the Avon tyres are an intermediate but even in the very wet conditions I could bank over to some crazy angles with no slides, so far…

The weather didn’t ease so we called it a day around 3 pm.

Saturday:
The weather was going to play an important part of the days events.
The first two races were on Betty, it was pouring with rain and cold, I though the best thing to do would be push hard from the start and break the tow of the group, then I could ease up to the finish.
Betty rose to the job and blasted away off the line, Lea (Gourlay) got the hole shot but I dropped underneath him and lead into turn two for the first time. Then I pushed hard for a few laps and looked if the group was following, thankfully I managed to drop them off and was lapping over 2.5 second quicker, thus opening a big lead.
I felt very comfortable so kept going at the same pace, often if you slow down you can loose your rhythm and slip off, I didn’t want that!
It was mentioned that Andy was concerned that I was going too fast with little to prove however I felt very confident and assured him I would back it off a bit for further races!

Next was Buster’s turn, the track was rapidly drying and by the time the flag went down there were only a few damp patches to worry about.
We were in a mixed race with the 750s, they’re are quick but the 500s are more nimble, it would be a matter of getting a gap on them before the straight then pushing on through the twisty sections.
Quickly we pulled a gap on the 750s, Lea myself and Alan Oversby were having a great battle but I found I couldn’t push as hard as they both could through many of the corners, Buster pattered both front and rear even after we had tried to alter the settings, but because of the lack of dry track time we were still making ‘best guess’ adjustments, not the best way to go racing! As a result I settled for a close 3rd place.

The second 350 race was drying out and was almost dry and it turned out to be a titanic battle between Lea and myself - real nip and tuck stuff, swapping the lead a couple of times a lap. Lea managed to hold me off and crossed the line less than half a second over the line.

The second 500 race was in mixed conditions so I felt more confident that I could put on a better show than the previous race.
Once again it was Lea, Alan and myself battling away until the end of lap two coming round the ‘corkscrew’ Alan over did it and high sided right in front of me.
I had nowhere to go, as he slid off the track I went with him and clipped him sending me on to the grass. I managed to keep it together and quick look back to make sure he was okay I rejoined the race; but by now Lea had gone and so had quite a few other guys. There was still time to make up ground if I got my finger out so I pressed on finishing some 20 seconds down behind Lea to take second place.

Sunday:
The weather had closed in again and it looked like it was going to be wet for the rest of the weekend. Race 1 was Betty’s time to shine, she didn’t disappoint again, roaring off the line and opening up a large lead, it was a mixed race with the 350 twins and Richard Parker hanging on for a while before slipping off early on.
Vanni had his best result of the weekend here too, he was revelling in the damp conditions coming home in second place beating Lea to third place.
The next race was the 350 National race, as Andy keeps mentioning, these events are the really important ones to score well in as they have more status amongst the races. It was going to be a tussle between Lea and myself.
I once again pushed to a point I felt comfortable, Lea hung on doggedly but I managed to pull away slowly and built a lead holding it to the flag.

Next up was the 500 Norton owners club race, it was still very wet so I felt that if I pushed like in the 350 races I could break the chasing pack, and so it turned out.
Slowly opening up a lead and holding it to the flag. In these wet conditions the handling issues, thank goodness, were less evident.
As the day drew on it became clear albeit slowly, that it was drying out, and with everyone’s confidence growing the races were getting faster.
The last 350 race turned out to be a great race, once again between Lea and me; I managed to pull clear but the gap and speed difference were much tighter, what would the last two 500 races bring?
The first of them was the Summerfield sponsored National event.
The track was almost dry but with damp patches all over, in fact the sun was out and the surface was steaming.
Any wet weather advantage I held was now gone; it was going to be a real ding-dong between Lea and myself again.
Right from the start Lea and I passed each other several times per lap - I was determined not to let him get away and every chance I had I would ride round him or dive under him.
Great dicing, I only wish I could have been on the pitlane wall watching the race for a change and not riding.
The pace was red hot and under enormous pressure Lea lost the front as he tipped into the left at the top of the hill after the back straight. I managed to avoid him and pressed on to the end crossing the line some 15 second clear of Chris Swallow and Luke Notton.

Unfortunately Lea couldn’t repair his machine in time for the last race so it was down to me and Luke Notton to put on a good show. Unfortunately for my team mate Vanni, his machine failed to start in the holding area and he missed the last race.
Overall a great weekend with 7 wins, two 2nds and a third. This has taken me to the lead in all four Championships, 350 &500 Nationals and the 350 &500 club races.