104 Mathison’s Maiden Southern 100 | 16 Jul 2017

After a hectic and eventful few weeks, Daley was scheduled to join the UoN team at the Southern 100 to make history and race the electric bike, against petrol bikes at the Castletown Circuit. Unfortunately, due to delays in shipping, the UoN bikes were stuck in customs, on their way back from the notorious Pikes Peak in America.  Not wishing to let anyone down, Daley took it upon himself to attend the meeting, with his Eddie Stobart Superstock 1000 BMW machine.  Daley singlehandedly loaded his small van with his bike, his toolbox and a small awning - leaving for the IoM on his own for a mini adventure. 

Upon arrival, Daley setup with help from friends around the paddock. He was looking forward to taking to the circuit for the first time and making his first appearance, at the Southern 100.  After first practice was cut short, Daley was rushed into qualifying, with only 2 sighting laps under his belt.  With little to no track time and knowledge, qualifying was to be as expected as he tried to gain valuable data to be able to setup the bike ahead of the first race, which was always going to be guess work, due to having no previous experience. 

Daley spent most of race 1, trying to learn the circuit as he was still uncomfortable with the bike's handling on the track. The 4.25 miles of street circuit is lined with drystone walls, to which the riders skim at speeds of over 190mph.  It isn't the sort of circuit that you can learn overnight and any mistakes, could be fatal.  This meeting was always going to be about time on the bike and learning the circuit, for next year.  

As the days progressed, Daley tried to establish the correct setup for the bike and finally, things seemed to click on the concluding day of the event.  With a top 10 finish well within his grasp, Daley unfortunately ran out of petrol on the very last lap of the race.  After managing to nurse the bike to the finish line, Daley did well to only drop a few places, crossing the line in 11th place.  

At the end of the week, Daley was more than happy with his progression and is looking forward to taking on the challenge again next year, to add to his knowledge and push himself further, on the Billown Circuit.  

Daley is now looking forward to the Barry Sheene Event at Oliver's Mount next weekend, where he will be attending with his full team and back to his competitive self.  He also has the great honour of riding, a historic Suzuki RG500 as rode by the likes of Barry Sheene himself.
Thank you once again to everyone for their continued support. 

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