Richie Harrison – 2010
Darlington road racer ticks every box in his 2010 Streetfighter race season ambitions…………
Well folks it doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was taking the trip to Bradford to pick up the £450 non running 1991 Honda CBR600FM machine, which was to form the basis of our Streetfighter racing project for 2010. Looking back on my hopes and aims for the season we were aiming to show that any machine can be prepared and raced competitively and in terms of budget it would be run on one of those very short shoe-string ones!
In terms of the chosen machinery a 19yr old bike might not be everybody’s first choice but with the steel framed CBR600 they have more than a proven pedigree and rarely has a year gone by that a CBR600 hasn’t won a major championship. Conspiracy theorists would be the first to suggest that maybe we had bitten off more than we could chew and we stood no chance of success with this project, and secretly there were times where I often wondered whether this project would succeed or whether I would end up with a rather large portion of egg on my face!
But after a steady start and with the bike improving every round the season began snowballing along with various boxes being ticked along the way! And as the championship season rolled merrily on towards the close of the 2010 Thundersport-GB Streetfighter B Championships there was still everything to play for as we headed to the newly re-opened Donington Park for the last round of the Streetfighter B series.
I had already secured 3rd place in the championship behind Martin Stanier and new Streetfighter Champion Barry Utting. After a good round previous at Mallory Park which saw me take 3 more trips up onto the podium, returning to Donington Park in Leicestershire my confidence was flying high. At the opening round in March we had some great rides and with the bike now set up and flying in comparison to then, I hoped for big things!
Qualifying
I took to the dry track and after having a couple of laps look at the new chicane I began to up my pace and immediately settled into a consistent rhythm hovering around the 1min 20sec mark a good start and with the team signalling that we were P9 overall I guessed that we were doing okay and would be towards the front of the Streetfighter B runners. Donington is one of those tracks that smoothness and high corner speed can and do pay dividends and at the close of the session we held P10 overall and 3rd position in class B behind Utting and Stanier however our next closest rival was 1.8sec away. A great start and I looked forward to the following days races.
Race 1
With the weather taking a turn for the worse it was wet tyres all around as we took to the grid and as the lights went out it was awful conditions which saw us all tiptoe round lap 1 and with early leader Keith Smith crashing out at the old hairpin the signs were that the greasy conditions were very unforgiving. I settled into a great rhythm and circulated behind Tony Hughes and Sean Goldsmith, pulling a 10second gap over one of my rivals Darren Smith and had a very lonely ride to 3rd place in class and my first trip to the Donington Park Thundersport-GB street fighter B podium.
Race 2
Once again keeping out of trouble was the order of the day once the race began and with the weather now even wetter It was pretty much a carbon copy of race 1, however mid race I had quite a wake up call as Keith smith onboard his Aprilia 1000cc breezed past and brought with him Colin Dunston one of my rivals in the Streetfighter B series onboard his Honda hornet dropping me off the podium. I wasn’t ready to relent and set about finding a way past, I knew that I was quicker through the faster corners but Dunston was quite a late breaker into the new chicane and Redgate. I attempted a pass into Redgate and slotted back into 3rd place however any improvements I made, Dunston was also making plans and as we headed into the new chicane he redressed the balance and once again relegated me, Now it was time to up the ante and with only 1 lap to go I set about making a pass at Redgate which did stick and I set off down through craners sweeping right then left and into the old hairpin, I could see that we were making up ground on Streetfighter A competitor Mick Riddle onboard his Kawasaki ZX636. If I could catch him by the end of the straight and make a pass up the inside then I could put him between me and Dunston, I did make the pass and got the run to the chequered flag by 0.01 of a second from Riddle with Dunston close behind. Another great result and 2nd trip up onto the podium. All was going well and we hoped for a dry day on Sunday.
Sunday Race 1
After a great warm up which saw me scrub in a new rear Bridgestone hoop, we were ready to rock! Once again we got away from the line as best we could but for the next 12 laps I was to be embroiled in what can only be best described as ‘a dog fight’ with street fighter C champion Sean Goldsmith and runner up Tony Hughes onboard their supermoto machines. We swapped positions constantly, scrapping for all that we could. As the race wore on I was riding out of my skin and whether in front of Goldsmith or behind I had one mission and that was to scrap for that vital space on track. I had the advantage on Donington’s smooth and fast corners but whenever we got to a braking zone the lighter weight of the supermoto’s and their extreme riding style gathered up any advantage I had gained. As we headed out onto our last lap I held the advantage but as we got to the last chicane sure enough up the inside came Goldsmith relegating me back down a position overall. I exited the chicane and screamed for the line drawing alongside Goldsmith and unbeknown to me Tony Hughes also drew alongside at the drop of the flag you could have put a blanket over the 3 of us and we were that close that we had to wait for the results sheet to be released to find out who got the verdict. Goldsmith held it from me with Hughes following home with only 100th of a second separating us. With all of the action going on around me I had also taken 2nd spot on the podium for the Streetfighter B series. I had now dropped into the 1min 20.6secs lap time, not bad going for a 19yr old bike ey?
Race 2
As I lined up on the grid for my final race of the 2010 thundersportgb season I really wanted a great result to go into the off season with and really only a trip onto the podium would suffice. As always you only remember your last result! However I also knew that I would have to work hard to get out front ahead of Goldsmith and Hughes. As the lights went out we got a great start and settled into 9th place overall, however I was hounded all the way by Goldsmith and Hughes and although I managed to stay in front my pit board didn’t change from P9+0 right the way through, so my job was to race hard and not make any mistakes. As I went into the last lap the board changed and we had finally broke them and I was given the signal P9+2 which suggested we had a small cushion however I kept my head down and kept the concentration and focus to bring the Street fighters Mag Racing Project machine home in 9th place overall and once again I got to join Stanier and Utting on the podium with another 3rd place podium finish pushing my best lap time down to 1min 20.2secs!
To be on the podium 4 times in my last race of the year is an awesome achievement and one which I am extremely proud of however there are numerous boxes which we have ticked this year that were unexpected short term personal goals:
Top 5 finish within a race! – We ticked this at round 1 with a 4th place finish at Mallory Park
- A Podium finish – We achieved this at round 2 at Pembrey with our first of 15 trips onto the podium this year
- A race win – If anyone was to ask me to place a bet where we would achieve this race win I can assure you that Brands Hatch would not have been my first choice
- A sub one minute lap of Mallory Park – achieved a lap of 59secs
- A top 3 place in the overall championship – In 2010 the history books will show that we took 3rd place in the ThundersportGB Streetfighter B series onboard the Street fighters Magazine 1991 Honda CBR600FM
There are a number of people whom deserve recognition for the success of this project for their much needed support and assistance:
- All the guys at SFHeadquarters – thank you so much for the time and effort to allow me to promote and have the opportunity to succeed in this venture
- Rusty and all the guys at Racing Line Photography – Many thanks for the awesome action pics taken this year which have accompanied my race reports
- Easyfix DIY – Donna, Andy & Rebecca your support this year has been fantastic and it is only through your help and assistance which saw us get to that top 3 in the championship
- North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club – To all the committee and its members for your support throughout the last 12yrs
- Hein Gericke – Tim many thanks once again for saving my skin a couple of times this year with those awesome leathers
- Nolan Helmets – Many thanks Andy for saving my head twice this year with the best helmets on the planet
- GPR exhausts – Arthur many thanks for your support this year by providing me with a number of quality items for use on the bike
- Putoline Oils – Thank you very much for supporting us this year
- K&N Air and Oil filters – Your support as always is never in question and is a vital ingredient to our success this season.
- Racetech tyre warmers – Ben your products as always are a must and just ooze quality
- C&S Tyres – To Dean and all the guys many thanks for your continued support
- HEL Braided Brake Lines – Once again another quality item which graced the bike throughout this year
- NPS Plastics – Great quality aftermarket lightweight race fibreglass bodywork
- Custom Cruisers – Many thanks for the rev counter which was donated for use this year it was much appreciated#
- Pickering Performance – Kev many thanks for your assistance when called upon this year
- Big CC Racing – Many thanks Sean for your support with the progressive fork springs
The guys above all assisted with the building and running of the bike throughout the year however a special mention has to go to my parents Daisy and Steve and my younger brother Jonathan and his new wife Steph for their unquestioned support but there is one person whom without I could not have succeeded and that final mention has to go to: ‘she who must be obeyed’ my long suffering partner Carol!
I thank you all!
Please remember to catch the full highlights round up from the final round from Donington Park on MotorsTV in 1 weeks time on the Thursday Evening at approx 9pm.
It has been a pleasure talking to you guys throughout this year and I hope that you have enjoyed the ride! Remember if you want to have a go at racing you don’t need to have the latest 2010 BMW 200mph Superbike missile to be successful! With a bit of TLC, imagination and some race preparation in the shed, that 20yr old bike can still cut the mustard out on the track.
Take it easy guys!
Richie #48
