It's a pretty exciting line up for next season, although an early start in March which I'm not keen on to be honest. But not all bad as I'll unfortunately be missing Pembrey in April as I have holiday booked that weekend. From then on its a full racing calendar for me including Aberdare Park in July and possibly a sneaky appearance at the Endurance event in 2017 - more details on that to follow later.

​In terms of rides, I'll be onboard the Maxton as mentioned in the 500AC class and I'll also be back out in the 350 Twins again on a more competitive bike thats being put together pre-season so really looking forward to that.

In the meantime, I'll be posting more photo's and details over the winter while aiming to turn the photo of boxed bits below into a potential race winnning 350 2-Stroke for the 2017 season.

I'm also currently looking for sponsors for 2017 season, so if you are interested or know anyone who might looking to sponsor, please get in contact via the contact page or through Facebook to discuss. 

These 2 rounds count as my favourite rounds of the season, Aberdare in particular. I'll be looking to build on progress this year on all the bikes, and put that rough meeting at Anglesey behind me!
All 3 bikes are ready to go, picked up my race fuel last week so I have a few days at work to do this coming week, (need to pay for that Donnington entry!!) before we leave for Aberdare Friday afternoon.

Cant wait - will post pictures and updates on Facebook page over the weekend. As always - sponsors Moto71.co.uk are involved, continuing to sponsor both the Maxton Yamaha and the Harris Yamaha and supply high quality lubricants and consumables for racing, which is hugely appreciated. Please click the photo below to link to their website for more info on their products:
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We have been hard at work getting ready for Anglesey over the past couple of weeks. The Maxton is all sorted now, just awaiting replacement screen and SCC-Racing decals to be cut to finish off the new fairing... Foot peg mount has been repaired and the fairing mounts re-machined so it looks good as new (apart from the tank..).

Nige has done his usual quick turnaround on the Honda K4 which was pretty much ready to go a week after Cadwell! Twin tap outlets on the tank and a new fairing on so you'd never know that it had been down... We have also changed the front brake master cylinder to the same one that is fitted to the Maxton, it works well and means we can then carry less spares! 

Dad won't be making it to Anglesey unfortunately so the X7 will be staying at home, I will however be digging the Harris 350 out of his garage and taking that to Anglesey for the test day on the Friday, I haven't ridden it since September last year so really looking forward to getting back on it and giving it the beans...

We have also treated ourselves to some garage space, so no faffing with Gazebo's which will be nice!

Top tip - don't fall off your race bike as bits break! The Maxton is now requiring a new fairing, new fairing mount brackets, new engine side casing and a repair to the foot peg hangar. Nothing major, but all requiring some garage time...

So Croft was a mixed meeting for us as a team, the X7 giving up wasn't part of the plan, Keiths RD making lots of noise by the end of the weekend was a concern meanwhile the Maxton ran really well for me. Having stripped the X7 motor, it is clear to see the failure mechanism which was poor quality pistons/piston manufacturing. The ring pegs have either broken or pushed in, allowing the rings to spin and fail in the ports.

The barrels have been sent back for investigation along with the pistons, and also will need reboring. While that is being done we are preparing a spare top end for the bike that we didn't have available at Croft. We have the option of a lower spec tune to drop on as a back-up or even a set of totally standard barrels that will do for getting Dad out there in an emergency. The X7 bottom end has since been stripped, washed out and fortunately is fine so will be going back together with a fresh top end for Cadwell Park in June.

The Maxton top end will be taken off for a check over and I have some small changes to make to the rear suspension which I think will help the handling further. Keith has a job on to strip his motor this coming weekend to find out what the noise is and we will need to work quick to get that back together if it needs particular attention.

Nigel had left Croft with a small to-do list which he (through excitement after the weekend) had done and dusted by the tuesday night - so the K4 is sitting ready to go for Cadwell with some changes made for bit more top speed and also new longer rear shocks.

All I'm going to say is that its lucky we love 2-Strokes....!!

Right then, the 2016 race season rapidly approaches so heres the plan for me this year;

Pembrey - Easter weekend
Croft - 7th/8th May
Cadwell Park - 3/4/5th June
Anglesey - 9/10th July
Aberdare Park - 23/24th July
Donnington Park - 5/6/7th August
Snetterton 200 - 27/28th August
Silverstone - 8/9th October

I'll be competing in the 250 Air-cooled championship again in 2016, as well as the 350 twins class where I'll be riding Nige Colliers Honda K4. Very excited to be getting a full season on the K4, this is a competitive class and Nigel has put a lot of work into the Honda over the winter so I can push harder into the top 10 with more regular rides on the bike.

I'll be taking the 250A/C back to Aberdare Park in July, and also the Honda which went superbly well in the rain in 2015. We may be giving Nigel's 500 Quest Honda a try at Aberdare as it would ideally suit the short circuit - this is TBC. We'll also be taking the Harris 350F2 to Aberdare for the first time this year. Unfortunately however, the Harris will not be used for a full club championship effort this season, we have only entered it for Donnington and Silverstone but do have bigger plans for it for 2017 which will be confirmed later this year...

We have worked very hard this winter to get the bikes up together ready for the season, and I am very lucky to be supported again by title sponsor Moto71.co.uk and also Mick Abbey tuning for 2016.
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Looking forward to getting things kicked off at Brands Hatch early March for a 'testing' day, before racing starts on the Easter weekend. I do have bit of a surprise lined up for the season but this won't be revealed until Pembrey...

Please visit my sponsors websites by clicking the logo's below:

In the meantime - here is a Photograph of the Harris 350F2  in the sunshine at Snetterton 300 2015.

PEMBREY  - MARCH 26/27
 
CROFT - MAY 07/08 
 
CADWELL PARK - JUNE 03/04/05 (includes Friday) 
 
ANGLESEY  - JULY 09/10 
 
DONINGTON PARK - AUGUST 05/06/07 (includes Friday) 
 
LYDDEN HILL - SEPTEMBER 03/04 
 
SILVERSTONE (National circuit)  - OCTOBER 08/09 'Race of the Year'
 
The above dates are still subject to change but should be there or thereabouts, particularly looking forward to heading up to croft - despite the stupidly long journey to get there it looks a good circuit and not somewhere we have been before.

Of course these are CRMC only dates, so missing for me is Aberdare Park road races 2016. Currently they are penciled in for the last weekend July as normal which it 30/31 and remain the highlight of the season for me.

So the final stop of this years race season is Snetterton - we will be racing the 300 circuit for the first time, which having done track days there before is my preferred option. I haven't made the Race of the Year for the last 2 seasons so I am really looking forward to making it this time around. I will only be racing the Moto71.co.uk Harris 350 @ Snett though, as the X7's more competitive motor wont be rebuilt in time for the weekend and the existing is just too far down on power for a fast circuit like Snetterton. Its also pretty tired and the bottom end was vibrating at Donnington so I don't want to risk wrecking the crank completely.

It will be a more relaxed weekend for me racing only one bike, gutted not to be riding the X7 but I'll be able to watch the 250AC finale from the grass bank and enjoy the end to a very good season for the championship which has got even stronger this year. 

The Yamaha just requires minor fettling before the race weekend which is the first in October - so Ive got all this weekend and next week to give it a thorough look over before we head off. Cant wait..! 

As per the title - the X7 ran a tad lean at Anglesey! I have never holed a piston in my 8 years of two stroke fettling but there's a first time for everything and I'm proud