A Cold Start

The bike looks a bit rough at the moment with some old clothes on for practice, but it runs really well.

Last weekend we took the bike all the way to Mallory Park. It was a long journey that started well before the sun came up. When we arrived the temperature was only just above freezing. Mallory is not a place where shelter can be easily found. There’s limited garage space, which tends to fill up pretty quickly if you’re not there early.

When we rolled into the paddock it was already full – teams had turned up the night before – and the garages were packed. We struggled getting power for the tyre warmers, but a friendly paddock neighbour had a spare socket that we could take a spur from – much better than having a generator running all day.

So, all set for a bit of practice Ritchie took the bike out for a few sessions on slick tyres on a track surface just above freezing; braver than me that’s for sure.

The moment we took off the tyre warmers was the warmest the tyres were going to be, but Ritchie rode the ZX7R pretty hard to keep them hot. After the morning’s stop-and-go sessions – there were a lot of riders falling off – he was hitting some good times considering the conditions.

After lunch he just managed one more session before it started to rain.

With only two sessions left and feeling cold, wet and a little tired after our early start, we decided we’d had enough.

It was good to get out for a thorough shakedown to test the suspension. It’s so much better now with the Ohlins kit from Kais and we’re looking forward to more practice sessions at Donington Park soon.

After getting his knee down, it was time for Ritchie to get his head down on the journey home.