Class: Solo Motorcycles upto 250cc to 1962 - Palletforce Championship

Mallory Park Practice Day - 20th March 2003

Jess was trying out a 250cc Royal Enfield Crusader for the first time on practice day. The bike was put together over the winter months and built from a selection of spare parts. Unfortunately, after three laps it expired with a holed piston.

Mallory Park - 20th April 2003

After the troubles at practice day the Enfield was rebuilt, this time to run on petrol rather than methanol. The day dawned cold and overcast but the rain stayed away leaving the track nice and dry throughout the day. The first practice session went smoothly enough, but when Jess prepared to go out for a second session it became apparent that the clutch was slipping badly. Since the 250's were scheduled for Race 2, it meant that it had to be hastily stripped down and rebuilt.

Race 1: Jess joned husband Ray on the starting grid but halfway through the sighting lap, the Crusader began to misfire forcing Jess to retire before the flag dropped. On this occasion, the battery appeared to have been the cause. Although it had been fully charged up the night before, it was only reading 10.5 volts. A new battery was fitted and after testing in the paddock, the bike appeared to be fit again!

Race 2: This time Jess was side by side with husband Ray on the starting grid (4th row)! She made a reasonable start and was just beginning to settle into the race (learning as she went along just how different the 250 was compared to the Bullet in terms of keeping the revs right!) when on lap two, the bike began to lose steam. The remainder of the race was spent on the side of the track watching husband Ray, ride to victory (sounds very suspicious I know!). Investigations upon a return to the paddock indicated that the timing had somehow slipped (although how, remains a mystery, since nothing was loose). It's now back to the shed for some more spannering before Lydden!

Lydden - 24/25 May 2003

Lydden, as usual greeted us with fine weather and so a good weekend's racing was anticipated. After the mechanical troubles of the practice day and the Mallory opener, Ray had given the Enfield an overhall and tested it in the yard at home. Typically, however, although the bike had appeared fine in the yard, that was not to be the case once it got onto the race track! The practice session immediately highlighted that all was not well. Back to the paddock for more head-scratching. Indications were that it was electrical - the battery was brand new and fully charged, yet had lost power. After re-charging the battery and much discussion, the bike was completely rewired and a new coil was fitted, unfortunately this meant that Jess had to miss the first race.

We were now more confident that the problem really was sorted and the bike made an appearance for Race 2. It was soon running as sick as it had been before and Jess was forced to pull out before the race got underway. Back to the paddock again! More head-scratching again! We were down to one last possibility and that was the ignition box and upon inspection the red plastic casing did have a peculiar melted patch on it! The reason that the ignition box hadn't been eliminated before was because Ray had been told by the manufacturers that, on the whole, the box either worked or it didn't and since the bike ran okay one moment and not the next, it was reasonable to assume that the box was okay. Andy Hunt, fellow 250 Enfield rider and competitor, generously loaned one of his spares. It was now finger's crossed for the next day's racing.

On Day two, Jess took the bike for a practice session and much to everyone's joy, the bike went well! It finally looked liked she was set to finish a race for the first time in the season. Unfortunately though she didn't get off the start - this time not due any mechanical error, but because she wasn't able to select neutral. she mistakenly thought she was in first, but as soon as she released the cluth the bike bogged down and stopped. Because she rides a modern road bike, Ray has constructed a complex set of gear linkages to enable her to change gear on the left hand side. Despite the linkages, the gear change is both smooth and effective, the only draw back though is that neutral is extremely difficult to find and once the bike is at a standstill, next to impossible. Although she had started seeking neutral long before arriving at the starting grid, it had proved elusive on this occasion.

The last race of the weekend loomed and Jess was understandably twitchy. Finally though, bike and rider managed to get off the start line! Track conditions were damp following a mini monsoon half an hour before, but despite the lack of practice on the 250, Jess had a good race and finished 11th out of 17 finishers.

Carnaby 2 - 14 June 03

It was the first time that the VMCC had raced at this circuit, an operational military airfield. First impressions upon doing the obligatory walk around, were that it had plenty of twisty bits, but also some deceptively long straights. It was also quite confusing with the multitude of cones and white lines painted on the tarmac, the only up-side being, that if you got it wrong, then there was plenty of run-off! The bike seemed to have shaken off all its problems and ran well, and because the grid sizes were small, riders were allowed 3, much welecomed, practice sessions. Race 1: Jess wasn't lapped, but finished almost last. Although disappointing to some extent, she felt she had ridden the bike hard and hadn't made any mistakes. It was a demanding track and despite the straights, there was very little time to relax.

Race 2: Jess was in two minds whether to go out. Ray had fallen off in the previous race and had gone to the med centre. She wanted to be sure all was okay - afterall if she fell off as well, there would be no one to drive the van home! It was also extremly hot and she was feeling pretty knocked out by the heat. Ray emerged reasonably intact and so Jess made a dash for the start line. The results for the second race were pretty much the same as for the first.

Class: Solo Motorcycles Specials upto 500cc to 1972 - Dresda Autos Limited Championship

Mallory Park - 30th March 2002

The conditions were damp but drying out. Jess hadn't practiced during the practice day two weeks earlier so wanted to get as much practice time in as possible before racing commenced. The bike felt good, ran well and handled well and after two practice sessions she was beginning to feel confident about the race. She decided to take it out one last time to push it a bit harder and get a sound feel for the right lines and braking points, unfortunately this proved to be one practice session too many and she highsided it exiting the hairpin after taking a tight inside line and hitting a damp greasy patch. Both Jess and the bike were out of action for the rest of the day, and neither of them were ready for Snetterton.

Cadwell Park - 11/12th June

Woodland circuit: This was Jess' first outing following the fall at Mallory and her first time around the woodland circuit. Conditions for the first race were pretty poor, it being damp and slippy. She finished amongst the back markers, having only been out for a very brief (shortened) practice session.

She felt much more confident for the second race and got off to a good start, enjoying the twisty section after the mountain. Unfortunately, a series of neutrals at the hairpin, and a tendancy to brake too early meant that she lost a lot of time and finished amongst the back markers yet again.

Day two - full circuit: Jess was really looking forward to the second day's racing, feeling that she'd learnt from her mistakes of the previous day and was ready for the challenge ahead. Unfortunately, fate decided it was not to be. Whilst waiting in the holding area for the practice session, the bullet developed a serious oil leak, throwing out copious amounts of oil from between the head and the barrel. The bike was returned to the paddock and the head was tightened down, but to little effect so Jess had to spend a day spectating.

Anglesey June 22/23rd

Jess had another disappointing meeting and was well off the pace, much of it probably down to a lack of track time this season.

The oil leak problems were still evident and upon returning home, Ray stripped the engine down completely and discovered that the liner in the barrel had cracked. It is now unlikely that Jess will be racing any more this season, although it is hoped that she will have a go on Ray's 350 at a practice session at Three Sisters on the Friday before the weekend's racing.

The 2001 Season

Class: Solo Motorcycles Specials upto 500cc to 1972 - Dresda Autos Limited Championship

After a winter in the shed, husband Ray, made some improvements, and the Bullet, by now, affectionately named 'Frankenstein's Monster' by Steve Cotrell (Ray's sponsor and tuner), emerged for the start of the 2001 season with a raised compression (14:1) and a conversion from petrol to methanol.

The Easter Sunday VMCC opener at Mallory proved to be a good day for Jess (apart from losing a footrest in second practice!)

Race 1 saw her finish in the points (10th), out of a packed starting grid, which saw 28 finishers.

Race 2, however, wasn't so good, she set off reasonably well but, amidst the excitement, thought she was back on her modern road bike and started trying to move through the gear box the wrong way! It wasn't until around lap 3 (of a shortened 5 lap race) that she finally sorted herself out and started to claw her way back to redeem a few lost places.

The somewhat thrashed Bullet returned to the paddock with mag and exhaust hanging off, not to mention a raft of other missing bits.

Snetterton - Sunday 13th May

Race 1 saw a midfield finish, with a placing of 15th out of 29 finishers. Race 2 saw a placing of 26th out of 31 finishers following a bad start, which saw her last away.

Anglesey - Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May

Saturday: Race 1 - 9th out of 16 finishers; Race 2 - saw a slowing down of the pace due to handling problems resulting in a 17th placing out of 20 finishers. Sunday: The bike's handling problems were resolved. Race 1 - 11th out of 17 finishers; Race 2 - 10th out of 14 finishers.

Full Circuit Cadwell Park - 8th July

Jess was disappointed with the results of this meeting, having been optimistic following plenty of track time on the short circuit on the Friday at The AJS and Matchless Owners Club Fun Day. Race one saw a front grid start and Jess was first away, but with two long straights, a lack of horsepower saw a poor finish. Race two was no better, with the added problem of a badly slipping clutch.

Catching Andy Hunt (GP5) Anglesey Hairpin.

The weather throughout the weekned was changeable, with several heavy downpours making conditions particularly difficult, and unfortunately the red flag was out on far too many occasions. Although Jess rode reasonably well in the first race she was right off the pace for the remainder of the meeting.

Club Circuit Cadwell Park - The Roger Allen Memorial meeting - 20th September

The weather was again chageable with plenty of torrential downpours throughout the day resulting in a late start whilst water was cleared from the track. Jess really enjoyed this meeting, despite being fooled by a sudden show of sunshine and opting not to don waterproofs for the first race (Race 9)which was a big mistake - not long after the flag dropped, the rain came down in stair-rods! The biggest problem was visibility, especially down Park Straight, and it became something of a guessing game to work out when to brake for Park Corner. Despite the excess of water, however, there were no nasty moments - the bike handled well. Husband Ray was also particularly pleased to hear that there was an improvement in speed down Park Straight since he had altered the valve timing again (it hadn't been quite right at Three Sisters). At the end of the race, Jess came in at 12th out of 20 finishers. It was a six lap race which she completed in 10:38.14; the best lap being lap 5 where she put in a time of 1:37.74. (For the first time riders were loaned transponders and therefore those not in the top 1 or 2 were able to receive detailed results).

The second race (21) saw a marked improvement - conditions were mixed, mainly dry, but still damp enough to demand caution in certain parts. The worst thing, as far as Jess was concerned, was having to don cold soggy leathers that were almost heavier than she was! In this race she came in at 9th out of 17 finishers. Again it was a six lap race, which she completed in 9:21.96. Her best lap was lap 6 where she put in a time of 1:30.92.

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