Introduction

Ray started racing vintage motorcycles in July '95 on a very undeveloped 500cc Norton Dominator which proved to be somewhat slow and heavy. On this machine he usually finished about midfield, although that said, he did finish third in the Novice Championship. After further development, the results didn't improve, and it was then that he was offered a ride on Steve Cotrell's 250 Royal Enfield Crusader. Results improved dramatically on this highly developed machine. In the first race he finished a creditable seventh, and subsequently went on to achieve even better results, culminating in a third place in the 250 championship in 1999 and a second place in 2000.

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

Cadwell Park Club circuit - 4th October 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

We arrived at Cadwell for the last meeting of the season with a 12 point lead in the championship. We hoped for at least 2 third places behind Merv Stratford (who was making his only appearance of the year) and Stu Noble. This would give us enough points to clinch the championship at my 12th attempt and Ray's 5th on a 250. If we managed to finish higher in the placings then so much the better.

We woke to brilliant sunshine but it was cold due to a strong biting wind, which was blowing head on down the Park straight. After the usual formalities of scrutineering we had a couple of races to wait through nervously before our first race was called.

Ray made a reasonable start and was in the leading group coming out of the hairpin for the first time, but it was Stu Noble and Andy Hunt who were locked in battle for the lead.

On lap 2 Ray had moved up to 3rd with Merv Stratford in tow. Everything was going to plan for our required 3rd place and things remained the same until the last lap. Stu Noble came through to win from Andy, but Ray was baulked at the Gooseneck by a back marker and Merv Stratford nipped through to steal 3rd, which he led to the flag.

This was not in the gameplan and our lead had dropped to a precarious 5 points with only one race to go!

After a brief autopsy and a 'pep-talk' from myself, Ray was sent out in the final race with instructions to race to win or at least end the season in glorious failure rather than rely on our dwindling points buffer.

As the bikes formed up on the grid we waited with baited breath for the outcome. It was all down to Ray and machine now. Ray got a better start from the back half of the grid and was 2nd to Merv Stratford going up the hill through Coppice. On lap 2 Merve had obviously shaken off any 'race rustiness' and had pulled out a good few yards lead and was never in any danger of being caught. Behind him though a fantastic scrap was developing between Ray, Stu and Andy for second spot.

Lap after lap they swapped places and a blanket would have covered them for the next 4 laps. On the last lap the places were Merv up front, Stu Noble in second, Andy Hunt, third and Ray, fourth. this would have been enough to win the championship by one point! Ray had other ideas though and got a better run up the hill to Charlie's overtaking Andy using our superior power. He then got close enough to Stu to slipstream by along Park Straight, outbrake him into Park Corner, and by going through the Gooseneck "faster than I ever want to go again", Ray came into view around Mansfield leading the trio over the line. There was only a 0.2 of a second between 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The championship was ours by 7 points.

Out of 22 starts we had been 'on podium' 20 times with 5 wins, 10 second places and 5 thirds. We finished 4th once, when we least needed it, and Ray gave the tarmac a very close inspection once (as usual). Stu Noble had won more races but our reliability and consistency had come through in the end.

Oh well, no time to rest on the laurels, what can we do to get more power (and better handling) for next year?!

Three Sisters - 13/14 September 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

For a change Wigan did not suffer from the rain we have had in the past. Ray had been practicing on the 250 petrol burner and had put in a good many laps on Friday. Unfortunately this had come to a premature halt when the engine fell silent. Investigation found that the exhaust valve had failed leaving its head embedded in the piston. We will not be playing with that one again this year!

Saturday's races were planned out with us calculating the minimum placings required to maintain a healthy lead for the last round at Cadwell. We needed to finish no lower than third if we conceded all the wins to Stu Noble, leaving us with a 10 point advantage with two races to go.

Ray's first race looked bad from a strategy point of view when after a sluggish start he was lying 10th on the first lap. the bunch of riders in front were having their own battle and Ray took several laps to despatch them and go after the leading pair of Stu Noble and Andy Hunt. although Ray closed the gap he was unable to challenge the leading pair finishing in the required position of 3rd, some half a lap clear of the next rider home.

Race 2 gave Ray a front row grid position and a better start saw him lead the first lap. Stu Noble was after him though as he needed nothing less than a win to close the gap in the points table. After token resistance Stu passed Ray and settled down to build himself a cushion over the next couple of laps. Meanwhile Ray appeared to have gone into "cruise mode" and Andy Hunt was closing fast. The race to watch was then for second with the two evenly matched Enfields thrashing it out for the last few laps. Ray got the result, 2nd being 2 points more than our calculations required.

Sunday proved very similar with Ray making a better start from the back of the grid. He settled down to an unchallenged 3rd behind the other main protagonists Stu Noble and Andy Hunt. There was a bit of a moment early on when Andy missed a gear going into the hairpin and almost 'T boned' Ray. Andy recovered more quickly and 'stole' 2nd spot there and then. No real problem though as another 10 points were in the bag for Cadwell.

the last race of the weekend was another procession. Ray led for a lap then without much pressure Ray let Stu through. Andy Hunt was by a lap or two later and again it was a 3 horse race with no one within half a lap at the flag.

Generally not a very exciting weekend, apart from the odd incident. We have managed to come away from an accident prone circuit with another 42 points and now have a 12 point lead to cushion our results at Cadwell on October 4th.

With Mervyn Stratford down to ride he will be a fair bet to win. He will certainly liven up proceedings at the front regardless. Ideally we need 20 points to make sure of the championship. Watch this space.

Elvington - 17 August 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

After our usual long haul up the M1 to Yorkshire we arrived at the wide expanses of Elvington Airfield, the full length of the runway from the York Air Museum, which is at the civilised end. It was rumoured that the track had been re-surfaced since our initial visit there last year, but this turned out to be nothing more than idle gossip as the surface looked worse than before and was reported as such by the majority of riders.

The first practice session provided a scare as Ray stopped on the far side of the circuit and fearing the worst Jess and I rushed out to see him as he pushed in only to find the throttle cable had broken. This was not much of a problem in itself, but caused a minor panic as the first race neared due to the carburettor slide sticking when reassembled. Replacing it with another giving a richer pick-up cured the problem but left some doubts regarding reliability and performance for the first race.

As the bikes roared off into the distance from the start Ray settled down in 3rd place, which he held comfortably for several laps behind Stu Noble on his C15 and Andy Hunt on another Crusader. It looked like a bit of a procession but Ray planned to overtake Andy on the last lap, which he believed he could do having drawn alongside several times to make sure. Unfortunately his plans were foiled when yellow flags at every marshal's post for over half a lap made this impossible due to the rules and likely to cause repercussions when back in the paddock. The results showed all three finishing in the order that they started out on the first lap.

After a bit more carburettor fettling and the correct slide installed, race two for the 250 class started with another three way dice between Ray, Stu and Mike Smith on his Ducati. Andy Hunt had missed a gear early on and fell back out of contention. Stu and Ray traded places lap after lap, Stu having the advantage on handling and Ray out-dragging him on the straight sections. This continued until Mike made his move, appearing to take the other two by surprise going into the last lap. Ray was now 3rd again and in danger of letting Stu pull back some more points in the championship. Obviously determined not to let this happen he set the fastest lap of the race to close on Stu exiting the left-right esses before the run to the flag and with the engine stuttering in protest as the rev-limiter cut in, out accelerated him to take 2nd.

This has brought the gap down from 33 to 30 points in Ray's favour for the championship with six more races to go, but statistically Stu will have to win all of them with Ray coming 3rd or lower to make an exciting finish of it at Cadwell. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, as its about time there was a new name on the trophy.

Cadwell (Woodland Circuit) - 20 July 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

We went to the meeting expecting to race on the "full" circuit, which is usually the best attended of the year and generally considered to be the most scenic and challenging of the championship. Unfortunately due to the (usual) lack of marshals there were not enough to man the posts and the event was hastily re-organised to run on the Woodland section only. A great disappointment to all concerned.

Our first ride of the day was Race 1 in the programme so we did not have enough time to change the gearing when it was announced that we would be using the much shorter layout. Nonetheless we were anticipating a good day dicing with the other top runners in the 250cc class. It was not to be. Ray made a good start and had picked off two thirds of the field in the mad dash to the Hairpin that had been relocated at the foot of Coppice, rather that the more usual location at the foot of the Mountain. All looked well as he heeled it over and went out of sight of our vantage point briefly. He did not reappear and it was announced that three riders had gone down in the melee, Ray being the instigator when the rear wheel broke away under accelleration. Ironically, had we used the full circuit, this bend is not part of the course. After a race long dice Stu Noble took the flag on his C15 ahead of Andy Hunt on another, fast improving, Crusader.

The bike was recovered from the scrutineering bay with bent handlebars, damaged twistgrip and minus a footrest. After a spell of frenetic activity it was ready to go again in Race 11 after lunch.

This race started in a similar fashion and due to Ray's better grid position, he led the way on the first lap, having successfully negotiated the Hairpin, at racing speed on his second attempt. Stu Noble and Andy Hunt were on the pace though and it was these three that pulled away from the chasing pack.

With two laps to go Stu Noble set the fastest lap of the race to get by Ray at the hairpin, taking advantage of Ray's obvious caution after the first incident. With a lap to go Andy Hunt managed to do the same and it looked like third would be our only points of the day. Ray had other ideas though and with half a lap to go, re-passed Andy at the top of the mountain to retake second spot, which he held to the flag 0.7 of a second adrift of Stu.

So, our lead in the championship has been reduced to 33 points now due to what has become Ray's obligatory once a season close inspection of the tarmac. The new Cylinder Head will have to be fitted for Elvington in an attempt to give Ray enough speed so that he does not have to try so hard on the twisty bits!

Anglesey - 5/6 July 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

A long drive along the A5 into the wilds of Wales has become an annual event for the V.M.C.C. stalwarts to race at the picturesque and improving circuit at Ty-Croes on the island of Anglesey.

After an uneventful practice session we had a long wait for our first race, which was almost the last on programme. The competition looked hot with most of the main protagonists present.

The start provided Ray with the lead going into the first bend with several of the "fast boys" in tow. The following pack included Stu Noble on the C15, Mike Smith on the Ducati, Ian Cramp on his Ariel two stroke and Andy Hunt on another Royal Enfield Crusader. For two or three laps of the scheduled ten, it was all "nip and tuck at the front with Ray able to hold off the riders snapped at his heels. As the race progressed the opposition, (all?) due to mechanical problems, fell by the wayside. Ray motored on regardless at a speed that had my nerves on edge, eventually winning by over 20 seconds from his nearest rival, Andy Hunt who nursed his machine to the line with a badly slipping Clutch.

The second race on Saturday lacked some of the serious opposition but for half of the race it was still a tussle for Ray to hold the lead from Mike Smith on his rapidly improving Ducati. A red flag halted proceedings and resulted in a restarted shorter race. The format was the same for a couple of laps and then another major incident had Ray and Mike cruising under waved yellow flags. Fortunately for us Ray saw the first green flag before Mike and got the drop on him, making a break for the lead. Mike gave chase but overdid it in his pursuit and fell off, thankfully without injury. Ray was then able to consolidate his comfortable lead over the other riders still competing and took the flag again for a perfect score at the end of day one.

Sunday was a similar dry, bright but breezy day and after the long wait for our first race, Ray was away in the lead again with Andy Hunt in close formation on his rejuvenated Crusader. The clutch had been repaired using good friction plates from our spares stock! Lap after lap Andy tried to out-manoeuvre Ray and succeeded in taking the lead with two laps to go. Ray fought back and re-passed on the last lap, only to have the carburettor flood going into the Hairpin, allowing Andy to nip through again. Ray tried hard to pull back the deficit on the drag to the flag but was outdone by less than a second. Andy was ecstatic with his win, (using our magic clutch plates), as it was his first in the 250cc class, despite having won the championship with his wife on their 750cc Royal Enfield sidecar outfit.

The second race on Sunday saw another similar sequence of events. Ray got away to his usual good start with Andy Hunt and Mike Smith in tow. Andy began to fade and eventually retired his machine with that Achilles heel of Royal Enfield, gearbox problems. For the entire duration of the race Mike was all over the back of Ray, trying every way possible to get by. Despite this hard charging Ray looked comfortable holding him off until a missed gear approaching the hairpin on the last lap (again!) allowed Mike through to take his only win of the weekend.

So despite loosing out in both races on Sunday we went away with the highest aggregate score of all the 250 runners. We have now managed to overtake Stu Noble in the championship and due to his machine failure and consequent lack of points all weekend, have comfortably taken the lead with a total of 157 points. This is some 50 clear of the next runners. The season is only just over half run though and anything can happen when racing. We are of to Cadwell Park on 20th July for our full circuit outing next and then I can fit the MK1V Cylinder Head when it returns from the menders. Hopefully this will give us a winning advantage for the run up to Elvington in August.

Carnaby 2 - 14 June 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

It was a long haul for us to the East Riding of Yorkshire to this previously unseen circuit. We had the opportunity to walk round before it got dark and instantly realised that the map supplied gave no impression of how fast it was. We retired to the van and changed back to something approaching Snetterton gearing to take advantage of the surprisingly long start/finish straight, which has a fast exit right hander preceding it.

The morning of race day was dull to start with but cleared to become a real scorcher. This was to prove detrimental to our "350" which was called to the grid first. Ray made a promising start, amid a grid of 3 different classes run concurrently due to the low entry, but was out paced on the fast sections by the "real" 350's. As the race progressed the engine began to show signs of heat exhaustion by "pinking" and loosing power. Ray sensibly retired before any damage was done and we decided to investigate further after the 250 race.

The grid was again a mix of fifteen 250's and a smaller number of Unlimited class machinery, the smaller capacity being sent off first. Ray got a good start and led into the tight hairpin at the end of the straight and consolidated his lead over the first 5 laps to carry a buffer of 50 yards over Stu Noble into the last lap. The pace was hot and only a couple of the Unlimited machines had managed to power by even at this late stage in the race. Despite the race looking as if it was won, Ray missed a gear coming into myers bend at the back of the circuit and Stu, never missing the opportunity, slipped by to take the win by a couple of machine lengths.

The second race for the "350" ended in disaster. After spending some time altering the timing a little and re-jetting to suit, the engine sounded a lot happier and was going well up to lap three when Ray failed to come round again. It transpired that he had taken a tumble after some oil got on the rear tyre and he was unceremoniously dumped in the road. Fortunately it was close to the ambulance point and they rushed over and dusted him down, passed him fit to continue and sent him on his way back to the paddock.

The bike was brought to the holding area for Ray's second 250 outing and after having his leathers, gloves and helmet checked for what seemed like the umpteenth time, he was pushed off by Steve to save further pain to his wounded left knee. A similar scrap ensued, with Stu Noble having grid advantage and leading Ray into the first corner. Andy Hunt almost stopped Ray's challenge at the first corner by out braking himself, shooting across the front of him and almost taking out his front wheel. After that the race became a four way scrap for a few laps between Ray, Stu Noble, the Ariel of Ian Cramp and Michael Smith on his Ducati. The Ariel fell by the wayside shortly after half distance, leaving a three-way scrap to the finish. This ended with a different winner for the first time in 8 races when Michael Smith on the Ducati out dragged Stu Noble to the flag with Ray in close formation behind. This was not so bad considering that 15 minutes earlier Ray was "on his ear" in the 350 race.

After eight races so far Ray now holds second in the 250 title chase, 3 points behind Stu Noble and some 40 odd points ahead of the third place man. Its off to Anglesey next for a two day meeting which will be likely to prove just as exciting as the three rounds so far.

Lydden - 24/25 May 2003

Report by Steve Cotrell

After missing this venue in 2002, it was a welcome return to Kent for the second fixture in this year's V.M.C.C. racing calendar. The weather was fine and dry, despite the forecast of rain over the weekend. The proceedings for the Hemming duo started early with the 350cc class being race 1 in the programme with the 250cc race taking to the grid straight after in race 2. Ray started well on the 255cc Crusader and managed to pull through the grid at the drop of the flag to hold 5th for most of the race distance, while having a scrap with a 350cc Manx. With two laps of the eight gone he moved past to take fourth, which he held to the finish, beating quite a few of the unlimited capacity machines, whose race was held concurrently.

A quick change act in the paddock had Ray out again. The race quickly developed into the two way scrap familiar to those that were at Mallory between Stu Noble on his C15 and Ray. Due to the grid positions being in Stu's favour, it was he who led with Ray closing the deficit lap by lap until a missed gearchange allowed the BSA to get away for the win. Ray finished a lonely 2nd.

Race 2 for the "350" started in a similar vein but due to a misfire developing on acceleration Ray could only manage 7th This was still good enough to embarrass some of the larger machines running in the unlimited class.

Another rapid bike change and it was off again on the 250. Ray, though, had grid advantage this time and made full use of it to lead from Stu Noble for 7 laps, although the BSA was closing noticeably. With only two corners to negotiate, Stu made a move at the top of the hill (north bend) and almost got by, but Ray saw him coming. After "shutting the door" he was able to drive down the hill to take the win. The BSA finished a couple of bike lengths adrift in 2nd. Ray then had a ride in the Champion of Champions Handicap on the "350", but pulled in early due to worsening misfire. The battery was changed in an effort to eliminate this, but it all came to nought as while holding 5th in the third 350 class outing of the weekend the engine made some ominous noises and stopped. We made a preliminary investigation and consigned the bike to the van as "hors de combat".

With the 250 race due to start there was no time to mourn its passing and Ray had to contend with the same grid positions as on Saturday, giving the only serious opposition in the form of Stu Noble the advantage again. A repeat of Saturdays first race saw Ray finish 2nd again, after unsuccessfully trying to reduce the start line deficit. The other 250 was finally working again after a process of elimination had proved the ignition module was at fault. A tremendous thunderstorm halted the proceeding for quite a while as the track was flooded, though the marshals did well to keep the delay to a minimum. A couple of events preceded the last 250 race of the meeting and helped somewhat to remove the remaining standing water, though the track surface remained treacherous. Ray again made another flier of a start and led for most of the race with Stu Noble in tow. The conditions caused problems for all the riders, with the rear end locking up on Ray under braking on a couple of occasions and a lurid, opposite lock slide under power at Devils Elbow. These antics slowed the lap times enough for another C15 mounted rider, Mitch Steele to make a gallant effort to close down the deficit between himself and Ray as the now 3rd place C15 challenge of Noble was fading, whether due to machine problems or the conditions is uncertain. Again, with only two corners to go Ray's lead was challenged. Steele managed to force his way through and charged down the hill towards Paddock Bend and hopefully for him, the chequered flag. Ray wasn't going to give up and to gasps from the crowd, dived under the CI5, going considerably faster than the preceding laps to snatch back the lead by a bike's length at the finish. Stu Noble "limped" in a long way adrift 3rd and stopped altogether on the slowing down lap.

So a mixed meeting as far as the "350" goes, but good news for the 250cc championship as Ray, now leading on 81 points, holds a slender advantage over Stu Noble on 79 points. This is the first time in three days of racing that there has been anything between them in the title chase.

Mallory Park - 20th April 2003

Easter Sunday dawned cold and dreary as usual for our season opener. Although it did brighten up as the day wore on. Despite the winter rebuild with the Mk5 Camshaft and Mk4 Cylinder Head on the Vintage 250 and various modifications to the other two machines that were deemed ready, our practice day had proved frustrating. The end result was reversion to the Mk3 Cylinder Head on the Vintage 250, an illusive misfire on the Classic 250 and a bad case of rodent attack to the crown of Jess' Piston! As a result, none of the machines had received adequate testing since their rebuilds, so were in effect untried.

Ray's first ride was the 250 event, which after a sluggish getaway, developed into a four way scrap between two invited Classic eligible machines, Stu Noble and Ray. At half distance these riders had pulled out a substantial lead over the rest of the field. Due to back markers balking Ray's lines he fell back to fourth on the road, but still second in the points. Despite some good braking manoeuvres, they finished in that order with Stu taking the win and Ray second.

Ray was out again in the 350 race on the naked Classic machine, scraping into the larger capacity class due to being actually 255cc on it first rebore. The race was quite predictable with the full 350s pulling away on the straights and Ray pulling back some of the deficit on the twisty bits. The bike developed a misfire (again) that set in for the whole day, despite changing several components, but we still claimed a few points for finishing 7th.

After the lunch break and a bit of ignition timing alteration, the racing continued in a very familiar fashion in the 250 event. The four key protagonists were locked in battle at the front again, but with Ray in much closer formation. There was nothing in it for the whole race, but due to a brilliant outbraking move at Edwina's on the last lap, Ray came out ahead of Stu Noble and powered to the chequered flag to take the win.

The second 350 race was almost identical to the first with Ray circulating to the sound of a misfire under power and coming home in 6th. All in all we did much better this year at Mallory Park than in 2002. In the 250 event when compared to the fall and 3rd giving 10 points we got 27. The "350" machine scored points when we got none last year.