PROJECT 39 ~ Junior 600 Championship

Wehey!! Pembrey!!

Friday practice (after failing noise testing about 10 times) was great. Rain held off till late afternoon and we both worked hard on bringing our lap times down throughout the day. At the end of the day our hopes were high for the weekend’s racing.

Saturday morning was qualifying for TAG and MGs and it was wet (there is a god!!). Out we both went to put in some good times and came back with a combined effort of 2nd place in the Junior TAG after being knocked off pole by Brickdust racing in the dying and drying minutes of qualifying. MG qualifying went just as well with Andy 3rd overall and Colin 21st out of 37 (not bad).

First up was a MG. Basically the plan was to beat Adrian Allsopp in every race to win the champ. Didn’t go too bad. Race 1 saw Andy come in 2nd overall (behind Robin Hooker) and 1st in class. Colin wasn’t doing the Saturday’s MG races because he was ‘saving himself’ for the Junior TAG effort.

Bit of lunch then straight out for the Junior TAG. Andy got a good start (1st in class) and the pair spent the first hour stretching the gap. At the 50min mark we had a 40sec lead over 2nd place, but then our best mate came out to play (Mr Safety Car). Our 40sec lead was reduced to about 2secs so we had all the hard work to do all over again. But we like hard work, so no problems there. Just before the 2hr mark we had built up another healthy lead only to see the second appearance of the safety car and our lead diminish to 0.1secs!! Not again!! So, for a third time we set out to pull away, and we were pulling away (bit by bit) until we saw the safety car again but this time had to pit. Following some high speed pit work (don’t look up now Fraser) Colin pulled out of pit lane with a lap advantage! For once the safety car has helped us out!! I always wondered how it felt to benefit from the safety car. Anyhow, the rest of the race was literally circulating to get the win, which we did. PR39’s first win!!!

After short celebrations and Parc Ferme it was back out for the second MG. Andy was knackered and to be honest really couldn’t be arsed, but as soon as the flag dropped that all changed. It was a 16 lap sprint and fortunately at the end Andy finished 2nd in class (3.4secs ahead of Adrian Allsopp). All going to plan so far!!

So, with some celebrations and a BBQ we headed into the night looking forward to Sunday’s antics. 

Sunday morning...MG race 3, and this time Colin was joining the field. Andy got his worst start of the weekend and was 4th into the first corner with a very fast Allsopp chasing him down. Andy set his fastest lap of the weekend (0.5secs better than Saturday) but Adrian had found something over night (called 1.5secs a lap) and found a way passed Andy who came in 4th with Allsopp taking 2nd. Colin had a good race but seemed to get stuck in mid-pack battles. He finished in a well deserved 10th place.

So, MG race 4, the final race of the season, and all to play for. Who ever wins (out of Andy & Adrian) will take the championship. A very nervous Andy took to the grid with the rest of the riders, the plan being to get the best start possible then just keep his head down for the 16 laps hoping Allsopp gets stuck in traffic. Lets see ehy. 

MG race 4, flag drops! Andy got a great start leading the entire field for 3 laps. Slowly the bigger bikes started to come passed, then at the mid point, just tipping in for the second left and there he was ( Allsopp) directly where Andy wanted to be. He got passed and Andy tried his hardest to keep up but Adrian was riding extremely well and was making some ‘interesting’ overtakes (he really wanted the win). Eventually Andy bowed down and Adrian took the win. WELL DONE !! Meanwhile, Colin, who had pulled the biggest wheelie of his life off the start was having a great race, he made up 5 places and managed to finish in 7th, again, well done Col.

Well there it was, Pembrey, over so soon, but a brilliant weekend with even better weather (and a few more trophies to add to the collection). Roll on Snetterton!!