| Newcomer's Hopeful Keeps his Hand In | |
Dominic Cann is one of the many riders, who had hoped to of made his Manx Grand Prix debut in what should have been the Newcomers Race. As we now all know, it wasn't to be, so like many other riders, he has had to make other arrangements. His manager, and former TT rider, Alan 'Granddad' Warner fill's us in on his latest progress. 19 August 2001 NGMCC Championship at Chivenor, Devon This was Dominic Cann's first outing on the Fraser's-ALR Suzuki GSXR 1000. The bike had been uncrated the weekend before and "run in" by Dominic with a ride down to Lands End and back. The GSXR was then prepared in the workshops ready for Chivenor. We had to run it 'bog standard', including suspension and exhaust, but we fitted a set of Race Products excellent race bodywork. Thanks are due to Race Products for sorting us out at short notice. Race one was not a happy event with a miserable 11th as a result. During debrief the rider said he worried about "binning " the bike. Team Manager Allan Grandad Warner told his rider to "get out there and race like you want to win!" adding "don't worry about damaging the bike". He did have his fingers crossed when he said it! Race two was a cracker. Having managed to find reverse(?) Dominic arrived in 16th place at the end of lap one. The commentators didn't notice his rapid progress and were already confirming the top four had the race sorted out. Then they spotted the "white charger" in 5th. Most of the commentary then revolved around our rider who carved his way through to 2nd at the flag. Superb effort. Race three was a similar scenario. Another 2nd place after battling through the field. Race four was looking good with Dominic up to third early on and chasing down the two in front. Unfortunately the race was just 30 minutes after race three and the physical strain of racing a Superbike started to take it's toll. He continued to battle away but a near high side, as he layed a ten yard darkie out of the hairpin, put him back to fifth where he decided to stay. An excellent day out for the Team. His results have already put him in 12th place in the 1100 Championship and there are four more Meetings to go, including Thruxton on October 7th. Thruxton should suit the powerful Suzuki and Dominic, who has won there previously. Our next meeting is at Keevil, Wiltshire on 9th Sept 2001. Words Alan 'Grandad' Warner
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