Here we go again!

[Guest]

Hi guys, the road racing season here in Ireland is upon us again, although it started last week with the Scarborough races(the only race held on English soil). The "Cookstown 100" celebrates it's 90th anniversary this year,and to celebrate the orginising club have set up a small exhibition in Cookstown.I went yesterday to have a look but was too early-they were still setting it up-DOH, but I got some photos of maps of the old and new circuits(sorry if they are a bit blurry-my 3 year old wouldn't let me set her down so I had to take them one handed:-

this is the circuit as it ran from 1922 until 1991(I think)


and this is the present circuit. I just thought that you could have some fun on google maps matching the line drawing to the actual roads(or maybe you have lives).

here is one of the classic race bikes they had on display-it looks very like a T20 or "super 6" kinda hard to tell, but it still looks nice
This on the other hand is a 250 stroker ridden by John Burrows,who is from Dungannon,which is about 10 miles from Cookstown-this little beastie will top 150mph,and frequently does down a 12 foot wide road lined with stone walls-and if that doesn't excite you-WHY AREN'T YOU BURIED YET?????
I'll update this thread next week aftre the races with hopefully some video and photos from around the paddock.I'm going to show fellow member Leigh just what this is all about next year and hope this brings back happy memories to Charlie G who saw proper racing for the first time last year.Johnny

[pete]

Looking forward to it Johnny!

This is about as close as I'm likely to ever get at this stage...

[Johnny Drummond]

Finally

I've been threatening to do this for nearly a year now but at last I got the chance to film a lap of the Cookstown 100 circuit. and here it is (hopefully)

if clicking on this doesn't work(very likley!) go to www.photobucket.com and type in johnny237 album-it should play from there.I was driving averaging between 35/40 mph the racers on the big superstock bikes average roughly 3 times that,while I have a lot of respect for anyone who races-tracks will never have the same appeal after seeing bikes go that fast on such a small road.hope you enjoy this and I'll try to post some more as and when I am in the area of the tracks.Johnny

[Buffalo Bill]

WoW!

So cool Johnny!
I can't imagine having the courage to wind up to 14,000 in 3rd, 4th gear on those roads.
Great video!
We got tiny country roads around here, I like to scoot up and down on. Terrified some goober ina pickup, will come around the corner on the wrong side, or it'll be a soccer mom.
Bill

[Johnny Drummond]

I'll quote the programme here,think it sums up the feeling about racing here better than I ever could!.
From the "motor cycle" in 1946 :- "To an English visitor, the smaller Irish road races are a never failing source of wonder.If,for instance,you can imagine small towns 25 miles from London barring all traffic from it's streets once a year and holding a road race through them,starting in the wide main street itself,you will have some idea of the setting of the Cookstown 100. the inhabitants,having shut up their shops,ascend to the windows above and settle down to enjoy an afternoons real road racing".Okay they don't use the main street anymore but damn all else has changed in the intervening 66 years.Oh and as an addition-these roads are wide(and the camera makes them look wider still) compared to other circuits-I'll go around the Bush track-now THAT is narrow!, glad you liked the footage Bill,updated that bucket list yet????

[John Kat]

It reminds me of some road circuits in Belgium I used to race on as a youngster...in worse!
I'm talking about Mettet ( the old circuit) lapped at 175 km/h average on my Honda 750 Daytona in 1972 or Chimay a little slower but just as dangerous.
It's surprising to see that such tracks are still allowed?

[Johnny Drummond]

John, I have a lot of respect for you as a rider!,being a youngster (born in 1971) I missed on the real "hard working, hard playing" era of Kork Ballington,Kenny Roberts,Jarno Saarinen etc. but those speeds would put you in the top 12 of any modern race grid.We are lucky here to have a few French and Belgian riders competing over here Marc Fisette is one who springs to mind,there is also a complete loony who rides an SV1000 with flat bars but sieve head can't remember his name.As far as the circuits go we have a reasonably low fatality rate when you consider there are 16 meetings in a season,an average of 12 races a meeting and 40-50 riders in each race,if you consider there are an average of 5 laps per race that makes 960 chances of one of the racers having a fatal accident.If the sport has a bad year 2 riders are killed on a road race circuit,that makes a 480:1 chance(please correct my maths as I'm useless),not bad when you consider the clubs who run and fund the races do so on a voluntary basis with little help from Government.Also road racing is so deeply ingrained here that stopping it would be like Monsieur Sarkozy banning the consumpsion of wine,and would probably have the same result

[Charlie G]

Johnny,

Do you have any pictures to share of the race?

cg

[Johnny Drummond]

Hi Charlie,I messed up.The bike had an electrical issue(non working turn signal) and by the the time I had it fixed the roads were nearly closed and when I stopped at the paddock a police officer moved me on!!!!,BUT-just for you,remember the "flying doctor" you tried and tried to photo at the Ulster Grand Prix,WELL ta da-I got him.Okay I was at a slow 50/70 mph corner not a 175mph straight.I also got photos of one of the ladies who were racing Yvonne Montgomery from Belfast and Maria Costello was also there but I didn't manage to get any of her.Go to photobucket(Johnny237 album) to see the rest of the shots I managed to get

So just for you Charlie here he is:- if anyone wonders why he has the bags-he is one of the 2 fast response doctors that must attend every meeting(over the years these guys have saved many riders lives AND they are unpaid volunteers) there are also 6 ambulances and 30-40 emt first aiders at every meeting.The Tandragee 100 is this Saturday so I'll get there early to make sure that I can get paddock photos, and hopefully some shots of the MV Agusta triples.It just means being up at 5am,but what the hell.johnny

[John Kat]

John, I have a lot of respect for you as a rider!,being a youngster (born in 1971) I missed on the real "hard working, hard playing" era of Kork Ballington,Kenny Roberts,Jarno Saarinen etc.

Thanks!
I can only say that at one of the Mettet meetings, Jarno Saarinen was there racing a 350 Yamaha.
I posted myself in one of the most difficult ( and dangerous) bends to watch that race.
Imagine a downhill bend in the middle of a couple of houses with the walls approximately 1 meter away from the road, sorry the track.
The delineation between the road and the side walk beeing a small gully(?).
I hear the roar of the engines screaming in the distance and there comes the pack with Jarno first.
Speed must be around 200 km/h and Jarno takes it a bit wide and his front wheel goes in the gully...
The front end shakes like crazy but Jarno keeps the throttle wide open and ...they disappear!
Next turn around, I believe Jarno will take it a bit more cautiously...
You must be kidding, front wheel in the gully,big shake and on he goes.
Needless to say he won the race.
That's the day I realized I would remain an amateur

[Johnny Drummond]

Hahaha,I realised that I was ALWAYS going to be an ametuer when I went around the road circuit I grew up on(the Carrowdore 100) and had spent over 20 years walking and driving every day in a car and riding on my bike,I got a mate to time me on a lap, on which I scared myself several times and nearly crashed once(as I was riding a lot faster than I really wanted to). When I came in my mate was almost helpless with laughter.I was nearly a minute slower than the 125cc lap average-and I was on a GS550!!!.That was when I realised that watching was going to be as far as I got.The Carrowdore had a real test on one of the corners-the inside of a blind 90 degree left was the wall of a house,after the races you could see these coloured streaks where riders shoulders had rubbed on the wall!.Sadly 2 deaths caused the abandonment of the race there in 2000,but it wasn't a bad thing as the bikes were too powerful and the surface too narrow and bad for anything over 600cc.But I still have a little twinge of nostalgia when I ride the course now- I can almost smell the Castrol "R" and the scream of TZ yams,and "K"series Hondas.


Oh and John,my wife thinks it is really funny that You became a follower on photobucket(the notification went to her mail address as I didn't have one of my own when I set it up) she said"oooooohhhh you have a follower"-well stalker was the word she actually used when she read the mail,I told her not to get excited,you were called John-that seemed to make it even funnier.Johnny
Here are 3 photos from the Carrowdore

[Charlie G]

Hi Charlie,I messed up.The bike had an electrical issue(non working turn signal) and by the the time I had it fixed the roads were nearly closed and when I stopped at the paddock a police officer moved me on!!!!,BUT-just for you,remember the "flying doctor" you tried and tried to photo at the Ulster Grand Prix,WELL ta da-I got him.Okay I was at a slow 50/70 mph corner not a 175mph straight.I also got photos of one of the ladies who were racing Yvonne Montgomery from Belfast and Maria Costello was also there but I didn't manage to get any of her.Go to photobucket(Johnny237 album) to see the rest of the shots I managed to get

So just for you Charlie here he is:- if anyone wonders why he has the bags-he is one of the 2 fast response doctors that must attend every meeting(over the years these guys have saved many riders lives AND they are unpaid volunteers) there are also 6 ambulances and 30-40 emt first aiders at every meeting.The Tandragee 100 is this Saturday so I'll get there early to make sure that I can get paddock photos, and hopefully some shots of the MV Agusta triples.It just means being up at 5am,but what the hell.johnny

I went to your album and looked at the pictures. It seems like it was a pretty nice day. I'm going to have to look up the numbers of the riders so I know who is who. Thanks .

cg

[Buffalo Bill]

Cool!
Don't stop now boys!

[Johnny Drummond]

Tandragee races 2012

I'm not long back from the races,great days sport and bored medical staff-perfect.My internal clock screwed up and I woke at 4am instead of 5,so I'll put the photos and video clips on tomorrow as I'm just about awake to type this!

[Johnny Drummond]

Tandragee photos and video

Okay, I've just uploaded 11 video clips and 19 photos from yesterday.Go to www.photobucket.com/Johnny237's album to see them.the video clip titled "turn it up!!!" is of the older racers from the'60s,sorry they are so short but I can only use a 2GB chip in the camera.here are one or two to give you the idea

The place where I watched from is a no-no in racing terms really,on the outside of a bend is the place where if a rider loses it the bike will travel directly at you-and believe me you will NOT get out of the way in time, but I was tired and just wanted to sit down!!!.Hope you enjoy them.Johnny