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CS Racing 2009 The Season So Far
CS Racing 2009 The Season So Far
23rd July 2009
It was the best meeting he had held at the circuit and came away with a few points and his bike and body in tack. It also set the scene for what was installed for the rest of the season. The Derby Phoenix Motor Cycle Club has now one of the largest following of riders in all its classes with the 751 – 1300cc being the biggest and fastest in the Country. There are now some eight riders in the Big Guns Class that have raced at National level. The speed of the top riders is awesome and already the circuit lap records have all been broken at all the circuits raced at so far this season [Croft, Anglesey, Cadwell Park and Oulton Park].
 
It is now recognised by the C S Racing Team that 100% focus is required in all aspects of this sport to compete at the top. All the efforts applied in pre-season preparation of the “new” Suzuki GSXR 1000 K8 and the testing days spent at different circuits paid off at the next meeting. It was a two day event at Cadwell Park near Horncastle, up in the Wolds [Christian’s local circuit].
 
It is always the Teams policy for Christian to attend the meetings the day prior to racing to carry out final checks on the bike and test the machines to nearly race conditions. On the Saturday test day all seemed to being going well. Christian was trying the new Bridgestone slick tyres [kindly sponsored by Kingsway Tyres]. They required different pressures for race temperature and the suspension set-up was reviewed and adjusted slightly. On Sunday 3rd May it was “Go, Go Go!”
 
In the first race Christian had been drawn 20th on the grid. During the race he made good steady progress to finish in 14th place which gained him a couple of points. The second race in the afternoon was very different. A good heavy shower had left the circuit very wet. The Team had invested in Christian last year by treating him to a 2004 Suzuki GSXR 1000 which has now been tested and  set up as a “wet bike”. Christian is full of confidence in wet conditions. Combine all this with Bridgestone wet tyres and we were in for a treat.
Starting 14th on the grid after the previous race Christian was soon showing that he is on par with the best when all is equal. After two laps he was sitting in eighth place and closing the leaders down quickly. With only two laps to go Christian was less than 2 seconds behind the Championship leader, Daz Bellworthy and sitting nicely in fifth place. A podium was looking possible. It was not to be. On the last lap, there were four bikes coming into the “mountain” complex fighting for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place. There was not more than 10 metres between all four. On the right hander going up the mountain Christian was “nudged” off line and nearly put on the grass. Christian managed to hold onto the bike, keep cool and finish the race in 6th place. After the incident he was still less than two seconds behind the third place rider Daz Bellworthy. This was the best race we have seen for Christian at Cadwell Park. He really earned his 10 points.
On the Bank Holiday Monday Christian had two dry races where he finished 9th and 13th. The new slick tyres had done there job but we had taken them that little bit to far. This was a good weekend.
 
The next meeting was at Anglesey, what a journey. The meeting was being held over the GP circuit which Christian had not raced before. The circuit holds some very technical corners with some being “off camber”. This means that the slope on the tarmac actually goes away from you when cornering and it is very difficult to keep the front tyre on the bike in contact with the tarmac.
The journey was worth it, well at least the weather was brilliant. Again we attended a testing day on the Friday prior to racing on Saturday. Christian was finding it difficult with turning into some bends but we put this down to the lack of track experience. The test day was reduced to only three sessions [usually six] due to the sea fog. You had to be there to experience it. On one part of the circuit you could hardly see for 50 metres due to the fog and in the paddock everyone was dressed in shorts and tee-shirts, basking in the blazing 26 degree sunshine.
On the first race day Christian produced the 12th fastest time in practice, which proved he was ready to race. In the first 751 – 1300cc race Christian started 16th on the grid and finished 13th to gain another 3 points. To give you an idea of the close racing, 10 of the top 15 riders had a fastest lap recorded that was less than a second between them.
In the second race during the afternoon there appeared to be a problem. What was it? Christian did not get the best of starts but was soon getting back on the pace after the second lap. In fact he had managed to get into 12th place. After this it was clear there was an issue. Christian tried to hold off the other riders but he lost ground and ended up in 16th place just missing out on a point.
When in the paddock, Team Boss [Dad] got to work to see what was the problem. It was not long before evidence was found. One of the front brake calliper pistons had seized and was causing the front wheel to bind. During the evening all the pistons were checked and freed off to ensure we were all ready for racing the next day.
On the Sunday morning we had an early start with race time planned for 09-00hrs. The weather was very hot and track temperature was in excess of 45 degrees by the time it was Christians first race. He was starting in 16th position on the grid. After the first left bend all 36 riders were around safely and everyone settled into a flow. Christian had made up a couple of places by the end of lap four and was slowly pulling in a couple of other riders. On the last lap Christian was back in the points and was only one of three riders that had gone quicker than the previous day. Christian was on the edge! He tried too hard! Going into the fast right hander after the hairpin [doing about 90 – 100 mph] he lost the front end and down he went. Christian hung onto the bike across the tarmac until he hit the grass in a somewhat controlled fashion. [Well it looked  controlled from pit wall]. The bike went for some distance and Christian was flicked onto his back and sent spinning like a spinning top until he came to a stop in front of the section marshalls. By the time Christain had got to his feet, yes, he was up within seconds, dizzy as a bat but unhurt, the race was over. The bike was recovered by the circuit recovery crew and returned to the Team Boss. Christian had run across the circuit to the medics to get clearance for racing later in the day.
The “new” Suzuki had had it first crash and Christian’s new leathers had saved the skin from melting on the tarmac. It is the Teams policy to ensure that Christian as some of the best protective clothing for this kind on incident and it proved to do its job!
The bike was repaired and ready for the next race. Well we thought so. Whilst in the holding area, Christian did not feel confident in the clutch operation. To prevent a risk to himself and his competitors the Team pulled him out of the race and called it a day.
That was a long way to go for 3 points but a great deal was learnt regarding the bike set up, tyre performance and track knowledge.
Fantastic scenery on the way home. “Always look on the bright side of life.”
 
The Team had 4 weeks to ensure the Suzuki was ready for racing next. The push-rod part of the brake master cylinder had been replaced, the front brake callipers serviced, a new drive chain fitted and part of the fairing repaired. Also, repairs had to be carried out to Christian’s leathers.
 
The Teams next meeting was another long journey to Cheshire, to the MSV owned circuit of Oulton Park. Due to noise restrictions this event was only held on the Saturday, 4th July.
Practice had taken place on the Friday. New tyres on a different set of wheels had been fitted at the end of testing and all was looking good. Christian was full of confidence but a little disappointed at his starting grid position for race one. Due to his spill at Anglesey he had been drawn on grid position 21.
Oulton Park is one of the best venues on our racing calendar and attracts some really good riders. On the starting grid there was no less than seven national riders and the best of Derby Phoenix.
For Christian to gain any points from this meeting was going to need something special. Although conditions were good he was unable to reach the points finish but crossed the line in 18th place. In doing so he had beaten his own personal lap record by 1.3 seconds. Keep positive!
Race 2, here comes some more bad luck!
When Christian was waiting on the grid for the start he tried his clutch lever and brake lever and other checks as he does. The lights went out and it was “Go, Go, Go”. Christian had started with a front brake problem! The lever was intermittently going back to the handle bars without a great deal of effort being applied to the front brakes. Now this is something you really need when travelling in excess of 140 miles per hour. The fault could not be relayed to the Team on pit wall but Christian was determined to finish the race by using the back brake in place of the front. Some people might say this was crazy but Christian managed to control the bike and finish in 18th place.
This was the first meeting of the year where Christian had failed to score any points. At least that’s better than Lewis Hamilton!
 
When the team returned to base the brake system was totally overhauled, a new master cylinder fitted, the callipers serviced again and the brake discs thrown away. What had actually caused the problem at Oulton was one front brake disc was distorted on the new front wheel. How did this happen? We do not know!
 
Anyway, the bike had to be tested ready for our next meeting at Cadwell Park on the 25th and 26th July.
Where better to try it than Donington Park, that is the one near East Midlands Airport. Christian had a great test day on the 12th July. New set-up of the suspension was made and proved beneficial which will boost everyones confidence for the rest of the season and move Christian up from 16th in the Championship with over half a season to go.
 
After the Cadwell Park event above our next three meetings are at………………
Anglesey 22nd & 23rd August
Cadwell Park 19th & 20th September
Donington Park 3rd & 4th October.
 
Anyone who would like to attend any of the meetings should get in touch with Paul Slater [Team Manager] on 01775 821433 [after 6pm please]
Hopefully see you in the paddock.
 
   


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