The Team arrived to a sunny Donington Park on the Friday evening ready to set up for the 8 hour race. Having had great weather for most the season, the team were keeping their fingers crossed for it to continue; however after checking the weather that evening they realised it was going to drastically change.
After unloading their bikes and setting up, the team met the guest 4th rider Karl Rhodes. Karl is a friend of the team and a clubman 600 racer (too good to be wearing the orange bib). That evening scrutineering was done and the bikes were ready to race.
The Morning of the Race
With plenty of rain coming down throughout the night, it was an early start changing some of the tyre choices to wets. The conditions were tricky and the track was wet but conditions were humid and windy, meaning the track would gradually dry, but for the first rider going out on track its wasn’t quite dry enough for full dry tyres.
Qualifying
None of the riders had done a test day in the days leading up to the race but having raced at Donington earlier in the season the team could use previously known good settings and adjust from there. Robbo took the first 15 minutes of qualifying, going out on a wet front and a cut rear. Once on track he found there was a dry line, believing he had made a bad tyre choice he carried out his minimum laps required. He also realised there was a few setup tweeks needed prior to the race
Daz followed for his 15 mins of qualifying, gradually pushing and pushing to see what the new Comp K tyre was like but couldn’t get the feel he wanted in the conditions. Dave qualified next during which the bike developed an issue with the quickshifter (which he later disconnected), but this did not impede his already rapid pace. Finally it was Karl’s turn – he ended up setting the best lap of 1:47 which placed the team 22 of 33 and 3rd in club 600.
Race Start
1100 hrs / 1400 hrs. Robbo was elected to carry out the race start. Unfortunately due to the team pre-race chat Robbo was seconds late for the warm up lap, resulting in the NLR staff placing him at back of the grid which was devastating. Lined up on the grid ready to go, the flag dropped and Robbo ran straight to bike, jumped on, and the bike failed to start. The other bikes screamed away and the rear of the pack began to exit his view, after what felt like eternity the bike came back to life. Robbo took off like a man possessed – knowing how much catching up he now needed to do. By the end of the first lap he had managed to tag on the rear of the pack. After constant pushing he managed to battle his way back up to 26nd just before his 45 minute stint was over, 3rd in class and setting a new PB lap of a 1:44.7 which was .2 second quicker than his last visit to Donington. His second to last lap before pitting he almost crashed at Craners, the bike start to slip away when exiting but by luck he managed to stand the bike up. He then Knew he was pushing a little too hard (especially with another 7 hours to go) and eased off.
Despite a quick pit stop the team dropped to 4th. Daz went out, gradually pushing more and more. Within a couple laps the team had secured 3rd in class once again. He continued to push now slowly closing the gap on 2nd position but unfortunately 20 mins into his stint he pushed a little too hard at Goddards (just before the start/finish line) the back end of the bike lost traction and it slid away underneath him. He was instantly up and back on the bike, managing to get back in to the pits to get the transponder on to Dave’s bike (excellent effort from Daz). Dave was out and straight on pace, 30 minutes later he set a team new PB lap of 1:44.4. Fast and consistent, Dave’s ride went without incident and the team held 3rd. Meanwhile in the pits Daz knew that the Comp Ks was not for him so he whipped them straight off and reverted to a set of Metzler K1’s and moved on to repairing the cosmetic damage from the crash. After Dave’s epic session Karl was ready for his first stint. Nerves kicking in a little (racing with a new team) as anyone would be, he turned a few laps then the nerves were gone. Consistently getting quicker by the lap he went on to set a new team PB of 1:43.9 which remained the teams fastest lap throughout the entire 8 hours (Well Done Karl).
Daz making some quick repairs before making another session.
1400 hrs – 1700 hrs. The weather took a turn for the worse; drizzling with bigger clouds on the horizon. Robbo went out on his 2nd stint in hope of getting his PB down but he found himself catching back markers at difficult overtaking points. Daz was now ready to push on the cut tyres and improved his lap times massively over the Comp K’s. Dave went out next and was pushing and pushing his slicks to keep them warm in the changing weather conditions. The track started to become damp in parts and as he came out of the old hair pin up towards Starkeys Bridge he lost the back end, then it gripped – resulting in a big high side. Dave landed on the grass after sticking his boot through the screen of his own bike (ouch!). Straight up onto his feet he knew the bike wouldn’t start so desperately ran towards the garages with the transponder. Iain (pit crew chief) was instantly on the run and took the transponder to get it on the Karl’s bike. Karl was straight out on wets, constantly putting in quick times. Most riders prefer the dry and improve the most, unbeknown to the team Karl was a rapid in the rain and improved consistently. Dave had to spend an hour or so in the medical tent to receive treatment for his injuries (well done in getting the transponder).
Dave’s bike post crash – a hard push to be ready for Oulton in 2 weeks.
1700 hrs – 1900 hrs The weather was up and down again with many teams changing to wets. The rain came down hard 30 mins into Robbo’s stint resulting in him having to let right off and roll around the track as it was so slippery. Coming up behind Team Rat Pack they lost the front end causing Robbo to swerve and just miss the rider. With Dave unable to race and Daz’s bike on dry tyres it was Karl drew the short straw and was quickly back out again on his wets. The conditions continued to deteriorate with standing water and streams forming across the track and it became Daz’s turn to try out his wets and pushed hard for the last remaining 48 minutes to finish the race. Originally the team thought they had finished 19th overall but had in fact finished 18th due to some unfortunate DNFs due to the rain. Overall position 3rd place in Clubman 600 class and Army Team 4’s first Clubman class podium.
Hourly standings
Qualified 22nd of 33 and 3rd of 5 in Club 600
1 Hour 26th and 3rd in club 600
2 Hour 22nd and 3rd in Club 600
3 Hour 20th and 3rd in Club 600
4 Hour 21st and 3rd in Club 600
5 Hour 19th and 3rd in Club 600
6 hours 22nd and 3rd in Club 600
7 Hour 21st and 3rd in Club 600
8 Hour 18th and 3rd in Club 600
Reflection
Overall a fantastic race with the difficult weather making it very challenging. Quick pit stops and tyre strategies undoubtedly were key to the Team’s success. Big thanks to the pit crew for helping keep the bikes going and of course the pit-board, 8 hours is long time for 2 people to remain on the wall outside in ever-changing weather conditions! We would like to thank our friends and families for support and our sponsors. Without you all Team 4’s success at the gruelling 8hr race would not have been possible.
Team 4 looking rightly proud of their first Clubman 600 podium.
Team Manager: Just finishing an 8 hour endurance race is a feat in itself. Despite two crashes, challenging weather conditions and still being a Rookie team; they excelled and claimed their first Clubman 600 podium amongst strong competition. The Team are proud of their development and we look forward to their improvement through the remainder of the season.
Army Endurance Motorcycle Race Team 