Jerez Report ! :) no crashes although . . . .

[weeian]

What a Weekend, absolutely phenomonal !

heres the venue

good little pic of the track

ill have to do a few posts as it wont let me post more than 10 pics per.

Started thursday morning, all the lads met up at Glasgow airport for 6am ( martin DG, Ronnie {testasretta on here } johnny ducati, graeme bell {shoxx dude} my friend martin & myself. a few beers were had before we got on the plane for 7.20 am

3 hours later we were in Malaga, picked up the hire cars & headed for Jerez, that took us 2 hours. checked into the hotel right next to the track & headed down to have a look at the circuit.

The weather hadnt been very good that day & it was wet so we started walking around the track to get into the mind set. People told me that the track was an ice rink in the wet & they were spot on, i have the utmost respect for the GP boys who go around it in the wet quicker than fast trackers can in the dry.

looking down the home straight.

standing on Sito ponz looking back at turn 4

looking down the back straight.

standing on curva dry sack at the end of the back straight looking onto turn 7

me

Graeme & ronnie

martin begged me not to put this up but its too good not to hahaha

johnny ducati in the background

another martyn.

 

[weeian]

start of the home straight.

thats how it was looking on thursday, very gloom, took us an hour & a half to walk around the track lol.

done a few sun dances & prayed for good weather on friday, had a beer & met most of the other english lads at the hotel who were having a right good session till 3 am, was thinking i hope im not in the same group as those nutters tomorow.

FRIDAY. WET

Woke up, 4 hours sleep the night before with all the excitement, heard it pishing down most of the night. Went down & had brekkie, the banter was flying ! made our way down to the circuit early to unload the bikes.

typical our were last off the tracks with mine being on the very last cradle.

setting up all our gear in the garage, no rush as the track is wet.

pit number 20 Team Ducati, with one 1098 {the only 1 there}, two 749R's & two 749s's
& a few jap bikes.

went for the safety briefing & got put into our groups, we then sat & watched lots go out & crash in the wet, 1 guy broke both his wrists & couldnt even wipe his own ar$e for the rest of the weekend.

The track started to dry up a bit by 1 o clock so i decided to go have a little look, my group was called & i fired the bike up took the warmers off & headed out, was still very slippy & i was slightly tense because of how slippy it felt when i walked it the night before, id just like to say how different the track is when you ride it compared to walking it, completely different.

came back in at the end of the session having not enjoyed it because i couldnt concentrate on the track as it was so slippy.

The 1098 had slicks on so martin didnt bother going out.
dryed up a little over the afternoon but was still very damp in places, especially around sito ponz.

sessions finished at 6pm & we packed up, done a few more sun dances, the word going around was that the weather would be sunshine for saturday so that gave us some hope.

Took off my pirreli diablo's then fitted my new tyres on friday night for saturday hoping it would be sunny.

We headed back to the hotel & i headed into jerez to find & AV cable for my Bullet Camera, the only thing i forgot to bring with me for the trip, i was gutted.

couldnt find 1 anywhere as the jack on the end was too small.
looked like it was a specific part. waste of £350

SATURDAY- foggy start but sunny.

everyone headed down to the track & i headed back into Jerez to see if i could find a cable, no joy. Got back to the track for the first session & done 3 sighting laps, still a few damp patches on track which had burned off by lunchtime. Was beginning to enjoy it lots more in the dry, completly different, very very very grippy. spent the rest of the day learning the track not pushing it too much, had a few ding dongs with some jap bike's which would always pull away slightly on the straights but i would catch them no problem through the bends, confidence was beginning to really build up in the bike, the faster i seemed to ride it the more composed it seemed to get.

sighting laps with ronnie behind me on the 749r.

going around the outside of a cbr600rr on turn 8 after curva dry sack, fast left turn before the slow right angel nieto. sat on his tail for a lap & he was slower on the left's, pounced on the next lap.

Then came the BIG brown trouser moment !

I was loving the big left corner turn 8 before angel nieto, i began to push the bike harder & harder so i decided next time i went around i would give it a try in 4th gear {cringe}

so i went for it put the bike down the most i have ever done & my Gear Lever sunk into the tarmac, the whole back end jumped & slid away out to the right, i went into a massive wobble, sat the bike up mid turn just after the apex heading straight for the gravel, i dunno how i did it but i somehow managed to throw the bike down again as i was running wide & saved myself from going into the gravel. i immedietly ran off the racing line & turned around, the guy behind shook his head as he went past & i trundled back to the pits with no way to change gear stuck in 4th

sat down & composed myself thinking that was a very close 1. changed my gear lever raising it a little & went back out, next time leaving the bike at the top of 3rd going around that corner only 2 sessions left so i took it easy the rest of the day.

 

[weeian]

running a bit wide on turn 2 michelin !

the sessions ended with everyone buzzing after a great day on track, then began the perilous journey back to the hotel

my mate martyn reid decides to drive up to the hotel. after i say its ok dont worry ill drive, so i gave him the keys, johnny jumps in the back of the car{toyota aygo},

one of these, its almost as small as a smart car.

as were leaving the big car park martyn decides to pull a few hand brake turns at which point im saying watch this car man it could roll very easy, i say it twice meanwhile the car is going sideways, meanwhile martin DG is behind us in his ford focus hire car with 4 other folk, we get to the little narrow road before the main gate & martyn pulls the handbrake again the car snakes heads for the ditch & ROLLS onto its roof, were all hanging there seatbelts holding us about a foot above the ceiling upside down, everything goes dead quiet & martyn says in a very sheepish voice " ehh sorry about that lads " at which point i start to pi$$ myself with laughter, meanwhile johnny is in the back shouting i canny get myseat belt off as he is suspended there, i hit my belt button & land with a thud on my head onto about 3 windows worth of glass, thankfully my window was down so i crawled out & lay on the road rolling around in laughter.

At which point Martin DG's car stops & 4 door fly open & everyone runs over very concerned in complete & utter shock.

as im lying on the road i can still hear johnny in the back shouting i cany get mah F%^ken seat belt off then all we heard was Thud (him landing on his head) ! that sends me into hysterics, martyn reid(the driver) climbs out looking very sheepish. then johnny climbs out through the boot i think.

Everyone stands flabbergasted commenting on how lucky we are.

then 6 of us roll the car out of the ditch back onto its wheels.

we then drive the car back to the hotel with no brakes

the story is a HUGE rabbit ran out in front of us & we swerved to avoid it

i would like to say Europa hire car company are great, not only did they send a taxi to the hotel to pick us up & take us to the airport but they supplied us with a new car which i drove for the rest of the holiday

i dont think martyn could afford another 500 euro excess damage fee.

At this point the whole hotel had inspected the car & laughed very hard.

we had a few beers then went to bed.

 

[weeian]

SUNDAY-Scorching Woohoo !!!!!!!!!!!!

10 oclock & its already 24 degrees, stated the first session & the track was firmly implanted in my mind, i was thinking of the next corner & loving it.

I dont know if any of you know a guy Called Mick Cheel (racer) & extremely nice guy, he took me out for 2 sessions & showed me what to look for & the best lines to take around the track, he was super smooth like no one ive seen before. i watched him later that day extract the urine out of every jap Thousand on his new r6. great to watch. thanks Mick !

then a few other fast guy's took me out with them & towed me along, i was really starting to enjoy myself at this stage, david macgilvray & douglas cook.
cheers guys.

on the last session of the day & weekend i had a great ding dong with a guy on an r6 for about 5 laps, i just sat on his tail the whole way, he kept turning around to see where i was at the home straight & i was right on him.

we came into the pits & had a chat, i love it when this happens, he told me i went well on my 999 at which point i told him it was only a 749 {little chuckle to myself}.

we loaded the bikes up & headed back to the hotel absolutely shattered.

drank lots of beer & talked about our rossi like riding

at this point i was quite sad it was over but very happy about how i had ridden over the weekend, i learned alot from it & would recommend it to anyone, it was the experience of a lifetime & i will be going back as much as i can in future.

Thanks to:

Ronnie for having us in stiches constantly.

Martin DG for Helping me all the time, & pi$$ing off all the jap thou's down the home straight. vroom vroom !

johhny ducati - for giving us his rendition of johhny cash - ring of fire when absolutely gassed.

Martyn Reid ! need i say more what we have to thank you for m8 ??!!??
lets just say were even now after i dropped your bike at knockhill buddy
& everyone knows the scottish lads after ure antics.

Graeme Bell (who spent the whole weekend in a hotel bed) ill & for being a grumpy Bar Steward & giving martyn reid & myself the Flu.

/ian

more pics to follow

 

[weeian]

martin headed out on the 1098

looking down the pitlane

looking up the pitlane

our garage

next garage with the other scottish lads Douglas cook, stevie kusag junior & senior, & david macgilvray.

 

[weeian]

i wasnt that impressed with the photography, 45 quid for 25 pictures

he was on funny places too.

heres a few pics

front end looks a bit iffy in that 1, i had 2 sets of leathers with me, wanted to try both out.

mmmmm serious face

ill try find some of the other guys.

 

[ProjectImola004]

what a great time you guys looked to have had, glad you're all ok after rolling that little box thingy. Some great pics, love the one of you on a right-hander, very smooth looking. Good on yer guys.

 

[weeian]

martin about to mug a 998s ? i think

 

[Lily]

wooohooo. glad you enjoyed it Ian, it's fantastic isn't it? The track is amazing and the facilities are brilliant

So did you manage to time any laps?

 

[padge]

What a mega write up! Sounds like you all had a great time despite the earlier weather!
@@@@ed myself laughing at the car rolling pictures! :bump2: :bump2: :bump2: :roflmao:

 

[ProjectImola004]

jeez, gotta say, those last few of MDG are absolutely stunning, love the colour of the bike and the clarity of the images are great. Gizmo, edit my comments out before Mart reads them - don't want it going to his head now do we!!!

 

[weeian]

wooohooo. glad you enjoyed it Ian, it's fantastic isn't it? The track is amazing and the facilities are brilliant

So did you manage to time any laps?

i didnt manage to time any unfortunetly need to buy one of the fancy lap timers.


the track is just the best there is !

/ian

 

[eonan]

WOW...what a great write up Ian! Man I'd really love to do something like that in the future...those pictures of you all look totally class

 

[weeian]

WOW...what a great write up Ian! Man I'd really love to do something like that in the future...those pictures of you all look totally class

u have to do it m8, even if its only the once.

/ian

 

[dseered]

Nice one Ian, glad you enjoyed it - now all you need to do is keep your eye out for a 600ss or Monster and come out to play - you only have to get as far as Kendal and we can share the drive to any of the circuits !

 

[borderduc]

Weeian,

Excellent write-up and great photos !.

 

[Martin Ducati Glasgow]

Great write up Ian.

You're so right - it was a great wee holiday!

Hopefully you'll be there next year too!

Mart

 

[nic6196]

ian - what a fantastic write up and great photos- i'm still picking bits of my lunch out of the keyboard from the car tale - absolutely brilliant!!

 

[Martin Ducati Glasgow]

ian - what a fantastic write up and great photos- i'm still picking bits of my lunch out of the keyboard from the car tale - absolutely brilliant!!

Nic, this remains one of the most shocking but funny things that I have ever witnessed. Even now i'm still laughing about it every time it crosses my mind!:hail:

The circuit security guard was the most puzzled man I have ever seen!!!

You could see he just had no idea how to get it out of there - as it turned out it only took a few of us to turn it back over but what a scream!

Fantastic moment!

 

[testastretta]

Thanks to Weeeian for putting together the coverage of Jerez so quickly, just wanted to add my own tuppence worth :

Thanks to everyone who gave help, advice, spare parts, track insights etc etc. Special thanks to Graeme (Bell) who gave me pleasure of seeing how my bike CAN be ridden in good hands.

To Mick Cheele (hope spelling correct Mick) for offer of ride on his lovely R6 and the experience of seeing another real rider at work, making it look soooooo easy to go quick.

As usual - looked forward to it for months and in no time we're back and its over.

Fingers crossed for some decent weather for upcoming Ducati Glasgow track night at Knockhill, on May 1 - hope to see everyone there. Thanks again to you all.

( ps - I've only 'done' Valencia (Racedays.net) and now Jerez (TrackSense) and felt the transportation side with TrackSense was easy winner over Racedays. Hope I've not just tempted fate before bike arrives back..... )

 

[GavinB]

I just wanted to say thanks for posting the report. I have enjoyed every word and photo.

Cheers,

Gavin.

 

[weeian]

Nice one Ian, glad you enjoyed it - now all you need to do is keep your eye out for a 600ss or Monster and come out to play - you only have to get as far as Kendal and we can share the drive to any of the circuits !

im a year behind you ian

last yr was ure year of the track ? hehe id love to do DD, maybe 1 day i can be the 1st scottish rider. {dreams}

/ian

 

[eonan]

im a year behind you ian

last yr was ure year of the track ? hehe id love to do DD, maybe 1 day i can be the 1st scottish rider. {dreams}

/ian

I was flicking through RiDE magazine yesterday, and came accross an article about a guy who'd just started racing at the age of 40. On his first ever weekend he won the first race and went on to take further two rookie wins and a third. He leads the championship after the first weekend

Maybe I can keep that little dream alive after all

 

[weeian]

I was flicking through RiDE magazine yesterday, and came accross an article about a guy who'd just started racing at the age of 40. On his first ever weekend he won the first race and went on to take further two rookie wins and a third. He leads the championship after the first weekend

Maybe I can keep that little dream alive after all

hehe Niall definetly m8 !

the track is where u improve the quickest.

i only started riding bikes in the spring of 2005, i would now love to get into racing.


/ian

 

[eonan]

hehe Niall definetly m8 !

the track is where u improve the quickest.

i only started riding bikes in the spring of 2005, i would now love to get into racing.


/ian

Do it do it do it do it do it do it

 

[weeian]

Do it do it do it do it do it do it

your the Devil on my shoulder m8 !

/ian

 

[weeian]

found a good 1 of johnny.

/ian

 

[Biscuit]

hehe, great write up and fab pics, love the rental car saga that last pic of jonnyducati is superb, reflections in the visor of the corner

 

[jonny ducati]

jerez!

Top write up ian,
nice photo's as well,
just like to say thanks to all the lads that went,
ian,martin r,martin dg,ronnie,graham and all the other lads i met,
had a great time,riding one of the best circuits in the world!
even managed to stay sunnyside up(just),
Until i did a bit base jumping in toyota yago(as explained by ian),


NEXT YEAR? to right count me in!
roll on may 1st(not jerez but knockhill will do).
also thanks to mick and wife,top rider and top caterer!


jonny.

 

[weeian]

its a great 1 mate, if u maximise the piceture u can see riders in the reflection ! :thumbs:

/ian