Donington Park Rd2 Race Report

Hi all, welcome to the Second race report of my 2013 season. After a very exciting first round at Brands hatch I was raring to go. Eager to climb the steep the learning curve I am facing this season we headed of to Donington Park known for its daringly fast flowing nature and scary downhill and flat out craner curve.

Photo taken by Bike Insurer

As we all know the weather has not been at its best with bitterly cold temperatures and snow, but I had bought plenty of clothing to keep warm. Saturday test day had not got of to the best of starts with a down pour of sleet and snow I sat out the first sessions hoping it would eventually sort itself, so we could get on with some serious testing which fortunately did arrive, enabling us to stick the dry tyres on and start searching for a comfortable setting. After a positive days testing I was excited to give qualifying a good crack.

A cold start to the Sunday and I decided to go into qualifying on wet tyres as a safe option, so I wasn’t risking the rest of my weekend. A good positive start with a solid tenth place, just where I left of from Brands Hatch. Now with only one race on the Saturday I could not wait to get out there and improve my riding and setup.

Race 1 and I was very nervous as always entering the race but I was very excited, I didn’t gain the best of starts and dropped back a little but I pressed on and put in a good first lap forcing my way back in to tenth place. I carried on pushing throughout the early stages of the race and saw myself in a comfortable 6th place. Steadily picking up my pace as the race progressed I was able to close in on 5th place and take the position away from him in the dying moments of the race. Over the moon with my result I was bumped up to 5th on the grid for the Bank Holiday Monday races, only one tenth of a second shy of my first front row on the 600. Even though I was very happy with my result I still knew there was a lot more work to do to get the bike working to how I like it and lap the same lap times as the leading pack.

After a long think and a bit of trial and error with I was ready for race two, and I couldn’t wait to try out the changes we had made. A fantastic start saw me move up one place in to fourth into the first corner and on the tail of the leading pack, unfortunately I could not hang to on them for too long before a gap started to appear, but that did not phase me as I was focused on riding my own race and riding as consistent and relaxed as possible. Encountering a fight for the last podium place due to a rider crashing early on in the race I was able to hold my own and fight for my first podium of the season in third place overall but second in the superstock class. A brilliant race and one I am very proud of. I was ecstatic with how I rode the bike even though I was still not 100% comfortable with the setup I was running.

Prior to race two my team and I made a few more changes to try and make the bike a little easier for me to ride. I managed to get off to a good start and put myself in to second position coming out of the first corner, I pressed on as hard as I dared whilst still working out how the changes we made to the bike affected the handling. Unfortunately I got stuck battling with a few riders the leader broke away and I was not able to close the gap any more. I was able to maintain the position between myself and the leader until 3rd place rider made my life difficult once again, and I had lost my concentration forgetting about my own race, and getting sucked in to other riders races.

The harder I tied to regain my concentration the worse it got, and by now I was navigating around lapped riders which was hard to anticipate the closing speed and also where on track we would have to think of a way around them as safely as possible. Unfortunately it ended with me crashing out of 3rd place in the Superstock class on the final lap, when all I had to do was bring it home for a podium!

This is racing though and the pace is ferociously fast at the front of the grid, so I really cannot complain at all, and with my Seton Tuning prepared Superstock R6 giving me serious power and strong torque right through the rev range, I know that I have one of the best bikes on the grid, my bike really does rock!

A little gutted with the way the final race ended up, I am over the moon with my overall performance from the weekend. My team and I worked hard all weekend, progressing and learning all the time. The bike and I both have areas we can improve to help me to be a much better, consistent and stronger rider. I am very excited for the next round at Snetterton where we aim to keep learning and progressing to close the gap between myself and the leading front group.

As always I would to say a massive thank you to all my sponsors and support team who make it possible for me to put a good performance when I step onto the bike. I am proud to have these people/organisations behind me and I hope you can all make it to my next round at Snetterton on the 26th-28th of April.

Brands Hatch Rd1 Race Report

Hi everyone and welcome to my first race report of the season. As you will all well be aware I

have switched championships this year to compete aboard a Yamaha R6 within the Sportsman Elite Series hosted by the fantastic Thundersport GB organisation. Having not clocked many miles aboard the new machine, previously owned and built by Seton Tuning prior to this meeting. It was going to be a steep learning curve but one I couldn't wait to start and start, this is how we went.

Photo taken by Brad Cox

The first round of the season was held at Brands Hatch, known for its daunting first corner and its action packed undulating features and It’s one of my favourites! A wet start to the weekend with the rain consistently pouring down all the way through Friday testing meant it was a tricky adaptation to the all-new R6. With a good solid days riding under my belt I was happy to start qualifying on the Saturday morning. I slowly picked up my pace up and managed to qualify in tenth place out of thirty-eight riders. I was over the moon with that result as although it was extremely cold it was the first time out on the bike outside of testing when I had to push to get the best qualifying position I could. I couldn't wait to get on with my first race.

A tricky tyre choice entering race 1 and I opted to stick with full wet tyres. I got a good start but a slow first lap after being beaten up a bit but I was soon able to find a good rhythm and built my pace, to work my way up in to 8th place.

But unfortunately with four laps to go my rear tyre was getting very worn causing me to rapidly lose positions however I finished the race in 12th place! A great start to season and I learnt lots throughout the race, which are now longer in duration than I am used to.

Photo taken by Brad Cox

Now I have moved classes we only have one race on the Saturday, which left me time to think and make a few changes for the races on Sunday.

Race 2, I didn’t get a good start after slipping into a false neutral off the line; lucky to not get hit I dropped back rapidly. After a few laps of getting my head into the game I started to move forward taking places and work my way up the pack. At half race distance I crashed out of the race on oil that had been dropped and subsequently cleaned up in the race before mine. I was very lucky to get away with little damage, and it was a simple fix for my final race.

Race 3, I got off the line well and after a careful first few laps to make sure everything was ok I steadily upped my pace and started to put some good consistent lap times together. My aim was to ride and race as relaxed as I could to bring the bike home in a decent position given that the weather by now was seriously cold indeed. I was able to do this and finished in tenth place. I was over the moon with the way the race played out particularly as the conditions were so changeable. 

It was a fantastic first weekend aboard the beautifully prepared R6 and I now cannot wait to get underway with round 2 at Donington Park during the Easter weekend, where we are all fingers crossed for warmer weather!

A huge thank you goes out to all the friends, family, sponsors and my team who are constantly helping me get out at each round doing all they can to help my racing dreams come true. The support I am receiving is fantastic and I hope I can do you all proud throughout the forthcoming season. Thank you.