The year was 1976, the month was November and the date was the 9th; the birthday was Flatout's... Thirty years on and a party was thrown to celebrate. The guests arrived at the venue, as did half of londonbikers.com armed with a gift contributed by members past and present. The gift, a VIP day with the Virgin Media Optoma Loans Yamaha BSB race team... So, I booked the day Sunday the 20th at Snetterton and accompanied by my gorgeous fair maiden, we made our way to the travel lodge in Cringleford some 16 miles away to avoid a long drive and an early start in the morning.
We made our way to the circuit for about half past eight and parked near the entrance for a quick escape. Once in and amongst the hustle and bustle, we walked up to behind the pits to find the Yamaha hospitality area, unfortunately it was at the other end from where we had come in so, a quick march back to sign in and get my pass punched, enjoy a quick nibble and several cups of tea while Gill went and made herself comfortable amongst thousands of leather clad bikers...
Then ten o’ clock rolled round and it was time for my trip to the pit garage from hospitality coordinator Stuart Smith with a brief stop at the R6 cup tent on the way and a quick explanation of how the series is all run and set up. We entered the pits to view Tommy Hill’s and James Haydon’s tricked up BSB R1s… What machines!!!
Tommy's fairings were completely off the bike, so it was a really good chance for me to see underneath their new R1’s and get some close up pictures, even if a little out of focus! The Virgin Team explained everything to me and I had all of my questions answered in detail, but after that there wasn't much more to it as far as hospitality goes, only nipping back every now and then for free cold drinks.
We then went off to watch the KTM Superduke race and the first Superstock race before race one of the main event. This was my first ever BSB event and I loved every minute of the racing; we positioned ourselves just on the chicane just before the start finish straight, this was just the right place to see several crashes. Anyway, after the first race I made my way back to the hospitality tent for a slap up dinner and pud and more free drinks. We were also asked to enter a competition guessing the fastest lap and the winner of race two, I'm a bit of a numpty when it comes to racing and the only names I knew were Tommy Hill and Shakey Byrne, but I also knew that Shakey spends more time sliding on his arse than riding, so I went with Tommy… I didn't win and neither did he!!!
Before making my way back to Gilly, still where I left her, I stopped and bought her some chips. The following race was the R6 cup, I love this racing lark, it just shows the levels of skill these riders have. Knowing that all bikes are the same, I felt real sorry for the last bloke in the race as I did with the Superduke racing. The poor guy was just getting further and further behind till front runners were just chewing him up, still, better than I could do!!
We went for a short walk round the stalls and few T shirt purchases later it was back to our vantage point for race two where the action continued. Again, from where we watched all we could see was the HM Plant Honda’s dominating the race once more.
After the final BSB race we both went back to the Yamaha tent where I was told during the morning that the riders would come down for photos and autographs, but when we got to the Media Virgin Yamaha hospitality they were more interested in dismantling the tent, and subsequently no riders turned up which was a little annoying, but never mind eh… So, off to the car park we went to make our way back to the hotel, but just before I got in the car, I went over to take a picture of the Snetterton bridge and was amazed how fast the little 125s were screaming round the track for the last race of the day, I lingered a moment to lap up the smell of Castrol R. Once back at the hotel Gill and I just crashed out for a few hours, both very tired and, Gilly burnt to a crisp by the sun!
I had a great day, the weather was fantastic and the racing was cool… Watching the bikes in the flesh was just amazing and the popping every time they change gear and flames on over run was the mutts nuts, just the general atmosphere and how close to it all you can get was the most amazing experience.
I just want to say a big thanks to the Londonbikers who chipped in and got this gift for me. It meant a lot when I was given it and I just want you to know it was enjoyed to the full, and rather than do a plain old post I wanted to do this article as a thanks.
I also want to thank my No. 1 girl Gill who came with me, drove me there and booked a hotel for two nights and mainly for sitting on her tod while I was doing the VIP stuff around the circuit.
Thanks everyone… Flats
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