The day had finally arrived, the car was packed and the bike was on the trailer. The ferry ticket was in my hand with the passports and all we had to do was go. I was like a child in a sweet shop, excited, nervous and giddy with expectation.
I was booked on a 4 day track event in Croatia (Grobnik). The track was called Rijeka and it was about 2.6 miles long. It was going to take 2 days to drive there from Scotland so there was no time to waste. We arrived with plenty of time to spare at Hull and the trailer had done well. Good job because there were plenty of miles to go.
We had been driving for hours, everyone was tired and we needed something to eat. So we stopped for the night and made ready for the last push into Croatia. I woke up early and thought I would go and check on the bike. I stepped out of the door and I couldn’t believe my eyes, there must have been about a foot of snow on the ground.
The drive down into Croatia was uneventful apart from the 5 different weather fronts we drove through that really got me worried. Had I wasted my money and everyone’s time? I had a car full of gear, spare tyres, fuel and tools and not a wet tyre in sight. I hope I hadn’t blown it. The sun came out and it was glorious. We arrived at the track and the wind nearly blew my door off its hinges. We took shelter in the paddock and I took the opportunity to get all the paper work done. I was the last to arrive out of our group but it was good to meet up with the lads again. The last time we were all together was in the Netherlands at the Zandvoort track.
We drove down to the B&B and unpacked the rest of the car. It was a typical Croat house and the land lady was very nice. She made us all welcome and the beds were comfy. It was so much better than the tent we had at the last track. Janette stayed in bed and me and the boys set of for the track. The weather was great, no wind and the sun was out. I booked in and got my bike inspected and wheeled it round to the paddock. The bike had new tyres on and all I had to do was check the tyre pressures and put the tyre warmers on.
The brief was short but to the point, there was only one group, fast. It was an open track and the pit lane was to be kept free. I wasn’t totally sure what that meant but I was certain it would become clear as the day went on. As I put my leathers on the boys took the tyre warmers off and we walked to see the first couple of bikes come onto the start finish straight.
The first bike onto the straight was a Kawasaki, he was all out of shape and the bike was shaking its head in disapproval. He held it together and disappeared round the first right hander. I climbed on mine and I could feel the sweat running down my arms. My engine burst into life and I pulled into the pit lane. I could see the lads just in front of me, so I wormed my way to about 3rd in the pack. I had barely stopped when the pit lane light turned green. We were off, I entered the track at the first bend and I followed the pack. The first 3 laps were going to be steady or so I thought. The bends were fantastic, long and sweeping with two very fast straights. It was a clockwise track and at this rate I was going to be needing new knee sliders on my left knee every time I came in.
All the bikes were fitted with transponders, so each time I came in I ran down to the booth and got a copy of the standings. I couldn’t believe it, I was the fastest out of our group. I couldn’t wait to tell the lads. You can imagine the response, helmets were on and it was war. Peter was the first out on track, I had never been quicker than Peter before. I don’t think my record was going to stand for long but I needed to get out there.
End of Part 1
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