WIRRAL 100 POWERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL ROUND OULTON PARK
The final round of the Wirral Powerbike championship was a bitter
sweet affair at the infamous Oulton Park racing circuit. A top 10
championship position was the teams target at the start of the
season but with the results better than expected after the first 4
rounds it was disappointing that the team could not deliver a 3rd
place championship place after only managing a 12th place finish in
the Powerbike championships final race.
The team had tested the new GSXR1000K5 on the previous day to race
day to decide whether it was possible to use the bike for the
upcoming races. After the test day Carl was only 1 second of his
previous best lap times & the decision was made to run the new
machine even though Carl was only just becoming accustomed to the
bike & had limited time at the technical Oulton Park circuit.
Disaster struck on race day when a front wheel spacer was lost
during wheel changes & morning warm up had to be done on the teams
trusty old GSXR1000K3. This left Carl with no time to accustom
himself to the conditions on track with the new bike. Fortunately
the teams mechanic Stuart Woodhall managed to source a spacer & the
new bike was readied for action long before the first qualifying
heat.
Carl was placed 2nd on the grid for his heat race amongst a 38 rider
line up. After a reasonable start considering carl had never
launched the new bike in anger Carl slotted into 5th place & after a
great battle with championship rival Angelo Derosa Carl managed a
3rd in class & fifth place overall finish. After the other 2 heats
were run this put Carl 11th on the grid.
The teams target was to ensure that 5th place in the championship
was theirs by losing no more than 3 points to Angelo Derosa who was
4 points behind Carl in the championship.
With the race fast approaching adjustments were made to the bikes
quickshifter to try to improve gear selection. This had been a major
problem to Carl in the qualifying heat where by he could not select
gears correctly costing him precious seconds during the race.
As soon as the race started it was obvious that Carl had an even
bigger problem with gear selection than he had had in the qualifier.
In the qualifying heat Carl had managed to better his previous best
lap time at the circuit by 1.3 seconds but during the final race he
was unable to match those times as the bike constantly jumped out of
gear. Carl was passed by 2 riders but managed to gather himself &
repass both riders to finish 12 th in the final. This was
disappointing but at least he had managed to only lose 1 point to
Angelo Derosa who finished 10th.
The team would like to thank all of this years sponsors Sherwood
Motorcycles, IQMS, KSUK & Keith Brain tyres for all of their support
in 2007.
Hopefully next season we can manage to run closer to the front now
that we have the experience at Oulton Park & the fabulous new
Anglesey trac mon. With a bit of better fortune a 3rd place finish
would have been on the cards but it was not too be.
The NTO race team will be looking for additional sponsorship
partners for the 2008 season. Any interested parties can contact the
team through the website
www.NTOracing.co.uk or Carl Directly on
Carl@NTOracing.co.uk
WIRRAL 100 POWERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4 SEPTEMBER 29TH & 30TH
NTO racing returned to the picturesque Anglesey circuit for the
penultimate round of the Powerbike championships. This round would
see the team contest in the Anglesey Grand & 2 Powerbike
championship races.
The Anglesey Grand is a prize money affair & is an invitation only
race so the NTO team were delighted to be included in the starting
line up as this meant all the hard work for the season had been
noticed by the club organisers. Little did the team know of the
drama which would ensue during the race weekend.
Morning warm up gave the team a chance to try out the newly
acquired GSXR1000K5 bike which will be campaigned next season in the
Powerbike championship. The first outing was encouraging although
the bike needs heavy modifications to ensure it is race ready for
next year. Carl then set out on his second warm up session on the
teams regular race bike. First lap out Carl pushed on to try & get
some good practice in for the races ahead but on the first run lap
Carl came up on riders travelling far slower & had to leave the
track at 130mph. He managed to hold the bike up all the way across
the circuit until eventually he had to lay it down or risk rejoining
the circuit on the back straight & possible collision with another
rider. Fortunately the bike & rider suffered very little damage but
Carls warm up session was over meaning he was not dialled in for the
days racing.
As usual the Powerbike races started with a qualifying heat. Carl
was placed on Pole position for the second of the qualifying heats.
A daunting task being as Carl new full well that behind him were
many Superstock racers & Alastair Sealey this years North West 200
runner up.
Carl suffered a terrible start with the bike wheelying twice &
bogging down of the line & found himself in 8th place as he headed
into the "Bank" hairpin for the first time. Carl dived underneath
the fast improving Neil Gallant to take 7th & then set about trying
to make up lost time for his disastrous start. Carl managed another
pass on the way up to Rocket on lap 2 passing Tim Maher for 6th
place and then settled down into 1min 33 laps to consolidate his
position & ensure a decent spot on the grid for the Powerbike
championship races.
Powerbike
race 1 saw Carl starting from 10th on the grid & after a better
start Carl held 11th into the first corner. He swiftly moved up to
10th on the first run up to the infamous Rocket corner & then set
about trying to catch championship rival Angelo Derosa. It took a
couple of laps for Carl to catch Angelo but eventually he did &
passed him on the run into the hairpin. Carl then set his fastest
lap of the race to ensure a 9th place finsh.
Powerbike
race 2 once again saw Carl starting from 10th on the grid but a
better start saw him into 8th for the first corner & then
immediately Carl set about making up places. 7th was attained at
Peel & then Carl made his way up to 5th place passing Angelo Derosa
yet again to cement Carls place in 4th in the championship.
Unfortunately a wheelie on the last lap caused Carl to run on at the
hairpin & a rider passed him but 6th place was a great finish
considering the quality of the field.
The Anglesey Grand was a serious let down. A heavy downpour an hour
before race start caused confusion & with the race director calling
a wet race most competitors arrived on the grid with wet tyres on,
however the track was predominantly dry & Carl pulled in after the
warm up lap for the sake of his own safety. This turned out to be a
good call because 13 riders failed to finish the race due to either
falling from their machine or retiring with shredded tyres.
Carl then entered one of the Powerbike trophy races as a way of
salvaging the day but had to start from last on the grid in 17th
place. By the end of lap 2 Carl was already up to 7th place & then
moved up to fifth on lap 3 of the 5 lap dash. A trophy looked on the
cards until Carls brakes began to fail. Carl over shot Peel corner &
hastily tried to adjust his brake lever as it was coming into the
bars. He managed to repass the 2 riders only to lose the places
again when the brakes failed again. On the very last corner of the
race Carl found he had practically no brakes at all & was lucky not
to skittle the 2 riders in front of him. Carl left the track but
managed to stop the bike before hitting the barriers. A sad end to a
bad days racing for the team!
After the races Carl commented " It has been a bad day at the races
for us this weekend, we had high hopes of finishing in the money in
the Grand & a trophy looked ours in the final race of the day,
having said that in the Powerbike championship races we beat the
guys that mattered & got decent if not great results. All that
matters now is getting a good result at the final round at Oulton
Park on 20th October. I must thank my mechanic Stuart Woodall for
his endeavours this weekend & all my sponsors Kestrel signs,
Qualatis, Keith Brain tyres & most importantly Sherwood Suzuki for
their continuing support in providing hardware for the race bike,
without this support we certainly would not be in a position to get
3rd place in the Powerbike championship at the last round. I must
also thank my wife & team supporters for their encouragement."
The final round of the championship is at Oulton Park on October
the 20th. We may now race the new bike.
Bring it on.
WIRRAL 100 POWERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 ANGLESEY JULY 29TH
NTO racing marked
another milestone on July the 29th with its first podium in the
Powerbike championship race at Anglesey. Carl has now moved up to
3rd place in the championship after a stunning race saw Carl finish
second to British Superstock contender Craig Beggs.
Round 2 had seen
promising progress with NTO racer Carl Dodwell managing a 7th place
finish at the brand new Anglesey circuit. The team also tested
successfully at the circuit a fortnight previous to the race weekend
finding a good base setting for the GSXR1000 Suzuki, this gave the
team confidence they could improve on the 7th place achieved at
round 2. It was not however expected that a 2nd place would be
achieved considering the experience & machinery of Carl's
competitors.
Race day dawned
with beautiful blue sunny skies & a gentle breeze, perfect
conditions for race day. Morning warm up caused the team some
concern when it was found that due to having to run different
specification tyres due to availability problems with Michelin
slicks the bike was unstable & was grounding out through most of the
corners on the technical circuit. Stuart ( slick ) Woodhall the NTO
racing teams mechanic worked feverishly to adjust the bikes
suspension ( with a little help from Steve Harrison ) to allow Carl
more ground clearance & improve stability.
Race 1 the
qualifying heat for the Powerbike final saw Carl placed 4th on the
grid. Unfortunately he made an appalling start & was 12th into the
first corner after the bike wheelied & then bogged down of the line.
This only seemed to fire Carl up & he carved his way through to 6th
place by the end of lap 1. Carl made further passes through the race
at the infamous Rocket corner Peel & through the bottom of the
corkscrew. By the end of lap 5 Carl had forced his way through to
2nd place after championship leader Scott Kelly had fallen (unhurt )
at turn 1 on lap 2. Carl then set his fastest lap on the final lap
of the race to break Angelo Derosas challenge for 2nd place, putting
1.5 seconds between them by the end of the race.
Race 2 found Carl
lined up 2nd on the grid due to his finishing position in the
qualifying race earlier in the day. A slightly better start saw Carl
5th into the first corner but he immediately dived under 2 riders on
the brakes into the 2nd corner known as the Bank. Carl then set
about chasing down Tony Rainford on his R1 Yamaha 1000. Tony went
too deep into Rocket after the long back straight which allowed Carl
to dive underneath him and snatch 2nd place. Once Carl had attained
2nd he never looked back putting 13 seconds between him & 3rd placed
Tony by the end of the race but was not quite able to match the pace
of front runner Craig Beggs ( British Superstock contender ) on his
07MY Yamaha R1 1000. Carl then treated the crowd to a couple of
celebratory wheelies on the slowing down lap
After the races
Carl commented.
Today has
surpassed all our expectations, after our 7th place finish at the
last round I knew we were moving in the right direction & were
moving up to the front but considering we are campaigning a 4 year
old machine I did not expect to be able to compete for a podium
position., we have today took over 2 seconds of my previous best lap
times, I am really over the moon. Thanks must go to our Major
sponsors Qualatis, Sherwood Suzuki & Keith Brain tyres without whose
help none of this would be possible. Special thanks also needs to go
to my superb race mechanic Stuart Slick Woodhall & my wife Helen who
looks after me all weekend & keeps me motivated when things seem to
be going wrong.
The NTO racing
team will be back at Anglesey on 18/19th of August for the ACU
Motostar round & all race & team information can be found on
www.ntoracing.co .uk The next Powerbike championship round is also
at Anglesey on 29/30 of September.
Bring it on.
ROUND 2 WIRRAL 100 POWERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NTO
Racing Team moved on to the brand new Anglesey circuit on Bank
Holiday Monday for the second round of the Powerbike championships.
The new 2 million pound circuit had only been finished a few days
before the start of the racing so there had been no opportunity for
riders to test, meaning an extended warm period was scheduled
allowing riders to become accustomed to the new track & search out
that elusive race line.
The weather had
been predicted to be horrendous with potentially 40 mph winds &
torrential rain but when the paddock arose from there slumber on
race day, the weather turned out a little cold, dry & somewhat
sunny, with a fairly light breeze.
Carl was scheduled
into the 3rd Qualifying heat which turned out to be the fastest of
all of the heats. With the bike prepared as best as the limited
testing time allowed Carl lined up in 9th place on the grid. Carl
made a great getaway & slotted in to 8th place, riding a
conservative race to ensure he made no mistakes due to the nature of
the new technical circuit & finished in 8th place but in 5th place
in the Powerbike class. This meant that after all the heats had been
finished Carl ended up in 7th place on the grid for the Power bike
final. This was a tremendous achievement for the team moving them up
from the 16th place grid slot achieved at the first round at Oulton
Park.
The Powerbike
final saw Carl start from his hard earned 7th place slot. With a
reasonable start he dived into 7th at the first corner & built a
substantial lead over 8th place. Carl took more than a second of his
best lap times from the heat & managed to finish in 7th at times
taking time out of the 2 riders in front of him.
After the races
Carl commented " The new Anglesey circuit is superb but gave the
team a new challenge, considering that some of the front runners are
far more experienced & better equipped racers than our team,
finishing seventh is above & beyond our expectations. The highlight
being that we were considerably faster than last years Powerbike
Champion. I hope that with a little more testing & bike development
we can move closer to the front at the next round"
Thanks go out as
usual to the sponsors of NTO racing Sherwood Motorcycles of Hall
Green, Keith Brain tyres & Net25 web solutions without whose support
the team would not be able to compete at the level it has become
accustomed.
Next round is at
Anglesey on July 29th.
ROUND 1 WIRRAL100 POWERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP OULTON PARK
The NTO racing team
got the 2007 season started in earnest at a warm & sunny Oulton
Park. This was a dramatic change from the snow & torrential rain of
the previous outings at Mallory park.
The team are now competing in the Powerbike
championship which is a considerable step up from the EMRA
Roadstock championship team rider Carl Dodwell managed to win in
dominant style with 14 wins from 19 starts on his Suzuki GSXR1000K3
The Powerbike championship allows fully modified
superbikes which considering NTO are still contesting there 2003
GSXR1000 Roadstock bike posed a serious challenge for the team.
The Powerbike race day format is a qualifying heat
which then gives the rider his starting position in either the
Consellation race or the trophy final. This is determined by the
race time from the qualifying heat.
Qualifying heat
Carl was placed on the grid in 17th place for his
qualifying heat but with a superb start slotted into 8th place at
the first corner. The leading rider fell at the first drop through
cascades promoting Carl up to 7th place but unfortunately the race
had to be stopped due to an incidence on the start line. At the
restart Carl got a reasonable start & slotted into 12th place at the
first corner. By the end of the first lap Carl had managed to pass 3
riders & before the end of the race had once again managed to work
his way up to 8th place shedding almost 3 seconds of his previous
best lap times.
Powerbike
trophy final.
Carl qualified in 16th place for the Trophy final.
The start was an edgy affair with eventually 3 attempts at getting
the race away. Carl unfortunately made a bad start & slotted in 18th
place but quickly made a move up to 17th at Cascades on the brakes
then taking a further 2 places on the brakes again at the Shell
hairpin all on the first lap. Carl then settled down into consistent
1min 49 laps bringing the bike home in 14th place, just narrowly
pipping one of the ex Hawk Kawasaki machines.
Carl said after the races. This has been an
excellent start to the season considering the lack of testing we
have had at this circuit. This weekend many National riders from
British Superstock & other club championships have been here to test
race on far superior & newer machinery than our 2003 GSXR so I am
now confident that we can run in the top 10 comfortably with the
Wirral club riders. I am looking forward to the next 3 rounds at
Anglesey which will be a blank canvas for all of the riders as it is
a new circuit. Having said that we really could do with some
sponsorship to allow the team to be more competitive.
Carl would like to thank all his sponsors, Sherwood
Motorcycles, Qualatis, Keith Brain Tyres & Kestrel signs
for their continued support, as always his thanks go out to team
mechanic Stuart Woodhall, team photographer Jon Wishart & his wife
Helen without whom none of the racing would be possible.
MASTERS OF MALLORY
Two years ago, if you had told Carl Dodwell, that he would be
competing in the Masters of Mallory competition, he wouldn’t
have believed you. But two years on, the Hall Green rider is
showing that he has what it takes to move into open class
racing. Lining up along side British Superbike privateers &
Superstock riders.
Mind you, if Carl knew the drama that he and his wife Helen
would have to go through, he may well have stayed at home. With
blue skies in the run up to the weekend, but a forecast for
rain, the whole paddock arrived with wet tyres on their bikes,
but after a night of tempestuous winds & driving rain, with no
sleep, and Helen hurt after being knocked to the ground by their
gazebo as it disappeared across the paddock,
calmer weather returned.
The decision was made to change the tyres and, for
the first time, to run on race slicks, but with the team mechanic
not yet at the circuit, it fell to team photographer Jon Wishart to
dive in with the spanners. All seemed well until first practice,
when the bike died with an electrical fault before even getting to
the track. As Dodwell started to strip the bike, second practice was
under way, fortunately the NTO Team Mechanic Stuart Woodhall arrived
in time to get the bike out in time for the first race.
So Dodwell headed out without any practice time on
the NTO Racing Suzuki GSXR1000 bike with unfamiliar tyres, and new
brakes which would need to bed in before they could be relied on to
stop the 170mph superbike, the grid slots were drawn out of the hat
for all races for the day.
First race saw Carl drawn in 4th place on the front
row of the grid which was a little daunting being as Carl had not
yet had a chance to warm up his bike tyres or himself for the race.
Carl decided to take it easy in the first race & become accustomed
to the feel of full racing slicks for the first time & dial himself
in to the conditions. A great start saw Carl in third place at the
first corner but he quickly slipped back as his tyres were sliding
quite badly due to the lack of traction from his cold tyres. However
Carl managed to finish in tenth place after dropping to 11th clawing
back a position as he began to get some feel for his bike & more
importantly his tyres.
For the second race Dodwell drew 6th out of the hat
& now with some suspension modifications & scrubbed warm tyres he
rode far more confidently dropping more than 1.5 secs from his
previous race lap times finishing in a creditable 7th place against
tough opposition.
Race 3 was unfortunately stopped after 3 laps due to
a severe storm covered the track in hail stones causing the rider in
front of Carl to crash heavily at Gerrards. Carl had once again
pulled 4th out of the hat for a grid slot & although he had a bad
start he worked his way past 3 riders to be in 6th spot when the
race was stopped but was unfortunately awarded 7th place as the race
was counted back a lap due to the crash.
With
the sharp turn in the weather, the team decided to end the day
early, the day was a good indicator of how competitive NTO Racing
will be for the season and have taken the learning from the days
racing, which will help prepare for the start of their championship
which kicks off April 21st at Oulton Park.
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On the days racing Carl commented "Considering the
severe lack of testing time with new tyres & brakes etc I am
reasonably happy with the progress we have made today.
Unfortunately races are not really the time to
do development work but that is where we find ourselves.
We now have an indication of what is needed to
improve the bike & can look forward to our seasons racing with
Wirral 100 at Oulton Park & the new Anglesea circuit".
Carl
would like to thank all his sponsors, Sherwood Motorcycles, Keith
Brain Tyres, Net25 web Solutions & Kestrel signs for their continued
support, as always his thanks go out to team mechanic Stuart Woodhall, but especially to Jon Wishart team photographer come
spanner man & his wife Helen without whom none of the above would be
possible.
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Positive Start IN 2007 For Dodwell
With the winter break over, the new season's racing
started at Mallory Park on Sunday 4th March.
Having elected to race with a new club the Wirral100
in the Powerbike class at Oulton Park & the new Anglesea circuit it
was deemed a sensible idea to start the season racing on familiar
ground so that the team could gain valuable on bike experience. The
team entered the first race of the season at Mallory Park, the venue
of there victorious campaign on the 2006 Roadstock championship.
With only small modifications to the bike and a
limited amount of testing, Carl went out in what has traditionally
become the showcase event for EMRA, contested by riders from the
National level competitions alongside the more regular club racers.
Although the warm up session earlier in the day was
dry, by the time racing started, the heavens had opened and the
Leicestershire circuit was drenched, all racing for the day was
declared wet.
Race 1 was the first qualifier for the Alamo Trophy
Final which was scheduled to be contested later in the day. Carl
was drawn by lottery in 9th place on the grid & after a mediocre
start he slotted into 10th place at the first corner. The wet
conditions played havoc with the racing making it extremely
difficult to pass due to reduced visibility, however Carl managed to
make his way up to 8th place. With the final lap approaching an
accident occurred just in front of Carl at the aptly named Bus stop
chicane causing 3 riders to fall. Promoting Carl up to a creditable
5th place finish.
The Second outing was for the Open Class 1300cc
championship, Carl was drawn in 10th place for this race & after a
superb getaway slotted into 6th place in the treacherous conditions.
Carl had just settled into the race when a major accident occurred
on the way into Shaw's hairpin & the race was stopped. On the
restart the weather had seriously deteriorated & Carl simply rode
round to a safe if slightly disappointing finish in 12th place.
As the day went on, the rain continued, with
officials checking the condition of the track between each race,
until eventually after less than two thirds of the racing was
completed the decision was taken by the ACU (governing body) to
bring the day to an early close as the conditions were becoming too
dangerous to race in.
Overall the NTO team were happy with the results on
what was a difficult days racing against teams with superior
experience & machinery in treacherous conditions. The team had
already decided that due to the condition of the track that we would
take no further part in the racing so totally agreed with the
meeting being abandoned.
Carl would like to thank his sponsors Kestrel signs
& Sherwood Suzuki for all there help getting the team ready for the
start of the new season & of course the usual thanks go to his wife
Helen, Jon Wishart team photographer & team mechanic Stuart Woodhall
for keeping the bike in trim in terrible conditions.
The team will return to Mallory Park on the 18th of
March for the second round of the Alamo championship & then the
season starts in earnest at Oulton Park on the 21st of April.
NTO: 2006 EMRA
1300cc Roadstock Champions
Sponsor a Winning Team
NTO racing are now looking for sponsorship to enable the team to
move on to bigger & better things in 2007,
Click here for more information..
