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Brands Hatch 8th & 9th March
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This was round 1 & 2 of the Bemsee National
championship of 2003 being held at Brands Hatch In Kent.
Go star racers who were competing:
- Ian Porter Suzuki GSXR1000 – Power bike races
- Gavin Wheeler Yamaha R6 – Rookie 600 and 600
clubman races
Go Star members supporting:
- Sean O
- Chris M
- Philippe G
- Ben A
- Mike S
- Tony B
- Chris P
- Carl S
- Blossom S
- Mike S
Friday Practise:
This was the first time out amongst other racers after
many months of the track. It was a good time to get familiar with the
close overtaking manoeuvres and get back into some semi race mode. Gavin
could not get the day of work so Ian was out alone with all the fellow
mad men dashing around the track all trying to improve lap times and get
one over on their fellow competitors. It was a cold day mixed with some
rain towards the end of the day. Unfortunately due to not having his lap
timer Ian was unaware of what times he was doing and so had nothing to
chase or compare with. Feeling that you are going fast is one thing but
the stop watch never lies and in racing you need to know what times you
are doing in order to think and push for improvement.
SATURDAY:
 The weather was very cold all day and by lunch time
the rain arrived.
Gavin had his first race ever in the rookie 600, it was dry and he
finished in 31st place. For his second race it was raining Gavin came
home in 30th place and was getting more comfortable and smoother each
time. Chris Martin and a number of others were down for the two days
helping out. Chris with his former years of experience was on hand to
help Gavin with mental preparation and confidence-building words of
advise. It was a good team and club effort seeing so many people turn up
over the two days.
In his first race on the GSXR1000 Ian finished 30th but unfortunately
his second race of the day was cancelled. The racing showed up a number
of set-up and acceleration problems that needed working on. These two
days would basically be a set-up and track time workshop for Ian.
SUNDAY:
 The weather had improved, still cold but sunny.
Ian was back out in his two races for the day. A number of sprocket /
set-up changes were made and improvements were made throughout. As it
was the start of the season all grids were totally full with 38 riders
the maximum allowed on the Indy circuit at brands hatch. In Ian’s first
race he finishing 33rd but finished 28th in his second with a best time
of 53.8seconds. This time is not slow by any stretch of the imagination
but 52secs is needed to be in 14th position and 48.8secs is required to
win the race. 48secs is basically only 2secs off the front-runners in
the BSB super bike. These guy’s up front would qualify no problem in a
BSB super bike meeting. This goes to show how competitive Bemsee is and
it is the fastest club in the world and that is official. Gavin competed
in three races finishing 30th and 26th in each of the rookie races and
20th in the clubman’s. Gavin learned a lot from this weekend and
steadily made good progress and got faster with each visit to the track.
The weekend had a downside with a competitor losing his life during one
of the past masters races. On a positive side the many members and
friends that turned up on the weekend helped to make a good weekend of
it by providing support and a friendly smile. Hope to see more of you
around this year on or off track.
Next Bemsee National championship meeting.
Rounds 3 & 4 - Lydden in Kent, 5th & 6th April.
By Chris Martin and Ian Porter |
