I picked the Hyosung up a month earlier but didn’t have any time to actually ride it. The first practice was the first time I was out. I didn’t need to worry too much as it handles well. All I have done is have it painted by Andy (signal yellow, the old ford colour) and I managed to pick up some sponsorship from my company, Roemex Speciality Oilfield Chemicals and of course Mette

Stuart McDonald came down all weekend to help and was fantastic. He was such a big help....even with some energy food to keep us going !

Saturdays practice was good, the bike felt stable and was braking well, despite the slightly worn pads. It was a little misty and damp to start with , but soon cleared up, although it never got warm enough to take my fleece, bunnet and jacket off, when I wasn’t racing.

I managed to qualify 4th, which meant a front row start, pretty good for my first time on the bike.

We only got one race on Saturday, due to several incidents. I was back to my old problem, as when I started on the 400. I could not get the bike off the line and so ended up going backwards. I think I was 20th going through the first corner. Ah well I just had to knuckle down and make up some places. It went well and I managed to have some good dices on my way up the field. Excepting a wee trip onto the rumble strip at exit from Snake, I had a good race and managed to get up to 5th. It was a very good atart for my fist race on this new bike and in such a competitive class run together with the 400cc bikes.

Sunday was a really sunny day and got really warm. Stuart Clark loaned me his ex Tommy Hill BSB R6 to race in the 600 class and its some machine !

That meant on Sunday I got to race in 2 classes, 6 races in total. The two races were one after the other for the Mini twin and 600, so I only had time to come in to the paddock and jump off one bike onto another and go out...hard work !

The 600 is a fantastic bike, well set up, with all the nicest kit and i mean everything !

I had a short practice on it before racing and it was the first bike out onto the track. I had a row 4 start (I used Stuarts grid position). My fist start was a big wheelie, but I got going and didn’t lose too many places. I managed to keep up with some of the guys in front of me on the grid and passed a few. My dice with Brian Neilsen was the high point though. He pipped me at the hairpin on the last lap though and I finished 11th (not bad for my first time...again).

The other races that day went well, another 12th and 13th on the 600 and 5th and 6th on the 650 twin, with some great dices along the way. Best of which was in the last Mini twin race, when I was passed by two bikes and was fighting back, I couldn’t get past and was struggling to keep up in straight line speed. Towards the end we were racing very closely and I could see that If I lined them up 3 corners before my move I could maybe outbrake them going into the hairpin as they might slow themselves up trying to pass each other. I got good drive through Esses 1 and 2 and launched up the inside line for the hairpin. It worked a treat and I got out first, giving it everything I could for the last section at Hannahs. That was a fantastic race to finish off on.

Thanks to everyone who came down to East Fortune at the weekend. Especially to Stuart McDonald for all the help, Stuart Clark for being so trusting and lending me his lovely bike. There must have been about 16 people in the wee green Baillie pit

I’d like to thank John Easton for giving me so much help with the preparation of the bike, lending me his van for the weekend and taking lots of pictures.

Thanks also to my sponsors:
Roemex Speciality Oilfield Chemicals
Freja Designer Dressmaking
Andy Paterson for the great bike paint