Olivers Mount Spring National and the North West 200

Race Report by Ian Armstrong

Hello again, things have all kicked off now and with the bike prepared we set off to test and get some racing miles under the belt. It became too late to test pre-season and we went straight to the first 2 meetings cold. So deciding to use these meetings to practice and get up to speed we headed for Scarborough and then on to the NW200.
On the bank holiday Monday I took my first race lap on the new GSXK7 at the Olivers Mount Spring National, which went well finding some useful settings and track time.
Running the Powersport GSX Superstock in the two Superbike class races finishing 5th and 6th, we had one eye on the gate to make a fast getaway as we packed up super quick to head for Stranraer to catch the 10 pm boat to Ireland.
Arriving early morning at Portrush on the North coast of Ireland we set up ready for the first NW200 practice that evening.
My mechanic "Mantis" had his work cut out , only being the two of us, because there is so much to do and a lot of gear, like bikes, stands and tackle to hump about to and from the pits, through a very large and bustling paddock.
Its a really hectic set up at the North West, and to get down to the grid first is imposible without many helpers or a special reserved garage.This meant that for the qualifying practice we would be starting the session from way down the grid and with 90 odd bikes and a lot of traffic. But the object was to get some more time on the bike before my main event the TT, so we just got on with it.
The sessions ran ok and I managed to avoid several incidents and get some laps in on both bikes, ending the day 8th fastest on the Superstock. After a rest day wednesday,we were set for Thursday evening practice and went quicker in the first Superbike session, until the showers came and so could not improve tuesdays time much.
Race day was chaos but we had my other mechanic join us which helped, the races were packed with incident and the first big race was stopped on the first lap when several riders on the row in front collided on the line with a stalled bike, resulting in a nasty incident, ( heres wishing a speedy recovery to Dave Bell and the other boys involved.) I was lucky and got a good start to the right and was passed them before it happened .This was the first of many restarts throughout the three big races. Anyway glad to be in one piece and picked my pace up by 6 seconds in the race which would have placed me in the top 20 on the grid.I was happy with the result finishing 20 th in both the Superstock and Superbike NW200, having learned a lot more about both machines.
The paint work on both bikes needs a refresh because the amount of dirt and stones on the track was ridiculous, I saw dozens of riders with smashed screens.Stones coming from another riders back wheel at 180mph do a fair bit of damage and hurt too. I could only really compare it to maybe paint balling in your undies , ouch!.
The Suzuki ran perfect and with some more race miles completed I now feel confident I can soon get on the pace at the Isle of Man TT. The organisers have seeded me 13th and I start this number for all the big class races, so now have to get on with the final preparations this week. Many thanks of course to Andy, Dave, Bob and all the boys at Powersport for the hard work they put in to get me out in time , Keep you posted, wish me luck , Regards Ian .

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