Well unfortunately not such a successful season as in the past 3 years, fairly mixed results. Mick Gillott very kindly sponsored again, so thanks very much Mick, could not do it without you!

Bert Vloemans from Belgium passengered me again all season.

The first meeting was at Croix en Ternois, France in April. Unfortunately, there was a steering problem. We had two 2nd places and a 3rd, but did not go out in the final race as luckily it was discovered, not long before the start, that the crankcase had split.

The second meeting was at Mettet, Belgium in May. Had a very good first race, and was beaten into 2nd place by Jurgen Couvreur and Peter Deneire on the Moto Guzzi. Unfortunately we did not finish the 2nd race as dodgy fuel was used and it detonated a piston – the moral of the story is never borrow fuel from somebody else!
There was a meeting at Ostend in June but unfortunately the steering was still not right, so we had to cancel, which put paid to any chance of winning the Belgian Championship again.

In early July we raced at Brands Hatch with the Classic Club and came 2nd in all 4 races. Then it was on to Chimay, Belgium. Just before the start of the 1st race, the heavens opened, visibility was nil and as we didn’t have a mud guard, we had to pull in on the 1st lap. Luckily the weather the next day was a lot better and we had an enjoyable race, finishing 2nd.

The next race was in August at Gedinne, Belgium. We had two very exciting, close finish races and managed to win both. Not bad for a 63 year old! One of the other younger Belgian competitors jokingly asked to see my passport.

Final race of the year was at Snetterton in October. Out of 4 races, we managed to finish two and came 2nd in both. We broke down in one and decided not to do the last race as the mysterious misfire has returned, so back to the drawing board.

Now it’s February 2012 and the bike is virtually finished. We’ve found out that the Belgian Championship will only consist of 3 rounds this year; Croix en Ternois, Chimay and Gedinne, which is a great disappointment. Hopefully I’ll also be competing at a few meetings in England with the Classic Club; Cadwell Park, Lydden, Donington Park, Snetterton and Silverstone.

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