Motorcyclist Nigel May embarked on his first season of competitive racing last March at the Lydden circuit near Dover, knowing it would be a learning curve. But little did he know then just how much.

Nigel, about to take part in the Rookie 600 Series, said then he was .... "Finally doing something he had his heart set on for a long time". Heart being the appropriate word, but more about that later.

The Rookie Series is a 20-round event and despite being, as its name suggests for novice riders, it is held at all the country's flagship venues, including Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Oulton Park, Silverstone and Snetterton.

Nigel, like all first-season novice riders, had to wear a distinctive orange jacket until he had ridden in 10 rounds.

He said: "You have to start somewhere, but these bikes are capable of doing 160mph. So it's not for the feint-hearted."

Nigel is no stranger to the "adrenalin rush", having once been a member of a rock group Naughty Naughty.

He still retains close links with the music industry by managing the Soho Sound House, in Charing Cross Road. But the question was: could he do a turn on a different type of track?

Because riders in orange jackets were forced to start from the back rows of the grid, Nigel never really had a realistic chance of a podium finish in the early rounds. However, a clear and very promising pattern was emerging and in each race usually contested by 40 riders Nigel, who lives in Sidcup, would usually finish higher than mid-division.

Considering his lack of racing experience, this was a high-class effort and by far the best of the "orange jacketeers".

Round by round his finishing places improved, as Nigel recalled: "I particularly remember the Bank Holiday meeting at the end of May at Snetterton. I was drawn 40th on the grid, but I made an

excellent start in what was a very competitive race.

"There were some heart-in-the-mouth moments along the way, but I was up to 13th when the chequered flag dropped.

"In race two, I came 14th, so I was well satisfied with that weekend's work."

Nigel has also featured in two motorsport programmes screened on the satellite channel Nickelodeon.

Katrina Richardson, Nigel's partner, said: "The programmes were about people getting into motorcycling at grass-roots level, how much it would cost, etcetera. As Nigel had done it they thought he was an ideal subject.

"Jeff Stone came to Oulton Park at the end of June to interview and film. It was done the day before racing and they recorded Nigel riding around the track.

"That was fortunate, because the next day in the first race he had a pretty hair-raising crash."

Nigel recalled that moment: "I was going really well and had just clocked a one-minute fifty-one seconds lap, my best of the weekend, when my bike went from under me and I was sent flying into the gravel.

"I wiggled my fingers and toes and felt okay, except for some pain in my neck. The paramedics checked me over and gave me the all-clear for race two.

"Despite the accident, I rode confidently and was happy with 13th place and needed just one more race to discard my girlie' orange jacket."

But the real drama had yet to unfold.

Nigel, apparently none the worse except for a few bruises for his mishap, went back to work a couple of days later and then collapsed holding his chest!

And, as mentioned earlier, this is where "heart" comes into his story.

Colleagues, believing he was having a heart attack, rushed him to hospital. Fortunately, for Nigel, doctors found an air lock had formed and had caused pressure to build up.

It forced Nigel to miss a couple of races, but it was not long before he was back in

action at Cadwell Park.

He said: "Naturally, my nerves were jangling. Cadwell is an awesome track, I'd say a bit scary for someone of limited experience, with more hills and bends than anywhere I had raced before.

"In hindsight, it was not the ideal track to resume. But even though it was phsyically demanding, I managed to finish 17th out of 30 which, considering the circumstances, was satisfactory."

Nigel's race-by-race improvement was never better illustrated than for the round at Silverstone, where he rode his newly-

acquired FX CBR machine in competition for the first time.

Having finished an excellent fifth in absolutely horrendous conditions in race one, Nigel was riding superbly in the second one when, with just a few hundred yards short of a certain podium finish, disaster struck.

Nigel takes up the story: "I was in second place on the final lap when, approaching the penultimate corner, the back wheel from under me and I slid off the track.

"I was gutted, totally gutted, to have been denied a podium finish and a piece of silverware in my first season.

"Despite that disappointment, I can look back on the season with satisfaction.

"Learning to ride different tracks with varying contours and being prepared in the best possible way, was all part of my learning curve.

"I would like to thank all my sponsors, friends and relatives, who have supported me so much.

"I'm already preparing for next season when I will be riding in the Supersport 600 Series. This is the natural progression after the Rookie event and I can't wait to get going."

December 31, 2001 10:30