Weekend Review, Brands GP.
What a weekend. The SV was running like an SV possessed. This was my 7th visit to Brands GP a circuit I absolutely love to race.
I decided to try out slicks this weekend too after fitting a 5 inch wide rear wheel capable of taking a 180 profile tyre. I think the thought of a wide sticky slick gave me tons more confidence and I pushed on.
I qualified in 9th with a time of 1:42.492 which is faster than I had ever been around this circuit. In Race 1 I started in 5th place. I got away ok but got a false neutral into second gear. I was back to 6th after the first corner and proceeded to chase down 5th. I spent the entire race closing down the R6 ahead and ran out of laps before I passed but did get to within .361 seconds of him. My final fastest lap time was 1:39.903.
In Race 2 I started in 9th again I had a false neutral off the line and lost a lot of time and places. After the first corner I was down to 13th but by the end of lap 2 I was up to 10th. I fought my way back up to 9th place and again chased down the same R6 from race 1. This time I got close to 8th position .6 seconds but couldn't make the pass. My fastest lap time in this race was a 1:39.924.
Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of rain on the van roof. Fortunately the rain was light and by the time I raced it had completely dried up. I went back out after making a few changes to the suspension and attacked the track again. I started this race from the 4th grid position and this time I got a good start. I was in 5th when I exited the first corner and I remained there for the entire race. I managed to chase the same R6 again this time never falling more than half a second behind during the whole race. After 4 laps I saw the final lap flag and knew i needed to pass into the first corner, paddock hill. I threw it up the inside and pulled a clean move but didn't defend enough into the very next corner. We nearly came together but we didn't even touch, I'm pretty sure you couldn't put a fag paper between us. I spent the rest of the lap pushing as hard as I could but it was in vain and I finished in 5th place 0.32 seconds behind 4th.
The 4th race of the weekend wasnt meant to be an issue with the bike saw me packing up and leaving early. I had the best weekend ever this weekend the racing was brilliant and the results and times were great. Unfortunately not everyone was so lucky this weekend and my thoughts go out to the friends and family of those affected.
Since writting this review I have had a look at the bike and found a lubrication problem caused my rear piston to pick up on the skirt and one or both of the big ends are knocking. This means a full engine strip down and rebuild which I hope to complete in time for the last round of the year, again at Brands.
Championship points:29
Total points:71
Vince
Thunderbike Sport
Qualifying Time: 1:42.492
Race 1 Fastest Time: 1:39.903
Race 2 Fastest Time: 1:39.924
Race 3 Fastest Time: 1:40.902
Race 4 Fastest Time: DNS
Fastest Thunderbike Sport time this weekend:1:34.728
