This will be a UK first! An outstanding development for both riders and organisers, this will allow the riders to be tracked in real time, which will not only improve safety, but will also enable organisers (RallyMoto in this case) to enforce speed controlled zones on the route. The system will be piloted at the Pikes Peak roadbook navigation rally in March, the opening round of the 2015 RallyMoto Cup.
All I need to do now is install an additional auxiliary power supply directly from the battery up to the bars so that the tracker can be installed.
This is a huge leap forward for motorcycle rallying in the UK and indeed other race formats, so we're all really excited as competitors and hoping it goes well!
I've finally got round to finishing installing my navigation gear! I spent 9 hours on it in total, which sounds like a lot, but I've been meticulous in planning everything and making sure the whole system is as reliable as possible.
I've wired everything up myself and made a loom for the power supply. I've also used copious amounts of insulation tape, cable ties, heat shrink wrap, solder and waterproof connectors - hopefully they will withstand what's thrown at them in the heat of the race.
I now have an auxiliary power loom running from the battery along the frame and under the tank up to the bars. There's an inline blade fuse which is in a waterproof housing but easy to change, with an indicator LED to let me know if it's blown. There's an isolator switch to turn all the systems off, a GZ multiswitch to control the F2R RB750 electronic roadbook reader and an ICO to provide my trip readings.
Everything is mounted to the Moto Rally Services roadbook plate and bar mount kit, and the bike can be completely swapped from enduro to rally spec in less than an hour.
I still need to calibrate my ICO and do some very small improvements to help protect important components, but the bike is effectively ready to race now, I'm so excited for Pikes Peak!
The results are out for the 2015 WTRA Snowrun enduro 40th edition. They're available on the WTRA website.
I'm pleased with my result, I finished 22/48 in the Clubman class, which puts me in the top half. I stayed clean on time and brought the bike and myself home in one piece. Before the race, that was exactly the result I wanted, so I'm happy with that for my first ever Clubman enduro - especially since it's a tough one and I haven't had much bike time recently.
Roll on the next event in the ET James Welsh solo enduro championship!
The time arrived this weekend for the 40th WTRA Snowrun enduro. The weather was fantastic (but cold), so when I got up at 5:30am to go to the race on Sunday morning, it was -4C. Needless to say I wasn't thrilled about that, but hey, it's called the Snowrun for a reason!
It was incredibly icy, there's no two ways about it. I set off at 10:16, straight onto a long stretch of compacted ice..."what am I in for here" I wondered! The first lap is always an unknown, and having never done this event and heard so much about it, I was apprehensive. My main goal was to finish and stay clean on time in what was my first ever clubman enduro.
I started off well, until we dropped off a road section onto some fire road and down to a hairpin, where the Ralïo+ S4C crew were filming for their TV program. You know what's coming...yeah it was my turn to be "that guy" who came off directly in front of the camera! It was so slippery there, and it was still in the shade, but no obvious signs of ice. I got half way around the corner, then the back end broke loose, I tried to catch it but then it turned into a high-sde and I got thrown clear of the bike. Not the best way to start the day! I had a few interviews with Emyr & Lowri throughout the day, so maybe my face will make the edit, more on that soon.
Anyway, I got back on and continued, being a bit more cautious on the fire road sections. I wasn't the only one to fall foul of the ice on the day, that's for sure. I saw a number of tell-tale plastic bodywork littering the track throughout the race.
After I completed the first lap, I felt a lot better about things. I was settled into a rhythm and felt good fitness-wise. It was really hard to see at times, with the bright sunshine either reflecting off the ice into my face, or just directly into my eyes! Very tricky on the special test, that's for sure.
My special tests all went fairly well, with the exception of the last one, where I got held up a little, then someone caught me (and hit me - not thanking you for that one, whoever you were!), but it didn't make much difference to my time.
I was still feeling good at the end of the 3rd lap with one left to go, but on that last lap I started to feel tired. Still, I managed to arrive at the checks with roughly the same amount of time to spare on each lap, so I was happy with the way I rode, having at least 5 minutes to spare at every check.
It was great to see a few familiar faces there - some I was expecting, some a pleasant surprise to bump into! All in all, a successful day's racing and I'll be back next year. Thanks to all involved who made it a very enjoyable race.
For more information about the All Terrain Rally Challenge, RallyMoto Cup and general rally chit-chat, visit the RallyMoto Forum at http://allterrainrallychallenge.co.uk.
I look forward to seeing you all at the events, come and say hi!
MCN's sports editor Michael Guy recently took to the trails at the Sweet Lamb Rally complex in Mid Wales to put the RallyMoto AJP PR5 RR through its paces.
