Hi FTWCo,
What a weekend at Brand Hatch!
It
was my first ever road racing weekend and I didn't really know what to
expect, but I have to say its probably gone pretty perfect for me and
the team.
We went down on the Thursday night to set up ready
for the Friday's test day. I started off doing 55secs a lap
consistently, I was a little unconfident after my big crash there on
Paddock Hill 2 weeks previous, but after tagging on the back of the
faster more experienced road racers, my times soon dropped throughout
the day; I got down to the odd 53 and consistent 54secs a lap, a good
improvement for me, but not good enough for the race.
Saturday,
we started with a 10 min qualifying session, new tyres were on and I
was able to do 53.58 which meant I was the 2nd fastest minitwin rider,
and 13th on the grid out of 37.
Race 1, I made a decent
start, and after a few passes I was into 10th overall (and 1st in my
class), I didn't quite have the corner speed onto the start finish
straight (Clearways) and so was passed, I managed to finish 2nd, 3
seconds behind the leader, and my best lap time dropped to 52.8. A great
result for me.
Race 2 was pretty similar, with some good
battles, another 2nd place finish the bag and 10th overall, best lap
time dropped to 52.7
Sunday, day of race 3 and 4. We had
different starting grid positions, these we based on Saturday's races
best lap times; although I was able to start in 13th and make my way
into 10th, and finish 2nd in my class, I did not have the fastest laps
in the minitwins, and so I was moved back to 15th on the grid for
Sunday's races, very disappointing as I had more traffic to negotiate
and 2 minitwins in front of me.
Race 3, A good start, but the
minintwin starting on grid position 10 managed to get away, I caught
the other minitwin and was in a good battle until his bike broke down,
resulting in another 2nd place finish for me.
Race 4, I knew
another 2nd would be tough with the 2 minitwins starting in front of me.
I made a great start, and was in 2nd for 8 of the 12 lap race. I was
unable to hold him off and he got me at my weakest point on the track,
Clearways, a 3rd place result.
I'm really happy with my
results, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd and 3rd, 4 podiums in my first ever road races,
Hopefully more to follow! I'm now second in the Minitwins championship, 6
points down.
A big thank you to Henry at WK Bikes, for providing me with a great minitwin, the newly imported Chinese bikes, as competitive as any proved Japanese machine.
Phil Crowe Racing for all the support and knowledge, mentoring me on the track and in the workshop.
Billy, Marsh and Virgo for the help and mechanics.
WK Bikes, Agri, SPE International, Silkolene, Rip N Roll, Spirit of the Seventies and Mum & Dad.