#ngrrc

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Pembrey, October 2024.

Had to ride Kato, I'd broken the Suzuki so the motor was getting fixed.

Whilst waiting for scrutineering. This fella floats around the queue checking for cameras on bikes so I grabbed a photo of him.

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Brands Hatch 2024.

Bit of a photo dump coming up. Not posted on here for nearly a year but had plenty of bike stuff still going on.

I gave up riding at National level last year and completed my last race at British Superbikes on my 50th birthday at Thruxton.

This year I have only been riding at club level and mainly so that I can help our cohort of BSB mechanics who have chosen to go racing themselves. My main priority has been the novice riders and I have completed my Auto-Cycle Union coaching course to help both the riders and the club.

2024 has not been without challenges and I have had a few bike niggles that have meant I've learned a lot on the engine side. More to follow on that.

I also had a big crash at the final meeting of the year trying to win a championship. That resulted in a lot of damage to the bike in this picture, more to follow on that too.

Overall a good year though and progress made by all of the team members at the club. I have one more outing this year to assist two more riders getting their licences ready for next year.

It's good to be back posting on here.

Image; Paul Hunt.

[scrawnsenior]

Cadwell Park 2024.

I bought these photos from Cadwell Park. I only really needed the one with the chequered flag but liked the other one too so had them both.

This was early in the season so still the 2023 livery with a temporary number on the front to comply with regulations.

Cadwell park is one of those circuits where, as a rider, you can get close to pit wall on the start straight. I know the officials and spent the test day on the Friday getting as close as I could to the wall every time the flag was waved. A comment was made by the flag man to someone about how close I was getting so I decided to arrange with Paul, the photographer to get a picture for him.

The image was taken at the end of one of my races and as with the image in my previous post, taken by the same photographer, I printed it and presented it to the flag man. I subsequently found out that the day the image was captured was also his birthday so he got a double treat.

Images; Paul Hunt.

[scrawnsenior]

Castle Combe 2024.

#48 Chris has only been riding on track since 2020 when I helped him get his licence on the True Heroes Racing GSXR 600, also at Castle Combe.

This year he has been riding my old Ducati Cup 959 which was a big step up for him considering the difficulties he faces having a below knee amputation on his right leg. He had a tough year last year dealing with an infection and a few other issues but he rose to the challenge of jumping on a more powerful machine and has made a huge amount of progress. I felt it only fitting that I got a photo of myself and him out on track. Although it took a bit of effort to orchestrate with the photographer, I managed to stalk him and be in the right place without him realising I'd done it. I printed this picture for him to show him how much he has come on since starting racing.

He is back on the 600 next year I think and although he may see it as a step backwards I think the things he has learned riding the Ducati will stand him in good stead to be a lot quicker than he was before.

Image 3, Paul Hunt.

[scrawnsenior]

Anglesey, September 2024.

It happens at least once a season and I managed to get to the final meeting without one. The Open championship was close this year with just one point between three of us who could have won going into the final meeting.

I knew I needed to ride hard all weekend to try and win. I had a good day on the Friday test day and the bike was working well so I knew I had a good set up. Saturday morning came and I only did a few laps in warm up to save some tyres.

I headed out for qualifying feeling good but after just one lap I lost the front at full lean going up the hill in sixth gear. Without doubt the fastest crash I've ever had. My championship was over in a heartbeat as the bike was wrecked. It cracked the cylinder head and I didn't have capacity to repair it at the circuit. Given the speed I came off I got away with it extremely lightly. Just a small abrasion on my right elbow from where the circuit burned through my leathers.

As it was my team mate was there on the Supersport bike so he let me ride that to salvage third in the championship. Apart from crashing I had a good weekend overall. I enjoyed riding the Ducati again even though it wasn't as competitive against the big bikes as my Suzuki is.

More stills to follow but this GIF was made up of stills captured from a distance by Colin Hill.

[scrawnsenior]

Castle Combe 2024.

This is where it's at. Club racing in the sunshine. Good friends, good racing and barbecue with beer.

A good meeting on the whole. I rode both the Suzuki and my own KTM just for this meeting. Everyone else did well, couple of crashes amongst our gang but also plenty of PB lap times.

[scrawnsenior]

In good company at the weekend, a moment for Ivan Lintin right in front of me on Sunday was the only reason he didn’t beat me ;) 

[scrawnsenior]

The North Gloucester Road Racing meeting was a bit of a mixed bag so plenty of wheel changes. Stressful enough when you are able bodied and doing it in a hurry. These blokes are all disabled and still get it cracked. 

Cadwell Park 2016. 

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Pete Carr #27

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Dan Barfoot #76

[scrawnsenior]

Just realised I hadn't published anything about how I did this season. I managed to ride at Thruxton with a busted hand which meant I held third in the championship overall. One better than last year. 

I'll keep you all posted on developments for next year but needless to say it's getting exciting already. Nothing firmed up yet though, as soon as I can say then I'll post up. 

Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout the season, especially my sponsors http://www.speedyfasteners.com  @Speedyfasteners @grcltd and my friends and family. Give them a tweet if you feel the need. 

Thanks to everyone on here who has reblogged, favourited and otherwise shown an interest in my racing and my images. 

Dave Mackay #17 

@DaveMackay17