NG Rd13 - Sun, rain and another club record...

Last Saturday saw the BMC Racing team in action at Oulton Park in Cheshire...we were there competing in the latest round of the NG Road Racing championships. Leon was looking to retake the top spot in the Formula 400s, and also use the opportunity to gather further data on the R6 ahead of next months BSB trip back here again. Si was also there to join in the fun and I took the opportunity to race on my favourite track.

So how did it all go then? Well, the morning started very mild...the sun kept poking it's head through the clouds, the wind was down to a minimum and everything was set for a fun day. Practice went without a hitch and everyone looked forward to the first set of races.

First up were the 600s and the qualifying heat. Yet again Leon would have to start way down the grid. But, undeterred, Leon made a terrific start and seemed to effortlessly carve his way through the pack to finish a brilliant third place. In fact, the commentator was waxing lyrical about how well Leon and Freddie Russo worked together as a team to pick their way from the back of the grid to take a couple of well deserved podium finishes.

Next up was the qualifying race for the Formula 400s. Leon was starting from the front row and Simon and I started alongside each other on row six. We all got away well, with Leon completely blitzing the 400 field to take a comfortable victory, and in doing so, claiming yet another club lap record. He actually smashed the record by about a second with a time of 1:50:85 - brilliant! Simon managed to work his way through the field well to finish eleventh in class, and I managed to finish fifteenth in class which was one place better than I started on the grid...so not too bad.

The weather then decided to take a turn for the worst over lunchtime. And we were left guessing as to what tyre choices to make. A brief downpour seemed to suggest wets but the paddock was drying and the rain seemed to have stopped falling. Leon was out next in the final of the 600 race...so he went out on dry tyres and was going to see how the track conditions were on the warm-up and decide whether to stay out or not before the race started. As it turned out the conditions were quite wet, with Leon finding out in dramatic fashion as he had the bike sideways on a couple of occasions...so, very wisely, Leon decided to pull in before the race started and concentrate on getting the tyres changed on the 400 which was in a couple of races time.

As it happened, Leon's decision to change to full wets for the 400 race was a stroke of genius. I was convinced that it was going to dry out...but the grey sky, and the fact that Leon had not long been out on track, meant that full wets was the decision of the day. As the race got under way, it began to slowly start raining again...not a lot, but enough to make you think twice about leaning the bike too far over. About three laps in and the rain was now lashing down, making the choice to go for full wets an excellent decision. In fact I remember seeing a few riders pull in early on as they were obviously struggling for grip on dry tyres. About midway through the race I noticed that the yellow flags were being waved furiously round at the hairpin...I then noticed that a bike was on the deck...it was Simon! Oh no! He had been pushing very hard for third place, and was well on target to get this when he lost the front on the exit of the hairpin. The next time round I noticed that the bike was up and that Si was standing next to it with his arms crossed, looking very dejected. Still it was good to him up and ok. My race was steady...I didn't get the best of starts, and at the first corner there was a lot of movement from the tyres. It probably wasn't as bad as it felt, but it felt like it was about to let go on me...luckily it didn't and I managed to get my head down and finish eighth in class. I was happy with that.

Leon's race was another story altogether...he had a belter! He rode an incredible race in very tricky conditions to take a well deserved victory. I should also say that he was up against the likes of Tim Bradley, who we all know is a quality wet weather rider, so the win really was impressive...very well done Leon. And it now puts Leon firmly at the top of the Formula 400 championship.

So there you have it, a tricky day's racing with a mixed bag of fortunes...but it was an enjoyable one all the same.


(Leon putting the RVF through it's paces during practice.)


(Leon carves his way through the 600 pack.)


(And was rightly delighted with the result.)


(The team access the damage to Si's bike.)



(Berrie and Samual came to cheer us on.)


(Leon and Lawson with the winners hat.)


(Top of the pile again.)

EMRA Rd4 footage - better late than never!

Well, it's been a while since round four of the EMRA championships. In fact, they've had round five too! And I believe Simon didn't quite have the sort of day he had hoped, although he is still very much in with a shot at the Formula 400 championships. The final round is in a couple of weeks, and I believe it's a double points round...so you never know. Good luck for that Si.

Anyway, I've also (finally) got round to finishing the video from the footage I collected at round four. I hope you enjoy watching it, I enjoyed making it...although I did go a little bit crazy with the effects buttons - I guess I just can't help myself sometimes...

Thundersport GB - Brands Hatch.

Last weekend was the latest round of the Thundersport GB championships at Brands Hatch. And Leon made the very last minute decision to head down to compete. It was an opportunity to test out the data logging on the R6 and to see how his wrist coped with the stress. It turned out to be a very good decision too! Not only did he manage a seventh place (from eleventh on the grid) on day one, he also rode a blinder on day two to finish second! A great ride from Leon, who seems to have put the injury to his wrist well and truly behind him...well done mate!


(Another trophy for the mantelpiece.)



(A couple of great action shots from Darren Maher.)

Some good Anglesey press...

BSN has a rather good article about the recent NG Road Racing event at Anglesey. And BMC gets a pretty good mention too. Here's the link:

http://www.bikesportnews.com/news-detail.cfm?newstitle=NGRRC-Anglesey:-Weekend-race-review&newsid=6265

And here's the section about Leon, Aaron, and the BMC team:


(Couldn't have put it better myself.)

NG Rd11&12 - Yep, another lap record!

Last weekend Leon and the gang all went up to Anglesey for the latest round of the NG Road Racing championships. After having to miss the last two rounds, due to an operation on his wrist, Leon was looking forward to getting his Formula 400 championship back on track. He definitely did this, and with a lot of style too.

Friday was a test day, so it gave Leon the chance to try both the RVF and the ZXR to see how they felt, and more importantly, to see how his hand coped. All went well though, both bikes felt good, Leon's hand wasn't causing him much agro as he quickly dialed himself in to the track. By the end of the day everyone was very much looking forward to the Saturday.

Race one on the Saturday was the qualifier and, as usual, the F400's were out with the GP45's and the very fast 2-strokes. Leon rode a very solid race to finish second in class, just behind Aaron Ridewood, and put himself on the front row for race two, which is the points race. Now, race two was by far the best race of the weekend. Leon and Aaron had a tremendous battle, and were clearly head and shoulders above any of the other F400 riders. Their battle hotted up dramatically towards the end of the race as Leon and Aaron started swapping positions with each other. It was an amazing display by both riders as they leant on each other through some of the fast corners, but the trust and respect they had for each other was evident. And above all they both had immense fun out there - which in my opinion is the most important thing. And it was Leon who took maximum points with Aaron just a fraction of a second behind. And to top it all off Leon broke the club lap record with an awesome lap time of 1:13:95, which is a fraction of a second off the outright lap record! Well done to Leon, and well done to both riders for giving the whole crowd a real treat!

So that was a very succesful day for Leon and his championship hopes. Aaron, though, had blown a head gasket in that last race and had resigned himself to missing the fun on the Sunday. However, the BMC Racing team stepped in and offered a ride to Aaron on the spare bike. Aaron accepted and everyone looked forward to Sunday for more of the same.

Race one on the Sunday was a real race of contrasts. Leon put in another very solid performance to comfortably win the F400 class, and again give himself a front row start for the points race. Aaron, however, was a different story. Unfortunately a problem with the ZXR meant that he didn't finish the race and so taking part in race two looked unlikely. But the very slick BMC pit crew got to work and sorted the problem out (which, I believe, was something to do with the oil pump). Aaron would have to start race two from the back of the grid though. Leon got away well in the second to dominate the F400 class from start to finish, this gave him maximum points for the weekend and now leaves him just one point behind in the championship. Aaron's race was a little less straightforward...starting from the back of the grid on the BMC Racing ZXR was always going to be tricky. But he rode a blinder and was soon up to third place half way round the first lap! Confidently carving his way through the pack he finished in second place. Aaron actually finished about eight seconds behind Leon at the end of the race, and a country mile ahead of the next F400 rider in third. A terrific one two for the team, it couldn't have been sweeter!

And here's the proof of the new club record:

(Nice!)

New BMC machine unveiled...

Mike has been busy building Leon a new bike. It's a radical move for Mike as it comes complete with cow horn bars, tan leather seat and car tyres. I look forward to seeing Leon break yet another lap record on it the first time he rides it...


(Now that's a pocket rocket!)

EMRA Rd4 - 'Super Si'!

Last weekend Si Edmondson flew the flag for the BMC Racing team at round four of the EMRA championships. Going in to the day, Si was leading the Formula 400 championship ahead of Richie Welsh. The weather was good, apart from the strong wind that is! But the sun was out and it was to be a dry day.

Qualifying went well for Si as he recorded a lap time of 59.294 to put himself second on the grid. Talking of which, the grid was a mixture of F400, F125 and GP 125 machines. So it was going to be busy out there! For race one I watched from the inside of the exit of Gerrards...Si came round in third place just behind the leaders. It wasn't long before he had moved up in to second position though, and giving chase to Richie Welsh out in front. Si pushed hard and was starting to close the gap just after the midway point in the race. But, unfortunately for Si, the leading F125 rider was gaining on him, and made his move going in to Edwina's. This caused Si to momentarily lift the bike, and seemed to disrupt his concentration a little. He quickly got his head back down and pushed hard right to end of the race where he finished an excellent second place in class.

Race two was a very similar affair. Si got a little bogged down at the start and had a fight on his hands as he went in to Gerrards in about fifth place. However, by the end of lap two he had fought his way through to second place and was keeping in touch with Richie Welsh up ahead. Si got his head down again and chased hard, but again the leading F125 rider came through to disrupt proceedings. The end of the race came too quickly though, and Si brought home another second place in class. Another great ride from Si which now leaves him second in the championship, but not by much, so it's all to play for in the last two rounds of the championship.


(Si even has his own logo!)


(Very nice use of the number '3'.)


(Mike, Rod and Si discussing tactics.)


(Si looking relaxed between races.)


(Leon was there with his heavily plastered arm.)





(Some action shots of Si.)


(Not a bad day's racing!)