2001 Season Review
PRESEASON

After some early season testing on March 3rd at Cadwell Park (with the track and surrounding scenery covered in snow) Stu blew the cobwebs from between his ears and tried out his new wet tyres for the first time which the team acquired at the start of last year. Feeling pleased with his outing (after recovering from chill blains from the freezing temperature) the team looked forward to the first meeting of the season just three weeks later again at Cadwell park.  
CADWELL PARK 25/3/2001

March 25th saw the first round of the Derby Phoenix club championship and the beginning of British summer time. Anyone at Cadwell would probably argue otherwise as it was bitterly cold and less than summery as Stu took to the track for his first race of the season. With a full grid of riders and many regular and familiar faces from previous seasons he took to the second row for the start. As customary Stu made a lightning get-away slithering off the damp grid and slotted into 3rd place midway through the first lap. Early leader Aaron O'flaherty crashed out at the gooseneck on lap one and Stu then pounced for the lead on lap two going into the third gear right hand Park corner. Realising the track was cold and offering little grip he took it relatively steady clocking some modest early lap times yet quickly extended a 1.5 second lead by lap three. On lap four Stu lost the front at the gooseneck and tumbled out of contention. "I took that lap steadier than the previous three because I was conscious that I needed to start the year with some good points and to finish well was more important than to win. I was shocked to go down. Because of the cold temperature I think the left side of the tyres was cooling as the race progressed and lost nearly all grip." said a bemused but luckily unhurt Stu who with little consolation was awarded the fastest lap.
With the grid for race two determined as normal by finishing position of race one Stu was faced with a seventh row start. Delays during the day meant that the club decided again to cut the remaining race distances to just 4 laps. "With this in mind I just prayed for rain because there was no way I could cut through the pack in so few laps. I knew I had a good wet set-up from early season testing and thought I stood much more of a chance." His prayers were answered as rain fell in the afternoon and Stu took to his spare bike, already set-up for wet conditions, and assembled on the grid in 28th spot. As the flag dropped Stu picked his way through the field and was up to 12th position first time down Park Straight. By the end of lap two he was 6th and by lap three was in 4th and catching third placed Pete Whiteside. Slowly reeling him in Stu was in striking distance by the very last corner on the final lap and pounced up the inside at Mansfield corner. "I crossed the line and was just dead chuffed to have beaten Pete but had no idea where I had finished. Not until Phil made it back to the paddock and slapped me on the back saying I got third !" 
After the disappointment of the first race the second race result raised the team's spirits as they looked forward to the next round of the championship on the Isle of Anglesey at the beginning of May.
ANGLESEY 5-6/5/2001

SP Racing continued the 2001 racing season with the Derby Phoenix club finally after confirmation that the next meeting on the 5th and 6th of May would go ahead despite the foot and mouth epidemic. With the long trek to the Isle of Anglesey from their native Lincolnshire Stu and Phil decided that to settle for good points finishes throughout the weekend would be the best approach and healthy for Stu's championship challenge. Morning practice saw the team's first setback of the weekend as a flying piece of debris from an other machine holed the radiator on Stu's bike rendering it useless. Luckily, with Phil's bike to hand, the problem could be rectified easily and Stu was raring to go.
Starting from the second row of the Grid in race one on Saturday Stu got away well and quickly improved his lap times to eventually finish a satisfied 6th position. Race two, again from the second row, saw a similar pattern to the race with Stu lying 6th going into the final lap with a whole string of riders on his tail. Steve Heneghan slipped by into turn one, school corner, and Stu pursued eager to regain the position. Being within striking distance into the final chicane he lunged up the inside only to "have his nose wiped" spoiling his drive to the chequered flag and allowing close following Ted Bidgood to out drag and snatch 7th by a tyres width leaving Stu to take 8th. "Not the best results but every few points will count" Phil remarked philosophically.
In hindsight the team's biggest downfall of the weekend was the fact that Stu was only contesting the Formula 400 races. With the vast majority of his competitors making the most of the cheaper entry fees and contesting extra classes thus giving them extra practice, laps and track time Stu found himself left behind on the learning curve and struggled to 10th position in race one on Sunday and snatched a point for 9th in race two despite lapping 3 seconds a lap quicker than his Saturday times.  
Obviously a little disappointed with the weekends overall results Stu and Phil remained in good spirits in the knowledge that the next round of the series would be held at Cadwell Park on Sunday 27th May. "In my opinion the championship is out of reach now so I'm going to take each race as it comes and try to win as many as I can without worrying about scoring sensible points for the championship. That approach obviously doesn't work for me and with some of my favourite tracks to come, with the exception of the return to Anglesey, I think I should be hard to beat." 
CADWELL PARK 27/5/2001

The team's return to Cadwell on the 27th May was much anticipated and after an afternoon's practice to get Stu back on the boil the team were confident of challenging for top honours in the F400 class.  

For the first of the 5 lap races, after being restarted due to an early accident, Stu lined up on the 2nd row alongside Pete Whiteside with second placed in the championship Mark Jordan on the 3rd row. As the flag dropped Stu again made a super fast get away up the hill into the first turn of Coppice corner and slotted under Richard Welsh to take the early lead first time down Park straight. Trying to make a break for it Stu carried Whiteside away with him as the rest of the pack battled amongst themselves for a lap. Whiteside slipped past Stu at Mansfield on lap 2 but pounced straight back underneath on the exit of the Hairpin to regain the initiative. With Steve Heneghan and Mark Jordan making inroads into the leading pair as they scrapped at the front the final two laps would be close fought. Pete again dived up the inside at Mansfield on the end of lap 4 to take the lead and Stu pursued with vigour. Carrying good corner speed out of Charlies on the 5th and final lap Stu lined up a slip streaming and outbreaking move on Whiteside at the 3rd gear Park corner with a perfect block pass to regain the lead and charge toward the finish. With Heneghan and Jordan right on the pair's tail the final time through the gooseneck one mistake would have been costly. Stu leading down to Mansfield for the final time used the slower but defensive inside line to try and block Whiteside's previous attempts but Pete on the faster outside line carried greater speed to the flag to pip Stu to the line in a blanket finish with Steve Heneghan 3rd, Mark Jordan 4th and Richard Jarrold 5th. "I knew Pete would be right with me into Mansfield so I decided early to defend the inside. It's the closest race I've had for ages and I'm dead pleased with 2nd because there was nothing in it."

Race 2, with the four leaders from the first race lining up on the front row, saw all four neck and neck into the first corner as the flag dropped with Mark Jordan dropping into the lead at Charlies on his 250 Kawasaki. "Pete, Steve and I were three abreast down Park straight right on Mark's tail and I expected our 400's to creep past with straight line speed, but Marks KR1S more then held it's own and made us all look slack on the brakes with his machines weight advantage" said a surprised Stu. Jordan then proceeded to stretch his advantage at the front as Stu, Pete and Steve all chased and battled with each other. Steve, in a desperate outbreaking effort to pass Pete, went straight on at the hairpin and dropped way back out of contention to finish 9th. Stu chasing an evenly matched Pete Whiteside couldn't quite make a dent into his slight advantage in 2nd and Richard Jarrold began to harass Stu from behind and powered past on the run to the hairpin on the start of the final lap. Building up a passing maneuver from as far back as Coppice corner, Stu was right back on Richard's tail onto Park straight and dipped into his slipstream and drafted past back into third on the brakes at Park corner and held the advantage to the flag to grab 3rd and another trophy. "Mark and his KR1S were on astonishing form today and easily deserved the win. It certainly keeps the championship interesting at the top as Pete's not having it all his own way this year" said a pleased Stu. 
With a long 7 week break to the next round at Mallory Park on the 15th July the team hope to test at Mallory in the interim to keep the ball rolling........ Watch this space.
MALLORY PARK 15/7/2001

After what seemed like an eternity until the next round of the Derby Phoenix championship on the 15th July the team traveled to Mallory Park after a bit of trouble with Stu's final regs and passes going "missing" in the post. Stu, raring to race at the circuit for the first time since last season's departure into the gravel at Gerrards bend, was as confident as ever and posted some good early lap times in the normal heavy traffic of the morning practice session.
With a second row start for the first of the two formula 400 races Stu lined up alongside his normal rivals of Pete Whiteside and Mark Jordan with Steve Heneghan on row behind on the third. As the flag dropped Stu got his worst start of the season "I've raced at Mallory a couple of times before and I've always started by the lights so it took me a bit by surprise when everyone else took while I stared at the lights waiting for the red to come on!" Despite the mistake Stu soon recovered to fifth as he exited Gerrards corner for the first time whilst Steve Heneghan made a swift get away. By lap three he had surged up the inside of Mark Jordan on the entrance to Gerrards and repeated the maneuver to pass Pete Whiteside on the following lap to take second spot. With Steve already enjoying a 3 second lead Stu could only consolidate second as Pete and Mark battled out for 3rd and 4th respectively in the short 6 lap race. Luckily for all concerned that the race was not any longer as just moments after the track was cleared from the formula 400 race a freak whirlwind collected a paddock awning and frame and dumped it on the starting grid injuring two spectators in the process.
With the drama over the second f400 was soon collecting on the grid with Stu, Pete, Mark and Steve all poised on the front row. Steve got another blinding start with Stu and Mark elbow to elbow into the first corner with Stu slotting into 2nd. With a much cleaner start Stu was able to keep pace with Steve Heneghan and carried Mark Jordan with him as the trio squabbled for the lead with Stu keeping a watching brief in 3rd for much of the race as it neared it's conclusion. "Mark and Steve were all over each other and where holding me up from the way in to the hairpin to the way out of the bus-stop chicane. I felt that on the final lap they would come to blows at the hairpin and I could shoot past as they both knew whoever led into the bus-stop would ultimately win the race". But Stu's plan was scuppered as on the final lap the red flags came out to halt the race prematurely as Mark and Steve were getting carried away passing and re-passing under yellow flags. It was all academic as the result was called from the end of the previous and fifth lap With Mark 1st, Steve 2nd and Stu 3rd in a blanket finish with all three covered by just 0.6 seconds.
With another trophy in the bag the team now look forward and are preparing for the next round back at Cadwell Park and the infamous mountain circuit on Sunday 5th August. 

See you there!!
CADWELL PARK 5/8/2001

The next round of the Derby Phoenix championship was soon upon us as all the usual suspects descended upon Cadwell Park for the full circuit meeting. To add a little extra spice to the event the second of the two F400 races was to be for the "Ken Barker Memorial Trophy" with the added incentive of trophies and prize money for the top three. With Stu and Pete Whiteside on row 2 and Mark Jordan and Steve Heneghan on row 3 of the grid the first race was to run over 4 laps. 
As the flag dropped Stu and Pete got away well with Stu instantly slotting into 2nd behind early race leader Richard Welsh from the front row. Stu pounced to take the lead at Park corner and held position for a lap until Mark Jordan on his rapid Kawasaki KR1S came past along Park straight and held the lead on the run to the Woodlands section for the third time. Steve slipped past Stu on the run to the Mountain and both were held up slightly as they witnessed Mark go down whilst still breaking mid corner for the Hairpin. Stu then held second place until on the fourth and final lap Pete sliced through on the brakes at Mansfield and held him off to the flag to demote Stu to third. "Steve rode well and controlled things from the front and I knew Pete would be strong at Mansfield as he favours that bend" said a pleased Stu. Fourth was Aprilia rider Bruce Wilson 
With Stu having entered the Formula 600 race as a bit of fun between the important races the team quickly re-fueled and Stu took to the grid on the 10th row. Starting 38th on the grid and not taking things too seriously Stu resumed battle with fellow F400 riders Pete Whiteside and Dave Irons and were soon slicing through the "faster" 600 machines. After an exchange of places and four laps Stu eventually finished the race having gained 21 positions to finish 17th. "I'd love to know what I could do on 600 if I can do that on the little 400" said a surprised and pleased Stu.
Preparations for the second F400 race took place and Stu then assumed his place on the front row alongside Pete, Steve and Bruce Wilson. The flag dropped and Stu was gone. With his best start of the season he leapt to an early advantage. Bruce Wilson and Steve Heneghan pursued and scrapped past Stu by lap 2. Keeping his head down, Stu fended off Pete Whiteside for a couple of laps until a desperate lunge up the inside by Pete at Mansfield saw him run deep into the corner and Stu re-passed to regain the advantage. Alan Armour then attacked Stu around the outside at the bottom of the Mountain to pinch third as the quintet headed for the last lap. Stu, eager to re-pass Alan, pressurised him but could not force an error as they headed to Mansfield for the final time. In front Steve and Bruce battled tooth and nail swapping positions several times until Steve finally succumbed and ran deep and on to the grass at Mansfield gifting the win to Bruce Wilson. Alan Armour scraped over the line to snatch second and Stu grabbed a close third with Pete fourth. Steve finished an eventual seventh and Mark Jordan, having started from the back row due his departure from the first race could only manage 16th.
After another play in the 600 class and showing up the big bikes the top three from the second F400 were summoned for the presentation of the "Ken Barker Memorial Trophy". After some cheesy poses for the cameras Stu, Alan and Bruce claimed their trophies and prize money. "Very nice trophy", said Stu "I'm dead chuffed as I'm the only one of the regular championship contenders to win one." 
The next round of the series sees the return to the Isle of Anglesey for another double meeting. With Stu now up to a strong 4th in the championship and after a little doubt as to whether the team would make the trip to Wales, Stu, Phil and the team are now in preparation and hope to improve on the earlier results from the island.
ANGLESEY 25-26/8/2001

After a mammoth eight and a half hour journey to the Isle of Anglesey, in the bank holiday traffic from the team's native Lincolnshire, the team set up base for the weekend in the paddock for the second of the 2 day events on the island. After some disappointing results back in May Stu hoped to improve and felt optimistic knowing the suspension changes made to both bikes should stand him in good stead for the forthcoming races.
A drizzly Saturday morning followed and Stu prepared in morning practice for more of the same in racing. With delays to the days proceedings the first of the F400 races took place mid-afternoon just as a break in the drizzle occurred. With much of the grid, including Stu, opting for wet weather set-up the riders formed on the rapidly drying track. "During the warm-up lap I could see a dry line appearing and I knew I was going to struggle for grip after a lap or two with my tyres overheating" said Stu. After a customary good start Stu plugged away and managed to improve his lap times lap on lap despite losing grip all the time to finish 7th. " I lost count of how many times I nearly crashed including the slowing-down lap!!"
Time ran out on the days proceedings just before the second F400 race and it was announced that the race would take place the next morning.
The paddock awoke to sunshine on Sunday and the F400 grid formed early for the resumption of the previous days racing. Stu, with a new lease of life after sleeping off the long drive to Anglesey, weaved to form on the second row with Pete Whiteside, Mark Jordan, Steve Heneghan and Paul Mumby-Croft on row one. With a blistering start Stu challenged for position into the first corner slotting into third as Steve and Pete headed the way. At the hairpin Stu claimed second from Pete and set about chasing Steve. Unable to challenge, Stu fended off Pete for the remaining laps to finish a circuit best ever of 2nd as Steve took the win by just one tenth of a second and Pete followed just a further two tenths behind. "I'm as surprised as anyone to have gone this well after the disaster back in May" said an elated Stu "It seems I've finally put the ghosts of this circuit behind me".
The first of Sundays scheduled F400 races soon followed and the attention again turned to the usual front runners for the action. As the lights turned green Stu, Steve and Pete made the running leaving the rest of the field to battle amongst themselves. Steve made a hard pass on Stu, forcing him to take to the kerb on the inside of turn one, "School corner", losing him time. Stu pursued setting the fastest lap of the race at 49.8 secs in the process as Steve overcame Pete to claim the win in another hard fought battle with all three covered by just over a second. Dave Marsh lead home Mark Jordan a further 10 seconds adrift. On the slowing down lap, as Steve celebrated his win, he crashed at the last corner as his throttle jammed open. "That's happened to me" said Stu "The first thing you do is grab at the brake and you're down. It's lucky for all that it happened after the race when speeds were lower as it could easily have been nasty." 
Rider camaraderie was evident as Pete Whiteside showed his unselfishness by donating spares from his spare bike to repair Steve's badly damaged machine before the next race. With Steve offering the greatest threat to Pete retaining his title from last year it certainly kept things interesting as the riders lined up for the final F400 race of the weekend. Stu, Pete, Steve and Dave Marsh lined up on the front row with Mark Jordan on row 2 with Dave Irons. Steve and Stu made equally rapid starts as the lights changed and Steve just held the advantage into turn one. Late on the brakes, Stu passed to take the lead around the outside at the hairpin and led until lap 3. Steve re-passed and led onto the final lap as Pete attempted to outgun Stu on the start/finish straight. Holding him off on the brakes, Stu had the front end sliding around the fast first turn "School corner" and drifted slightly off line. Pete saw the advantage and pounced up the inside on the run to the next turn "Abbott's". Looking to regain the advantage Stu took a tight approach to the hairpin the final time only to attacked by a stealthy pass by Mark Jordan. With the finish line fast approaching time had run out and Stu settled for a creditable 4th with Mark 3rd Pete 2nd and another win for on form Steve. "Stu was looking for the win and lost two places on the last lap due to one mistake. That just shows how competitive this championship is" said Phil who watched and pit-boarded for Stu from pit-lane. " There's been nothing in it all year with these four."
With one round of the series left at Snetterton on Sunday 23rd September the championship is still not decided. Pete, Steve, Mark and Stu are guaranteed a top 4 spot in the table but in what order. Come to Snetterton to find out ! ! !
SNETTERTON 23/9/2001

After the 4 week break, giving Stu and Phil time to complete and unveil some new modifications to the machines, the team descended ready and confident to challenge at the ultra fast Norfolk circuit of Snetterton. The weather was less than kind with a damp drizzly morning practice forcing the team to opt for a wet set-up. The modifications were tested and the team prepared for the first of two races.

More rain followed with a deluge as the f400 class took to the assembly area and the track became sodden. Stu proceeded to get a feel for the conditions on the warm-up lap and assembled on the grid on row 2. Baulked off the start by Richard Welsh and Jason Winter, Stu slotted into 5th into turn one (Riches) and headed for turn 2 (Sears) to take to the ultra long Revetts Straight for the first time. 
At this moment Stu's heart sank as his machine began to misfire and wouldn't rev over 9500rpm losing him more than 30% of his top speed and power. Gutted to see his rivals hurtle past Stu plugged away quickly realising that his machines problems were electrical and not mechanical. "I thought about retiring for a moment but then remembered that this in effect was a qualifying race for the  second race later, so I just kept going and tried to ride the wheels of it around the bends to make up for the straights". Stu yo-yoed up and down the order and reclaimed up to 4 places per lap before frustratingly losing them again along the high speed straights to finish a still impressive 11th out of over 30 starters. "Just the shear amount of water spray being generated and flooding the electrics seemed to be the problem" said Phil. "Something we will have to take a look at".
Stu's spare bike was prepared for the second race as this had been proven in the wet previously at Cadwell Park earlier in the season and Stu took to the third row. As the lights turned green he scorched through the front two rows to take 2nd spot into turn one. But the same misfire, if not as severe, manifested itself in this machine to hamper Stu's chances of taking the win. Again plugging away for the seemingly endless race Stu claimed 4th place finishing top of the regular championship contenders with newly crowned champion Pete Whiteside crashing out on the penultimate lap. Mark Jordan finished in 5th to squeeze past Steve Heneghan to take second in the championship who missed the event with an injury sustained in testing. Stu consolidated and claimed fourth in the table despite his bad luck.
The team are enjoyed the off season but the preparations still carry on behind the scenes with promotional work and the continued development work on the machines more than keeping the team members occupied. 2002 sees Phil's to return to the saddle. 

We look forward to his return.

With the Dates for 2002 announced the team now looked forward to embarking on some early season testing to warm up for the new season. 

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