Race Reports 2008
Round 7 Race Report
Silverstone National 11th October 2008
The team was prepared well before the final round of the UK Endurance championship. Riders for this round were to be Sarah Jordan, Terje Joensen & Sean Moss.
Steve Jordan had picked the bike up earlier in the week, allowing little setup issues on the bike to be completed. Including straightening the forks in the yokes, better routing of brake and throttle cables and swapping over the Clutch Cable which had frayed slightly.
Friday – Travel, Setup & Practice
Hottrax had organised a track day for the Friday before the race day. Mick Dundee leaving home at 5am to meet the Jordan's for forward travel to Silverstone. Both Sarah & Terry worked well with Steve Jordan on bike setup for the Silverstone National Circuit getting the suspension settings sorted. The gearing was confirmed to work well.
Team manager, Marshal Nick Benson, Team Physio Matt Sutton & Time Keeper Tim Wilson arrived at the circuit late on Friday evening to unpack the tools and other bits not taken up earlier in the week.
Saturday - Race day
Team manager was awake at 7am to ensure a smooth run to the day. The Bike + Sarah & Terry has been through scruteneering on the Friday so only Sean had to pass his kit through. This was done by 8am before riders and manager attended the briefing held by Dave Mabbutt. During the briefing a minutes silence was held for Richard Gammon a rider who had recently passed away during a race at Cadwell Park, a fitting tribute to a friend of many of the racers out during the race.
Qualifying
Sean started the qualifying hour lapping consistently in the 1:10 bracket, setting a fastest time of 1:08.9. Sarah went out and lapped consistently in the 1:11's however due to a safety car situation the field had bunched and a clear run was not always possible. Terje went out and again set consistent lap times in the 1:11 bracket. Sarah returned to the track after Terje as now there was a better chance to get a clear run.
Sean's initial 1:09.8 was indeed the fastest time for the team, only just being beaten by Moores Racing towards the end of the qualifying hour. However BCE was ahead of both Team Viking and Phoenix Endurance who were ahead of BCE in the championship table as the race was a combination of both Junior and National Teams.
After qualification all team members were happy and a plan for the “Race” was established to make sure rider order and timing/signaling were set for the race which was starting at around midday only 35 minutes away. The race order for the riders was confirmed between the riders and Manager. Sean would ride 1st, with Terje holding the bike for Le Mans start, Sarah 2nd , followed by Terje.
Race
The first 45 minutes saw Sean get a good start and the team do well with Sean setting the teams fastest lap time of the whole race a 1:08.254 in lap 25. This was only bettered by Ducks Cross, Darkside & Team Moores in the Super Sport Class. Timing Crew reporting a change over needed due to fuel.
A good stop handing over to Sarah, saw the start of the second session. At the hour 1 timing mark the team had dropped from a starting position of 4th in class to 6th in class, only due to other teams being able to run long session times due to increased fuel tank size. Sarah lapped consistently in the 1:09-1:10's for over 50 minutes after which the pit crew became concerned that the rider had not signaled low fuel levels decided to make a pit stop, to prevent the bike running out of fuel around the circuit.
Another quick stop and Terje left pit lane to start his first session on the bike lapping consistently in the 1:13's. At the end of hour 2 the team had now moved up to 5th in class ahead of Phoenix Endurance and on the same lap as Moores Racing. This followed a short intervention of the pace car following the loss of a gearbox on the TM72 bike. Terje circulated for about an hour before he had to stop and hand back over to Sean.
Sean again lapped consistently, however the team knew a rear tyre change was needed at some point. Shortly in his final session the Pace Car again returned to the track after a bike hit the armco at Woodcote. During this time Mike Edward called to pull the bike in to change the rear. An excellent decision given the time lost was short, with Sean able to re-join the circuit before the race restarted. Sean continued on the bike, now that the Juniors had completed their race traffic was lighter on circuit.
At the third hour mark BCE remained in fifth place, having completed 144 laps now 2 laps down of Moores Racing fourth in class.
The team stopped again, to hand over to Sarah for her final session on bike. The team ran Sarah for as long as possible as we knew that she was easy on fuel usage, however her lap times on the bike were quicker than the first stint consistently lapping in the 1:09's / 1:10's. During Sarah's stint a bike's chain holed the crank case, leaving oil on the racing line coming out of Woodcote. This led to Mark Linscott of Trackcraft & Mike Egglington of Moores Racing crashing on the pit straight. Sarah just narrowly avoided the mayhem in front of her, being held on the back straight whilst the oil & riders/bikes were recovered. Luckily Mike had suffered only bruising and damage to his hand, Mark suffered his 9th breakage of a collar bone.
This situation led to BCE moving up a position to fourth as the Moores Racing bike needed work completing before it could return to the circuit. Entering the final hour after a change of rider back to Sean the team was in a position where a Podium finish could be possible.
Sean lapped consistently again for around 40 minutes, before a quick splash and dash change of rider with Terje to finish the race. Just before the pit stop Ducks X, class leaders suffered a blown engine leading to a retirement. BCE now moved moved to third in class.
Terje completed the final session on the bike, sometimes having to be told to take it easy to ensure a finish as teams below BCE did not have the opportunity to get back the 3 laps BCE had over them. Terje did indeed bring the bike over the finish line to achieve the teams best finish of the season in Third place and a podium position. All team members on the wall were delighted and a deserved bottle of bubbly was enjoyed in Parc Ferme.
The manager would like to thank all team members Riders: Sarah Jordan, Terje Joensen & Sean Moss. Pit Crew: Mick Dundee, Steve Jordan & Mike Edwards Team Marshal: Nick Benson Team Physio: Matt Sutton & Timing Crew: Tim Wilson.
Also the companies which have helped Best Choice Endurance complete it’s first season in the 2008 HMRC National endurance season: GB Racing, Tullets Plant, SES, Seton Tuning, HEL, Motorbike-Crazy.com, Jesters Trick Bits & Motor sport Marketing.
Final Results - Silverstone
National and Senior 6 hours
1 Track Craft * 287 laps
2 Sweatshop Moores * 281 laps
3 Darkside Endurance * 275 laps
4 White Tiger Racing 274 laps
5 SMF Racing 274 laps
6 Team Viking 273 laps
7 First Form Endurance 272 laps
8 S and P Racing 269 laps
9 Best Choice Endurance 267 laps
10 Moores Racing 42 264 laps
11 Phoenix Endurance 264 laps
12 Black Flag Racing * 259 laps
13 TM72 Racing 242 laps
14 Ducks Cross Racing 241 laps
15 Roundall Racing 198 laps
NC GBMoto 158 laps
Fastest Lap GBMoto 1m 5.373s
Photos can be found Here
Conclusion
In the Championship table Best Choice finished in 5th after the superb 3rdplace finish at Silverstone. A Rookie team competing in it's first season to finish above seasoned teams was felt to be a satisfactory effort all round by all the team. Plans to return in 2009 to win the championship are already in place.
