Solid Race Result & Awarded Rider Of The Day After A Bumpy Start - Oulton Park Rd.2

Rd.1 was a disappointing weekend, fortunately we countered the disappointment with a decent result and awesome race this past long weekend at the beautiful Oulton Park circuit!

The season opener was a massive disappointment for us, knowing what we our setup was capable of made me furious at not getting to use it's full potential. We had a very successful test day at Oulton Park the following Friday which set us up nicely for this race weekend just gone. It started with a few questions over bike settings as usual and we made bad choices with regards to timing the changes, but fortunately got it right in time for final Qualifying!

My previous fastest time was in qualifying last year at 1:40.7, but the test day saw me lap nearly a full 1sec faster getting a 1:39.8! The setup we had was feeling good and put us 5th fastest Superstock 1000 there. Free Practice and Qualifying 1 was where we tried settings different to what we ran at the test day, this proved a bad decision as I couldn't go faster than a 1:40.3 putting us in a provisional 34th place on the grid! Not good!

I hated that we had wasted both Free Practice and Quali.1 on trying settings that never worked and now I would have to try put in a fast lap time with only one shot at it in Quali.2. We reverted back to the exact settings we ran at the test day as we knew I had my fastest lap of 1:39.8 in that setup which should at least salvage a top 30 start. I headed out on track for final qualifying after storming home the night before to just chill out and take my mind off the bike, which worked wonders as I just set myself riding with the old mindset I've always adopted of 'just ride the thing!'

I was aiming to at least match my testing time of 1:39.8 but knew I had more left in my riding to come if I could get comfortable. I got some clear track and set my head down and the bike felt great as I wrestled it round the bumpy circuit in a 1:39.4! I was real happy with the time but knew I had a little left and pushed on again but couldn't better it as I encountered arm pump for the first time in my life!(Arm Pump is a racers worst nightmare during a race as your forearm muscles pump up and your hand starts to cease up, losing control of your brakes and throttle - scary stuff on a 200hp bike at 250kmh!)  I had to accept my time which put us in a much better, but still not where I wanted to be, 27th.
We clocked off for the day without touching any settings, prepped it for warm up and we had a nice team meal before bed.

Race day was upon us and I was really looking forward to riding my bike, just how a rider should be! Morning warm up came and went, and after my pre race massage to prevent the onset of any more arm pump, we headed to start the main race. I pulled up to my team on the start line and got ready to stare the lights down before planning my line into the first corner.

The lights went out and I got a great launch, taking a couple positions from 27th by turn 1 and a few more gaps opened up over the lap and we were sitting in a strong 18th place! We got to the Hislop Chicane where two riders collided right infront of me, both going down in the middle of the track, making me hit the brakes and swerve hard to avoid the tumbling Ducati and its disgruntled rider in the track, setting myself and a few others involved back to 25th. I now had to start my hard work all over again!

The bike really came to me during the race and I felt confident in it's handling so I could push harder to make up positions. I really enjoyed getting to ride hard and stick some good hard passes throughout the race, taking us up a few places each lap before I get to the front of the pack fighting for 17th and started my chase on top top 12 group with 16th place in sight. I put my head down and tried my hardest to close down the gap with 4 laps to go, but this was to be cut short as the red flag came out with 2 laps to go, meaning a crash has stopped the race early - heal up quick Victor Cox who ran off and took a bit of a knock to the tyre wall!

The race was run and we came home with a 17th place and by far the fastest lap I've done around Oulton Park at 1:39.1! I was pleased and the team were very happy with how we closed the weekend! I was disappointed the race ended early as I wanted to try push for the group infornt of me as we had the pace to do it, but maybe it's best it got shortened because little did I know I had a freight train of 4 riders glued to the back of me as I was making my way through the field, of them was superbike rider Marshal Neil, no doubt waiting to pounce on me!

This was by far our best result to date, not position wise, as there are more world level riders in the class than any other year, but overall it was a success considering the incident on lap 1.

I'm delighted to say the BSB Organiser thought so too when I was awarded Fred Clarke's Merit Award of rider of the day in Superstock! SO CHUFFED! It's a great achievement to take away from the weekend in 17th place!

Thank you so much for the support from everybody, it really means a lot, but especially to Mom & Dad, Rocket 88, Leatt, SA Racers Abroad fund and all of our supporters! My whole MWR Kawasaki team - thank you and I can't wait to get to the next one guys!

We have a 5 week break now so I'm glad we could go into this period on a high note and even an award to our name, not that it will make it go by any faster, but it will certainly make it more pleasant. I look forward to more hard training coming up before we head to Snetterton on 15 June.

Cheers for now!
James81

Not An Ideal Start To The Season - Brands Hatch Rd.1

After a testing program which saw us smash our previous best laps everywhere we went, I was really looking forward to starting our season off well, but as is the nature of our sport, luck counts somewhat as well! The forecast was mixed with some dry and some wet sessions over the weekend. Qualifying sessions were the main timed outings in jeopardy, and unfortunately would end up costing us the race.

With over 60 riders, and most of the top 20 being title or race win contenders, the class is more competitive than ever, and still by country miles, the most ridiculously competitive championship in the world. This was evident in how close the times were all through practice and qualifying 1 where we were only 1sec off the fastest and that put us outside the top 30!!!

The rain came down for quali.2 and this saw us catapult up to 11th overall! The best position I've been in qualifying - unfortunately we would not be able to retain this position for the main race... During the rain soaked qualifying race, I was up to 8th place, and looking to pass for 7th. The track had a narrow dry line in one corner, only a little wider than a bike tyre, for all of us to get through. I was glued to the back of 7th as I was moving through the field when we entered that corner, but to my detriment, he braked a little early that lap meaning I had to go around him to avoid crashing into the back of him. This put me onto the wet part of the track meaning my grip levels instantly went from ok to slippery, sending me running off the track, and out of my qualifying place for the main race.

I was fuming when I got back to the pits, knowing what a disaster we had on our hands. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do about it, besides make the most of the time we had on race day by tweaking and fiddling all the bits on my bike we hadn't had a chance to before the race weekend.

My head wasn't in a good place last weekend, as I felt rushed and pressured building up to Rd.1 - not good for a rider! I must say I'm relieved that it's over, and disappointed we never got the result we should have, but as they say - THAT'S RACING!

We had a very successful test at Oulton Park on friday, which saw us outpace my fastest time from last year by nearly 1sec, which is massive! Our ideal lap time, which is made up by adding together my fastest individual track sectors to make my 'perfect lap' was surprisingly good, and I look forward to this coming weekend - Oulton Park Rd.2 is just a few sleeps away now!

Thank you to all of our supporters and sponsors behind us this season - roll on Rd.2!


Cheers for now!
James81

Pre-season Testing Complete - Ready for Rd.1 In A Few Days

We have had a successful testing program this season, which saw us set high goals, and exceed them each time we hit the track! I'm very happy with how the team is working so far and I look forward to the first race which is coming up this weekend. The bike feels really good but I know there is still more to come out of it!

After our mixed week of fast lap times and big crash in Spain, I was eager to get to Snetterton for our first UK test. Bike was freshly rebuilt by my incredibly hard working team, and loaded into our new truck - the big daddy in the paddock! 

We arrived two days early to set up as this was our first outing as the full team and first time we would use the new truck so it took some organising to get it race ready. Now that it's getting layed out and we're getting some systems in place, we're starting to feel more and more professional each time we use it!

The weather played its part with sunshine and warmth on the first day, much different to getting snowed out here last year this time! We set out just to get basic adjustments done and trouble shoot my newly rebuilt bike, and do some basic setup. Which is exactly what we did, much to my frustration as I'm sure any rider will experience. I was so eager to just put my head down go for some fast times, but that would not be possible until we get the bike right for me first. I went to bed that night irritated that I even looked at a timesheet, which I shouldn't have, but had a good idea of the changes in my bike and how to go about approaching the second day to reach our goal lap time when we throw the new tyres in. Off to bed I went with my mind lapping as faster than my bike!

The next morning was another sunny day and we hit the track with the old tyres, but new changes in suspension and they were great! We fine tuned them a bit over the next session, then decided to go with new tyres for the final session of the day. My fastest lap time at last years race was 1:54.3. Our goal was to break into the 1:53s laptimes, so it was quite a high bar to meet!

I set off and scrubbed the new tyres for a lap and started going to build to a fast lap, when to my surprise, I came past the finish line after that lap to see I did a 1:52.9 on my first building fast lap! Half way round that next lap when I was going to go a bit harder to try dip into the mid 1:52s, another had a massive crash right infront of me so I had to avoid him and would have to try again the next lap. The same happened that next lap when somebody crashed and left debris in the track so I only managed a 1:53.0 that lap. With my crash in Spain looming with all the other riders going down around me, I decided to call it a day as we had smashed through our goal time we wanted to achieve and there was not much point risking a lot more so close to the first race.

I came into the pits and the boys were very happy! We pulled the bike into the pit and took straight to analyzing our fast lap time before starting to pack up in high spirits. A great way to end the test!

On the whole it was a great success and one that Mark and my guys had to work very hard with me to make happen after our big crash in Spain. For that, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who helped us out, but especially Mark Webster and Mark Linton for putting in the overtime to make it as much of a success as it was!

As I write this, the team are busy setting up with the new truck at Brands Hatch and will be joining them in a matter of hours to start our first race weekend of the season. 

A big thank you to everyone who's supported me to make this year possible:

-Mom & Dad, the backbone of my career, financially and everyother aspect too!

-Leatt, the Leatt Corporation has supported me over the years and I'm very grateful to ride the with my Leatt Brace protecting me from neck/spine injury,and to be a Leatt athlete under their brand in 2014. 

-SA Racers Abroad, Clayton Francois has put so much effort in to finding us bits of sponsorship essential to making this possible and I look forward to continuing working with you this season!

-To all of our supporters who give me that great feeling when we share success.

Here's to a successful 2014 season!

Cheers!

James81