S I T E   U P D A T E D  4 / 3 / 07                              J I M   M O O D I E   R A C I N G # 2 1

It could well be funny, but it sure wasn't for me, so let me explain. The other day Jim said to me "we'll need to get something funny on the web site." Okay I thought, but what. So far it's all been pretty serious stuff with the team launch, testing and all that goes with it. Then I thought why not have a laugh at Harvey Tees expense and after all I'm just a race fan that's been lucky enough to get to know the Moodman.  Anyway, a few weeks back Jim phoned me asking if I would like to go to the Valmoto team launch. I said sure in a cool voice, as if I wasn't bothered one way or the other, when I was keen to go. So what's the score I said?  Jim said "we'll go by the helicopter to Donington on the Sunday, then onto Silverstone, where we're all booked into a travelodge near the circuit and we'll take it from there. He added, if the weathers not looking good then we'll go by car."

So, I get the formal Valmoto invite and it's getting near the weekend and the weathers not looking all that good for the west side of the country, although the forecast was for it to clear up. I drive through to Jim's house and coming from the east of Edinburgh the sky was clear with not much wind. Good I thought…..Oh, I forgot to tell you, I don't fly very well. Yes, who does, but I've had a few bad flights in the past….Well, they were probably okay, it was just me really. I drive through and the weathers getting progressively worse and when I get to Jim's it was grey, windy, misty and damp. I felt really good as I was sure the car option was the only way to go….no, no, no. Jim said the helicopters ready, bring your bags up and I'll get you sorted. Oh good….(that means oh shit) Trying to act cool, I was beginning to get a little apprehensive. (That means, where is the loo) We gets into the house and Jim's wife Miriem asked if I wanted a cuppa and I said no chance. The less I have in me the less will come up. I had a nervous laugh as I remember the first time I was supposed to go up with Jim. Let's just say I told all the Moodie's not to go near their toilet for a while.  The plan was to pick up Tom French and just to let you know Tom is a successful businessman with all these T French and son lorries running up and down the country. Tom is really down to earth guy who loves Motorsport and has sponsored many a good rider over the years. Oh, and he also fly's helicopters…I thought, goooood, two pilots are better than one, especially in an emergency. Well, you can't be too careful, can you. Before we went I told Miriem that I'd better take a plastic bag just in case, you know. So, we had a wee look and it's important that you get the right bag, without any holes in the bottom. That would be disaster….So we got, I think, a Dorothy Perkins (without any holes) bag and put the Tesco one inside for good measure. Off we go and the flight to Tom's house was only about ten minutes or so. Low cloud and mist, but there was the odd ray of sunshine coming through. Jim was looking for breaks in the cloud, which didn't make me feel too good. I was looking for big breaks in the cloud and Jim was looking for breaks the size of the helicopter.  We land at Tom's and in we go in for a cup of tea. This time, I had a cup as I felt a little better, but the weather wasn't getting any better.

Jim and Tom disappear to the computer for a while. When they come back, Jim's got a few sheets of typed paper in his hands and he starts reading it intensely. Now I've learned over a period of time if Jim's reading something then you're just as well talking to the wall. Not wanting to be too nosey, I'm thinking it's the weather report that he gets for the helicopter and considering it's all done in numbers and code there's no point in me looking. Just as well….After a couple of minutes Jim said to Tom "I can understand how he was killed"  What, WHAT. Jim was reading the reports on why some helicopter pilots got killed. Oh bloody great I thought, that is just the kind of stuff I want to hear.  Jim and Tom said "it's important to know these things really". 

About an hour or so later we take off. Oh, another thing, I used Tom's loo before we went and I overdone it with one of these air freshener spray thingamabob things, giving the whole house that fresh loo smell, a smell that everyone noticed on the way out. The weather didn't look much better and the more we went south towards the borders, and all the hills that go with it, the more the wind got up and the more the helicopter was pitching up and down. I must admit Jim and Tom put me at ease, reassuring me that this is okay and normal as it's mainly because of the hills and the wind that comes up from them. I tell them "it's just getting used to it I suppose" While Miriem, unknown to me, couldn't look at my face for laughing. So she (what I thought anyway) was sight seeing out the window. In reality, Miriem didn't want to look at my puckered face as we hit the air bumps. We were only doing about 70 knots and the helicopter is roughly capable of doing twice that, so it gives you an idea of how strong the head winds were at the time.

On we go, and as we cross the Solway Firth, things begin to get a little better and although the head winds are still strong, the helicopter is more stable with no up-draught from the hills to bother me. I begin to settle and Miriem starts to read the Peoples Friend…No it wasn't really, but it could have been the Playboy with Holly Valance as the centre spread for all I cared. I just wanted to get my feet on the ground.

We pass by Sellafield power station, although at a distance as any aircraft must keep a certain distance from nuclear power plants. Jim's busy on the blower finding out flight information as the air traffic gets busier the more you travel south. Some of all this info is gobbledegook to the uninitiated and that's the way it remained for me. The further south we went Jim was thinking of re-fuelling before Donington. Tom was busy looking through a bible thick book with all the airfields and they decided on a place near Derby. Now, this airfield was just some type of flying club and when we landed we went for a cuppa while the chopper was getting refuelled. If there was a place that looked straight out of the Second World War, this was it. Into the hut we go for a cup of tea and there were four elderly guys having a good old chin wag about how long they could survive if they came down in the sea and we were all having a listen to what they were saying. Again, this was just what I wanted to hear. The four guys looked as if the were farmers and I wouldn't have blinked an eye if they left in a Landrover or even a tractor. No…When they left, just before us, they all got into their planes and off they went. I suppose they were just out for quick flight and a cup of tea.

Off we go for the short flight to Donington and there was a good crowd for the final round of the supermoto championship, not my thing. Anyway, Jim buzzes the circuit before landing and off we go to watch the last few races and I must admit I quite enjoyed it. It looks as though Jim's talking to everyone, so I just stay out his way and have a wonder. I bumped into a few of the Scottish guys that were trying their hand at this growing form of the sport and I have a blether with one or two other guys, who were all wondering what I was doing at Donington at such a late stage in the meeting. What I was thinking was, without mentioning any names, some of these guys struggle to budget for their road racing efforts and here they are doing the Supermoto in the off season…interesting.

Times getting on and we leave for Silverstone. A few people watch us taking off, and there's me trying to look cool, as if I do this every day. The flight there took about 40 minutes and the light was beginning to go. Honestly, by this time, I was okay and I knew we weren't far away from the circuit. We roughly followed the M6 and there was a massive traffic jam on the south bound carriage. We found out soon enough. Amazingly it was caused by the drivers slowing down to have a look at the accident that was on the north bound carriage. North bound drivers were being diverted and Jim quickly knew that Jack and Doris Valentine could be taking the south bound route. Tom took over the controls while Jim got on the phone telling Jack the news. At first Tom said the tail back on the south bound side was about five miles, but the more we travelled, that changed to ten then fifteen miles. For the first time, I was beginning to feel happy I was in the helicopter and it was amazing to see this seemingly never-ending row of lights on the motorway.

We got near to Silverstone and although the light was low we could make out the circuit. The plan was for Jim to let me and Miriem (or should that be Miriem and I) off close to the circuit while they went and landed the chopper in the correct area. We would then phone a taxi to take us to the Travelodge, and Bobs your uncle. I don't know if it was Tom or Jim, but anyway one of them suggested we have a look at where the Travelodge was situated. They knew roughly its location and within a minute we were there. Jim said "we could land here you know" and sure enough there was this little space, fenced off at the side of the lodge, that was perfect for the Helicopter. No sooner said than done, fifty yards and we were in our rooms. But not after we had a good laugh at the guy who checked us in. When Jim was signing the register, the guy wanted his car registration number. Jim explained, we're here in a helicopter, but I'm sure the guy thought it was a wind up. Tom signed in then I went up and the guy asked me for my registration. I explained the helicopter story and going by the look he gave me there's no way he believed me. I suppose as long as he got the money he was quite happy. It's obvious the guy never heard the chopper coming in and to this day he's probably none the wiser as to the fact that it was just around the corner. It makes me wonder what he would have said to his mates if he went to the pub. Hey guys, you'll never believe this; I had this bunch of idiot Scots people, they must have been on drugs or something. I've heard some stories before, but they tried to tell me they arrived in a helicopter....I mean, come on.

Harvey T.                                                                      Home page