2011 Race Reports

Hottrax Motorsport - MICHELIN Power Cup

Red for did not enter.

I really should have pushed at Pembrey race 2 eh!!! If only I could have changed my gearing and be a bit healthier for that one.

Snetterton 200

Well off to the final round of the Michelin Power Cup at Snetterton in Norfolk.
I left for Snetterton early Saturday morning in tow with Oli Linsdell who was also racing his Yamaha R6 in the Motogrande class at some ungodly hour of the morning.
Once we arrived at Snetterton it was a bit misty, i left on old scrubs and we headed out to a gloomy 1st practice.
Practice went o.k. and the grearing i had put on was correct, there was a slight tail wind pushing us down the Revitts straight which made the Esses quite exciting.

Qualifying.
Oli Linsdell was out in Motogrande and competition between us is fairly animated.. He posted a 1min 15.8 to go pole in Motogrande so i told the pit boarders (Rich and Tweek) that we'll get our head down. After a few warm up laps to scrub in a new rear i started to up the pace and recorded a 1 min 15.8 so quit the session and came in. I was on pole and no one bettered it so i went back and got my times. Between Oli and me there was 9 thousands of a second difference between us but to my horror advantage Linsdell!!!

Race1.
After watching Oli piss the Motogrande race we had a chat about gears and stuff and i was ready for race 1, the 3rd Flitwick rider (Dan Ward Clark) had tucked the front in Qualifying but was still 8th on the grid with a patched up bike, but was all o.k.
I got a great start and got my head down, i led from turn 1 but someone was chasing me, i did not look back and relaxed a little which helped as my lines become sweeter and i felt a good flow starting. On lap 5 i saw plus 1 on the pit board and shouted into my helmet "No Mistakes" the gap then grew so i could start backing down the laptimes with 3 laps to go to win the race from Grant Wagstaff. Best lap was a 1min 15.3 which was now quicker than Mr Linsdell so we both entered the Allcomers race (16 lap Unlimited cc) to have a play..

Allcomers.
Normally i would not have entered such a race but with the Championship already in the bag we can have some fun races..
I lined up in 3rd with Oli in 5th, next to me was a ZX10R-GSX1000 and a Fireblade. When the red lights went out i got a cracking start and led into the 1st corner, onto the back straight i was not overtaken so pushed on, on lap 2 i had a sneaky look back to see Gary Arden catching me on his Fireblade and on lap 5 he passed me thru the start and finish, i then re-overtook him twice in 2 laps and then Gary started protecting a bit, the times slowed a bit and without looking behind i knew what was coming. Oli Linsdell passed me on lap 9 and we sat in a 1-2-3 formation until about 3 laps from the end where i had a slide round Corams which made me back off a bit to finish 3rd. Oli managed to get up to Garry but the power of the Blade vs the tuned R6 was too much so he finished 2nd. I really enjoyed that race and i knew we'd given it are all, yes admittedly i could have used a new front tyre etc to maximise our performance we had to hold back a little for Sundays races. Oli rode real well so hats off to him and his laptime of 1min 14.4 was very quick just 1/1000ths behind Gary time on the Blade.

Sunday
After scrubbing in new tyres in warm i was ready for the big races today. Because of a poor 1000cc grid and lack of daylight hours we were in a mixed 600/1000 grid. I lined up on the front row (4th) on combined times (which made me smirk!!) next to Ralph Le Turco on his 200 BHP BMW. After a good initial launch i was outdragged into 5th place into Riches, Grant had a made a great start and was in front and another Powerbike sliced past me onto the Revitts straight. Grant was also getting picked off by the bigger bikes so i caught up Grant on about lap 4 where the race started to fan out a bit. After sitting in Grants tow for about 3/4 laps and showing a wheel or 2 Grant made a mistake into Sears i capitalised and tried instantly to break him. Next 2 laps were +0 then i managed a +1 so i thought yep we're getting somewhere here. I was catching Chris Rouse and Gaz Evans on their powerbikes but then Gaz went straight on at the end of the straight and i got distracted and missed a gear letting Grant catch back up to me.. Over the final 3 laps i pushed on Chris Rouse was now kinda in the way so i overtook into Russells only to be blasted down the straight then on the last lap into Sears i dived up the inside again but went wide. Chris gave me a good tow down the Revitts straight and Grant could not quite get close enough so i held on for the class win by 3/10ths of a second. Phew...proper race that one..
Best lap was a 1min 14.6

Race 2
So onto the last race of the season and the last throw of the dice. I got a better launch into turn 1 but got squeezed by Grant (unknowingly) into Sears, onto the back straight a couple of Powerbikes flew by but both were dealt with into the Esses. Grant was 2 bikes in front but going into the Bombhole he lost the front real quick and went down, the race carried on, Chris Rouse flew past and then Gaz Evans came past as well only to highside out of turn 3 in front of me, i was then left following Chris for the rest of the race, the lap board showed that i had a good advantage over the next rider and no other 600c riders were close. I counted down the laps and finished with another class victory.
Job done and after a quick burnout and wheelie for the spectators at Russells it was time to meet the team for some backpatting.
Michelin had kindly presented me with a bottle of Champagne for winning the Championship and we opened this and sprayed it over the team/Oli/Dan and family ala GP style, what a fabulous way to end the season..

Review.
A brilliant season from start to finish, it's not often you get a season with no downsides just up's but this is the one.. The team who come along to support me are as ever excellent, we all know our jobs and try to keep it simple.. Dad's mantra of "go as fast as you can for a long as you can" serves us well, we never have a real race plan. With this years weather being a bit up and down my webbed feet have certainly helped and probably circuit knowledge and experience has played it's part.
A quick thanks to the team "you know who you are" and to sponsors PLI Consultants & No Limits trackdays for the backing i receive, many thanks.

I'll keep you all updated for plans in 2012..


Oulton Park

We set off for the penultimate round of the Hottrax Michelin Power Cup races on Friday afternoon. After a 4 hour journey thru the Birmingham and M6 traffic I arrived at Oulton Park to collect my silverware from the Cadwell Park round.

 The races would be a mixed grid of 600cc bikes and 1000cc bikes and we would be starting 20secs behind the Powerbikes.

 Qualify

After a night of heavy rain and a mixed forecast we donned the wets ready for Practice/Qualify. As I drove out I tagged behind Grant and Richard Charlton and then passed them both on lap3, the track was drying in places leaving us to ride round in greasy conditions. After playing a bit of cat and mouse with Grant I put my head down and managed a 1min 58s lap which put me 2nd on the grid with Ady Allsopp being the grandmaster of the iffy conditions to place pole.

 Race 1.

After twice lining up on the grid to race in dry conditions the weather played havoc. Each time we lined up rain started to fall then 2 minutes later it stopped, in the end it absolutely pissed it down and our tyre choice was made up. Ed, Richard and I frantically changed to wets and placed some tyre warmers on, we were called up to the start with buckets of rain continuing to fall.

A few riders pulled in after the warm up lap but I knew as long as I beat Waggy I could take the Championship so it was worth the risk. I got a good start and started to charge away from the rest of the field catching Powerbikes on the 2nd lap. The rain kept bucketing down and rivers and puddles were appearing, after a snap slide outta Lodge I decided to calm it a little and on lap 5 the red flags came out.

I had won the 600 race and finished 2nd overall with the fastest lap, to be honest I felt o.k. in the monsoon conditions but maybe a lot of riding experience at Oulton Park had also taught me where the puddles were as well which gave me confidence.

 Race 2.

The rain lightened up and race 2 was held in standard wet conditions. After a o.k. start I let Waggy and Richard Charlton lead me round until Grant made a break, I followed Grant for another lap then overtook on the exit of Shell Oils. I pushed on for a 2 more laps to increase my gap and felt very comfortable in the conditions . In the end I won the race by 14 secs and finished 4th overall on the road.

This finish confirmed that I was now the 2011 Michelin Cup Champion.  Mega

 Review.

A big thanks to Ed and Richard for helping out at this event. Onwards an upwards for Snetterton at the end of October and to finish off the Championship season in style.

Cadwell Park

20/21 August

We arrived in good spirits to Cadwell Park after testing there 10 days previous. In the meantime my Showa-K-Teck rear shock had started to leak so K-Teck had completed a quick revalve job.

We knew from Pembrey that Richard Charlton and Grant Wagstaff would be competing in the Manx so they were absent from this race meeting.

 Practice. 

I decided to try out a Michelin 190 Slick on the rear to see if we got a bit more grip out of it, after a quick 5 minute practice the rear of the bike felt very unstable and the shock seemed to be pumping up. Martin, Richard and I had a quick debrief and we decided to take off some preload and soften the rebound (high and low) to see if this made any difference.

 Qualify. 

Martin and Richard went to the pit lane and I knew from the opening lap we’d have a busy one, the bike was again unstable and was tank slapping out of corner, I came in adjusted the preload & compression every 2 laps to try and find out which way made it feel better. Strangely going stiffer on preload made it easier to ride but we were still faced with a very unstable bike which was jack hammering out of fast corners. I posted a 1min 37.6 which is a good 1.5 secs off my race pace.

 Race 1.

I had qualified on pole which was good but I knew we had to try a few different things to make the bike handle better, off the line I got a good start and led into the 1st corner, lap 1 was good and I gapped the field by 2 s. On lap 2 & 3 I had out of the seat moments where the bike again was bucking and weaving, I managed to keep everything together to win by 7 secs from Ady Allsopp but it was not a comfortable cruise.

 Sunday Race 1

 After speaking to Bob at Michelin and a few other riders I decided to ditch the 190 slick and go back to the 180 section Power One tyre, we think the issue is ride height related and something to test on another day.

After a good warm up following a couple of Powerbikes round it was out for the real thing

I got another god start but Ady wanted to tough it out with me into Coppice, anyway I managed to lead the first lap but Ady stuck with me for the first 3 laps, after this I was comfortable to stick in a couple of Mid 36’s which meant I gapped the pack and kept my head down for the rest of the race. I won by 12 secs which is mega and great points for the championship.

 Race 2.

I lined up fairly late in the warm up area and realised I forgot my Michelin Cup tabard, I frantically rushed back to get this on (more difficult with a helmet on) and arrived too late to take the warm up lap (really Dave !!!) so I started from the back row of the grid!

From 17th on the grid I got a mega start and gated 5th into the 1st corner J  I then struggled to overtake until lap 2 where I passed Nick Green and a Dilks. Ady was trying to check out but once I was in 2nd place a brought down a 2 sec gap within just over a lap and passed him on lap 4/10. I then pushed away but did not override ensuring I rode smooth and safe. On lap 9 the red flag came out, Damien Tierney had crashed at  Coppice, Dan Ward Clarke had taken avoiding action on the grass (note to Damien you have to really be alongside someone into Coppice to make that move not lunge it thru) but luckily everyone was o.k.

Anyway, maximum points for us for the weekend.

Review.

We are now 94 points clear in the Championship with a further 2 rounds to go, a big thanks to my cousin Richard for Pit Boarding, Martin R for Saturdays help, Chris Palmer (PLI) and No Limits Trackdays for the support.

Also Dan Ward Clark managed a top 6 and was top rookie in his third ever meeting so well done.

Pembrey

16th-17th July.

Off to west Wales for Round 5 of the Hottrax Michelin 600cc Cup.

Before we left we had some issues with me and the bike, I could not change the front sprocket due issues trying to get the sprocket nut off, we tried air guns, heat, blocks of wood everything but it wouldn’t shift. Then on Friday morning I started to feel a little unwell, this then turned into feeling incredibly sh!t as I had developed a abyss on my wisdom tooth so ended up on Friday night at my local doctors trying to score some anti-biotics for the weekend. Anyway the doctor did the bizz and armed with 5 packets of Paracetamol, Nurofen and Anti-biotics Dan Ward Clarke and I headed to Pembrey.

Saturday

We got to Pembrey late and in the morning the weather was usual Pembrey (windy and wet) and we changed the wheels for the wets. I’ve not done that many racedays at Pembrey and having a wet 1st practice acclimatized myself to the circuit but I still felt a bit rusty. Waggy was on top form and was up for it as Richard Charlton who also looked fairly confident so I think that at this meeting it’d be the real test.

Qualify.

It just about dried out for Qualifying, I sent Mum & Dad out to pit board and Dan and I left the warmers on, I had an old front and new rear tyre to bed in for this one so after 3 laps I got my head down. It was still a bit damp off line but for some reason I had no pit board throughout. I pulled after some reasonable laps only to find out that Dad did not know who to use the stop watch on his new phone !!!  I qualified 3rd on a 1min 2.1 which is basically slow. Not impressed and a bit tired I sulked for a good 10 minutes.

Race 1.

After cheering up & changing the gearing a bit we headed into race 1.

I lined up in 3rd place but was confident we could go quicker In the race, I got a fair start and Richard lead from me and Grant, Richard made an error which I capitalised on and led the race for a further 6 laps. Waggy then passed me on the start and finish straight and led for a bit, with 3 laps to go the pace slowed and I passed Grant into turn 5 only for him to repeat and pass me again down the straight (gearing playing a big part in the races).

Onto the last lap Grant rode very defensively and I managed to squeeze past into the Old Hairpin and hold the lead to the line, it was tight but I won by 1/10th of a second. Great race and probably the hardest race so far, Richard Charlton finished 3rd 16s behind us so the pace was pretty quick overall

Sunday Race 2

After a great night at the Michelin Cup BBQ and some time with Mum, Dad, Dan and Sheepracer it was time for some racing.

Again warm up was wet and we were 4th race out. I was confident that the track would dry and so was Dad, we stuck in a rear tyre and the front dry on a warmer and I stood out to watch the races to analyze the conditions. In the previous race Julian Hughes had gone out on a wet front slick rear combination and won the race quite comfortably so half way though I took a hunch and banged in the new dry.

On the start line the dry line was only about 3 foot wide and the startline marshal questioned my sanity. On the warm up lap I reviewed the track and it was do’ able with a dry line mostly round the circuit. Waggy and Rich Charlton had opted for wets and when the race started Waggy got the hammer down, I followed Richard for 2 laps then passed him into 2nd place , Waggy had gapped us a little but I brought the gap down to zilch on lap 5/15 then passed him, 1st stab of an overtake was ambitious and Waggy got me back as I went over a damp spot but I then attacked. Once in the lead I pulled the pin and pushed away. On lap 12/15 my pit board read +8 so I cooled the lap times down and won by 9.6 secs with Mark Dilks on dry’s getting 2nd with Waggy in 3rd.

Mega result this one and that made it 10 wins on the bounce.

Race 3.

After a chat with Dad I went into this race with a used tyre which was past it’s best, I knew that if Grant rode to his full potential I may struggle but I had to finish 2nd to take the overall win. Richard had not been a threat all weekend and I under-estimated his pace.

I got a good start and was 2nd into the hairpin, but got relegated to 3rd place, on lap 3 the race was red flagged which was ashame as my rear tyre was already moving a bit and restart would not be so fortunate.

Waggy nailed the restart and I again had to overtake Richard for 2nd place, the tyre started to go off and Waggy pulled a 2 second gap, Richard meanwhile held my pace (1.01.3) and stuck to me but could not quite overtake. I managed to fend him off and finished in 2nd but taking the overall win.

Review.

Well another stellar meeting and quite a difficult one as health wise I was only so-so.

Many thanks goes to Mum and Dad for making the trek to Wales, Dan Ward Clarke for his van hospitality (he’s now top 10) , Sheepracer for his support and Chris Palmer for the support and sponsorship and No Limits Trackdays.

Roll on Cadwell Park and we’ve extended the championship lead to 19 points.

Snetterton 300

18th-19th June.

After missing out on Anglesey it was time to head off to Snetterton.

I had tested at the circuit 4 weeks before and was looking forward to the races. In-between times the bike had been on the dyno (good top end –no torque), PR Trackbike Hire has lent me a K-TECH shock and we’d painted it in No Limits colours and generally had a sticker fest. 

Practice & Qualify (Sat)

The weather report was showery for the whole day, myself plus helpers Martin & Catherine were ready on the spanners to change wheels.

As we filed out for practice the wind was so strong that it was drying the track by the minute, as we went out I realised the track was dry and as on full wet’s it was gonna be a fun session.

The Michelins quickly became too hot for the track and I rode the ZX6R round following Dom De Deon whilst riding the equivalent of a bathtub full of jelly. After lap 4 I came in as not to shag the tyres.

Qualify.

Qualify was held in wet conditions, the team could not hear the tannoy so we saw a couple of 600’s leave onto the circuit and quickly hot footed it out, once out the bike started to ride well and I got into the swing of it, half way through Ady Allsopp came past and I placed myself into 3rd position. Ady was riding well and giving me a great tow, I tagged on the back and quickly placed pole, we were going quicker and quicker and I eventually took pole position on the final lap. 

Race 1 (Superpole)

After a perky warm up lap I felt pretty confident for the race, I got a good start but a young blade on a ZX6R quickly hit the front, Jeremy was riding very defensively but I managed to keep onto him but decided not to overtake until later on in the race. On lap 4 I was overtaken by Ady Allsopp who was on a mission, into Agostini’s Jeremy lost the front and fell leaving Ady leading and me 2nd, I was quite happy to secure my position but into Oggy’s Ady lost the back end and went down , leaving me nearly on the grass but back into the lead. To be honest over the next lap I lost the plot a bit as I thought we were running too quick and would fall off. I then got my sh!t back together and plugged on. The last lap flag came out and I relaxed (then nearly crashed into the Esses) and brought it home for the win. Phew !!! Waggy came in 2nd , I can tell you 10 laps of Snetterton in the wet feels like an Enduro. 

Race 1 (Sunday)

Great ride form me on this one, I nailed the start and after 2 laps getting my lines right and pushed away. Only little hiccup was on lap 7 when I went into Agostini’s I missed a down change and on the brakes nearly tucked the front running wide into the corner.

Other than that the race was textbook and 25 points later was a relief.  

Race 2.

Richard Charlton led away but went wide on the opening lap into the Bombhole leaving me enough gap to squeeze past. I then placed a 2 second gap but my rear tyre was Donald ducked so I had to try and run quick laps whilst using all the road to try and save the tyre..

On lap 4 the red flags came out and the race was declared run, Jamal Mahmood had crashed at Russells and needed attention. 

Review.

Another great weekend for GingeRat Racing, even though my Mechanic Loz could not make it a big thanks to Martin and Catherine for stepping in and doing a fab job , also respect to  Richard on Sunday + the fan club for the support.

Off next to Pembrey which should be cool, let’s hope we can keep the flow going.

Mallory Park

16th-17th April.

Off to Mallory Park for the 2nd round of the Michelin Cup, the bike had had its steering damper modified by K-Tech and I had organized a better spread of gearing to compliment each track.

Practice & Qualify

I had old tyres on from Brands so I chose to smash the rear tyre out in practice (it held on for 10 laps before giving up) and keep the front on until Sunday

Practice went well, between practice and Qualy I changed the rear tooth sprocket for 1 up as we were not revving hard enough in 6th.

Into Qualifying I got into the 56’s quite quickly but traffic was quite consistent so I managed to sneak in a 55.9 then abandoned it to save tyres.

Qualifying placed me on pole just a little quicker than Grant Wagstaff on is R6.

Superpole

I got a fairly good launch but was only 3rd into Gerrards, out of Gerrards I was 2nd and into Edwiners I managed to snatch the lead, once in the lead I got my head down and started to push, Grant Wagstaff was 2 secs adrift but after 7 of the 15 laps he started to fall away. The last 4 laps were a bit of a drama as I felt a bit sick due to quite high track temperature and not enough hydration throughout the day but managed to win the race by 4s.

Sunday Race 1

After a quick practice to scrub in a new front tyre I was a bit more prepared for these races, I had recorded a 55.3 in the Superpole race but felt I could go a bit quicker, the bike was good round Mallory Park and we felt as a package it was strong.

I got a better start and was 2nd into Gerrards and again 1st into Edwiners, I again decided to try and stretch the gap immediately and break the rest of the boy’s, Grant tried to come with me but about lap 8 I managed to extend my lead and this time I did not feel any tiredness and managed to keep consistent times until the finish. I won by 5 sec’s and recorded a 55.1s lap.

Race 2

Time to put the cherry on the cake for this race; I put a new rear boot on for this race as the old Michelin was starting to look a little second hand. With only 1 warm up lap and Mallory being a very short lap I thought I would have to take it easy on lap 1 to ensure the tyre was up to temperature.

I got another good start but this time Waggy led away, I could have sneaked a pass on lap 1 into Edwiners but thought I’d follow him to check his pace.

On lap 2 I noticed that whilst his bike and corner speed was good his braking was a touch early compared to mine. On lap 3 I followed him closely through Gerrards and went up the inside into Edwiners, Grant was not to let me get away and stayed on my tail until lap 9 when I started to gap him. I was really riding well and managed to keep a good pace throughout and took the chequered flag by 7 sec’s at the end of the 15 lap race.

Again I got fastest lap this time 55.028.

Review

Well 2 meetings 5 wins and a 2nd place means we lead the Championship by 31 points.

I am to veto the next round at Anglesey to concentrate on testing and working on the bike to make it a little quicker.

Many thanks to all my supporters/helpers and sponsors so far, they are Loz, Martin R, Jimbo, Catherine, Cuz Chris & Richard (web-lord) Dad and Kellie.

Sponsors/trade are PLI Property Services, No Limits Trackdays, Steve @Flitwick M/C,AP Kawasaki, Michelin, SDC Dyno,KrazyKat and Putoline Oils.

See you’all at Snetterton.. 

BRANDS HATCH INDY

2 DAYS

12/13 MARCH - RACING

Time to start another season, this year with New Era M/C Club downscaling it was time to join the ranks of the Hottrax series.
The class i've entered is the Michelin Cup 600, this is a Superstock series where as a blanket rule you have run on Michelin Power One tyres.

Pre Season Testing.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to No Limits Spanish trackday at MonteBlanco, this is situated near Seville and after 3 day's of testing in +20 degree weather we had maximised the available tracktime. I also had time to meet and get a brief instruction (o.k. a bit of a race up) with Pier Franchisco Chili who was there instructing on a Ducati 1198rs. A nicer guy you could'nt meet and let's just say he's still got the pace!!

Sat (Brands)
The new Kawasaki ZX6R was prepped a week or so before, many thanks to my Dad for overseeing the last bit's and we were set. As with any brand new bike it's bound to have it's issues and i have to learn to ride it and get used to it.

Free Practice
After getting the new Michelin Power One tyres on it was time to scrub them in, the weather was good and fairly mild for this time of year so after 2 warm up laps i started to get my head down and evaluate. 1st issue was gearing, whilst i could run only 5 gears the bike was'nt eager enough out of Graham Hill and Clearways, also the standard fit Ohlins steering damper aint up to the job and it was just shaking it's head thru Surtees /Mcclaren making me shut off early.
As we had very limited spares it's a case of just get on with it .

Qualify
Graham Hill Bend has been tightened a bit since i last rode here, Catherine and Loz my trusty Mechanic and Pit Boarder went down in advance and times started to click in , i was stuck with traffic on a 51.1 so pitted. I asked the team where i was on the grid and they said 2nd and i needed to find .4 of a sec. I went out passed some slower riders and managed to pop in a 50.9. This still left me 2nd but the gap was down to 0.2 which was o.k. even if the times were a bit off.
When we looked at the rear tyre all was not well, it had really started to mark up which is weird for Brands, everyone was having the same issue as well and with all makes of tyre.

Race 1 Superpole
I got a great start only to be overtaken out of clearways by Grant Wagstaff on a Yamaha R6, i stayed with him for 3 laps assessing the situation and could follow him without issue, but my gearing had left me disadvantaged out of clearways and i was losing 100 yards on Grant and making up round the rest of the circuit.
On lap 12/15 i tried to push on but got a slide exiting Druids, i knew my tyre was past it's best so at that point even though i managed to hold Grant i knew an overtake would be from a mistake on his behalf.
Grant never made a big error so i came in 2nd, no biggy i was pretty happy but annoyed that we were so close to winning but could not quite make a challenge for it.


Sunday
Overnight it had rained and the track was damp for warm up and still damp for race 1. Again i got a great start and led away, on lap 3 Grant overtook but i held him fairly easily.
On lap 6 i overtook again and tried to up the pace, it was a 2 man race at this point, the track was drying but because it was cold and damp i felt the track actually got slippier.
From about lap 9 onwards i started making a slight gap and then backmarkers came into play which i dealt with well.
I managed to win the race by 3s but boy was it tough, the bike was constantly moving and it was very easy to slip off, i was glad to see the chequered flag and get 1 win under my belt so soon on the new bike.

Race 2
With Richard his Children , Graham and his son (Kevin) all turning up and sitting thru the 3 hour endurance race (booooring) it was time for the last race, points are only issued on Sunday and a set of free tyres to the winner is a fair incentive.
It was proper wet for this one, i don't like damp or lakes of rain but normal wet is o.k. I got a great start and led into Paddock Hill, i had already made a decision to start quite brightly and break em if i could, after 2 laps i had +2 which kept increasing, no real drama's or slides just keep your concentration up kinda race.
It was a 15 lap race which eventually i won by 9sec's.
Cool stuff, team pleased , i'm please and we lead the Championship from the 1st round..Perfect start .

Review
Many thanks to sponsors
PLI Consultants, No Limits Tracksdays, EBC, GLF Accessories, Flitwick M/C and SDC Dyno.
ALso thanks and not in any particular order Dad, Kellie, Martin,Becky, Loz, Catherine (motors tv girl eh!), Graham, Richard (8l of unleaded and going up) and the kids, James Stevo and all the facebook support..