 |
My name is Andrew Belby. In September 2001 I signed up for a Motorbike Track School at Knockhill Race Circuit, Dunfermline. Steve, my instructor for the day, suggested I consider racing as “You certainly won’t be the last over the line!” Encouraged by this, I decided to get a bike and ride on the track. I took up Road Racing and joined the Regal Production Racing Class on a 2nd hand ‘99 Yamaha R1 Motorcycle. 2002 saw me at Donington, East Fortune and Knockhill race circuits. It was a year for learning, and for a few crashes….. including a fractured wrist. Ouch! I got quicker over the year and got into the 58 second laps at Knockhill. 2003 saw me spending some money on a new bike. I bought a second hand 2001 Suzuki GSXR1000. Wow, much faster than the R1, but not so nimble. Found another 3 seconds a lap though, and by the end of this year was lapping Knockhill in the low 55's in the dry. In 2003 I also competed at East Fortune and in October went to Brands Hatch for my last meeting of the year, even got onto the telly! The meeting at Brands on the Sunday was an MRO, and these were all televised this year. Couple of good shots of me on the bike running round Druids and Clearways. Anyway all the excitement of 2003 left me hungry for better results (and lower laps times) in 2004 (and wanting to beat Calum Macdonald…). 2004 saw an excellent start to the year with lap times falling, beating Calum convincingly, and almost getting into the 53 second bracket at Knockhill, then it all went pear shaped! Check out the 2004 diary of events below for the stories. 2005 We'll see..... |