COLE'S DONNINGTON WEEKEND TO FORGET

By Mike Esdaile.

Trying his hand at British Classic racing, New Zealand and Australian Classic Racing Champion Dave Cole had a weekend to forget at the Donington Park Classic Revival on June 19, 20 & 21.

Riding Ross Graham's AJS 7R (350) and McIntyre Matchless 500, Cole finished 17th in the first 350cc single cylinder race, crashed and remounted to finish 21st in the second 350 race then was hit and knocked off the track to score a DNF (did not finish) in the third 350 event.

Although he came to terms with the undulating layout of the Derbyshore circuit, Cole was struggling on a less than competitive 7R and was 11 seconds a lap off the pace of class winner Lea Gourley.

He fared somewhat better in the 500cc single cylinder races. In the first of these he finished 10th, with a best lap of 1m 24.343s compared with the 1:20.022 that Goourley set out in the lead. At the finish he discovered the rear tyre had been deflating.

In the second 500 race Cole got the better of highly rated English Classic racer John Cronshaw to finish 5th with a best lap of 1:22.431 against class leader Gourlay's 1:19.689. In the third 500 race the clutch on the Matchless started slipping so Cole did a good job to bring it home sixth, with a best lap of 1:23.197.

To cap a less than stellar weekend, Cole discovered his digital camera had been stolen from the pit garage whilst he'd been slugging it out on the track.