2003 Season Review:
Whatever happened in 2003, it would be my last in Roadstocks as the rules say you can do three seasons in the class and then you’re out. Fair enough; it’s meant to be a feeder class for novices so it’s only right that it shouldn’t get clogged up with old codgers like me who can’t afford to build a proper race bike! With Lee Foxhall moving on to bigger things, Colin Dorrell falling foul of the three year rule and Pete Briersdorf also moving on, it looked like it could be straight fight between me and Dave Needham. What we hadn’t taken in to account was a certain Gary Tucker coming back in to the class after a gap year. He was flying, and he and Dave locked horns all year.
Whilst those two battled it out at the front, I normally had a grandstand seat chasing them round in third place. Although I finished ahead of each of them at some point during the year I could never get ahead of them both at the same time! Not getting a win really bugged me, because at the May 11th round if I’m honest I should have won the second race of the day. With all the classes out together, I made a blinding start off the 4th row, squeezed past Gary and muscled up to 5th overall out of Gerrard's! I then set about a couple of the bikes in front and bugger me after 4 laps I was 2nd on the road and 1st 600 by some margin! Michele and Dad were having kittens! It couldn’t last.…
With just 2 laps to go Gary came past to demote me to 2nd 600 and then, just to add insult to injury, a couple of the R1s out dragged me over the line to drop me to 5th on the road. Second in class was OK, and I’d beaten Dave for the first time and bagged the fastest lap of the race – 59.28s, but to this day I still feel pissed off to miss out on a win. Serves me right for being a skinflint and running a shagged out rear tyre and for being so unfit!
The rest of the season was pretty straight forward with me bagging 3rds and 4ths on a regular basis without feeling too stressed. Despite a late charge from a rapid Mark Whiston, I held on to third in the championship and enjoyed one of the best nights out I’ve ever had at the rather splendid EMRA awards dinner!
NOTES:
MP - Mallory Park
DM - Darley Moor
* - Actually finished 4th and 5th but Gary and Dave were excluded from the meeting and had their points taken away! On the slowing down lap Gary and Dave had stopped at Edwina’s to do a synchronized and very smoky burn out! Cool! Unfortunately the Clerk of the Course did not share my view and he excluded them from the meeting and fined them £50. Ouch!
