On The Edge Racing

Before I start with the race report, I have just been informed we might not be champions at all due to some weirdo points thing the CRMC have got going on. On paper (and on the track) the final standings should be us on 349 and Brian Gray on 346 so we win by 3 points, however because of the points system that the CRMC have (which I dont understand) there are a few rumours flying around that Brian has ended up with the title. Whatever happens we have both had a fantastic season.

Whatever the championship in motorsport, when it comes down to crunch time, there is an enormous amount of pressure building up inside you and you go over every single little detail in your head for the days/weeks building up to it. For me, I have spent the last 2 weeks going over every inch of Cadwell Park and every single movement that I, as a passenger, do on the bike.

Its hard to describe what I was feeling on Friday, the whole situation had consumed me and I couldnt concentrate on anything else. We left for Cadwell at 7 ish and despite the fact Ed has been going to Cadwell for donkeys years we managed to get lost! When we did get there we went to the bar for a catch up and I got mocked for drinking lemonade which in the end did end up with a splash of Martini in it I stayed with my other half till the bar shut only because I knew I wouldnt be able to sleep and sure enough it was about half past 2 in the morning when i finally dozed off.

8 o’clock couldn’t come quick enough for me. My adrenaline started as soon as I woke up and it only intensified as the morning went on, there was an enormous buzz about the paddock and lots of people took the time out to speak to me. One person in particular was the commentator Graham who I spent a good 10 15 minutes talking to.

As per usual we were the 6th practice so wasnt out until just after 10am. The weather conditions weren’t great and the track was wet and although it wasn’t raining now, it had been during the night. I was really really nervous when we got to the holding bay, I hadnt been that nervous since I did my first race at Donington Park 14 months ago. I knew it was only practice and we didnt have to qualify, that had been done on ballet before hand, so it was just a case of having a tootle round and getting familarised with the track again. Practice went alright no problems so it was a case of waiting around now.

I actually thought we weren’t out until just before lunch so I went for a wander round the paddock then panicked when I heard “2nd call for race 2, sidecars” over the tannoy. By the time we got to the holding bay I was nervous again, I knew one little mistake from me could cost us the championship and that was something I was not prepared to do. The track was still damp which made me even more nervous as Id never been round Cadwell in the wet and wasnt sure how far I could get out left or how much I needed to work the back. We got a flyer off the line from the second row and were soon following Nick Houghton round Coppice and through Charlies. He cleared off a bit though when we got to Park Straight and what worried me more was I could hear Brian right behind us. I looked back and sure enough he was there…. bugger. We blitzed Park and Chris Curve and were flying through the Gooseneck and Mansfield and that dreaded chicane and I looked back to find we had pulled away from Brian and there was quite a bit of track between us now, excellent! Hall Bends was just fantastic what a buzz that was. Brian manage to stay with us for another 2 laps but then he just disappeared and we had a lonely couple of laps. On the last lap every corner we came to I was saying to myself “dont f**k up now Vic, dont do it,” I knew if I messed up that I would have ear ache for the next six months off Ed…. in fact I think id have to move out. We finished in 2nd which was a relief as we were now only 1 point behind Brian (this was all prior to us finding out about the f**k wit point thingy).

The nerves I had turned into relief when we got back to camp. Neither of us put a foot wrong which was very pleasing and after a bit of a chat we both decided it was time for a sausage sarnie Just after my sarnie Matty and his boys turned up with more sausages, burgers, bacon and steak…. mmmmm! Thanks very much Matty, they were very much appreciated.

Much to everyones disgust, our last race was cut down to 3 laps because of all the accidents during the day so this was going to make it interesting. As we finished 2nd in the first race we were on the front row alongside Nick Houghton with Brian Gray behind us. We again got a flyer and this time we were in front. We led until Park where Nick got us on the brakes. However the good thing was it had put a bit of space between us and Brian. We actually stayed with Nick for the whole race, ok we were never gunna catch him but he didnt leave us in the dust. Brian disappeared on the 2nd lap so we again took 2nd. Which, should have left us with the championship………

After all the racing was over there was a presentation in the bar for the trophies from that day and they had some very generous prizes for the solo lot, Lea Gourlay who has won his championship won a pair of Scott Leathers! There was a band on too who were good and I drank like we had won the championship, larger on top of Martini was never gunna be a good mix I talked to loads of people that night and eventually I think my mouth was on auto pilot just to say the same things over and over again.

Sunday. Well I was up at half 8 on the dot, im not saying I didnt have a sore head but I was up Our Race of the Year got delayed due to a pretty bad solo crash. I was speaking to Martin the flag man on the start line and he said there had been 24 solo crashes the day before, that is a huuuggggeeee amount. I was very hyped up for ROY as we had nothing to lose and we could go out there and enjoy it. The race got red flagged on lap 1 as the Latherons had a pretty nasty one at the bottom of Mansfield, best wishes to them. Lunch was called early then and we all got sent back to the paddock. Apparently according to Ian Johnson who is our eligability officer they were trying to cut the sidecar laps again for Race of the Year, so instead they cancelled the taxi rides, which was good for us but a shame for the people who wanted to have a go. My mum, on the other hand, was jumping for joy as she had managed to get out of it.

So, the restart Race of the Year was going to be exciting now as it had started raining. We managed to get the better of Nick Houghton again off the line but he pulled a brave move on us going into Coppice and got in front. For a while it looked like there was going to be a good race between us and Nick as Brian was a bit further back but we had a slight issue with one of the back markers and this gave Nick a chance to get away. We did catch him back up though but it was too little too late. I thought we were going to have a bit of a moment at the Gooseneck when we had quite a lot of sideways action because I moved a fraction too early. So another 2nd for us and a nice little trophy. The rain actually got heavier just as our race ended, and it actually ended with lots of red flags. Richard and Sam Holmes crashed through the Woodland bit I believe, so more best wishes for them.

The rain had stopped by lunch time though and the sun was out. So the last race of the CRMC season was the Handicap race. I dont always agree with these as they get a bit dangerous. The idea is it gives the slower teams a chance of winning. So all the slower teams are at the front and the faster teams are at the back. We were on Row 9 (last but one) and had a 63 second penalty from when the front lot went off, if Nick had’ve done the race he’d have got a 68 second penalty. So there was us, Damien Perileux and Nancy Detournay and Brian Gray and Alan Bedford all set off at the same time, we were the fourth lot to go. Initially it was Damien and Nancy that followed us into Coppice but they were overtaken by Brian and Alan. It was suprising how quickly we caught people up and soon we’d passed 4 or 5. On the second or 3rd lap as we came round Chris Curve I saw Brian and Alan on the grass, they’d broke down. We kept passing a few more people and then I saw Andy Rayner on the grass at the mountain along with one of the Gristwoods so that was another two. And then the last lap flag came out and I thought oh well at least we tried (having no idea that at the time we were running in 2nd, I thought maybe 4th) in the distance I saw Gristwood 1 which had Simon Smith and Dave Gristwood on, we got right up their arse going into the Gooseneck and out braked them going into Mansfield and left them. I cant remember who was telling Ed but apparently at the start of the last lap we were 5 seconds behind Gristwood 1 and thats what we had to make up and we did it. I didnt dawn on me that we’d won until we got back to the scrutineering bay and we were first back….. bloody marvelous.

We’d won it, Simon and Dave 2nd and Damien and Nancy 3rd. Bill Barrowcliffe the guy that sponsored the race had bloody loads of trophies to hand out. We got a big one each for winning the race and Ed gave a speech that nearly reduced me to tears; “Id just like to thank Bill for sponsoring this race, we dont often get this in sidecar racing. Also id like to thank the CRMC for a fantastic seasons racing. But I wouldnt be standing here now if it wasnt for my passenger Vic, she’s only 17 and shes fantastic…..” He said a few other things but by this point my eyes had welled up so much I couldnt see anything and I was more worried about the fact I might not get my champers cos he’d just told Bill that I was only 17 We also got a nice trophy for getting the fastest lap of the race and I got one for best placed female passenger…. get on!

What a fantastic way to end the season! So heres my list of thank you’s now. Ok it goes without saying, thanks Ed for a great seasons racing, we deserve whatever we get at the dinner. Thank you Mum for making the tea and being a nervous wreck and for sticking my bum slider on Thank you to anyone who helped me with this front exit passengering. Thanks to Mogli our technician. Thanks to the CRMC for a good season all round. And thanks to everyone who has supported me and Ed continuously throughout the season.

Vics