Wednesday

With a 12pm Supersport race start, I was up at the paddock early and really looking forward to it after the work on the dyno the previous day. I was hoping to get inside the top ten and have a half decent run. I knew it would be a fast day as conditions in the middle of the day are really good and you can see so much better.

When I left the line and moved through the first couple of gears, the bike felt good and a definite improvement but when I got to fifth and sixth, the bike just wouldn’t pull. I’d changed the gearing and had gone down a tooth on the rear but it was too much and a bad move on my part, I should have left it as it was.

As a result, it was a long race and I was well down through the Sulby speed trap, 162mph against the 173mph of the front runners. You don’t have a chance on one of those little bikes if that’s the case and it was a disappointing race.

After that, I had two laps of practice, one on the Superbike and one on the Twin. After being on a 600, the Superbike felt like a missile and although I’m happy with the bike, it was hard work physically and took me a while to get used to again. It’s been such a constant week with no let up, wondering how it’s going to be possible to do six laps!

I came in and jumped on the Twin but I’m still not happy with the front forks. They’re too soft but we don’t have any more springs so I’m stuck with what we have. If I get a finish, I’ll be happy.

With the SMT/Carbridge Racing team’s week done, we all went out for a meal and then it was down to the prize giving. It started at 9pm and I got home around midnight so I’m very much looking forward to my day off!

Tuesday

With the Superstock being delayed until Tuesday, it meant another busy day and I was a bit nervous about riding the bike as I’d only done three laps on it in practice and not a single flying lap. Generally, they need less work and you concentrate on the Superbike but this year’s Stocker was difficult.

When I got to Quarter Bridge on the first lap, I had no brakes and it was only on the second grab that they worked. The bottom of Bray Hill must have pushed the pads back and it un-nerved me a bit so i was holding on really tight for the next couple of laps instead of relaxing a bit more.

Bruce came by me and I tagged on to the back of him, which I was able to do fairly comfortably. I thought either I was going well or he was having an off-day but we were probably as bad as each other and although I finished in the top ten again, it wasn’t a race I enjoyed. It was really physical and by the end it felt like my arms had been pulled out of the socket.

After such a hectic, busy few days, I got back to the house and had a chinese with the gang, a couple of beers and an early night.

Monday

I was all ready for a big long day with races and practice laps but we had delays and cancellations straightaway which was the last thing we wanted. I’d planned to do a practice lap on the Superstock bike as I wanted to get out on it before the race but we got both bikes ready just in case which turned out to be a good idea as the Superstock race got cancelled.

I jumped on the 600 and set off but the quickshifter was still playing up and we’ve a bit of a mapping issue so it was a steady lap and I still hadn’t managed a flying lap on it. I then had a lap on the Paton Lightweight bike and after making a few changes, it felt a lot better. I went round quicker again and did a 116mph lap, which was pleasing but the front forks felt a bit soft so we’ll look to improve that before Wednesday’s final practice lap.

Eventually the Supersport race came round but it took me a while to get going. The bike worked well during the day in the warmer temperatures but with it being quite cool in the evening, it was running a bit lean particularly along the bottom part of the course. The sun was really bad as well, particularly on the first lap, and it unnerves me as I’m wary of where the kerbs are sticking out. The rest of the laps weren’t too bad not because the sun went away but because you’d familiarised yourself with where the bad bits were.

I had a good race with Cameron Donald and Dan Kneen for three laps and I was happy with tenth place and also with the fact I did my best ever 600cc lap. I’d have liked to have done a 124mph lap but you have to ride the 600s so hard now and becuase of my size it’s quite hard to get tucked in.

In what was a really long day, I then headed off to the prize giving which got underway at about 10.30pm. I only picked up my Superbike replica as I was that knackered and it was well past midnight as it was. The trouble was, when I got home I couldn’t sleep and was awake until about 3am so I may as well have stayed!

It’s just non-stop at the minute and there’s no spare time for anything!