March 2nd 2003 - Martinstown

SOUL : Soul was probably more chilled and relaxed than we've ever seen him on a race day. He was just well up for it, and glad that the race season had finally come round again. Practice went well, and it was obvious that he'd found a little extra confidence and competitiveness. Even when he came in, he just seemed really comfortable with the new set-up on his bike. In Race 1, he made a good start and was slotting into 3rd or 4th into the first sweeper. He held on to fourth for a while, but he had a little off in the twisty section, he dropped too and eventually finished in 1st 50cc and 6th Overall. Race 2 was a similar story with another good start, slotting into and holding 4th for two thirds of the race, before being spat off of his bike in the now bumpy section of the fast downhill. He re-mounted in 5th but with another silly mistake he finished 1st 50cc and 6th overall. Just as things were looking good, as the gate dropped for Race 3, Souls spark plug decided to expire. It's fair to say he was not happy. We put him in a new plug as quickly as we could, so that he could pick up any points he could.

We're all really chuffed how well he did, and hopefully it's something he can build on. It's fair to say that was his best race to date, so WELL DONE SOUL.

D : Ok, so the day didn't really go to plan. Practice was fine, and it felt good to have the carb running right, and more importantly a throttle that worked. The bike had already been stripped in the previous week, but we were working on the bikes up until the Midnight the night before making sure everything was right.

So, even with everything running right, that still didn't take away that stomach churning feeling, whilst sat on the line for Race 1. My start wasn't too bad, and then I slotted in and got on with the job. I made a silly mistake and dropped the front, but jumped back on and was off again. A few laps later, I had a wake up call when first I heard it, then saw another rider getting better drive out of a corner - BAM straight into me, taking away my bars and front wheel. Bounce-roll-Ouch! Snapped my hand guard clean off. Then on the last lap the rear came round costing me more time. The flag came out for me to finish a sore 36th.

Race 2, I think went something like this; Got a better start but felt more comfortable getting the drive and going around the outside, also to stay out of the way of the flying rocks. I thought wh-hay, as I managed to get past a load of riders. Slotted in for turn two and again got the drive out on the outside passing people, then slotted for turn three. After exiting the turn, I had to move quick to avoid a bunch up, only to see another two riders practically stopped. Too late! BANG, into one and slammed off my bike….. then my leg got run over before he slammed into me parking it into my head. It all happened so quickly, but I remember lying there thinking " flippin eck, that hurt. I managed to get up and re-mount to bend my levers back and come in, but a big thank you to all that ran to my assistance. It did hurt, and I'll get over the limp, and I'll be ready for the next round. It's safe to say that I declared myself unfit for Race 3 with perhaps my pride and confidence a little battered, but I really thought it was the most sensible decision.

Hopefully I'll manage to stay on next time, as I'm not ready to give up yet. On behalf of Soul, and myself I would like to thank all of our sponsors for helping us along this road.

OLD NEWS

JAN/FEB
 MARCH 2nd 2003 - MARTINSTOWN
MARCH 16th 2003-WINTERBOURNE STICKLAND
MARCH 30th 2003-MILBOURNE ST. ANDREW 
APRIL 13th 2003 - FOXHOLES BISHOPSTONE
 APRIL 27th 2003 - MARTINSTOWN
 MAY 13th 2003 - TRIGON
 MAY 25/26th 2003 - BERE REGIS
JUNE 8th 2003 - HENSTRIDGE
JULY 6th 2003 - MATCHAMS
JULY 20th 2003 - BERE REGIS
AUGUST 2nd/3rd 2003 - MARTINSTOWN
AUGUST 17th 2003 - HENSTRIDGE
AUGUST 31st 2003 - MATCHAMS
SEPTEMBER 14th 2003 F'HOLES BISHOPSTONE
SEPTEMBER 28th 2003 - LANGTON LONG
OCTOBER 10th 2003 - CANCELLED

SEASON REVIEW

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