Brands & Lydden

Well Friday practice and I managed one session before the rain set in for the day. At that point I took my leathers off and fired up "Gandalf the Shiny" for a much needed cup of Java. This was my last weekend racing with the YPM and with the rain pouring down any doubts I had were being washed away. Normally I get my best finishes in the wet and would in previous seasons have relished the rain. Perhaps my mood was being influenced by the somewhat ironic news, in the wettest season I have seen, that Wet Wet Wet are to reform. I have never forgiven them for taking one of my favourite Troggs numbers "Love Is All Around Me" and turning it into a saccachrin pop ditty. I have taken a vow to tear Marti Pellow a new arse if I ever get my hands on him. But then a new arse is possibly what his boyfriend wants for Christmas.

However, despite a grey start to Sat it managed to dry up for practice and I had two excellent races, dicing with Barry Negus and new kid on the YPM block Ross Barnes. Sat night I made my way over to the Team NoBra enclave and over a few beers lent Rab and Bally some assistance as Bally gave his bike a thorough once over for the title showdown with Pat on Sunday.

First race Sunday and another fun scrap with Barry and Ross. This time I had my camera on board and got some terrific footage of our three way scrap. Race two and more of the same and while it was for 20th plus place we were grinning like Cheshire cats at the end. Up at the sharp end Bally had lifted the 2007 YPM Championship. A huge BOTG round of applause to him. His unfailling commitment and "Win it or bin it" hard riding style make him a worthy Champion. Special mentions to Pat, Mark Parbury, Mark Hardy and Fish who kept him honest all season. All of you, in fact, deserve a round of applause. Its one thing to sit and watch but to actually swing your leg over a bike and go form up on the grid, however far back, deserves a little respect. To all of you who I ever shared a grid with, my thanks for making my time with the YPM so special.

So it was on to Lydden for the annual "Lord of Lydden" drink beer, fall down end of season merriment. Once again I combined my trip to Lydden with a dash across the Channel to stock up on cheap baccy n plonk. Though finding decent plonk for 2.50 a bottle has its downside, he typed while nursing a cup of sweet, darkly rich coffee and an asprin chaser. Race two was marred by a five bike pile up out of Cheesons in which our very own "Bobby on the beat you up for your dinner money" Griggsy really did end up with flat feet. Barry also picked up the racers favourite fracture when he did his collarbone, in two places. Hope you both make speedy recoveries.

So onto the full moon lunacy that is the YPM prize giving and WAGS champagne treat. Some of you got prizes for being big and clever, Barry picked up the NK Racing pot for the best turned out tzr. Then I was presented with a trophy from you all as a thank you for my efforts on the YPM's behalf. So much for all the hints I dropped about a party bag of hard drugs and a call-girl. Tho thats probably just as well, being the YPM I'd have ended up with some horse tranks and Rangi's sister ,,,, what again ,,,, But then I got pretty messed up enjoying some JD flavoured hospitality over at the team Write Off mobile home. They get through more JD than I do, even if there are four of them, but they are soft southern 350 riding ikkle girlies who wear vests with pink bunnies on them. It was while returning to the main party tent that I was snogged by a marshall, yes a girlie one. I did think of inviting her back to my Luxury Race Team Transporter to engage in some perverse fun involving handcuffs, custard, whipped cream and some 100's and 1000's - but she said she didnt want to be trifled with.

So all that remains is to get to the most awaited and coveted awards in racing ,,,, the BOTG awards for 2007. Gywneth the envelopes please. "As Gucci as it gets" award goes to our token colonial and resident "Del Boy" Rangi. I used to think of myself as a bit of a gadget freak till I met this true Jedi Master. I would need to use "The Force" to compete with Rangi, but he has trapped it all and is selling it back to the other Jedi novices at a tenner a shot. He wins this award for the individual, fan assisted, boot driers he was using at Brands. It just does'nt get more Gucci than that.

Next up is the "Special Needs" award. To prove that we of the YPM are a "diversity aware" crew I have instigated this award to recognise those who compete despite being "Special". This goes to a fellow YPM'r who despite profound social and conversational skills problems, yes, he is a postie, still competes. Step forward Ken. He also picked up second place in the Rookie Tour and could have Ace'd it but couldnt find the finish line without the correct post code.

Now to the "Team Nobra award for the best team called Team Nobra" ,,,,, and the winner is ,,,, Team Nobra. Not only did Bally lift the title but Andy "Moose" Muse took the Rookie Tour top step. Moose also gets the "Ingrate of the year" award. Earlier in the year I had showed him round Lydden on the practice day only for him to whitewash me 4:0 in the races. Bally and Fish have been discussing a new paint scheme for Team Nobra 08 and matching team leathers. What a splendidly heterosexual idea and I'm sure they could get some sponsorship from Marti Pellow. Tho' he may insist they change the name to Team Gaybar.

We now come to the winner of "The most entertaining performance in a single race". This goes to #47 Will Proger at the Brands GP meet. Possibly he had put the circuit map upside down on the tank or suffers from directional dyslexia, but silly string has a better sense of direction.

Our penultimate award is the "So ugly the doctor slapped his Mother" award. This goes to Mike Smith. He may be greased lightning on the track, but if being Ginger and having a personality by-pass is the price you have to pay for that I'll opt for the "Bayliss" method. Since the Archbishop of Canterbury is a bigger hit with the girlies than me I can get by on one.

And so to the last award. This is the "Piss Poor Prep" award aka "The Trouty". This goes to #85 Lee Weston, part of the Team Write Off aka "Sheds R us" group. His race prep owes more to a Zen approach rather than anything clever with spanners. This philosophy excludes even kicking the tyres, mostly because if he did something vital would probably fall off. BOTG can exclusively reveal that for 08 he has picked up some sponsorship by way of a new paint job - B&Q have donated a gallon of creosote and a 4" brush.

That, then, is it, the 07 season is over and 08 is a long winter away. Come 08 I will be out with the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club in the post-classic group on a Kawa GPz750. I will still be around the paddock from time to time as I have offered to come and be "pit gimp" for the Rangi Racing Corporation. Tony Hoare will be the new RRC team member in 08 having bought my tzr. I have also volunteered to do some scrutineering, so a five spot on your card means even Lee Weston will sail through. The irony of this is that, especially in my early days with the YPM, I saw my role as largely one of innovation. This meant using parts that were, strictly speaking, a grey area where the class regs were concerned. From a K-Tech rear shock in 03, r6 caliper in 04 and to upside down forks at Snett this year, I was only seeking out and testing low cost alternates for the class as a whole. Thats my story and I'm sticking with it.

I started racing with the YPM toward the end of 03, having lost my race cherry on the MZ250 renta the previous Sept at Snett. I started 03 on a Thundercat in the rookie 600's but after a nightmarish time with a bike even Trouty would have made a better prep job on I discovered the YPM. Or rather they discovered me and the rest is history. I think it took me most of 04 to learn some racecraft and how to ride a 250 stroker properly after more years than I care to admit to of riding big "old school" diesels. In 05 I started to do the practice days which paid off and my times really started to improve. The best advice I can give to anyone starting out is to go get all the track time you can. It doesnt matter what you try by way of tyres, jetting, gearing etc, etc. You will only find out if it works by taking it out on the track. Get yourself a laptimer as well, you will need this to give you an objective measure.

Back in 03 the YPM was faced with falling entries and grids that on one occaision were down to single figures. Dave Stewart, the then head of Bemsee, gave us a year to turn it around, and as you can see today from the grid at Brands where we had 4 reserve riders waiting to play, we did. Now the YPM is the strongest and most competitive class out there. A class where the competition is matched only by its "Esprite d' Corp" in the pits.

My racing with the YPM may have come to an end but I will still be on hand to do whatever I can to help out the class. I have too many fantastic memories of my time in the YPM to completely walk away. I cant recall ever walking into work on a Monday morning with a smile on my face prior to spending my weekends racing in the YPM. If I had enough space I could mention all the memorable races and people I had scraps with but each of you have your own and whether it as for first or last was just as much fun, and thats what makes the YPM so special.

This is George Watson, for Back O' the Grid signing off.

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