Fantasy Ebay

My favourite 4 stroke motorcycle. Considering they came out nearly 20 years ago, they still look modern. Love a mint one but I'd be afraid to use it.

My first ever trackday, way back in '99, was at a pre-Charlie's and Edwina's chicane Mallory Park. During the coarse of the morning myself and my mate were getting steadily quicker and we got to the point where we weren't far off the pace of the guys in the fast group. We asked the organisers to check our times against them and they agreed to move us from the novice into the fast group after lunch. We were both saying to each other that this shouldn't happen and we can't be that good.

Anyway, the Red Bull Reve Ducati Team were testing at Mallory on the same day, during the lunch break, and Sean Emmett was out on track. When we finished our grub, we went to the pit wall to watch him and Emmett was banging in consistent 49s laps, ± 0.2s, which put things into perspective when you're 20 odd seconds slower... and that's around a short track like Mallory.

First session after lunch (please bear with me), and we're are lining up in the fast group ready to go out. My mate taps me on the should and tells me to have a look who lined up at the back; there's Emmett, looking cool as you like. Start of my second flying lap and I think that I'm bombing around Gerards and Emmett rides around the outside of me, one hand on the bars, looking over his left shoulder with his right knee on the deck!...

... and that's my story of a trackday novice vs. a BSB/WSB/500GP racer!

... apart from the next session where my mate bins his ZX-9R at the Esses, breaking his collar bone in the process. Far play to him though as Steve was able to his bike back to Worcester; he said it was fine until about Alcester where the road started to get a little rough in places and the bone started to grind!

Gone are the days when the top boys used open practice for pre-season set up.

Somewhere I've a photo of me on an RD400 leading Sheene on the Akai Yamaha through paddock bend it was pre season Wednesday practice at Brands, about 2 degrees. My 2 mates were running in brand new LC350's, poor boy me on last seasons rebuild. Up rolls an artic with just Sheene & Erv, no helpers and he spent afternoon rattling off shakedown laps in among the wankers. Sheene came over to us as we were packing up just to have a look at the LC's, these were first ones in the country, remarked how well they handled. Struck me as a genuine bloke and a proper bike fan.