Round 7 Mallory Park 19^{th July 2009}

After more ups and downs than the last episode of drunks dancing on ice, Mallory Park shines out as the best result of the season so far and another prime example of why it should rain more often! For the first two practice sessions on Friday, the sun was blazing in the sky and I ended the sessions 25^{th and 24th} fastest respectively. No major dramas to report so far and a fun day in the sun was had by all. Saturday qualifying proceeded in much the same manor with me progressing to 23^{rd after first qualifying. Now, being of engineeringy slant, I noticed a pattern emerging – 25th} then 24^{th then 23rd}, and after some (imaginary) beard scratching, careful balancing of pencils behind ears and biro chewing I deduced that I’d only need another 22 sessions and I’d be on pole, simple! The theory almost held out, as I was indeed 22^{nd fastest in the final qualifying session, but as luck would have it, the times were generally down in this session so I was relegated back to 24th} on the grid, drat and double drat.

Sunday race day was upon us before we could say Kawasaki and my endless pleas for rain were finally answered less than an hour before the race. The rain fell so hard, some folk began to suggest that we’d have been better off building an ark than messing about riding round in circles all day Saturday, but fortunately, the predicted apocalyptic flooding turned out to be a passing heavy shower and the sun was soon back out. After an emergency 10 minute wet weather familiarisation practice (presumably not for us hardened rain washed Brits) the mad panic ensued to decide what tyres to run. Liking to cover all bases, I ran full wets in the practice, wet front with intermediate rear for the warm up lap and with fractions of a second to go I decided on both intermediate tyres. The wheels were changed in ridiculously fast time (top work Clive and Rich!) and we were sitting pretty for the start. I say sitting pretty and with fractions of a second to go I decided on both intermediate tyres. The wheels were changed in ridiculously fast time (top work Clive and Rich!) and we were sitting pretty for the start. I say sitting pretty, I’d had a massive highside on the warm up lap and also the intermediate tyres I was on were the decidedly second hand ones which I’d already raced on at Oulton! I magic-ed up a decent start with a cheeky manoeuvre around the outside of everyone (well, a few people) as they all queued for the first corner, before cutting in front of them in a most un-British manner. Ignoring the tutting and muttering of the disgruntled queuers behind me, I set about trying to launch myself into orbit at every bend, convincing myself that I had to get away quickly or my tyres would go off and I would lose. After bashing precious parts of my anatomy onto the back of the petrol tank for what seemed like the millionth time, I had a quick reality check and remembered that the tyres were already “gone off” and decided to adopt a more controlled technique of standing the bike up and then getting all fruity with the throttle, thus improving my chances of avoiding doing the sky ground mud gravel waltz with a dance partner three times my weight. As the race drew on, it came to a battle of wits between Dean Hipwell and myself, with me getting close on a number of occasions before running away shyly and having to do the work all over again. With two laps to go, he allowed a younger bike to come between us, which quite frankly spoiled the relationship, so I settled for a sulky safe 3^{rd in cup and 14th} overall. I say sulky, this clearly wasn’t the case as I was dangerously pleased with the result after all the hard work everyone’s put in, and after my family and friends, Astro, Ixon and Scorpion have continued to offer amazing amounts for help and support this season, even when things have been looking bleak. So for all the grey hairs and sleepless nights I’ve caused, I’d like to say a massive, massive thankyou to you all!

Lets hope we can get to Brands and do it all again!

Chris Northover

#17 British Supersport Cup

Thanks again to:

Bernard and Margaret

Stu and Astro

Ye Northover Clan

Friends/Long suffering acquaintances of the Northover Clan

Mark at Thunderchild

Jacko

Tee at BS9

Signs and Graphics

Knox

Daytona

Beckie

And to everyone else who has contributed along the way so far!

 Round 2     2009        Oulton Park

Hmmm. That is about all I can say about Oulton, just Hmmm! With the poorly engine from Brands reassembled with a new head gasket (thank you Mr Jackson!) it should have all been perfect! First free practice, an electrical problem stopped the bike revving properly, but this wasn’t as big a problem as the faulty circlip on the gear selector shaft which kindly helped lubricate my rear tyre with engine oil, to stop it going rusty you understand! Luckily it was a gentle departure from the bike, and no major damage was suffered and my Ixon leathers prevented any tarmac to bum interface! With the circlip replaced and the bike given a thorough going over, we headed out to the second session, meeting MSS Kawasaki in pitlane to check the ECU was functioning correctly.

 With the all clear given to the ECU I managed an epic half a lap before the head gasket failed again and ended my session, hence “hmmm”.

A night of phone calls and grey hair cultivating followed but the end result of it all was a shiny green and orange supersport Kawasaki to use, courtesy of Gearlink Kawasaki (saving the day again!). Unfortunately my body decided to throw in the towel on Sunday, mumbling something about missed service intervals and despite my best efforts I only managed to qualify a sneezy, wobbly and lemsip-fuelled 35^{th (I was actually 34th} on the grid but only because Jenny Tinmouth was disqualified for using normal pump fuel instead of the 5 billion pound a litre control fuel!).

 Monday was a new day and I was dosed up on poorly pills and ready to fight the world! In a wet morning warm up I was 12^{th fastest and with this in mind spent the remainder of the day up to the race partaking in ancient rain rituals.}

 ^{The race fell under the trickiest of weather conditions with spontaneous showers randomly striking various parts of the track whenever they felt like it. Starting the race on intermediate tyres, I was at a slight disadvantage to begin with. A few laps in, Max Hunt decided to try and launch himself into the clouds to see if he could sort out the weather situation but, unfortunately for him, the clouds failed to catch him before gravity played its cruel game, prompting a few laps for the rest of us behind the safety car. Then, not wanting to miss out on the attentions of the valiant boy and girls in orange (the marshals) Mr McConnell laid his bike down for a rest as well. This entire calamity gave the rain a chance to set in briefly, so the race was stopped.}

 ^{On the restart I was promoted to the glamour and glitz of 24th} place on the grid – I could almost see the first corner from there! We stuck with our choice of intermediate tyres, which proved to be a good call as the weather carried on with its mischievous shenanigans. A scrappy first lap after the restart, with a good amount of elbow bashing led into a survival race, having to judge your pace for each bend by the number of rain spots on your visor at each straight! Dodging bikes and riders left, right and centre I found myself running in 6^{th overall and 2nd} in the cup, catching the riders in front of me! Sounds lovely, I hear you say and up till that point I’d agree. But, as they say, fate is the cruellest of mistresses and with 5 laps to go the battery on my bike slipped off this mortal coil and that was it, race over.

 I said many things to myself inside my crash helmet at that point, some of them rude, some of them angry and some things that weren’t quite words at all, just noises. But, chin up as they say and at least I proved that when chaos strikes and the lunch hall erupts into a riotous food brawl, I can avoid most of the flying custard pies given the chance! It’s going to be a busy few weeks before the next round, with three final exams to finish of the old degree and a lot of work to be done on the bikes to get us back into the fight. Until next time, 10-4, good night and that’s all folks!

Chris “Jonah” Northover

Lucky number 13 plus 4 (#17)

British Supersport Cup 2009

Thanks To:

ASTRO Kawasaki for their continued support even though everything breaks around me!

Gearlink Kawasaki for handing the bull the keys to the china shop (loaning me a bike!)

MSS Kawasaki for trying their best to talk sense into the ECU

Scorpion Helmets and Ixon Leathers for keeping my bonce and bum safe!

Ixon for giving my knee a fighting chance against the Nissan Micra

Knox for excellent back protection when everyone slaps me on the back and says better luck next time!

Daytona for superb boots that offer great protection and out-do Kirsty’s entire shoe collection

BS9 Clothing for team clothing so stylish we spent a week in Cornwall all in identical hoodies!

Signs and Graphics for stickering the bikes

Derek and James from Team Haribo for helping me find a ride

Everyone who’s helped out and stuck with us over the winter

Round 1    2009          Brands Hatch

After what felt like the longest winter ever, the first round of the season finally arrived at our old local circuit, Brands Hatch. All bright eyed and bushy tailed we headed out for the first free practice session ready to get the season off to a flying start. One lap later, it was all blown away as I was flagged off by another rider with steam and water pouring from my bike. With my tuned engine doing its best impression of a kettle, we were forced to use the standard bike in the afternoons practice session. Fortunately it rained and I managed to put in the 7^{th fastest time on my standard bike. For qualifying and the race, Gearlink Kawasaki saved the day with a spare tuned engine (thanks for going to pick it up Dad!) putting me back in the fight and in an eventful first qualifying a tyre gamble saw me 5th} fastest in the tricky conditions. Unfortunately, the second qualifying session was dry and our lack of dry setup time showed, with me ending up 26^{th on the grid. The race distance was the longest I’ve ever raced and I’m pleased to say the winter training regime seems to have paid off! I rode harder than ever, and kept pushing the bike hard despite the protests from the suspension. Late in the race, I was passed supersport veteran Dennis Hobbs and gave myself two options – keep up or get a warning you can’t ignore trying! I managed to stick with him for a lap or so, but pushed the front a teensy bit too hard at Graham Hill and went down. Luckily for me, the bike decided that it really would like to see the chequered flag and picked itself back up a fraction of a second later, much to my surprise and I was able to continue to score a solid 17th} place, 4^{th in supersport cup. All in all, a good result considering what we went through and a massive thanks to Stu at Astro Vans for his hard support in getting me out there – you are a superstar! Thanks also to Gearlink Kawasaki for the loan of the engine and invaluable help over the weekend and to everyone who worked themselves into submission on the bike throughout the weekend!}

First Test of The Year!