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I've had a chat with Keith tonight. Like everything else to do with this story, it is a little unbelievable.
On the first run, the bike was going well, but coughed at just on the approach to the timing lights. Keith pushed on but felt that it was not a great run and returned to the pits a little despondent. Keith's support-man Brendan commented that it looked really fast, but Keith explained about the cough and thought that they ought to have a look at it.
While fettling the engine, someone came over and congratulated them on the first run. They were pleased that someone had taken the trouble, but Keith was so focused on getting the engine running right, he thought no more of it.
On the second run, the scooter was not running as well, and he aborted the run and returned to the pits. Keith and Brendan fiddled a little more and another guy came over and mentioned 132mph from the first run. Keen to get out again, Keith made a third run and melted the piston in the process. Bugger, and still one whole day of the meeting to go.
With no other piston on hand, Keith called Graham Best in Southend and agreed to borrow Mikey's group 4 barrel that was sitting in the shop. So Keith drove from York to Southend and collected the barrel. He slept at home in Southend and got up at 4.30 the next morning to return to Elvingdon and fit the barrel to the Flyer.
The new barrel was 20cc smaller and even though the holes were big, they weren't as big as was needed to do the business on the sprint track. Keith got a few good runs, but didn't even top 100mph with the group 4 barrel as the gearing had to be shortened to suit a barrel tuned for a very different use.
Anyway, the guys finally thought that they ought to check out this first run from Saturday, only to discover that he had reached 132mph. Keith was surprised, but he was delighted with the way that the engine pulled really hard in 4th gear, so perhaps it wasn't a complete surprise. They asked the timer to confirm that it wasn't a freak reading, but he was happy that this was an accurate figure when he compared it with other machines that were run at the same time.
In fact, the info had been on the organiser's website since the previous night but Keith had had no time to check, or even the inclination. It also meant that Keith's overnight trip to Southend was unnecessary.
Will it be at Woodbridge? Well, we will see, but right now, what Keith needs is a good rest. He's knackered.
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