2003 Proposed Attendance

Ok so what am I going to do in 2003? (in short)

Well 2002 saw some big changes in my racing career.  Miers racing as it was no longer existed (click here to find out more about that) and therefore I was now a full privateer and had no teammate. I was doing well in the BEMSEE Clubman 600 series before Mallory in 2002 (click here to read about that) where a series of unfortunate events meant I wasn't to compete in it for the rest of the year.  However I aimed to re-attack the series in 2003 and planned on being a strong contender or even winning it in 2003.  As the 2002 season drew to a close it was made public the Clubman 600 series was to be dropped by BEMSEE for 2003 (I was not happy to say the least when I first heard that) for what on enquiry seems to be an illogical reason (don't ask). So I had some big decisions to make.  

I considered my options, these seemed to be either changing club completely (a knee jerk reaction was to say "forget BEMSEE" (stick your own expletive in there somewhere ...).  I could either join one of the other big players like New Era or really take the plunge and go for British Supersport (BSS)!!

I really favored BSS option as judging by my best lap times I could qualify for the races and I though getting amongst the big boys would really help me pick my game up and give me much more exposure.  However, on investigation it wasn't really going to be possible on my budget.  A simple example of prohibitive expense is that you HAVE to use controlled fuel, this works out at about £13 a gallon!!!  In 2003 I will be struggling to find that cash to put Tescos unleaded in the tank!!!  I would also need a ready supply of fresh rubber. So that dream isn't going to happen. :'(   However if I can make a name for myself in a lesser (but still highly completive) series in 2003 I might be able to pick up enough sponsorship to compete in BSS in 2004?

The next step down from BSS is the MRO, this is BEMSEEs sister series and these boys can still bang in similar laptimes to the British Supersport ones, but it is the same bike regulations as I am used to.  This was a serious consideration, however I had a new mix in the pot, I had just purchased the RD250LC and was keen to race this in a suitable series on occasion.  I searched for a series that ran these sort of bikes and despite all my searching I ended back at BEMSEE, with their Yamaha Past Masters (YPM) series as the only real series I could compete in.  Looking at the results it seems to be largely TZR250s with a couple of RD350s dotted about on occasion, so with a 250LC I would be the real Underdog ... however I like being the underdog and it fires me on to 'Show-em' and I was doing it for the challenge/chuckle anyhow.  

It seemed pointless going to the extra hassle and expense (and hence draining the 600 budget further) of entering two different clubs/events to race the RD when the YPM races are mainly held alongside the BEMSEE Nationwide events (there are a few exceptions but generally one of the other classes held on the same day), so the option of Running in the R6 in the BEMSEE Supersport 600 series and the RD in the YPM  series came to light.  I could then just take them both to the same events.

In 2001 and 2002 I was running in two series, namely the Clubman 600 and Supersport 600 classes.  Running the R6 in the Supersport 600 series and the RD in the YPM to make up my two series would potentially actually save 600 money as one of the biggest expenses for the 600 is in tyres.  Running the RD for the second series would effectively half my 600 tyre budget compared to running the R6 in two classes (e.g. Powerbikes) the RD will probably happily wear the same boots for most of the season!!  

Also if the Clubman 600 series is run as one race of the day, then this is still a championship and I could contend for this, but as it is only one race a day I couldn't have it as my main class.   I could alternate between running the RD and the Clubman 600 single event series as my second series on the day.  i.e. one round do Supersport 600 and YPM and at another round do Supersport 600 and Clubman 600 single event classes.

I did a round with North Gloster RRC in September 2002 at Pembrey and really enjoyed that track and the change of enviroment.  So would like to try and fit a round or two of that in on the 600 too.

So the decision:-

A busy year indeed, I'll be doing as much racing as my wallet will allow!!!

click here for 2003 Race diary dates