Post by El Loco on Aug 25, 2010 19:10:09 GMT
Well Joanne, Jack and myself headed down to Dunmanway just southwest of Cork last weekend for the Munster 100. Jack had entered both the 600 and the 650 which meant he had entries into four of the eleven races.
Journey down was uneventful with the vast majority of it on motorways and we arrived after about 6+ hours travelling and got ourselves sorted out in the Paddock:
As you can see it was a decent size, flat and most importantly, there wasn't any mud! Unlike Armoy, there were no 'special' facilities for the more well known riders
and it was good to see the likes of Flyin Ryan parked a few vans down:
Once we unloaded the bikes and sorted out the awning etc it was into Dunmanway for a few where Joanne decided to try the local ribena:
Scurineering went well on Saturday and, as we'd brought the K4 down to see if we could get her going, it went through as well and we got a reserve slot for the junior. That was as far as we got
:
All looks sadly familiar but we DID get her going and it's clear that it probably won't be anything big or major that needs sorting. That said, time's up and it will get a proper overhaul over the winter.
Saturday was Practice Day and it pished down and we spent more time chopping and changing the wheels/tyres but it became clear the practices were going to be untimed with full wets being ordered by the Clerk of the Course.
Before we came down, we checked the West Cork Motorcycle Club's (organisers) website and read that the local council had agreed to resurface the track - happy days we thought ;D. Imagine our faces as we went the circuit to find out the majority of it had been 'resurfaced' with tar and stones
I kid you not and it resulted, when the rain died down and the track dried out, in Jack now needing new rear wets for the two bikes!Race day arrived and the weather was absolutely cracking. Jack got to grips with the track very quickly:
and the racing was top draw:
Due to the short turn around between races I wasn't able to get outside of the Paddock to see the bikes go through the town etc and, even in the Paddock, space to view was tight and looking through the hedges was the order of the day:
Race wise the day went well and Jack managed a top finish of 5th which collected him a nice little sum for his endeavours (plus a few Euros in a couple of other races as well)....... ;D
I've got to admit I was sceptical when we first arrived with a 1.8 mile circuit made of loose chippings and stretches where two push bikes would struggle to get by ;D but it worked. The other brilliant factor was the attitude of the people of Dunmanway whose town was effectively closed off for two days. They couldn't have been friendlier and clearly saw the Munster 100 as one of their big events of the year. Made the stay just that bit more enjoyable.
The weather deteriorated as we headed off and gradually got worse the further north we got
. Again progress was steady until the fan belt turning the alternator and power steering failed! It was an interesting time travelling in the dark and rain on sidelights and limited wipers trying to save the battery power! Stirling work by Jack got us where we needed to be and brought to an end a cracking weekend.Would I go back
You better believe it and maybe it could be a Club weekend next year............... ;DM.
