Round 3 – Cadwell Park - Freshman 500
Race Report
Testing for this round was on Saturday 25.05 due to the bank holiday, and racing was Sunday and Monday that followed.
Testing went well, with glorious sunshine. The bike was performing well and I was happy with the setup despite a few initial niggles – after the second test session I came back in and found my radiator had let all the water go, so found another rad and it was back together again.
Qualifying on Sunday was a wet one but managed to get 7th.
First race of the weekend I managed to get off to a good start and made my way up to third place by the second corner. Unfortunately as we were coming through Halls bend on the first lap, my brake lever pivot bolt decided to undo itself and say goodbye. I noticed just in time and managed to get off the racing line and coast to a halt with the little amount of useable back brake that exists on these 20 year old machines.
That unfortunately was my first race of the weekend over. Got the bike back to the paddock and managed to source another pivot bolt from Jon Hunt #28 – cheers Jon.
Second race of the day, I started 7th again, but quickly made my way into third, trying to reach for second.
The race was a close one, with first, second and third place battling for the lead throughout the race, until Rob Humpleby made a pass on me and put too big a gap between us, so he took first home. I finished second and Darren Anderson finished third.
Due to my times from the previous race on the Sunday, I was now starting second on the grid.
I got off to a good start, holding second, until we had a heavy downpour for around 1 minute – just enough to make the track damp and greasy.
I came over the mountain, proceeding through Halls bend as if it was dry. By the second corner through Halls, I hit the deck as I was still trying to corner as if it was dry, on dry tyres. That was my race over.
After that, the bike sustained a fair amount of damage – too much for me to fix in the paddock, so we called it a day.
I didn’t get the results I was hoping for this weekend, but was glad to have taken second place in at least one race.
We were packed up and ready to head home by half 2. On our return journey home we listened to the live commentary from the last Freshman 500 race of the weekend. #26 Bailey Harker deserves a massive congratulations from starting 24th on the grid and finishing second. He had made up 17 places within the first lap if I’m not mistaken..!
A huge thanks must go to Paul, Romain and John at Wemoto for all the parts and support, Rose my fiancee for continuously putting up with me and Colin Hill, Paul Denton and Colin Port for the photos. And of course to all the Thundersport organisers and marshals for making this happen.
Unfortunately we won’t be able to attend round 4 at Mallory Park however we will be back on the grid for round 5 at Donington Park.
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