Jack Lilley Racing - Ben Miller

Ben Miller

Age: 24
First road race: Brands Hatch, March 2004
Occupation: Printer
Favourite Circuits: Not any specific one as they are all great fun!!
Ambition: To race at world championship level.

Career History

2010 MRO Triumph Triple Challenge
2009 MRO Triumph Triple Challenge
2008 Ngrrc 250 & UEM 250 European Championship
2007 British 250 Championship & Ngrrc
2006 ACU Star 125 Championship
2005 MRO 125 Championship
2004 Bmcrc 125 Championship

Racing Diary

Brands Meeting

It all kicked off for me this Easter weekend at Brands Hatch on the Indy Circuit. Unfortunately we have been unable to get any pre-season testing in before the new season.

We had been to two track days prior to this first round but we were hampered with an electrical problem. We finally managed to rectify the problem on the morning before the race meeting, which turned out to be a wire on a sensor which had been causing the bike to short out when the wire momentarily touched the exhaust.

After free practice, and having had a hassle free session, I was pleased to have put the problems behind us and concentrate on the job at hand.

We now run by the BSB rules, which means that our qualifying result determines our grid position for race one, however our fastest lap time in race one, will determine our starting position for race two.

Qualifying saw me post the 11th fastest time which put me on the third row of the grid for race one. I was beginning to get to grips with the new bike and starting to get a bit more of a feel for the new tyres which we are using this year.

It wasn't until I was battling in race one that I realised that the gearing we were running was incorrect, I was struggling with drive out of the corners which seemed to be costing me time. I ended the race in 11th place.

We reviewed the gearing set up, and it seems that the profile of the new tyres have altered all of our gearing data which means having to start afresh. We came to a decision as to which sprockets to run, and geared the bike to use five gears.

After struggling in race one, I had slipped down the grid to 16th, a fourth row start which meant that I had a lot of work to do.

I rode a good race and managed to get up to 9th, but unfortunately I was slip-streamed to the line and finished 10th by a mere four thousandths of a second.

I was happy with the progress which I made throughout the weekend. It wasn't exactly the start to the season which I had hoped for but for the simple fact that it was my first proper time on a bike since last season, I have to be realistic.

Oulton Meeting

Round 2, Oulton Park BSB, 29th April - 2nd May.

Qualifying went well, I managed to knock a massive 4.5 seconds off of my previous best lap time from the year before which put me on the 3rd row of the grid in 9th position. With only 0.6's separating me and the 1st row.

Race 1.

I unfortunately didn't get the best of starts and slipped back by a couple of places going into turn one. I made amends and battled back to 9th and managed to gap the guy's behind. But I was still recovering from a recent illness which left me feeling lethargic, and as Oulton Park is probably the most physical track on the BSB calendar, it hampered my hopes of catching the guys in front.

Race 2.

We altered the length of the wheelbase to try to help me to get the bike turned through the chicanes as this was the one sector where I was loosing time on the front guys. My other two sectors were pretty good. I had slipped back a place on the grid to 10th for the start of the second race due to the new rules, but on the up side, it gave me a better line in which to approach turn one when the lights go out.

I managed to get off of the line well and was 6th going into the first turn. Unfortunately though I wasn't aggressive enough on the first lap and sipped down the order. I found my composure and got my head down and was chasing the group ahead of me, I could see that I was reeling them in....that was until I went into the Shell Oils Hairpin and a fellow rider dived up the inside as he had out braked himself, putting him wide and running me out to the edge of the track. Which inevitably caused me to loose time, I then got held up for the next lap behind the rider who had just nearly run me off of the circuit, but I passed him through the ultra fast downhill corner of Cascades. I pulled over 10 seconds out of him over the remaining distance of the race but was unable to catch the group ahead after loosing the time early on and crossed the line in 9th.

Again I was not disappointed with the result, we have made good progress and I have beaten my previous best times at both circuits we have been to so far. I just need to bridge the next gap between me and the front boys and I'm confident we can be battling for top 6 finishes by Silverstone.

We head to Croft next, which is one track on the calendar which I can honestly say that I hate. I have been there twice before but not in recent years and have found it hard to gel with the place. As long as I stay consistent and keep scoring points then I will be happy. But after that it will hopefully be on wards and upwards from there on.

Round 3, Croft BSB, 13th - 14th May.

It was time to face my demons, I have never before got to grips with the North Yorkshire circuit and I need to be scoring half decent points. It's been a few years since riding the track so free practice was all about familiarising myself with it once again.

I had forgot how bumpy the surface was here and it was going to prove vital to try to get the suspension to work for me.

Unfortunately we get a limited amount of track time over the course of a race weekend so it meant that I had to make some adjustments to my suspension set up throughout qualifying.

I knocked 1.8s off of the time that I had I set in free practice which put me on the 3rd row of the grid in 10th position for the start of race 1.

I put in a solid performance in race 1, all the time improving on my previous best time in qualifying and finished the race in 9th.

Race 2, I was promoted to 9th on the grid and was looking forward to a good race. The bike bogged down off of the line but I made good ground going into turn one, and had managed to muscle my way into 6th position, but I ran out of track on the exit which in turn messed me up for turn two and I slipped back to 10th.

It wasn't long before I had regained two places and was running in 8th. I pulled away from the group behind and was set on chasing down the guy in front, I kept my head down and was reeling him in...if only I had another lap because before I knew it, the chequered flag was out.

I was very happy to come away with my best result of the season at my least favourite circuit. I also moved up the championship standings into 8th. My next meeting is at the British Moto GP at Silverstone in July and I can't wait!!

Round 4, Silverstone Moto GP, 10th-12th June.

It was great to be back at one of my favourite circuits. It was even
more impressive than the first time we visited a year ago with
the addition of the new "wing" pit and garage complex.
I must say, the new development must have put Silverstone
right up there in the rankings of some of the finest motor racing
circuits in the world.
When we walked the circuit on Thursday evening we were in awe
of the structure that they have created to host the pinnacle of world
championship events, such as Moto GP and Formula 1.

It was quite a privilege to be part of such an occasion and to be riding
in front of a crowd that was in excess of 75,000 (this figure came as a
surprise to me considering the awful weather conditions).

We were all ready for qualifying on Friday having waited around for the
best part of the day, but typically, ten minutes before we were due to go
out on track, the heavens opened and down came the rain. As we began to
change the wheels for the wet's, the 2 minute board came around. They
had brought the schedule forward without notifying anyone, so as you could
imagine, thing's got a little frantic in the garages.
This was when we encountered a problem, whilst putting the rear wheel in,
the spring clip in the rear caliper came loose and got bent as the wheel was
being lifted into place. This meant that we had to strip the caliper before we
could locate the wheel which cost us precious time and unfortunately I only
managed to get out to complete just the one lap for qualifying. What made
matters worse was the fact that I hadn't used the new wet tyres before, so for
one, I didn't have a clue what to expect of them, and secondly, they were obviously
not "scrubbed in". This put me back in 22nd place on the grid of 29 riders.

Race 1, on Saturday, and I was fired up for some elbows out action as I
know that I have got a lot of work to do from starting that far back on the
grid. I got stuck in from the off and I really enjoyed battling my way through
the field, I didn't give up, every time I passed a rider and could see the next
one ahead in the distance, who I then set about reeling in and passing.
I was pleased to cross the line in 8th position when I take into account
where I had to start from on the grid.

Race 2, Sunday and I was looking forward to another exciting race, but after
waiting around all day we were told that our race was to be cancelled due to
hazardous conditions which had been caused by the persistent rain which hadn't
eased all day. This race is due to be re-scheduled for Snetterton BSB.

Round 6, Brands Hatch BSB, August 5th-8th.

This particular round was run on both the short Indy circuit and the longer, faster GP circuit. We had a practice, a qualifying session and a race on the short circuit on the Friday, so it was to be a busy day.

Qualifying went well, I was lapping faster than that of my previous personal best time. I was slightly unhappy with a lack of rear end grip which meant that I was really struggling to get the power down around Clearways, this in turn resulted in me loosing out on precious drive onto the start finish straight. I decided to pull into the pit's to see if maybe my tyre pressures were higher than they should be due to the heat which had been generated. As expected, they were and I made the decision to try running a lower pressure in both the front and rear tyres than we normally would by around 2psi in each.

After a couple of laps to get the tyres back up to working temperature I had one more lap left to get a decent qualifying time in. I got my head down and was pleased with the feel that the new tyre pressures were giving me, the bike felt transformed, The front end would steer easier and the rear seemed to be generating a higher level of grip so I instantly felt more comfortable and confident with the bike. I ended the session in 9th which means that I was to start the race from the 3rd row of the grid.

Race 1, I was positioned on the left hand side of the grid which I was pleased with as it gave me the opportunity to take the outside line around turn 1 and try to make up a few places. And that is exactly what I done, I got out of the blocks well and by taking the outside line through Paddock Hill Bend I managed to get up to 5th on lap 1. I was enjoying the race and was having a good battle with the group between 3rd and 8th, that was until I could feel my gear lever begin to work it's way loose and I began to struggle selecting gears and before I knew it, the bolt that held the lever on had fallen out and the lever was left dangling and absolutely useless, which forced me to retire from the race.

Race 2, It was time to head out on the longer, more flowing GP circuit and I was looking forward to making amends for being forced out of race 1 the previous day. I tried to replicate the start which I got in race 1 however I got pushed out wide in the first turn and ended up leaning on a fellow competitor going down Paddock Hill. I knew that I had to get away with the top end of the field. I made some audacious moves and one after another, I was picking them off, I moved up one place on every lap which I completed. I had really found my rhythm and was enjoying riding the bike, it felt great with the set up which we had managed to improve yet again and the bike was feeling strong. I was in 4th position when Peter Ward, the Triumph Factory test rider came by me, I decided to sit behind him for a short while to try to weigh him up but I was finding myself getting held up and I couldn't afford for anyone else to get by so I pulled the pin, I was going to make a break from the group that I was with. I got a good run out of the corner which leads onto the back straight and I knew that I could out-break him into the ultra fast Hawthorn corner, I made the move and the overtake was nice and clean however as I went down through the gearbox from 6th - 3rd, the bike seemed to get stuck between 4th and 3rd, it started making some terrible noises and the gear lever was ferociously shaking and I was unable to select a gear, it just didn't want to know and as the bike didn't have a gear engaged I struggled to get the bike turned in, especially as the corner which I was approaching was the fastest corner on the circuit. I managed to get most of the way around the turn and scrub off some speed before being forced to run off of the track and as soon as I hit the gravel trap the front washed out and I found I was picking myself out of the gravel.

I was pretty gutted that the race was cut short for me, and was left with a question of why. Why had the bike not gone into gear and then not wanted to go into gear when I attempted to again before being forced off of the circuit. But overall I have come away from the weekend feeling much more confident again now that I am beginning to get a good feel with the set up of the bike. I'm glad that I have proven that I have what it take to run at the sharp end of this extremely competitive grid. We will be off to Cadwell Park for our next round, so it's onwards and upwards and fingers crossed we can come away from that weekend with some good results.