Two Wheeled Nomad

Upon registering Pearl’s mileage clock 10,000 miles, without conscious volition I stopped seeing our trip as an extended holiday.

This had now become a way of life for us. The honeymoon period wasn’t altogether over, it was simply the start of a new chapter having learnt the basic ropes of two wheeled travel. Namely journeying into the unknown and coping with all its capricious twists and turns – coming out the other end all the richer for it. South America so far was adorned by many pleasurable experiences mingled with the odd misadventure thrown in for good measure. We were able to carry all we needed on the back of two motorcycles, which wonderfully, excluded all those unnecessary societal burdens. I’m done with those. My new mantra naturally emerged: to wring out as much fun from life in the most gutsy, earthy, rollicking, lip-licking way. Philosopher Alan Watts said exactly that – let go and be hung up on nothing and I would add, by nobody. We felt free.

The 50 mile ride from San Pedro de Atacama took us north longitudinally in ascent to the Antofagasta region. The sky was an animated arrangement of clouds straight from an episode opening of The Simpsons. En route to El Tatio, we were ungrudgingly slowed by a herd of goats consuming the width of the road. Watching the mature ones amble and kids toddling along bum-to-bum, my heart went out to commuters back home in murderous bumper-to-bumper traffic. Straggling behind a frisky band of bearded goats was my kind of traffic jam. In eventually skirting around the herd we blasted through our first ford of water; my lower half got drenched. The splash I’d zealously made soaked my legs trickling into the top my boots. Wet feet forgotten, we were favoured with clusters of vicuña dotted on the mountainous plains – a wild relative of the llama, supposedly valued for its fine silky wool. Like the llama, vicuña were a lot less skittish than the similar looking but larger guanaco. It gave us a moment to marvel at them in the altiplano high Andean pastures against a brilliant blue sky backdrop.    

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Leon Morris takes a win and a third as he increases championship lead

• Marty Nutt takes race two win
• Dek Crutchlow father of Cal Crutchlow guest rides in Ducati TriOptions Cup
• Jakub Smrz breaks wrist in free practice of British Superbikes

A packed Bank Holiday crowd were treated to two thrilling races over the weekend with Leon Morris and Marty Nutt taking a win each.

Leon Morris, Carl Cox Motorsport/ P&H Motorcycles increased his lead in the Ducati TriOptions Cup title fight with a win and a third place at Cadwell Park. Marty Nutt the Ducati Coventry rider took the win in Race 2 while Dennis Hobbs had to settle for two second places over the weekend.  

In race one Morris lined up on the front row behind team mate Dennis Hobbs on pole with 2013 Champion Marty Nutt third on the grid.  It was however Morris that led Hobbs and Nutt into the first corner and would hold this lead for the majority of the race, with Hobbs close behind and Nutt watching the battle unfold in third. Despite all three riders maintaining the same positions this was not a procession as Morris and Hobbs swapped places over the closing third of the race. Unfortunately Hobbs was unable to make any overtakes stick and he had to settle for second place behind Morris with Nutt coming home in a close third.

Morris went into race two with a 26 point lead and with only two more rounds was keen to consolidate his championship lead. Having set the fastest lap in race 1, Morris started from pole with the race being designated a wet race as the forecast rain made conditions and visibility tricky for the Ducati TriOptions riders.

It was Morris who again led into the first corner followed by championship rivals Hobbs and Nutt. Immediately the front three pulled out a four second lead over fourth placed Guiver with Nutt putting a fastest lap on lap 3. Hobbs was hounding Morris but Morris in turn responded with a fastest lap, the three were showing an impressive pace considering the wet track and had soon increased the gap between third and fourth by over seven seconds.

Dennis Hobbs’ persistence paid off on lap six passing Morris through Coppice and immediately pulling away. Now Morris had Nutt to contend with as the Irishman put in yet another fastest lap and soon Nutt was to move into second place and close in on the P&H Motorcycles 899 Panigale of Dennis Hobbs. Meanwhile Morris was falling back on the leading two and could only watch as Nutt took Hobbs at Hall Bends on lap 8. Hobbs did his best to take the lead back but with backmarkers coming into play had to settle for his second 2nd place of the weekend.

Sean Neary (Mymate.co.uk) had a disappointing race one after crashing out on the first lap at Mansfield but recovered in race two with an 8th position. Rob Guiver (Hyside Motorcycles) put behind him a DNF at Oulton with a fourth and a seventh place, while the rider of the weekend was Fast Bikes journalist Al Fagan who continued his good form with two sixth places.

Not all the attention was on the championship leaders as one of the stories of the weekend was the return to racing at the age of 68 of Dek Crutchlow, father of Ducati MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow. Dek rode the Ducati UK 899 Panigale guest bike to a 20th place in race one and 21st in race two.

Quotes:

Leon Morris

“Overall a good weekend with a win yesterday and a third today in really tricky conditions. The key for me is having dry conditions which are much more predictable whereas today was not. Today I felt really strong and felt like I could go with them and win the race.  I have increased my lead by a couple more points over the weekend and won the event overall so it’s been a blinding weekend.”

Marty Nutt

“Yes, very happy and believe it or not we have not changed anything on the bike since Oulton. Obviously we backed everything off for the wet race but the bike is good now so we can take it to any circuit. I am looking forward to Assen and Silverstone which are mega tracks for me, but I think Dennis and Leon are good round those tracks too so there will not be much advantage there.”

The Ducati TriOptions Cup returns for the penultimate round at Assen on the 19/20/21 September.

For the Millsport Ducati Racing team, the weekend came to a premature end when Czech rider, Jakub Smrz crashed out in the Superbikes free practice on Saturday. Smrz clipped a curb, causing him to high side and throwing the rider over the handlebars resulting in a broken left wrist. He was taken to the Hull Royal infirmary where the wrist was straightened and he will return to the Czech Republic for surgery. It seems unlikely that the rider will make Donington, but the team and rider have targeted Assen for his return.

Jakub Smrz

"I think I touched an exhaust or something on the curb and then it made the bike unstable and I highsided. I went to hospital where they put me under anaesthetic and they straightened the break. I think normally for this type of injury you would expect to be out for 5 to 6 weeks but I hope to be back in time for Assen. When I get home I will see my surgeon and see what he says.

“I am very disappointed. We knew it would be difficult here but we have Donington and Assen coming up that I hope to be fit for. I will call my surgeon and we will make a plan.” 

Osborne and Caswell-Cox win B and C Races

The Isle of Man's Billy Redmayne followed illustrious names including Ian Hutchinson, Robert Dunlop, Michael Dunlop, Carl Fogarty, Phillip McCallen and Ryan Farquhar by winning the Manx Grand Prix Newcomers title.

The Manxman clinched a thrilling IMGold Newcomers Race victory by 1.8 seconds after a last lap duel with Malachi Mitchell-Thomas with Ireland's Shane Egan taking the final podium place. It was a double celebration for the Isle of Man with Douglas based Dean Osborne taking the B title while Felpham's James Caswell-Cox clinched the Newcomers C Race.

Competitors were greeted with the best conditions of the week for the rescheduled race as the Mountain Course was bathed in sunshine, although Clerk of the Course Phil Taubman warned the assembled grid about sunlight glare from Union Mills to Ballacraine and on the Mountain section from the Gooseneck.

Competition was expected to be fierce between the three fastest qualifiers - Manx rider Billy Redmayne, who is home from a tour of Afghanistan, Horwich's Malachi MItchell-Thomas, who won the Newcomers B race at the Southern 100 and Ireland's Shane Egan, the 2012 Superbike Cup Champion and so it proved.

The Newcomers Race is broken into three different classifications with Newcomers A for machines up to 750cc, 650's twins and 250 two strokes eligible for the Newcomers B Race and Newcomers C for 400's and 125cc bikes.

The Race, the first of the Manx Grand Prix meeting, got away exactly on time at 6.30pm and Wales's Matthew Rees, the fourth fastest qualifier, riding the GT Superbikes Kawasaki had the honour of being first away from the start line.

And Rees turned the pre-race form book on its head by establishing a 3 second lead at Glen Helen from Redmayne with Mitchell-Thomas a further 1.5 seconds back in third. Egan was six seconds behind Rees in fourth.

Redmayne began to close on Rees and moved narrowly ahead at the Bungalow, but by only half a second although at the end of the first lap Redmayne (115.950mph) had extended his lead over Rees (115.690) to 2.6 seconds with Egan (115.593) and Mitchell-Thomas (115.395) completing the top four.

With the race reduced to three laps in a truncated programme following yesterday's postponement, refuelling tactics were clearly going to play a part and while Rees and Redmayne came into the pits, Shane Egan elected to go straight through on his second lap.

Redmayne seemed to lose time in the pits after a problem with his fuel cap and dropped to fifth behind new race leader Shane Egan with Sam West, who also went straight through on the opening lap, in second from Mitchell-Thomas and Rees.

With both Egan and West refuelling at the end of the second lap, Malachi Mitchell Thomas moved into the lead but Redmayne was clearly on a charge and had closed the gap to four seconds at the Grandstand.

Although Mitchell-Thomas extended his lead to almost six seconds by Ramsey, a stunning Mountain Course section saw Redmayne move back into the lead at the Bungalow and the Manxman clinched the race win by 1.8 seconds with a final lap of 117.102, which gave him an overall race time of 114.955 (19:19.914).

West was only 2 seconds behind Egan at the Bungalow in the race for the final podium position but retired at the Creg Ny Baa leaving Egan (59:28.595/ 114.186 mph) to secure the final podium spot.

Dean Osborne, the fastest Newcomer in the B class qualifying, established a decisive lead after his opening lap 107.239 (21:06.593) with Barry Furber (105.440) twenty seconds back in second and Nick Anderson (104.923) holding third.

Despite pitting at the end of the first lap, Osborne was only eight seconds down on Furber at the end of the second lap with Furber opting for a three-lap strategy. Osborne was not to be denied and made up the gap, coming home with a final lap of 108.615 and an overall race time of 1:03.31.073 (106.921mph) to win by sixteen seconds from Furber (1:03.47.373/ 106.466) with Anderson (1:04.38.139/105.072) taking the final podium position.

French rider Lancelot Unissart led the Newcomers C race by 15 seconds from James Caswell-Cox, who set the fastest qualifying time in the class, after an opening lap 99.443 with Great Harwood's Gavin Browne third. Both Unissart (101.378) and Caswell-Cox (100.940) posted 100mph laps on the second lap but with Unissart pitting, Caswell-Cox's three-lap strategy saw him win by almost thirty seconds in 1:07.48.432/100.158mph) from Unissart (1:08.16.647/99.468). Brown's (1:10.31.688/ 96.293) secured him third place.

A popular icon of 1950’s and 60’s motoring, Everoak Helmets were the protection of choice for motorists and bikers alike, including Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Pedro Rodriguez.

The iconic Everoak has endured as a much loved symbol of the classic era of racing and with the resurgence of retro brands, Everoak is set to make a longed for return. Step forward master craftsman Bill Vero to handcraft perfect replicas of these world-famous helmets!

Bill Vero, one of the most experienced helmet makers in the world, will be using a lifetime of experience and craftsmanship to make replicas from the golden age of motoring. Grandson of original founder Everitt W Vero, Bill Vero has re-started hand making individual Everoak helmets, exact to their original design and specification. The perfect display item for a collector or enthusiast, Bill can replicate helmets worn by famous drivers who won National Championships; for example Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Pedro Rodriguez, Innes Ireland and Jim Clark. Taking nearly a month each to create, the helmets are manufactured using traditional processes and each will be a rare, unique and special piece, meeting the client’s exact specification. Nothing else like this exists and Bill has both the knowledge and skill to bring each one to life.          

Maker Bill Vero says "There's no way these could be worn today for historic racing; they're display pieces, but you could wear one in your classic to go down the pub."

Anyone interested in seeing one for real or owning the legend that is an Everoak Helmet, should pop into The Signature Store or go along to Goodwood Revival (12-14  September 2014), where a classic ‘Moss’ and a Jack Brabham replica will be on display on the Porter Press stand in the market.    In addition to re-launching this range of exclusive, iconic helmets, Everoak are also set to launch a merchandise line in the next few weeks, starting with T-Shirts in partnership with RetroF1 and with more merchandise planned for the future.

Helmets cost from £695 and will be one of a kind replicas made by Bill Vero.

www.everoakhelmets.com    

Metzeler at the Ace, Friday 29th August, 6pm - 11pm

After a successfully supporting the Stunt Festival and Streetfighter show at Wembley, Metzeler will be back at the Ace on the last Friday of the month. They will be on hand with their technical team, promo girls and the guys from HGB Tyres will have offers exclusively for Ace customers. All that plus the usual merchandise and entries to a prize draw to win sets of the new Sportec M7 RR: a new Supersport tyre for the road developed by the likes of Guy Martin at the Isle of Man TT. Metzeler said they will even bring the weather (hopefully!).

www.metzeler.co.uk

www.ace-cafe-london.com