Test Day

鈥淔irst session, I had to pull in with a technical issue and in the second session it started spitting with rain half way through. Then the storm hit and the day was cancelled. It was that bad it wrecked my gazebo setup.鈥�

Qualifying (P4 on Grid)

鈥淩ain wasn鈥檛 forecast, but trust me when I say we got it! So, it was going to be my first ride on the Honda in the rain. I had no expectations, but thanks to my JR Performance Wet Race Engine Mapping, the bike felt mega. I had a fair bit of grip which I wasn鈥檛 expecting at Anglesey. 听I chipped away and on the last three laps pushed as much as I dared, which was good enough for the second row – so happy days.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淕ot a good start on the outside and was well positioned until Steven Duncan ran me wide into Turn 2, putting me in 5th. I re-passed him at Rocket and then got onto the back of Luca Jennings. I spent the rest of the race trying to get past Luca, but with little track time I couldn鈥檛 make a pass that I could be sure about.

鈥淚 felt strong, but not having been in that position for a while, perhaps I was too cautious. Finished 4th. My best result in the class so far and I was buzzing. I really enjoyed that one.鈥�

Race 2

鈥淎ll Sunday鈥檚 races were shortened due to a serious incident in the first race of the morning. We send both riders involved our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

鈥淪tarting P6 on the grid 听鈥� which is on the inside 鈥� isn鈥檛 ideal because of the short run to Turn 1. I got a good start and beat Phil Crowe to Turn 1 only for him to squeeze me on to the inside curb. So, my run to Turn 2 was impeded and I got swamped. I wasn鈥檛 having that, so got a great run out of Church and tucked in. It was getting busy up to Rocket In and I made a great move to get right back onto Luca again. I got picked on in the bar the night before by the lads saying I was too soft in Race 1. I said if I got the same chance again, I鈥檓 making passes and that I did. I passed Luca several times, but didn鈥檛 defend well enough to be able to gap him. It was a lot of fun trying to get past him and, fair play, he doesn鈥檛 give up easily. On Lap 4 Duncan grasped the opportunity to pass both of us and our battle continued.

鈥淲ilf Turner had enough of watching me fail so he passed me and had a couple of laps to try to do what I couldn鈥檛. I lost the rear out of Church and lost time and they gapped me. I tried to make it back up, but the rear grip wasn鈥檛 great in Race 2 and I tensed up a little, so just brought it home 6th in Class. Luca stayed in front of Wilf, so I felt better that it wasn鈥檛 just me struggling to get the job done.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淧10 on the grid because my lap times and rhythm suffered by battling with Luca for too long. With nothing to lose, I was on the outside and got a good start again.听 Got duffed up at Turn 2 and lost places again so elbows had to come out. I got past Paul Charman after Turn 2 then up the inside of Jamie Boyce at Rocket. Knew I had to get that done early or I would have been waving 鈥榞oodbye鈥� to Turner and Jennings. They had a gap on me, but with clear track ahead, got my head down and worked hard. Pulled away from the lads behind and slowly closed the gap to Wilf. Luca was holding him up slightly, but speeds were quicker than all weekend. I was desperate to get back onto them as I felt strong and wanted one last shot at a podium. Felt good on the bike and dropped into the 1:09s, just 0.2 secs. off my PB from last year.

鈥淭hen a red flag, so I鈥檒l never know if I could have challenged to them, but the fact I鈥檓 think that during the race, shows I鈥檓 getting the new bike in the window I can work with.鈥�

Endurance

鈥淰ery experienced riders, Phil Crowe and John Ingram, invited me to join them in the three-hour Endurance Race. Needing the track time to make up for the Test Day, it was pretty cool and a privilege. We qualified 4th fastest, but had to start from the end of the Line due to Phil using Dunlop tyres. I did the Le Mans Start from last on the Line and by Lap 3 had taken us into 3rd place then 2nd on Lap 6. Phil and John took us to a WIN on track, but no trophy. A great experience and I learned a lot from them. Total legends.鈥�

Summary

鈥淟ots learnt this weekend. Had great fun and have built a lot of confidence with my racing and the bike set up. Matt Sayle鈥檚 photos show I鈥檓 much more relaxed, but not 100% because I know only too well how Anglesey can bite you if you get too greedy. 听I hated the bike at Knockhill, but love it again now and can鈥檛 wait to see what鈥檚 possible on it at Donington where there is a tonne of grip. Feel it鈥檚 going to be a positive one.

鈥淏ig kudos to Justine and Rob of RT Motors for making the long trip again and, of course, the main man Jason Hugill, whose support is invaluable.听

鈥淭hank you to all my support and sponsors for sticking by me. I say it all the time but it鈥檚 100% not possible to do this without you. We have more to go yet, but feel like the hard work is paying off and some success is close now.

鈥淐ongratulations to Tommy Fielding on being crowned the Pirelli Super Series Champion. He 100% deserves it. I鈥檓 very pleased for him and grateful for all the help he gives me off-track. He鈥檚 a good egg. He is looking to go to BSB next year and deserves every chance. If any companies want to sponsor him, I am sure they won鈥檛 regret it!

鈥淔inally, 鈥榃ell done鈥� to No Limits Racing, the Marshals and the medical professionals, who we are very lucky to have when things go wrong.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

Test day

鈥淔irst time at Knockhill and we had a great test day, getting to know the little ripper of a circuit. I had bike struggles but worked through some and rode around the rest. Went faster in every session and finished in the high-51 seconds, so thought we had a nice starting point.鈥�

Qualifying (P8 on Grid)

鈥淚 went out at the back with new tyres on and did my own thing. Bike felt okay and I was happy with the time.鈥�

Race 1 (P7 in Class)

鈥淲as going well until Lap 7 when I hit a false neutral at Turn 1 and lost a lot of time. Three riders got past and trying to bridge the gap I got tired quickly. With nothing more to be gained, I just brought it home.鈥�

Race 2 (P7 in Class)

鈥淕ot a decent start and picked up three places from P11 on the grid. Again, felt okay until Lap 7 when I started to get tired and feel arm pump. Last few laps I was just a passenger and didn鈥檛 enjoy it.鈥�

Race 3 (P5 in Class)

鈥淢ade some changes to set up but didn鈥檛 feel any improvement, so same again. A decent start from P10 on the Grid and stuck with a group of 4 riders for 6 laps or so but then started to drop back.鈥�

Recap

鈥淚 had a lot going on learning a new track and a new bike. Knockhill is tight and very physical, especially on a big bike. I failed to find the right setup and tried to ride around issues instead of getting them dialled out. Completely my fault and wish I was back there now doing it all again with what I feel I know now. I was expecting to go well at this one. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I wasn鈥檛 terrible, but I鈥檓 gutted as I know what that bike and I are capable of when things are right. At least I stayed on when several riders, always known for their safe riding, weren鈥檛 so fortunate.听

鈥淭hank you to Nigel and the gang for welcoming us to Scotland. It was brilliant and I haven鈥檛 laughed that much in a long time. Also, a huge THANK YOU to Justine and Rob of RT Motors for making the trip all that way and for the help and support through the meeting. I鈥檓 so grateful. Also, to the guys at home tuning in and sending messages of encouragement.

鈥淔air play to all the lads for safe, no silliness racing at what was a new track for a lot of us. Well done No Limits for making it happen and thank you to all the staff and Marshals who were all spot on. Great appreciation shown from both sides at the end of the last race.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure we will be back and I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l be more ready next time. Now to work on what we know and be in a better place come Anglesey in three weeks.

鈥淎lthough I didn鈥檛 get the results I hoped for, I still loved the weekend. I know that is made possible by the sponsors, so thank you all so much.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

Test day

鈥淚 was buzzing to ride the Honda again. We set off strongly with a 1:33.6 on my 3^rd lap, then managed a 1:32.9 in session 4. I was happy with the lap times despite finding it far too physical and struggling towards the end of each session. We needed to find a better setting to help me run a race distance. Without the datalogger yet again, we made improvements, but I wasn鈥檛 fully sure with the feeling. I had a few moments, very nearly losing the front at The Hairpin and up out of the seat twice, so started to tense up towards the end of the day.鈥�

Race Day Free Practice

鈥淚 tried to relax more and felt really good, but the lap times were poor 鈥� in the 1:34s. My head needed a shake as my confidence dropped. It was a waste of a session as I had no idea if it was me, the bike or both. I went for a nap!鈥�

Qualifying (P12 on Grid)

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get onto the circuit in a good position and every time I was on a good lap I would catch a bunch of riders. I dropped off and tried to find space, but it was a nightmare. I kept calm and gave myself just one lap at the end to put in a time of 1:33.277 which put me 12^th on the grid. That lifted my confidence again and gave me a feeling we could make better bike changes.鈥�

Race 1 (P7 in Class)

鈥淚 was worried about my first race start on the Honda as the two practice runs had been terrible. In fact, it wasn鈥檛 bad and I got away to make a pass on Jamie Boyce at Park putting me in P11. I settled behind Liam Murtagh and Luca Jennings and felt okay, dipping in the 1:32s, but on Lap 4 they started to drop me slightly. Being the first race on the bike, I just didn鈥檛 settle enough.听 听

鈥淪till trying to work things out, I didn鈥檛 want to push too much and make a mistake. Jamie then came back past with Brandon Petty chasing him down. I found myself sandwiched between them. Petty made a move on me at The Hairpin, but didn鈥檛 make it stick. He then got past me again at Charlies 1 so I decided to stay behind him, try to let him pull me on as I didn鈥檛 want to slow us up too much.听

鈥淎 couple of laps later, I felt good and had the pace to re-pass him. With a lap and a half to go, I was setting up a move at Chris Curve when we had a random dump of what felt like hailstones. By Mansfield, it had stopped so I was straight back on it trying to get past. Then more heavy rain through Hall Bends and I locked the front at The Hairpin and ran on. Paul Charman snuck past me, but knowing the rain couldn鈥檛 have settled below the over-hanging trees, I went hard into Barn Corner and managed to out-drag him to the line.听

The red 鈥榝lag came out for the rain and crashes it caused. It was a shame to finish that way as I was in good flow. I really enjoyed the race and to say it was my first one on the 鈥楤lade, 7^th in Class was okay.鈥�

Race 2 (P6 in Class)

鈥淟ights out and it was an okay start from P14 on the Grid. The bike felt good for 3 laps and then it was hard work. I鈥檇 made a change for this race and it was completely the wrong way 鈥� my fault as I didn鈥檛 listen to advice and lived to regret it. 听

听鈥淭he arm pump was the most painful I have had. I was a passenger for most of the race, but never stopped trying. I did manage to pass Liam on the last lap as he was having the same issues. Strangely, 6^th place was my best ever in the Pirelli Super Series. I gave it all I had just to finish and was proud of myself, not for performance, but for staying onboard. A fair few riders went down in that one. The hard graft paid off, but I was not happy.鈥�

Race 3 (P7 in Class)

鈥淲e went back to Race 1 settings and it felt so much better. I had a lot of work to do starting P15 on the Grid because of a bad lap time in Race 2. Got away okay again, got stuck in and was enjoying it.

鈥淥n Lap 2, I got to Wilf Turner and saw a rare pass could be on over The Mountain. So, on Lap 3 I did just that, putting me in a great position to get away and go with Liam, Boyce and Jennings. Then, four turns later, I missed my gear change into The Hairpin, ran on and lost two places to Wilf and Paul Charman. A nightmare. My fault for rushing and not engaging 1st gear correctly.听

鈥淚 went into chill mode, got back to work and felt strong. I managed to pass Charman, then Petty, to get on the back of Turner again. Close racing with Wilf, we hunted down Liam, Jennings and Boyce. I tried to squeeze a pass on the last lap into Hall Bends, but had to back out at the last second. We both got past Boyce and Wilf closed the door early at The Hairpin. I went for a run to the line and, just like last year, I lost out.

鈥淕reat racing by all the lads and I really enjoyed that race to finish the weekend. If I hadn鈥檛 missed that gear I was sure this would have been my best finish.

鈥淕ood things are coming and I hope to see some of you up north at Knockhill for Round 7. I can鈥檛 wait.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography