Susie Grayson’s first non-rookie trophies

www.bikegirl.co.uk
By bikegirl.co.uk
June 12 2006

Susie Grayson: Snetterton with BMCRC, 10th and 11th June. What a fantastic weekend; after last weekend at Shelsley Walsh, it’s hard to see what might wipe this silly grin off my face!

Saturday was THE BEST - from 17th to 6th in the first clubman race, then fourth in the second with a best lap of 1min19.113. This meant I was gridded on the front row for the first time ever on Sunday morning. I wasn’t as fast on Sunday, which showed in the results - fifth and eighth.

However, let’s not forget the Clubman Shootout - one race per day. I came second on Saturday and third on Sunday - my first ever non-rookie cups!!! I was also awarded Rider of the Day on Saturday by A&R Racing - so a big thank you to Alan & Jay Russell.

I won’t go into huge amount of detail about each race; just an overview so you don’t get bored reading it....

Susie Grayson with trophy

The Saturday Minitwin races were where I found my form; my best time last year was 1min20.861, so getting more than 1.5 secs off that was great, as Snetterton hasn’t been my favourite circuit. I’m also running a ‘naked’ fairing this year, which I’m unable to tuck into for the two long straights - perhaps this would take off a little more time, but stupidly I didn’t pack the full fairings. The two most important corners to get right are Russells - leading onto the start/finish straight - and Sears - leading onto the back straight. This is because you need to start accelerating as early as you can to build up top speed; a great opportunity to make other riders think you’re carrying a few extra horses. I was definitely struggling with the entry to Russells, and still haven’t quite got the hang of it; which meant that this is where my peers could make a move on me. But hey, it’s all a learning process - maybe next time I’ll get it cracked as I’ll put all my concentration into getting it right.

On Sunday my pace dropped by a second a lap... I’m not sure why, my day to day ability doesn’t seem to be too consistent. It’s odd since the 19.113 wasn’t a one-off - that was amongst a race full of 19.2-19.3s. Maybe I still need to get to the gym more!

The Clubman Shootout races were kamikaze dicing sessions. The grid contains 1000s, 600s, 650s and 400s, so the faster 650s/400s tend to take the slower 600s on the corners, and then the 600s accelerate past them on the straights. The first few laps of each race were very ‘interesting’, with so many different lines being taken.

All in all this was a cracking weekend. The weather was up to 30deg, and we had a huge paddling pool out to keep us cool. I can’t wait for the next race meeting - Brands Hatch in two weeks with North Glos. See you there.

Susie Grayson
Feisty Racing Team Manager; Bikegirl Ltd