I also rode a few borrowed bikes at Perris with the guys from
Deus Ex Machina, Biltwell, Co-Built and other friends. I slid off
Mule Motorcycles' 500 Yamaha while I was there. No damage, but
another crash days after my big one in England and another dent to
my confidence.
Then I went to Castle Rock, entered a rabid over-50s class on a
borrowed Yamaha 500TT and crashed there. I got out in another race
and got a finish, but doubts were entering my head.
My damaged rotator cuff was improving, but was not 100% by the
time the next British DTRA race came around. I went along, with
new bars after bending my last ones, thinking I'd go steady, not
take any risks and see how I went.
Gentle in, gentle out worked on the tricky track. It developed
a wide groove, but off-line it was very tricky for a rider of my
skill. On the line you could pass on the inside if the rider in
front made the slightest mistake. On the entry I could run in
deeper and manage to turn inside a lot of riders, while still
thinking I was riding steady. All day I picked off the odd rider
while I just kept riding steadily. It helped I was getting great
starts and not making mistakes.
I race in two classes, Thunderbikes and Restricted. Restricted
is for second tier riders who haven't made a pro main. I qualified
5 in the 12-rider Thunderbike main and came in fifth (behind three
national numbers and a super-quick Thunderbike rider, Dave
Chadbourne). In the 12-man restricted main I qualified fourth and
came third, getting on the podium for the first time in a few seasons.
After the pain of the last race and the doubts about if I'm cut
out for even amateur racing it was just what I needed.
Gary Inman
#13R, DTRA
Photos: Ian Osborne, DTRA