The 2001 season got off to a flying start on Easter Sunday at Mallory Park with two useful second places in the 250 race. The 350 was not entered due to a few minor teething problems encountered at the Mallory Park Practice day. Hopefully these will be ironed out during the coming months.
We had entered the classic spec 250 Enfield in the Tandragee 100 and the Nutts Corner Classic meetings in Northern Ireland but due to the foot and mouth outbreak these meetings have now been cancelled.
Sunday 13 May saw Ray at Snetterton on the 250 Crusader for the second round of the Historic Racing Championship. It was with some trepidation that he set out for this, his third meeting at the Norfolk circuit, since previous visits had been less than successful. The first visit was in 1997 when Ray's Norton Dominator broke down on the first lap of the first race. Race two saw him taking out a loaned bike, but this too, broke down on the first lap. The second visit was in 1999, and this time he was on Steve Cotrell's 250 Crusader, and again the jinx didn't appear to have worn off, for the first lap of race one saw him take a fall, causing considerable damage to the bike, not to mention cuts and bruises to the rider, which put him out of the running for the rest of the meeting. Finally though, it appeared to be a case of third time lucky, for the 2001 visit saw him finishing with a 2nd and 3rd,breaking the old lap record in both races in persuit of the new record holder with bike and rider going home intact!
23-24 June - Anglesey. Ray wasn't on form on the Saturday, finishing 4th in both races. However, on the Sunday, he improved, coming in with two thirds. His main rival Stu Noble beating him by just 1 second in both races.
8 July - Cadwell Park Full Circuit. Full Circuit Cadwell is Ray's favourite, which he proved by winning his first race and taking the 250cc lap record. The second race, however, saw his briefly held lap record taken away from him by the ever impressive Merv Stratford on the Rudge. Merv went on to win the race and Ray came in second.
21-22 July - Aberdare Park - National Road Races. This was Ray's first visit to the famous Welsh circuit, set amidst ornamental ponds, rose beds, kerbs, manhole covers, and trees (too many by far!!) Ray was entered into the Golden Era, the Welsh Classics, and the 250 Classic. Due to qualifying in each heat, this amounted to 14 races over the two days, a grand total of 150 miles. The classic spec 250 Crusader proved to be 100 per cent reliable - a credit to Ray's sponsor, Steve Cotrell's engine building skills.
In pretty appalling conditions, which saw vans and lorries upto their axles in mud in the paddock (once beautifully manicured lawn), the racing commenced. Unlike short-circuit racing, where there is generally plenty of run-off, the slippery conditions did not instill confidence - 100 per cent concentration was required to avoid the high kerbs, iron railings and strawbale-clad trees. Certainly, not a good place to crash! Despite a few buttock clenching moments, Ray and the Enfield finished with a creditable third place in the Final 250cc Classic Championship, taking home a magnificent trophy and some prize money! This was by no means a small achievement, given that the Enfield was the only 4-stroke 250.
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Ray thoroughly enjoyed his weekend at Aberdare and is looking forward now, to next year. The organisation by the Aberaman Motorcycle Club was outstanding, everybody was made welcome, and from a spectator point of view, it is also an event not to be missed.
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11-12 August - Lydden - The fifth round of the VMCC Championships. The first 250cc race of the weekend saw Merv Stratford taking the win, Ray taking second place and Stu Noble retiring. In Race two, Merv stratford had another win, with Stu Noble taking second this time, and Ray third. Sunday proved to be another winner for Merv in both races on his Rudge 'missile'. In Race one, Stu came in second and Ray third. Race two, perhaps the most exciting, from a spectator's point of view, saw Ray and Stu getting down to some very serious scrapping in the bid to take second, however, on the last lap Ray experienced a major tank slapper exiting Chessons Drift, and eased off the pace, to be beaten yet again to the chequered flag by Stu Noble. 15-16 September - Three Sisters - The penultimate round of the VMCC Championships. Spirits were somewhat dampenend by Merv Stratford's unfortunate spill in practice in which he sustained a broken pelvis, however Ray was now in with a chance of winning the 250 Championship as there was only a few points between him and Stu Noble. Race one saw Ray get a flying start putting in the fastest lap but it was not enough to hold off the hard charging Stu Nobel who beat him to the flag by 0.4 of a second. Race 2 - the heavens opened, making conditions treacherous with Stu amd Ray touring around trying not to fall off. Again Stu pipped Ray to the flag. Race 3 - Ray got tangled with a back marker and took a fall, causing some minor damge to the bike, which Steve soon repaired ready for Race 4. Once again Ray was beaten by Stu. 20 September - Cadwell Park - Final Round. The only way for Ray to win the championship now was for Stu to not finish in both races. Ray won the first race, for which he received the Roger Allen Memorial Trophy, with Stu coming in third (all he needed to win the championship). Race 2 saw Ray take an easy win, since Stu had retired to the bar to celebrate his winning season! Final top three positions in the 250 Championship are as follows:
1st - Stu Noble
A winter of deliberation produced a vintage machine with a few minor modifications to the motor, and after going on a Black + Decker diet, is quite a bit lighter. The season opener at Mallory Park ended with two useful 5th places as opposed to the blow-up of 1999. Cadwell Park (full circuit) proved to be the highlight of the season with a 1st (for which he was awarded a special trophy) and a 2nd, in atrocious wet and windy conditions. Anglesey continued the trend with four 2nd places, chasing home previous class champions in all the races.
As the season progressed the final tally from the twenty race championship
was 1x1st, 9x2nd, 5x3rd, 2x4th, 2x5th and 1 DNF, (due to a fall while
leading at Lydden). A podium finish in the championship table was assured,
but it went down to the last meeting of the year to confirm one step higher
for 2000, taking a hard earned 2nd place. |