A very wet Saturday

I’ve been busy since my last entry and seem to be living for the weekends these days.   Looking at my calendar I have very few free weekends between now and October.   I like to think I work hard during the week and being as ‘you’re only young once’  I’m making the most of every opportunity while I can and don’t have bills and mortgages holding me back.

Last Saturday morning saw me up at 3.30am and in my car on the way to the airport for what is fast becoming a regular trip up to Scotland.   I’ve been there so often recently that John has started asking for rent money!   It’s so easy to fly up and I was there by 8.30am.  John was busy working and I had plenty to be getting on with down at his workshop so despite the weather being more like January than June I trudged off down there to spend the day getting soaked.   I had somehow managed to convince my friend Ashalee that the workshop was ‘the place to be’ and she spent all day in the soaking rain too - the things you do for your friends Ash!

When John arrived it was time to head off to Cowdenbeath.   The weather still hadn’t improved and if I’m honest I’m glad John was racing rather than me!   I don’t know just what it is about the place and even though I’ve never even raced there myself I just love the track and the whole atmosphere of the stadium.   Not even the rain could ruin it for me.

John has really got to grips with the lightening rod now and picked up a 1st, 2nd and a 3rd in the races.   He starts last car every race and as all the other cars are getting quicker too he has his work cut out to get to the front.   I think they look like complete animals to drive after being so used to watching the Nationals and John had a couple of really hairy moments in the wet  - fair play to him though, he kept his foot down and held it in some pretty impressive slides.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Scotland without a night out so it was straight back from racing to shower and change then head out on the town.   It was the Armadale Gala that day so pretty much everyone was out.   Sunday was spent working again before a pretty hilarious evening at John’s followed by an early flight Monday morning so I wasn‘t too late for work!

With the Thunder 500 rapidly approaching we’re starting to get somewhere near with the car.  It’s not looking its prettiest I’m afraid but it will have to do for one night.  It’s being treated to some new panels and a coat of paint next week in time for Spedeweekend.

After the last meeting we decided to take the gearbox out and check it so that’s all done and refitted.  We needed to do a bit of beating to get the back end somewhere near straight again.   After a couple of hours with jacks, hammers and a big bit of wood you would never even know it had been damaged.

I’ve been thinking about breaking out my precious Compomotive wheels for this weekend but I’ve thought better of it and am keeping them for a slightly more special occasion . . . possibly Spedeweekend if I can bring myself to face the fact they might actually get damaged!

One last thing before I call time for another week.   It would be great if everyone could have a little look at my friend Ashalee’s website: http://racingdollspr.weebly.com/  I know she is looking for sponsors at the moment so if any of you are feeling a bit generous with the cash and want to help out one of life’s genuinely good people that would be amazing!

I’m really looking forward to the Thunder 500 - Steph’s giving out the trophies so I’m under strict orders to win one!  I’ll see what I can do.

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time.

Mikey

Starships are meant to fly

I’ve been plagued with more than my share of laptop problems lately hence I’m typing this on my Mum’s computer, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s been an awesome couple of weeks!

Unfortunately I didn’t qualify for the world final but I still had a pretty good last meeting. Like most of the meetings lately it looked set to be wet but thankfully it did dry up and even though the threat of rain never really left we spent the whole meeting on slicks running in the dry.

I finished the first race with a ninth but it was a day where I needed a top three finish in every race to stand a chance of qualifying.  So with that out the window I had nothing left to lose and time to have some fun.  My second race wasn’t much of a success either.  As I headed into the first turn and went to change into second the gear stick jammed solid leaving me completely unable to do anything.   The rest of the cars closed in around me and I ended up stuck on the exit of the bend.  As the yellow flags came out I felt sure that my day was over.   I even ripped my so-called ‘lucky wet suit’ off on the centre green in a moment of temper.

Back in the pits my Dad, Sonny and Jay had other ideas and the gearbox was soon in bits and put right again ready for the car to go back out in the final.  I can honestly say I have never enjoyed driving a race as much as I did that final, no matter where I finished or what happened it really didn’t matter and I could just focus one hundred percent on driving the car.  The first attempt maybe wasn’t as good as I’d have liked but after the yellow flags things just seemed to fall into place and although I would never have caught Carl or stopped Chris coming past I was really happy with a third place at the end.  As Sonny said, it was “…much better than putting the car in the trailer!”

It was a good end to what has been a very mixed year.   I’ve had some brilliant races and quite frankly some disastrous ones too.  I didn’t qualify but there’s always next year and 48 races to get there so bring them on!   A massive well done to Chris winning it for the fourth year running, and also to Matt - no one can argue how quick he has been this year and for the championship to come down to the last race shows how Nationals are better than they have ever been.   All the guys who qualified deserved it so ‘well done’ to all of you.

Maybe not so well done to Jason though on a day where his luck just seemed to run out, it was pretty scary watching the fire from my car let alone from inside his.  I have gone back on Facebook though so maybe he can cheer himself up by hurling abuse at me on there again.

Away from racing I’ve had a couple of enjoyable weekends.  Last weekend I went to Dorset fishing, and the Jubilee weekend saw John and Co. popping down from Scotland for a few days.  Needless to say we partied hard, drank too much and found out John is annoyingly good at ten pin bowling!   That’s where the stupidly random title for this blog comes from - it’s a song I always seem to hear on nights out and it remains stuck in my head for weeks afterwards!

It’s very sad news about the death of Steve Skitmore.   He was one of racing’s genuine characters, a Hot Rod legend in his own right and a big part of shaping the cars so many of us use today.  He’ll certainly be missed around the pits and did a lot to help a great many people over the years so R.I.P. Skitty and thank you.

Just before I sign off I’d like to say a quick “thank you” to everyone who has helped me this year - there are far too many to list individually but you all know who you are.

It’s time to get the car ready for the Thunder 500 now, a meeting I don’t normally do - but to hell with it, this year, why not?  But before that, Scotland is calling me back!

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time

Mikey.

An awesome atmosphere

This could easily be one of those blogs that resembles a small book.   I don’t know where to start and after almost a week I’m still looking back at last weekend and laughing.   Ages ago Ben Newman and I decided we would head up to Scotland for the weekend to visit John and watch the Saloon National and the F2 British Championships.   Somehow though we both overlooked the fact that John’s house is indeed 400 miles away and leaving after work on a Friday is not really the best time to undertake such a trip.

After a relatively smooth run where we laughed most of the way, together with the world’s slowest McDonalds, we got to John’s house and did what any group of guys would do . . . we went out, so it was straight back in the car and off to Dunfermline, obviously I was driving so no drink for me but it was light by the time we got back to John’s and the others were merry to say the least!

Saturday morning saw breakfast delivered to us by our awesome friend Mel followed by a rather surreal trip to the track in an ambulance full of bouncy castles!   It’s best if we don’t go into all the details here.   The weather was absolutely perfect and it was the first time I have ever had to use sun cream in Scotland!    Most of my friends were at the track and I spent all afternoon just chatting to everyone.

 I enjoyed every race I watched over the weekend, the highlights being a win for George Macmillan in his F2 and main man Kyle Hegg picking up a win in the second heat after we had cured a misfire.  As well as being a brilliant track Cowdenbeath also has a very good bar, a place I found myself spending a fair amount of time!  Mix all this up with a bottle of port with Siobhan Martin and it turned into a good night at the Stock Cars.

Whilst everything else was going on I managed to acquire my new favourite possession - a smashed George Macmillan fin plate that he signed for me and which now has pride of place in the front of my workshop!

From the track it was straight to John’s for a quick shower and then back out again for another night on the town.   Everyone was out, including the Racewall’s very own trophy girls so it was always guaranteed to be a good one, although my liver probably wouldn’t agree!

The following day was gloriously hot again and the plan was to watch the big races and try to get back on the road for about 4 o’clock.   Plans never work out as intended though and we were still at the track at 6pm.   With George on the outside of row two for the British Championship we all had our hopes up for him.   It wasn’t to be though and after a very good race he ended up second, a bit gutting but I guess that’s racing after all.   He was certainly very capable of winning it but things just didn’t quite go his way.

I did my first ever lap of Cowdenbeath on the parade lap of the Saloon National Championship with Hegg sitting on his bonnet dressed as Tigger!   Unfortunately it wasn’t to be his race either and a broken rotor arm after a coming together with the wall left him out of it.

I have commented on the atmosphere at Cowdie before but nothing comes close to the atmosphere at the start of the Raymond Gunn Memorial race.   It was absolutely electric and the whole stadium just seemed to come together as one, in 13 years of going racing I have never felt anything like it, for me a truly moving moment.

After the race was over we began our long journey home, at one point whilst stuck in traffic the sat-nav informed us we had eight and a half hours to go but we managed to cut it down a fair bit.   We clocked up 1300 miles in little over 48 hours, saw some of the best people out there and had an absolutely brilliant time - I’m lucky enough to have the best friends going and I wouldn’t change them for the world.

Back to the present and the car is ready for Bank Holiday Monday at Northampton and even though my chances of making it to the World Final are now very slim I’m still going to give it my best shot.  John is heading down to stay with me for the weekend too so I’m sure next week’s entry will be on a similar theme to this!

Thanks as ever to everyone for reading and “No Ronnie, I won’t be adding a Mac to my name anytime soon!”

Until next time.

Mikey