Podium Chances Fade Away
Added on Monday, May 19th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Brake fade once again hit the Suzuki
They say that if you really try hard enough, you can blank traumatic events from your memory banks. With that in mind, I will work hard on doing just that, immediately after I’ve finished writing this blog.
After making steady progress through free practice and qualifying, we found a pretty reasonable set-up for the race. However, we had suffered all weekend with brake fade and no matter how hard the lads worked, well, it just didn’t seem to cure the problem.
Into the race I made a pretty good start and slotted into 7th, making a couple of gains from my grid position. Next lap saw me in 5th and a good move into turn one saw me in 4th.
Yes…the battle commences for the podium right now and at fullstons chicane, I did the same move as I did last year. The difference being that last year, I ended up on the grass, this year, ‘I am the daddy’ and I’m now 3rd and winding in Brogan in second and Long John (Kirkham) who is leading.
Everything under control, riding well within myself and on lap seven, back comes the brake fade and back to the bars comes the brake lever. Next thing to happen was the rear shock overheated which turned it from a smooth handling bike to a pogo stick, with little brakes either.
One or the other, I could have coped with, but both was a little bit too much and I did something I have never done before, I pulled in. I have never felt so gutted in my life. Not just for me, but for the whole team, although they all understood that to carry on would have been dangerous to not only me, but all the other lads out there and were all equally as sick as me about it.
Onto Brands, things can only get better?
