Paul Westerdale and his entourage travelled up to Cheshire to take in the latest round of the Thundersport Pre National championship. Sitting in an impressive 3rd place out of 45 riders, Paul has his sights set on reeling in the top 2 riders who have seen their lead increase in recent weeks. You can read how Paul got on in his fantastic report below, which sums up the drama of high speed motorbike racing.
I had the pleasure of meeting Paul, albeit very briefly, just as he was packing the wagon about to set off on the journey up the M6 to Oulton Park. I was pleased to hand over a logo mat that displays the Westerdale Racing logo for use around the paddock and in the garages, whilst preparing the bike for racing.
Not only does the logo look great on the mat, as can be seen in the picture above, but I’ve been told it’s also a saviour for knees as well whilst work is done around the bike!
Interested in owning your own paddock mat and promoting your own brand? See our range of logo mats here.
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Race report: Oulton Park 21st & 22nd June 2013
Words: Paul Westerdale
Oulton Park was the next round of the Thundersport Pre National championship. It's a circuit I had never been to before aside from a track day earlier in the month and because of noise restrictions, we were only going to be racing for one day – meaning both of my races would count for double points. On top of the added nerves my Father, who along with just being a good friend fills the roles of driver, mechanic, sponsor and chef had been taken ill in the run up to the race weekend.
The days in the run up to the meeting were a rush of trying to find someone to help drive the van, getting the bike back from Martin at Oadby Motorcycles and just trying to get my nerves settled before the weekend ahead. After receiving a ridiculous quote for insurance my Dad decided he would soldier on and drive the van for me, Putting in a heroic effort to get me there we arrived and got unloaded in preparation for the test day ahead.
You may have noticed the Beautiful new mat provided by Mats4U.co.uk – Having posted this image on my facebook page in the evening I had almost 40 likes and 20 comments from other riders – All very very impressed with the quality and finish of the mat! Huge thanks to Mark at Mats4U for bringing it down to me in preparation for the weekend,
21ST JUNE – TEST MORNING & QUALIFYING
Having done the track day a few weeks earlier I had a bit of a feel for the track and felt quite comfortable with how it went, but I also knew Oulton Park can be a difficult track to master. I set out in the morning and just starting getting some laps under my belt, I felt fast and comfortable and didn’t seem to be getting passed by other riders so I was confident things were going well. I made a few minor setup changes to the suspension and the rest of the morning passed without any issues.
I had a rather long wait until qualifying in the afternoon and my nerves were starting to build, with the weather still bright and sunny my qualifying session got underway at about 4:30pm.
With qualifying the aim of the game is to get out quickly and put your fast lap in within 3 or so laps before you begin to find slower traffic. I set off near the front of the pack and set about putting in some fast laps. I felt comfortable on the bike and although I had seen both first and second in the championship run away at the start of the session I was still confident I could do enough for a front row position.
After three or four laps I began to hit traffic and sat back for a few laps, hoping to try and get some more clear laps in at the end of the session – In the end I just couldn't seem to push anymore so came into the paddock.
I was shocked to find I had only managed 6th position, almost two seconds off the pace of the top 3 but sat in a pack of 4 other riders all lapping similar times. This would mean a second row start but in all honesty I was a bit daunted with the task ahead of trying to track down those extra seconds!
LODGE CORNER (LAST CORNER) – STILL APPLYING BRAKES TO TURN THE BIKE
22ND JUNE – RACE 1 & RACE 2
I woke up on Saturday to hit the pitter patter of rain on the roof of the van. We had been forecast wet weather all weekend and I was shocked it had taken that long to show itself!
Without my Dad around to help out I managed to change my wheels in the nick of time to get out for morning practice 12 minutes of shake down time which can prove to be invaluable when the weather changes!
I was a little nervous of going out in the wet after my last wet race at Snetterton, I've not had much time on the bike in the wet and I still have some niggling setup issues – So it was important that I went out to try and put some of that negativity to rest.
Although I was expecting rain for the remainder of the day quite soon after my practice it became clear we were not going to see much more rain. This actually caused me a few problems as I hadn't bought any new dry tyres – and due to the unexpected heat the lower compound stickier tires were all gone! I ended up having to run some harder compound tyres after getting my wheels changed in preparation for the first race.
I drew up to the line hoping to make amends for my recent poor run of starts, when starting from the second or third row you have to make the best start possible as a lot can be decided on the first lap. I made an acceptable start managing to grab fifth place into the first corner, by the second I had been pushed back to 7th by some early chargers. I spent the next lap trying to pass the two riders who had managed to get past, and with some daring braking manoeuvres I managed to pass them. Unfortunately I had lost touch with the leading group by around 3 seconds already.
I set about chasing down the pack ahead of me putting in some consistently fast lap times until a mistake on lap 4 put paid to my resurgence. I rode out the remainder of a lonely race gutted that I hadn't managed to hold on to the lead pack – but any points are good points!
I came to the grid for the second and final race determined to improve on my previous finish. I ran the revs up to 12,000 rpm, slipped out the clutch and held on as the bike launched from the line. I was into third place through the first corner but then almost pushed onto the grass back to fifth. I managed to hold on to the front pack until a rider I battled with earlier passed me again. With my bike being stock I spent 6 laps of the race passing him through the corners only to lose out on the straights, despite spinning the rear wheel and nearly high siding out of the high speed cascades corner.
Towards the end of the race I realised we were quickly reeling in fourth place and before I knew it we were on his back wheel with just 2 laps remaining. Over the next two laps I pushed as far as I could – I was sixth as we crossed the line as the last lap flag came out. I knew my best opportunity would be a pass into one of the last corners, Giving fifth place no chance to come back at me. As we came into druids a double apex right hander I set myself up on the inside and drove in way too hot, almost running onto the grass. As we both exited I dropped back to fifth leaving just the last corner to go, I took a deep breath and set myself up on the inside line and braked as hard as I could. I made the move and was leading on the hill on to the start finish line, but braking so hard had lost me nearly all my drive – Across the top of the hill with one wheel in the air I had to apply my back brake to avoid clashing with 5th place, relegating me to 6th – I was devastated.
TO SUM IT ALL UP
I came away from the weekend disappointed in my results – although looking back it could have been worse as I may not have made it to the round at all. I’m still holding 3rd place in the championship but the gap to fourth has shortened – The next two rounds may not be easy but I’m determined to perform better and raise my game.
My lap times posted at the weekend place me 2 seconds off British National racing pace, which considering my experience at the circuit, is not a bad performance.
The next round of the Thundersport GB Pre National championship is at Rockingham at the end of July – I've set myself some fitness targets and I've also decided to make some serious changes to my suspension, after the last two rounds I'm feeling the bike has become more twitchy and is not really providing me the feedback I need.
Hopefully by returning to my older settings we may be able to challenge for some podiums again!
THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY SPONSORS:
MARK at MATS4U.CO.UK
PAUL at KABUTO NOODLES
MARTIN at OADBY MOTORCYCLES
– Paul Westerdale
