The work/race balance has been addressed. The last three months have been bonkers work-wise and I've not been on two-wheels enough [for my liking].
I've bought myself an old [2002] Yamaha R6 - she's a real cutie, all blue and shiny and ready for me to take to the open high-ways as a proper biker once more. Does this make me a born-again biker??? Got some great tyres to try out too, some of the new Angel ST tyres from Pirelli - so watch this space for up-dates on the new rubber.
Now I'm not the fastest woman to lap the TT course [congrats go to the new fastest female TT lap record holder, Jenny Tinmouth, for a stunning debut performance at this years TT] I am invigorated as a racer to regain the record and I shall be looking for a 750cc bike for this years Manx Grand Prix www.iommgp.com. We are now allowed to participate in two events on the same day [at long last!] and as well as doing the Junior on a VRS performance Kawasaki 600 on Wednesday and the Ultra-lightweight on my RVF400 [although I've got my eye on some other wee bikes] on Friday am I can now do the Senior race friday afternoon - good times!
I'll be putting up a short report from my latest racing adventure at Spa Francorchamps soon. Pictures are already on Facebook.
How did it get to 7.20pm so soon - time for an hour on the MTB!
Maria x
Blog Archive
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Waiting to hear...
It's a really wet day here in the NW200 paddock and it's not looking very promising for race day tomorrow.
Although I'm still waiting to hear from the organisers as to whether I will race.
Yesterday was a huge anti-climax as the supersport session, after a long wait, was cancelled. It was definately the right decision as the light was failing and the rain was getting heavier. We'd got all revved up. Robbie and Jim had got the Yamaha R6 ready to go and Lizzie had borrowed a mobile generator so that we could keep the tyres warm on the grid [good work Liz pops]. But in the end they called it off, not a bad idea as it was getting dark.
Thing is I haven't qualified [as I only got 1.5 laps in on the Kawasaki before it went pop] but I'm not the only one, i'm in good company - Michael Rutter and Connor Cummins haven't qualified either. Hoping for news from the race office soon.
The only up side to it all was that we got the opportunity to get some team photo's - see above.
I was also interviewed by Fred Clarke and Stephen Watson from BBC NI - I gave Steve Parrish some stick - can't wait to see it on Sky Plus when I get home.
Blimey the wind is really picking up here now, time to head back home. I need a hot bath and some honey and lemon -dam this cold.
Catch up with you guys tomorrow ;o)
Although I'm still waiting to hear from the organisers as to whether I will race.
Yesterday was a huge anti-climax as the supersport session, after a long wait, was cancelled. It was definately the right decision as the light was failing and the rain was getting heavier. We'd got all revved up. Robbie and Jim had got the Yamaha R6 ready to go and Lizzie had borrowed a mobile generator so that we could keep the tyres warm on the grid [good work Liz pops]. But in the end they called it off, not a bad idea as it was getting dark.
Thing is I haven't qualified [as I only got 1.5 laps in on the Kawasaki before it went pop] but I'm not the only one, i'm in good company - Michael Rutter and Connor Cummins haven't qualified either. Hoping for news from the race office soon.
The only up side to it all was that we got the opportunity to get some team photo's - see above.
I was also interviewed by Fred Clarke and Stephen Watson from BBC NI - I gave Steve Parrish some stick - can't wait to see it on Sky Plus when I get home.
Blimey the wind is really picking up here now, time to head back home. I need a hot bath and some honey and lemon -dam this cold.
Catch up with you guys tomorrow ;o)
Maria Costello makes her much anticipated return to the Kennedy International North West 200 road races this week.
Maria Costello makes her much anticipated return to the Kennedy International North West 200 road races this week.
The Northamptonshire based racer achieved a sensational podium finish in the 400cc class upon her first visit to the event in 2005. Recent attempts to return to compete on this north coast road race have been plagued by injury and misfortune.
Maria is the only female competitor at this year’s event, she can be spotted onboard a Pirelli shod VRS Performance Kawasaki 600 cc machine, one of many bikes from the Robbie Silvester stable, in both Supersport races. Having agreed to compete on his machinery at the Manx Grand Prix, Maria felt the fast NW200 course would be ideal preparation for learning about machine set up.
Sunshine bathed the Irish north coast for the events first practice session on Tuesday evening. Maria wasn’t able to capitalize on the almost perfect conditions as a mechanical failure forced her to retire at University Corner on only her second lap of the session.
Costello is remaining optimistic with regards to the remainder of the week despite the threat of rain expected for the second and final practice session on Thursday night.
Maria comments:
“Robbie and the team are working flat out to repair the bike. Should we run out of time to get it finished before practice tonight we do have the option of using a different machine in the form of a Yamaha R6. Obviously rain could ruin my chances as times would be taken from Tuesday's dry qualifying session, so I'm obviously hoping for a sunny Thursday evening!”
The North West 200 is celebrating its eightieth anniversary and is recognised to be Northern Ireland’s largest single day sporting event. Around one hundred and twenty thousand spectators are expected to gather around the 8.96 mile triangle circuit for Saturday’s races.
http://www.northwest200.org/
The Northamptonshire based racer achieved a sensational podium finish in the 400cc class upon her first visit to the event in 2005. Recent attempts to return to compete on this north coast road race have been plagued by injury and misfortune.
Maria is the only female competitor at this year’s event, she can be spotted onboard a Pirelli shod VRS Performance Kawasaki 600 cc machine, one of many bikes from the Robbie Silvester stable, in both Supersport races. Having agreed to compete on his machinery at the Manx Grand Prix, Maria felt the fast NW200 course would be ideal preparation for learning about machine set up.
Sunshine bathed the Irish north coast for the events first practice session on Tuesday evening. Maria wasn’t able to capitalize on the almost perfect conditions as a mechanical failure forced her to retire at University Corner on only her second lap of the session.
Costello is remaining optimistic with regards to the remainder of the week despite the threat of rain expected for the second and final practice session on Thursday night.
Maria comments:
“Robbie and the team are working flat out to repair the bike. Should we run out of time to get it finished before practice tonight we do have the option of using a different machine in the form of a Yamaha R6. Obviously rain could ruin my chances as times would be taken from Tuesday's dry qualifying session, so I'm obviously hoping for a sunny Thursday evening!”
The North West 200 is celebrating its eightieth anniversary and is recognised to be Northern Ireland’s largest single day sporting event. Around one hundred and twenty thousand spectators are expected to gather around the 8.96 mile triangle circuit for Saturday’s races.
http://www.northwest200.org/
WEBSITE DISRUPTION
You've probably noticed that my old website is live at the moment.
It's looking a bit old and tired but at least it's better than nothing.
The new one will be going live within the next month so keep a look out for a very new and interactive Maria Costello Official Website - coming soon!!!
It's looking a bit old and tired but at least it's better than nothing.
The new one will be going live within the next month so keep a look out for a very new and interactive Maria Costello Official Website - coming soon!!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Manx Grand Prix - Ultra-Lightweight Race 2008.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The races finally ran today with the Ultra-Lightweight starting at 4pm [over 24 hours later than expected] and I finished 6th! I'm happy.
The races finally ran today with the Ultra-Lightweight starting at 4pm [over 24 hours later than expected] and I finished 6th! I'm happy.
Massive thanks to Domski, Mark Mann - Webtech Software Ltd, Tony - CMS, Scott Physio, David Sutton and all the people who have made this event possible.
I didn't think it was going to run today and I'd like to send out a massive THANK YOU to all the marshals who made todays races [and all of the practice and races] possible - you deserve medals for what you do!
Thanks also to all the well wishers and for all the congratulations I've received - your support means a lot to me.
I'll fill you in on all the details later - I'm off to celebrate x
PRESS RELEASE:
Maria Costello finished in a solid sixth place at this year’s Manx Grand Prix.
The Northamptonshire racer, along with all those competing at the 2008 Manx Grand Prix, had endured a difficult fortnight plagued by bad weather causing what seemed like never-ending delays and cancelled practice sessions.
Costello finally got to race a round the TT course, all be it over a reduced distance of three laps [113.19 miles], when the Ultra-lightweight race got underway at 4.00pm on Saturday the 30th August, more than a day later than originally scheduled.
On board her BERING Honda RVF400 Maria was the sixth bike away, setting off alone as Russell Mountford the rider she would have been paired with was a non-starter. Maria completed her lonely first lap in 21m 46s, just over 103.9mph from standing start, 35 seconds behind the race leader Dan Kneen.
Conditions were excellent all around the course, ruling out any risk of the race being shortened any further, and Maria stuck to the strategy of pitting on lap one, this would allow her to complete one flying lap on her third and final lap.
With the re-fuelling stop completed Maria was left to concentrate on improving her lap times and her second lap including the time taken in the pit stop was completed in 22m 07s, 102.34mph and she moved up to 8th place. Her final flying lap of the race was her fastest at 104.7mph [21m 36s] and she crossed the finish line in 6th place, her second best finish of her career at the Manx Grand Prix.
Maria Costello comments: “I’m pleased with my finish, I’m gradually finding my form again. I had a few problems with the gearbox on the RVF but otherwise it ran well. I’d like to say a big thank you to all the marshals for turning out and making the race possible.”
Dan Kneen won the race and in the process made history by taking his third victory of the week by 25.71 seconds from Kirk Farrow and Ross Johnson. It was the first time a rider in the Manx Grand Prix has received three winners laurels in one week.
Maria was presented with her Silver Replica award by the TT’s fastest man John McGuinness.
Maria would like to say special thanks to her new sponsor Webtech Software Ltd and all her existing sponsors particularly CMS Cars & Commercials & BERING. Thanks also go to Dominic Cann, David Sutton, Scott Physio and all the people who made it possible for her to compete at this year’s Manx Grand Prix.
Maria’s next outing will be as part of the GBmoto Team, where she will partner Phill Clarke in the next round of the Junior TAG Endurance Championship at Mallory on the 14th September.
For more information about the series go to: http://hottrax-motorsport.co.uk/
Team GBmoto website: http://www.gbmoto.co.uk/
Team GBmoto website: http://www.gbmoto.co.uk/
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday - Race Day - Was Not To Be.
I was up early this morning [for once ;o)] and after forcing some breakfast down [the nerves have started early] I helped put the bike through scrutineering ready for the race start at 10.15am.
But a ‘bing bong’ sounded at 9.00am and they announced a delay and due to mist on the mountain the roads would remain open until a further announcement at 10.00am. It was a surprise as the weather yesterday had finally turned for the better and the track was in it’s best and driest state we’ve seen for the entire fortnight, but that darn fog, when that’s down the helicopter can’t go up so no racing.
We thought we’d be in for a long waiting game of announcements and delays. But at 10.00am the organisers cancelled the races outright, as the MET office had informed them of worsening weather. A further announcement will be made at 6.00pm as to the likelihood of the races being run tomorrow.
The puzzling thing is that the weather hasn’t worsened in fact it’s clearing on the mountain – these must be the best conditions we’ve seen. Most racers in the paddock are scratching their heads at the organisers decision, me included. But they know best?
We're just about to head off to see Stitch again at the MSPCA when another announcement is made the organisers are considering running a race this afternoon. Then another ‘bing bong’ they’re going to run the Senior this evening. The MET office seems to have got it wrong? Now everyone competing, the organisers, marshals etc have to turn around and come back and start all over.
We escape to the MSPCA grabbing some lunch while we’re there [top food]. Stitch was already being walked so we take Princess out for a run in the top paddock instead. She’s a little nuts but eventually calms down, not a patch on Stitch though.
Then we stop off for a cuppa and to drop off some team T-shirts for them [I must get some children's T-shirts done for Ralph] with Ben & Isla in Peel.
We head back to the paddock via the road from Barre Garrow to Hailwood’s Rise. It’s got cooler and the mist seems so be getting worse on the mountain. As we head over the top it’s almost impossible to see the sheep darting across the road in front of the van. Surely they’ll call it off? We arrive at the junction with the TT course to see the stars of the event – marshals taking up their places - but you can hardly see your hand in front of your face and the roads are soaking wet – surely this will be called off now. But no, the organisers continue almost oblivious to the weather. Finally, when the fog it so bad in the paddock that you can’t even see the traffic lights or bridge at St Nininans, they cancel it.
It’s been a very testing time for everyone (including the organisers no doubt) today. It’s amazing how draining all this waiting around can be.
The races will hopefully run tomorrow - Saturday. If they don’t run tomorrow then that will be it - the end! The order of the races has been swapped and the Senior will, if it runs, go first and the Ultra Lightweight will follow.
But a ‘bing bong’ sounded at 9.00am and they announced a delay and due to mist on the mountain the roads would remain open until a further announcement at 10.00am. It was a surprise as the weather yesterday had finally turned for the better and the track was in it’s best and driest state we’ve seen for the entire fortnight, but that darn fog, when that’s down the helicopter can’t go up so no racing.
We thought we’d be in for a long waiting game of announcements and delays. But at 10.00am the organisers cancelled the races outright, as the MET office had informed them of worsening weather. A further announcement will be made at 6.00pm as to the likelihood of the races being run tomorrow.
The puzzling thing is that the weather hasn’t worsened in fact it’s clearing on the mountain – these must be the best conditions we’ve seen. Most racers in the paddock are scratching their heads at the organisers decision, me included. But they know best?
We're just about to head off to see Stitch again at the MSPCA when another announcement is made the organisers are considering running a race this afternoon. Then another ‘bing bong’ they’re going to run the Senior this evening. The MET office seems to have got it wrong? Now everyone competing, the organisers, marshals etc have to turn around and come back and start all over.
We escape to the MSPCA grabbing some lunch while we’re there [top food]. Stitch was already being walked so we take Princess out for a run in the top paddock instead. She’s a little nuts but eventually calms down, not a patch on Stitch though.
Then we stop off for a cuppa and to drop off some team T-shirts for them [I must get some children's T-shirts done for Ralph] with Ben & Isla in Peel.
We head back to the paddock via the road from Barre Garrow to Hailwood’s Rise. It’s got cooler and the mist seems so be getting worse on the mountain. As we head over the top it’s almost impossible to see the sheep darting across the road in front of the van. Surely they’ll call it off? We arrive at the junction with the TT course to see the stars of the event – marshals taking up their places - but you can hardly see your hand in front of your face and the roads are soaking wet – surely this will be called off now. But no, the organisers continue almost oblivious to the weather. Finally, when the fog it so bad in the paddock that you can’t even see the traffic lights or bridge at St Nininans, they cancel it.
It’s been a very testing time for everyone (including the organisers no doubt) today. It’s amazing how draining all this waiting around can be.
The races will hopefully run tomorrow - Saturday. If they don’t run tomorrow then that will be it - the end! The order of the races has been swapped and the Senior will, if it runs, go first and the Ultra Lightweight will follow.
Day Off
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Yesterday, after doing some cycling, we went to watch some of the Junior race, it was a refreshing change for Dom to watch from somewhere other than the Grandstand.
That night we ate like kings, Mark Mann took us out for a meal one of the best meals I've ever eaten! I believe that ciappelli's restauant on Douglas sea front is considered one of the best places to eat on the Island and I totally agree. Melt in the mouth Queenies followed by the most delcious sea bass & muscles main course was topped off by a scrumptious 'Indulgence' desert, an assortment of deserts chosen by the chef, that Dom and I shared. Thanks Mark!!!
Today we had a chill out on Laxey beach, then once back at the paddock Dom did some finishing touches to the RVF. The boys [Mark and Tony] came round and we ran through the pit stop in preparation for tomorrow's race.
Yesterday, after doing some cycling, we went to watch some of the Junior race, it was a refreshing change for Dom to watch from somewhere other than the Grandstand.
That night we ate like kings, Mark Mann took us out for a meal one of the best meals I've ever eaten! I believe that ciappelli's restauant on Douglas sea front is considered one of the best places to eat on the Island and I totally agree. Melt in the mouth Queenies followed by the most delcious sea bass & muscles main course was topped off by a scrumptious 'Indulgence' desert, an assortment of deserts chosen by the chef, that Dom and I shared. Thanks Mark!!!
Today we had a chill out on Laxey beach, then once back at the paddock Dom did some finishing touches to the RVF. The boys [Mark and Tony] came round and we ran through the pit stop in preparation for tomorrow's race.
I popped to see Ben Scott for a pre-race massage then it was time for tea and bed. The weathers turned good so fingers crossed for tomorrow!
Nite x
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Non Starter & Delay...
Today's races have been postponed. The roads will now close at 2pm with the races due to commence at 3pm. It still looks foggy on top - have a look for yourself: http://www.gov.im/tourism/webcam/webcam.aspx?webcam=7
The practice lap after the races has been cancelled.
Good luck to all those competing today!
Continued......
I'm not racing the Triumph today due to a combination of it not handling [plus lack of laps to improve suspension set up - almost half the sessions have been cancelled due to bad weather] and lack of horse power.
We would like to thank Dave Hagen at EVOMOTO for his help.
I should have been announced as a non-starter but the commentator announced I'd changed machine to an R6, but I had only completed one lap on the Yamha ;o( and therefore not qualified it.
Friday is the next race day. I'll be out on the BERING Honda RVF400 in the Ultra-Lightweight Race, fingers crossed [weather permitting] that will start at 10.15am.
The practice lap after the races has been cancelled.
Good luck to all those competing today!
Continued......
I'm not racing the Triumph today due to a combination of it not handling [plus lack of laps to improve suspension set up - almost half the sessions have been cancelled due to bad weather] and lack of horse power.
We would like to thank Dave Hagen at EVOMOTO for his help.
I should have been announced as a non-starter but the commentator announced I'd changed machine to an R6, but I had only completed one lap on the Yamha ;o( and therefore not qualified it.
Friday is the next race day. I'll be out on the BERING Honda RVF400 in the Ultra-Lightweight Race, fingers crossed [weather permitting] that will start at 10.15am.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Gone to the dogs...
Sunday, August 24th:
Yesterdays practice was cancelled [eventually] due to - you guessed it - bad weather. So my sponsor Tony Morris and his family, who'd just arrived on the Island didn't get to see much ;o(
And according to the weather reports Monday's not looking to good either, but fingers crossed for the newcomers who do their first race.
We woke [after a lay in] to glorious sunshine - what a shame their was no provision to run a practice session today - and headed off to the Manx Society for the Protection & Care of Animals, where we met Isla Scott and my coach David Sutton for lunch in the MSPCA's cafe.
Isla has two dogs both from the kennels here and when she mentioned that the society are always looking for people to walk the dogs that need rehoming, our ears pricked up. We'd already found ourselves drawn to a cute Staffy X called Stitch - and yes we took him for a walk. I think we'll be back later in the week for more dog walking therapy :o)
Yesterdays practice was cancelled [eventually] due to - you guessed it - bad weather. So my sponsor Tony Morris and his family, who'd just arrived on the Island didn't get to see much ;o(
And according to the weather reports Monday's not looking to good either, but fingers crossed for the newcomers who do their first race.
We woke [after a lay in] to glorious sunshine - what a shame their was no provision to run a practice session today - and headed off to the Manx Society for the Protection & Care of Animals, where we met Isla Scott and my coach David Sutton for lunch in the MSPCA's cafe.
Isla has two dogs both from the kennels here and when she mentioned that the society are always looking for people to walk the dogs that need rehoming, our ears pricked up. We'd already found ourselves drawn to a cute Staffy X called Stitch - and yes we took him for a walk. I think we'll be back later in the week for more dog walking therapy :o)
Then Ted - aka Sarah Moore - popped round for a cuppa and catch up and we discussed new names for the bikes, the RVF is still without one but the R6 has been christened Ronnie. Ted [the Triumph] & Ronnie - it sounds like we have a couple of train robbers in our awning.
Then I took Dom to Douglas head - to see the lovely view of..... well it looks great when not covered in dull grey cloud and mist. We eventually found the Steve Hislop memorial, after a swift tour of Onchan and then we headed back to our Motorhome from home.
Big thanks to Deb's for doing my washing - thanks missus!
Now it's time for sleep - Tomorrow I'll let you know if I get out for those well needed final practice laps! Nite.
Communication break down - 4 days in 1 Blog!
My blogs have not been up-loading and have been lost so I'm going to pass the baton over to my boyfriend who will take over on the blog writing, so this is Dominic's account of what's been happening.
August 23rd: Fifth Practice Session. [BLOG by Dominic].
Todays final practice session was rained off. Only 4 of the 7 scheduled practice sessions went ahead this week, leaving everyone short of setup time.The Honda 400 has never been far off and so that doesn’t pose a problem. New tyres will be put on for the race, but other than that it’s good to go.The Triumph 675 has proven to be a headache all week, pogoing it’s way around the course and knocking Maria’s confidence and because last night was cancelled, we still don’t know if the suspension changes made on Friday will work.
The Yamaha 600 handles great but is a very different beast to the Triumph and will take some getting used to IF Maria decides to race it (instead of the Triumph). This would be my choice for her to ride as it’s the only bike that handles properly and she did her fastest lap of the week on it - without trying!Sunday is a welcome day off and then the racing starts on Monday. After the Newcomers [10.15am] and Senior Classic [1.15pm] races on Monday, there is an extra 1 hour practice session for all other classes.
Hopefully Maria will get a couple of laps in on each of the Yamaha and the Honda.Maria’s races are on Wednesday afternoon [Junior] and Friday morning [Ultra Lightweight].
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 22nd: Fourth Practice Session. [BLOG by Dominic].
We arrived at Dave Hagen’s workshop at 10am today and dropped off the Triumph AND the Honda for further suspension work. We also had a walk around Ramsey and had a greasy spoon breakfast fry up in the Parliament Square café - yum!
Tonight the 400s went off first (the 600/750 have been first away all week) and Maria did another single lap and pulled in. It was her fastest lap of the week on the 400, 102.1mph, but she was feeling a bit down in the dumps still. The rest of the team were delighted. Evomoto had made the bike better too.
Mark Mann, had brought his TT race bike, a supersport spec Yamaha R6, over for Maria to ride and that’s exactly what happened. The Triumph stayed on it’s stands and Maria went out for a lap on the Yamaha - she came back beaming! The Yamaha handles superbly and is FAAASSSTT!!! Maria, not even trying, did her fastest lap of the week so far - 105mph.
Hopefully Maria can feel a bit more confident with her riding and along with a possible switch to the Yamaha will give her better chance in the Junior race.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21st: Third Practice Session. [BLOG by Maria].
Suspension changes were made to the Triumph at Dave Hagen’s workshop EVOMOTO in Ramsey. It was always going to be a gamble, it could be better, it could be worse but it would give us a starting point from which to work from.
I did one standing start lap on the Triumph and it was worse. So I’ll be making yet another visit to EVOMOTO first thing in the morning. I have lost even more practice time due to my Triumph’s ill handling on top of missing two sessions due to bad weather. Not a happy bunny.
I went out on the 400 but I was still thinking about the 675 so decided that if my head wasn’t in it I’d park it after a lap.David Sutton (my coach) arrived today – that’s about the most positive event that’s occurred today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday 20th August: Second Practice Session.
Todays practice was almost fully dry and Maria was able to push harder on each bike. The Triumph is proving hard to setup and the suspension changes we had made from yesterday made the bike worse. Maria came in at the end of lap 1 and we reset the front forks to the original setting and tried going the opposite way on the rear shock. This didn’t really make any difference and we now believe that it’s the general geometry of the bike as opposed to the suspension/damping. We have a plan and will try that tomorrow…
We’re waiting for a sprocket to turn up for the 400, so Maria had to go out and plug away with the same machine as yesterday. She broke 100mph, but is still about 7mph off her best time. The sprocket we’ve ordered should go a long way to reducing her lap time and we have a couple of minor tweaks to improve it further. Other than that, the 400 is working fine.
I now think that the speed trap is in fact on Sulby straight somewhere as the times appear on the TV screen about 10-12 mins after Maria passes the Grandstand. The 400 went through the speed trap at 138.9mph, up from 131mph yesterday. The new sprocket should add about 3-5mph to this.
August 23rd: Fifth Practice Session. [BLOG by Dominic].
Todays final practice session was rained off. Only 4 of the 7 scheduled practice sessions went ahead this week, leaving everyone short of setup time.The Honda 400 has never been far off and so that doesn’t pose a problem. New tyres will be put on for the race, but other than that it’s good to go.The Triumph 675 has proven to be a headache all week, pogoing it’s way around the course and knocking Maria’s confidence and because last night was cancelled, we still don’t know if the suspension changes made on Friday will work.
The Yamaha 600 handles great but is a very different beast to the Triumph and will take some getting used to IF Maria decides to race it (instead of the Triumph). This would be my choice for her to ride as it’s the only bike that handles properly and she did her fastest lap of the week on it - without trying!Sunday is a welcome day off and then the racing starts on Monday. After the Newcomers [10.15am] and Senior Classic [1.15pm] races on Monday, there is an extra 1 hour practice session for all other classes.
Hopefully Maria will get a couple of laps in on each of the Yamaha and the Honda.Maria’s races are on Wednesday afternoon [Junior] and Friday morning [Ultra Lightweight].
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 22nd: Fourth Practice Session. [BLOG by Dominic].
We arrived at Dave Hagen’s workshop at 10am today and dropped off the Triumph AND the Honda for further suspension work. We also had a walk around Ramsey and had a greasy spoon breakfast fry up in the Parliament Square café - yum!
Tonight the 400s went off first (the 600/750 have been first away all week) and Maria did another single lap and pulled in. It was her fastest lap of the week on the 400, 102.1mph, but she was feeling a bit down in the dumps still. The rest of the team were delighted. Evomoto had made the bike better too.
Mark Mann, had brought his TT race bike, a supersport spec Yamaha R6, over for Maria to ride and that’s exactly what happened. The Triumph stayed on it’s stands and Maria went out for a lap on the Yamaha - she came back beaming! The Yamaha handles superbly and is FAAASSSTT!!! Maria, not even trying, did her fastest lap of the week so far - 105mph.
Hopefully Maria can feel a bit more confident with her riding and along with a possible switch to the Yamaha will give her better chance in the Junior race.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21st: Third Practice Session. [BLOG by Maria].
Suspension changes were made to the Triumph at Dave Hagen’s workshop EVOMOTO in Ramsey. It was always going to be a gamble, it could be better, it could be worse but it would give us a starting point from which to work from.
I did one standing start lap on the Triumph and it was worse. So I’ll be making yet another visit to EVOMOTO first thing in the morning. I have lost even more practice time due to my Triumph’s ill handling on top of missing two sessions due to bad weather. Not a happy bunny.
I went out on the 400 but I was still thinking about the 675 so decided that if my head wasn’t in it I’d park it after a lap.David Sutton (my coach) arrived today – that’s about the most positive event that’s occurred today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday 20th August: Second Practice Session.
Todays practice was almost fully dry and Maria was able to push harder on each bike. The Triumph is proving hard to setup and the suspension changes we had made from yesterday made the bike worse. Maria came in at the end of lap 1 and we reset the front forks to the original setting and tried going the opposite way on the rear shock. This didn’t really make any difference and we now believe that it’s the general geometry of the bike as opposed to the suspension/damping. We have a plan and will try that tomorrow…
We’re waiting for a sprocket to turn up for the 400, so Maria had to go out and plug away with the same machine as yesterday. She broke 100mph, but is still about 7mph off her best time. The sprocket we’ve ordered should go a long way to reducing her lap time and we have a couple of minor tweaks to improve it further. Other than that, the 400 is working fine.
I now think that the speed trap is in fact on Sulby straight somewhere as the times appear on the TV screen about 10-12 mins after Maria passes the Grandstand. The 400 went through the speed trap at 138.9mph, up from 131mph yesterday. The new sprocket should add about 3-5mph to this.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Four laps in the bag.
Ah the relief - finally we got to practice tonight.
The rain, at long last, stopped and the fog lifted just in time for practice to go ahead.
After a short 10 minute delay due to some parked cars at Ramsey and spilt animal feed at Ballig, I set off down Bray Hill for my first lap of the TT course onboard my Philip Youles Triumph 675 along side Russ Mountford, who I believe I start with in the Ultra Lightweight race.
Personally the conditions were not my cup of tea, damp patches, lots of traffic and what seemed like millions of yellow flags but it was good to get out all the same and have 2 steady laps on each bike, I love my bikes.
Despite the conditions we did manage to get some good feedback regards suspension and I'm looking forward to getting back out once we've made some minor changes.
Thanks to Dom and Mark for their efforts – considering we're a new team it was pretty slick tonight. Good work all round.
Thanks again to Webtech Software Ltd, CMS & Bering and all my sponsors and to the messages from friends, strangers and well wishers – your support means a lot to me ;o)
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