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May 25 Knockhill 24th May 2009 - One Down, One UpHi,
It was an up and down weekend for the Saltire Suzuki/YPE Powered team at the weekend at rounds 5 and 6 of the Scottish Superstock 1000 championship at Knockhill.
After the problems of East Fortune last time out we decided that it might be time to change to the latest Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 and after a bit of wheeling and dealing Saltire Suzuki did the business and we managed to bag ourselves one of the newest generation of the Gixxer family. It was a manic couple of weeks for YPE Power as all the bit and pieces turned up to transform the standard road bike into a decent Superstock racing machine. Stuart and John Young pulled out all the stops and they managed to get the bike ready in time for a track night on Friday night.
The first run on the K9 was good, and I knew straight away that it was an improvement over the previous models. We spent Friday getting all the basics set up like levers and bar position and tried some stuff with ride height and damping.
Saturday was another chance to get out on the bike and get some more miles on it. It had only done 40 miles before the weekend and still felt pretty tight.
Come Sunday and we were feeling pretty good about the new bike and sure enough in qualifying I put the bike into 2nd position on the grid, which for me is pretty good because I'm not a good qualifier.
Race 1 and I got a perfect start and went straight into the lead. Unfortunately as we started lap 3 another rider attempted to pass me and there wasn't really enough room and he went down and took me with him!! First race on the new bike and it only lasted 2 laps and a couple of corners, gutted. Luckily I wasn't hurt but we didn't have the spares to get the K9 back togehter so we rolled out the K7 and got it ready for race 2.
Race 2 I was asleep as the lights went and and made a terrible start, and despite hurting from the race 1 incident I got my head down and quick;y pushed my way to the front and pulled a comfortable gap to the rest of the field and crossed the line almost 3 seconds ahead.
My mate Macky caught the crash on camera, the sequence can be found here.
Next outing will the the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill on 3rd July.
Thanks
Torquil May 18 Scottish Minimoto Championships – Raceland, GladsmuirHi all, Well it was the turn of LIttle Lewis to make his road racing debut at the weekend (17/05/2009) at round 2 of the Scottish Minimoto Championship at Raceland, Gladsmuir. It was his first outing on a Polini 910 Carena S minimoto and he loved it! Racland is an outdoor track, 930metres long, and very quick. Even these little bikes with 8 year olds on board are averaging 30mph round a lap! Next round of the Scottish Minimotos is at Raceland on 14th June, see you there :-) Torquil April 23 Racing PhotographyHi, I'm always amazed at the number of photographers at the meetings these days who take photos and post them onto various websites. Some of my favourites:
If you know of any others drop me a note and let me know. And finally here's one from my pal Darren:
April 20 The Great EscapeHello,
It was back to East Fortune for rounds 3 and 4 of the Scottish Championship.
Saturday started off in the worst possible way with the bike dropping a valve in morning practice. Luckily we managed to get the bike out of the circuit and straight to the YPE Power workshops where Stuart Young got to work stripping the engine and replacing the broken valve. Amazingly Stuart managed to repair the bike and it was brought back to the circuit just in time for the Scottish Championship race. I did him justice by winning the race easily despite the fact I had to be re-scruitineered and had no time to put on tyre warmers. My main concern was getting the bike and myself round the circuit safely and to gain valuable points, but once I get my race head on I only really want to win!!
Sunday morning started with a club race in which I made a good start and battled for a couple of laps before taking another convincing win! The Scottish Championship race was run after lunch. Another great start saw me leading after the second lap I was timed by the pit crew as having a 5.5 second lead going into the last lap, I new I was winning this race easily so slowed up as I exited the hairpin so ended with a 3.5 second lead as I took the chequered flag.
A clean sweep as far as Scottish Chapionship points goes, so can't wait for the next meeting as Knockhill on the 24th May.
The YPE Powered/Saltire Suzuki GSX-R1000 will now be stripped and rebuilt with new parts in time for the next championship meeting.
BRING IT ON !!!!!!
 April 05 Knockhill - 5th April - Round One - Win, Win!Hi,
First round of the Scottish this weekend at Knockhill and it was a great start to my season with a double win and two fastest laps.
Qualifying was in mixed conditions and I ended up 4th on the grid, front row start, that'll do.
Race 1, good start, slotted into 2nd place and lost a place before working my way into the lead at mid distance and then doing a series of fast laps to cross the line almost 3 seconds ahead of the rest.
Race 2 another good start but got kind of stuck in 2nd place. Worked on a plan but it was proving difficult to get into the lead but finally cracked it into the 1st turn of the last lap and then set the fastest lap of the race to win by just 3 tenths of a second, whew!
Out in a fortnight at East Fortune.
Picture by Darren Lough, thanks.  October 06 Knockhill Race Report - 4/5th ctober 2008Hi everyone,
Last racing update of the season, anything else I post after this will be nonsense.
Finished 2nd and 1st over the two races at the weekend, set fastest laps in both, lost Scottish Championship by 4 points, oh well, try again next year.
Season Stats:
Over and out. September 24 East Fortune Race Report - 20/21 September 2008Here we go again,
Quick results:
Saturday
Sunday
As you can see it was a dark day on Saturday followed by a flawless day on Sunday. The Saturday fuel issues were purely my own fault. We use a dipstick to measure fuel and I managed to mis-read it twice in the same day The results of Sunday made up for the disaster of Saturday and winning the prestigious Steve Hislop Trophy for a second time was absolutely fantastic. One more round to go in 2008, back to Knockhill on 4th/5th October then we're back into the long, cold winter. September 09 Knockhill Race Report - 7th September 2008Hi everyone,
It's Tuesday night after another good meeting for the YPE Powered / Saltire Suzuki team at Knockhill at the weekend. Another round of the Scottish Championships and another wedge of points towards the championship total.
Sunday started wet and I qualified 5th, only 3 10ths of a second from pole position so no that bad, and 5th is the right side of the track to be on (in my opionion).
Race one was totally wet and I made a distinctly average start but pushed hard through the first couple of turns to end the first lap still in 5th. I quickly worked my way up to 4th before spending a couple of laps trying to get myself up to 2nd. By the time I got up to 2nd the leader was miles ahead, but I kept my head down and tried to reel him in. I eventually caught him on the last lap but it was too late to try and pass so I ended up 2nd.
Race two was dry with some damp patches still around. I made another poor start but I was comfortable in the dry and pushed my way to the front after about 4 laps. Once I hit the front I never looked back and eventually crossed the line 2.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, and set the fastest lap of the race, which was nice.
I'm still 2nd in the championship race but the gap is now down to 14 points so it's all getting a little closer.
Next meeting is the Steve Hislop race at East Fortune on 20/21 September. This will include Scottish Championship races, Steve Hislop trophy race and Interclub Team Challenge races.
Don't forget to check out the excellent Power Image galleries:
Saturday practice here
Sunday racing here
Later
Torquil #31 August 18 East Fortune Race Report - 16/17 August 2008Hi folks,
It was another successful weekend's racing for the Saltire Suzuki/YPE Powered team onboard our Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7.
Two days of racing at East Fortune and some more races for the Scottish Championships. We were lucky with the weather and it stayed mainly dry and warm all weekend.
On Saturday I was feeling a bit under the weather so I only did the Scottish Championship race, which I eventually won after a bit of a scrap with Bruce Burnie and Michael Robertson. It was close stuff but I managed to drag a win out of it in the end. I sat out the second race on Saturday to try and recuperate for the Sunday races.
On Sunday I felt better and by the time the Scottish Championship race came round I was raring to go. I made a rubbish start and battled for the first few laps with Bruce Burnie and Michael Robertson again, but eventually I managed to puch my way to the front and pulled away to win by a couple of seconds, phew!
The second race on Sunday was a club race and I did it for some fun and I loved it. The bike is great and I'm enjoying pushing it to it's limits as much as I can. I managed to hit the front on the first lap and managed to win the race by over 6 seconds, despite them putting out the flags a lap too early, good one Libby!!
Next up we're off to Shiplaw on 30/31st August with little Lewis for some more motocross and then we're back to the road racing on 7th September at Knockhill.
See you later
Torquil #31 July 21 East Fortune, and some more lap records...Hi again, I had another fantastic race meeting at East Fortune at the weekend on the YPE Powered / Saltire Suzuki / Rock Oil GSX-R1000. It was a trophy only weekend and not Scottish Championship so it was a chance to relax and try to enjoy the racing. Saturday started with torrential rain but by the time the first race came round for us it was basically dry. I was the only rider to race on dry tyres and the gamble paid off as I took a straight forward win without too much hassle. The second race on Saturday was bone dry and I got a good start and pushed as hard as I could. I quickly opened up a gap and set a new lap record in the process, 59.114s, but then I was a too optimistic about a passing opportunity on a back marker and ended up taking both of us out of the race, sorry! Sunday was a much better day weather wise and in the first race I made a good start, took the lead and pushed from the beginning again. I set another new lap record, 59.020s, and took another win. Race two on Sunday was even better as I made a perfect start, took the holeshot and again pushed from the start. My first flying lap was a 59.1s followed by a 58.8s, new lap record, followed by a 58.6, another new lap record! Then we ran into the back markers and the lap times suffered accordingly, but I took another convincing win. Next meeting is back at East Fortune on 16/17 August for the next Scottish Championship round. July 14 Knockhill, lap records and more lap records.Hi again, Quick report from the 60th Scottish Road Races from Knockhill. To say I had a good weekend would be an understatement, I had a brilliant weekend ;-) Did my usual qualifying and only managed 5th on the grid, just to give myself plenty to do in the races. There were to be 2 races on the Saturday and 2 races on the Sunday, all counting towards the Scottish Championship, so no mistakes allowed! Race one on Saturday and I made my customary slow start and ended the first lap in 6th place, only 5 to pass! I managed to pass a couple of riders in the early laps and then 2nd place fell at McIntyres which moved me to 3rd with about 5 laps to go. Chasing the leaders I managed to do 2 laps in the 50.5s bracket, lap record pace! I caught the front two and managed to squeeze my way past into the lead to win the race by a couple of seconds, woo hoo! Race two on Saturday was cut short to 8 laps. I actually made a not bad start and ended the first lap in 3rd place. It was close between the 3 of us at the front and I managed to move to 2nd with a couple of laps to go. I took the lead very briefly on the last lap and immediately lost it again. It all came down to the hairpin and the drag up the hill to the finish line. I was side by side across the line but I was relegated to 2nd by 0.007s, gutted!! Sunday races were even better! Race one on Sunday and I made another rubbish start but managed to make my way up the field quicker. This time, in my hurry to catch the leaders, I broke the lap record again and managed to get down to a 50.289s lap, and in fact every lap I did apart from the first and last were under 51s! I managed to drag myself up to the lead and won again by a couple of seconds. Race two on Sunday and it was pretty much the same story, rubbish start, make my way up to the front and take the win. If only it was as easy as it sounds! Next meeting at East Fortune on 19/20 July, Tom Dickie Trophy meeting so a bit of fun, see you there. July 09 The next generationThe next generation of Paterson's has now started racing. Lewis has taken his first tentative steps into the world of motocross in the Automatic 50 class, and I think he's hooked already! He's had a couple of meetings so far, one at Shiplaw and one at Leuchars and he's managed to bag his first trophy for a 6th overall at Leuchars. Some pics:
June 23 Knockhill Scottish Championship - 21st & 22nd June 2008Here we go again!! It was off to Knockhill for the Melville Club's 75th Anniversary races for some more rounds of the Scottish Championship and Melville Club Championships. We did Friday practice to try some more changes to the bike and despite the extremely windy conditions I was quite happy with the changes and confident for the weekend. Saturday saw the qualifying for all the weekends races and I did OK managing to slot myself into 4th position on the grid. The first race for us on Saturday was for the Scottish Championship and as is my way these days I made my customary rubbish start. I think I finished the first lap in about 6th. I started to try and work my way up the grid when I had a slight coming together with another rider and ended up going through the gravel trap at turn 1, Duffus Dip. Unfortunately the impact with the other bike broke my clutch lever off and that was race over for me. The second race on Saturday was a kind of boring race for me. Made my usual rubbish start, ended the first lap 3rd and held that position for the race, not really able to do anything about the leaders. Sunday was a very mixed affair weather wise. There were a lot of delays on Sunday so we didn't get out for our Scottish Championship race until 13:25. It was a wet track with slight dry patches on a couple of corners. I made my usual rubbish start but braked as late as possible into turn 1 to slot into 2nd place. I held 2nd for a couple of laps before taking the lead and pulling away from the rest of the field to win by just over 4 seconds. At last a race win at Knockhill in 2008, my first Knockhill win this season, woo hoo!! By the time we got to the second race on Sunday the track was dry and it was sunny and warm. This time I made an average start and slotted into 2nd position which I held for a couple of laps before moving into the lead and and pushed as hard as I could and managed to hold on for my second win of the day. Next races are back at Knockhill on 12th and 13th July for more Scottish Championship shennanigans, see you there. June 09 New video of little Lewis at Dunblane Motocross TrackThere are some new videos on my YouTube account of some motocross boys in action at Dunblane.
May 26 Knockhill 26th May - Race ReportHello again,
Just a quick note about Knockhill at the weekend on my YPE Powered/Saltire Suzuki GSX-R1000.
It was a sunny, dry but cold day at Knockhill and I qualified 2nd on the grid, which is good for me because I'm always rubbish at qualifying.
I'll make my excuses now but I hurt myself playing five-a-side football during the week and was riding with bruised ribs which were fine as long as I didn't breath, cough, yawn or ride a 180bhp motorcycle round a tight and twisty race track. Excuses over.
In race one I made a terrible start and never really managed to get going. I ended up 4th by the end, not a total disaster.
In race two I made the perfect start and led the first lap, I'd finally managed to get the adrenaline pumping and I held the lead for a lap before slipping to 3rd. I managed to hold on to the front two for most of the race and then held my position over the last couple of laps. I crossed the line in 3rd, which I was happy about considering the way I was feeling. As I write this on the Monday morning after the racing I'm really feeling the pain but as long as I'm careful it should all heal in time for the next set of races.
Next up is a brand new event, the Melville Motor Club are running a 2 day meeting at Knockhill on June 21st and 22nd which should be good as they'll be running some different classes so it should be a chance to see some different bikes out on track.
See you later, Torquil #31. May 19 East Fortune - 17th and 18th May 2008 - Race ReportHi again everyone. It was the North East club's turn to run some racing at East Fortune and it turned out to be a good weekend for me again. This meeting was a bit more relaxing because it wasn't Scottish championship so I got a chance to try and few things on the bike and try and make it a bit more rider friendly. North East club run an Open class and for this weekend the Sound of Thunder bikes were lumped in as well which made for pretty interesting racing, 180bhp Suzuki GSX-R1000's against 56bhp Honda CB500's is frightening!! Two 10 lap races on Saturday and Sunday saw the same results on both days for me, 2nd in the first race each day and won the second race each day. All the races were a two horse race between me and Michael Robertson and the results really came down to the luck/skill of getting through the slower riders. When you consider that we managed to lap a few of the riders twice in a 10 lap race it really was impressive that we both got down to times just 1/10th of a second off the outright lap record. And that was in less than ideal track temperatures and conditions. Pictures below from Sylvia, thanks. May 08 Bike Sport News - Rider of the MeetingThanks to Bike Sport News for my award, here's is how they reported it in the paper: May 04 Knockhill Race Report - 4th May 2008Hi there, Just back from Knockhill and it was a disaster. After qualifying 11th (wet tyres and a dry track don't mix) I made a good start in race one and managed to work my way up to the lead and held it all the way to the last corner where I was out smarted by my arch nemesis Bruce Birnie who pushed me back to second by the line. Not a total disaster but frustrating none the less. Race two and I got another good start and pushed my way up to second behind Bob Grant. I tried to pass him into McIntyres but didn't quite make it and ended the race in the gravel trap! Nil points, boo hoo... Next we're off to East Fortune for North East club meeting, see you there, Torquil #31 April 22 East Fortune - 19/20 April 2008Hi, It's me again and this time I'm going to witter on about the Scottish Championship that finally got underway at East Fortune at the weekend and what a weekend it turned out for me!! Pole position, 4 wins and 4 fastest laps from 4 races and to top it all off the Scottoiler (Senior) Rider of the Day award, amazing! Big thanks to John Young and Uncle Dave for braving the weather to put up the awning. Big thanks to Stuart of YPE for the awesome bike. Big thanks to Calum for all his help over the weekend. Big thanks to my dad, my wife Erin and the boys Lewis and Owen for making it all happen. And finally a big thanks to the marshals who voted for the rider of the day award. Next round at Knockhill on May 4th. See ya there :-) |
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