| Now Available |
|
| International Calling Cards |
|
|
| MY SOUTHERN 100 EXPERIENCE in
1999 |
It didn't start off well so
in the back of my mind I was hoping that it would only get better as the week
went on.
Saturday 10th July 1999
Paul and I set off down
the M6 in my dad's (Roy Hanks) Mercedes van with our trailer caravan in tow. We
were making good progress until Paul noticed that the caravan was in the middle
lane, which was worrying as we were in the left-hand lane. We pulled over to
the hard shoulder and realised that the tyre that was on the left had side on
the caravan was no longer.
We eventually found the equipment we needed
to change the wheel, did so then continued onto Heysham Docks.
Sunday
11th July 1999
We arrived in the Isle of
Man at about 5.00am on the Sunday morning and made our way to Castletown and
the Billown circuit. We arrived at the campsite set up the caravan and went to
sleep until dinnertime. When we eventually dragged ourselves out of bed we
decided to take a leisurely walk round the track. At the time I thought was a
good idea until I realised that I had just agreed to walk 4.25 mile in the
blazing heat, still I thought that as I hadn't got a clue where the track went
it was probably one of my most sensible ideas that I had come up with yet. The
walk took about 2 hours in total and all I managed to do was build up an
appetite and at best remember the last half-mile of the course. When we got
back to the campsite we unloaded our outfit and then went back to sleep.
Monday 12th July
1999
The following morning we had to get up at 3.30am as my
dad was arriving at Douglas docks. We arrived at Douglas docks at 4.00am just
in time to meet my dad and his passenger Phil Biggs pushing their sidecar
outfit off the Seacat. The reason for this was they had been at Pembrey for a
British Championship meeting on the Sunday and were therefore unable to come
over with us on the Saturday night.
The first practice was on the
Monday night whereby we had to get the outfit scrutineered at 7.08pm precisely
and be in the holding bay by 7.17pm. I do not know how they worked these times
out down to the exact minute, but the worrying thing was they seemed to work
and everybody was ready by 7.23pm to go out on the track for their first
practice. Until now my nerves had held up quite well, but once the helmet and
gloves went on and we were called through to the holding bay at approximately
7.21pm my nerves had decided to get up and leave and my adrenaline took over.
Going down the start and finish straight towards Ballakeigan the only
thought that was going through my head was "when is Paul going to go slow
enough for me to be able to tap him"? In the space of half a mile I must have
changed hand holds at least 10 times, in which case most of the time I was
probably only holding on with one hand. My feet spent most their time sliding
out past the sidecar wheel arch which worried me even more as everybody I had
spoke to kept telling me you'll be okay as long as nothing sticks out past the
wheel arch. By the end of the first lap coming into Castletown Corner I was
ready to give Paul the hardest slap on the back that he's ever had but I could
not bring myself to do it, mainly because I didn't want to let go of anything.
So off we went for another delightful lap by this time I was laughing to myself
or was I crying in disbelief of how bumpy the track was. I had now decided to
ignore what I had been told by all the other passengers about not sticking out
further that the wheel arch and held onto the hand holds that I was use to.
This proved to be another good idea on my part as I felt a lot more at home.
Now my only problem was to remember what corner came next. We managed another 2
laps then Paul decided to come in just to check that I was still on I think.
The second practice was at 9.13pm and by now the light had started to
fade. I remember thinking to myself, how am I expected to know where the track
goes in the dark when I can't work it out in the daylight. Luckily the light
held out and by the time we got back to the paddock and got changed the moon
was out.
That night we went to the pub in Castletown Square to discuss
our strategy for the next day's practice or was it to have a drink I can't
remember.
Tuesday 13th July 1999
Probably
the date was a good enough warning, but I thought that it was only Friday 13th
that was unlucky. I spent most of the morning sun bathing, as our practice
wasn't until 5.00pm. Paul was fitting a piece of rubber tubing on the corner of
the platform for me to wedge my foot against to prevent it slipping past the
wheel arch and checking the outfit over for cracks and such like. I did not
feel as nervous today, as I had been round the track 8 times on the outfit and
I knew what to expect. The only doubt in my mind was what corner came after the
one before it, so we borrowed Steve Sinnott's (a fellow competitors) van and
drove round the track about 4 times just to try and learn it a bit better. By
the time we had done this, time was getting on and so we got togged up and went
and got the bike scrutineered again. As we set off on a first lap I felt a lot
more confident than I had the previous day. We had decided to put a old
intermediate tyre on the back, as the roads had been quite damp that day.
Unfortunately by the time we went out they had dried up considerably and the
back tyre was about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. The majority of the
time was spent with the back wheel spinning and no forward motion. We finished
the first lap and continued onto the second, hoping that the tyre would warm up
and start to grip. We were making our way down towards Ballabeg Hairpin a sharp
left hander with an immediate right. On the approach the back wheel did not
seem to be gripping under braking and we didn't seem to be slowing down as
quick as I would have liked. So I made the decision to get over from the left
slightly earlier and put some weight onto the back wheel in order to get some
traction. BIG MISTAKE the outfit was not impressed with this decision
not to mention Paul. By the time I had realised what was happening it was to
late, the chair wheel was about 3 ft in the air and we were heading for a brick
wall with bails statigically placed round it. Paul attempted to take the run
off road but we didn't make it and hit the last two bails on the wall. There
was straw everywhere, marshal's running in all directions and yellow flags
waving vigorously. The outfit was moved or should I say dragged to a safer
position, while I was being infused with tea. Paul came walking over which was
a relief. The next thing to worry about was that my dad was about to come round
the corner any minute and I was trying to decided whether to hide from him or
to wave at him to let him know that we were alright. I chose the latter, which
I then realised was a mistake as on seeing me he nearly crashed into the wall
as well. About 3 minutes later my dad's outfit came into view again. As he
approached Ballabeg hairpin I assumed he was going on for another lap, but then
his head shot up from behind the screen and he was obviously looking for us. By
now they had cleared all the straw up and he didn't realise that this was the
corner we had crashed at, so he went to go round the hairpin but then spotted
me and ended up with the nose cone of his outfit touching the bails. To say he
was not impressed would be an understatement. He asked if we were okay along
with a few other expletives, took a look at the outfit then got back on his
bike and shot off again. The practice had finished by now and Jackie Woods
(Official Car Driver) picked us up in the course car a new Rover 75. On the way
back to the paddock I was trying to think what I was going to say to my mom or
for that matter what she was going to say to me. We arrived back at the paddock
and walked across the campsite with our heads hung low, especially mine.
I could see my dad on his mobile phone and wondered who he might be
calling. Trevor Ireson would have been a good idea as he built the frame and we
knew the bike was a touch bent. Later we retrieved the outfit and had a look to
see if anything could be done to make it track worthy but unfortunately it was
beyond repair at that point in time.
My next dilemma was how to tell
Pete and Viv Oulton, one of our sponsors that we wouldn't be able to race due
to unforeseen circumstances. What made it worse was they were flying in the
following day to watch us. Luckily they were very understanding and were just
pleased that we were okay.
Wednesday 14th July 1999
My Birthday. If crashing
wasn't depressing enough I was another year closer to my 30th. I was having
trouble with my knee, which I wrenched when we crashed, so while everybody was
preparing for the race I went to the swimming baths. The race was the last of
the day, which is not unusual for sidecars. My role had now changed from being
a passenger to a pit board holder, which in my opinion was a lot easier and I
was probably better at.
My dad made a good start and finished a
well-earned 3rd, just a hairsbreadth in front of Kenny Howles. That night (yes
you guessed it) we went to the local watering hole for a well-earned drink.
Thursday 15th July 1999
We didn't have to wait
long for the race as it was at 3.30pm or 3.28pm to be exact. Again my job was
to give pit board signals. I couldn't believe that I was more nervous watching
the race than actually taking part. I took up my position and the race began.
After a couple of laps the red flags went out which is always a worry.
I looked for my dad to see if he had got back to the start line, but could not
see him. I know how my dad must of felt when he seen we had crashed at
Ballabeg. I looked up the road again and to my relief I saw him coming from the
start/finish. He was shaking his head, which means I am not in good mood. When
he stopped I could see why. There was a big hole in the sidecar wheel arch,
cracked front brake disc and the brake calliper was hanging off with fluid
leaking from it.
Someone had crashed in front of him and as he was
going past the other outfit landed on top of his. Luckily no one was seriously
hurt.
My dad took his helmet off, steam coming out of his ears and
ordered me to go and find a nut and bolt, which I did. I was a bit confused at
the time as I thought it was going to take a bit more than a nut and bolt to
solve his problem. I later found out the nut and bolt was to blank off the
brake calliper that was leaking so he could build the pressure back up in the
brakes. Why? I thought to myself as we've only got to push it across the road
back to the paddock. Obviously this was not what my dad had in mind. He
eventually realised he was fighting a losing battle when the chief scrutineer
was standing over him watching his every move.
We now had two sorry
sights to take back home and that's not to mention the bent outfits. We loaded
up what was left of the outfits and went to the presentation in Castletown
Square, where we decided to drown our sorrows, which was quite out of character
for us.
Friday 16th July 1999
We left the
Island for another year and arrived home for a good ear bending from mother.
Firstly for having bent the bikes and secondly because we had already discussed
that we would be going back in 2000.
|
Return To Features Index |
|
|
