Quote:
| Originally Posted by mat2hew Test Day
Being the first meeting of the year, we were a little out of practice and it showed. I had forgotten to take my race licence and missed the first session whilst sorting out the paperwork then on the next session after just 1 lap I ran out of petrol. In the third session (my first) I did about 5 good laps to remind myself how to ride a bike and where all the corners go and pulled in early so that we could check that the bike was fuelling properly and make some adjustments. Which we did and then did 1 more session on track it all went well and the bike felt good, the team timed me and a few other riders, and advised me not to change anything because we were the fastest. So we gave the bike a quick check over, refuelled it and put it away for the night.
Race day (saturday)
The first session of the day was qualifying and we felt fairly confident after Fridays performance that we could get pole position, Having a new set of tyres I decided to take the first few laps easy and warm them up properly which I did and then put my head down and do some fast laps, all felt pretty good and I put my hand up and started to pull into the pits, Luckly I changed my mind because nobody had told us that the 1st 5 minutes weren't timed! I felt that I had gone as fast as I could so I was a bit disappointed that 2 people went faster, but 3rd is a front row start and as good as any.
Race 1
Off the line I missed a gear and got swamped by the main pack who got past before the first corner, the No.10 bike was in 2nd place and managed to hold up the rest of the pack for a few laps and No.75 was pulling a big gap. When I had made my way up to 3rd I found out how hard No.10 was to get passed and nearly ended up in the gravel trying to go around the outside when he ran wide himself, which put me back to 5th again, I worked my way up to 2nd place but No.75 had an 8 second lead when the race was stopped short. 2nd place wasn't what I was after but not a bad start to the season.
Race Day (Sunday)
Race 2
I got a better start , I still lost a few places but was in 2nd place before the end of the lap, and soon I was in a position to make a move for the lead. The next 6 or 7 laps were spent taking and loosing the lead countless times until only 2 laps remained and I decided to go as fast as I could to try to gap No.75 which I did and the last lap of the race was the new Lap Record!
Race 3
Similar start to race 2 and spent the whole race fighting with No.75. On lap 13 he was pushed wide at Clearways by a back marker and I took lead, only to loose it again at Paddock Hill Bend when I had a slide and ran wide myself. This race was stopped short as well and because I was in front the last time we crossed the line (0.005 seconds) I got the win. Winning is winning but I would have preferred to have finished the race in front.
2nd 1st 1st and a new Brands Hatch Lap Record.
It's a long season but we've had a good start 2012. |
How impersonal DD has become no names just numbers! come on no72 get friendly! We will be having turn numbers at our tracks next like the ****ing Yanks!
Well done Matt & everyone.
