Finally Back Racing!
Well the season has finally got under way and I’m pretty pleased with the 5th and 4th that I got at Thruxton at the weekend. It was good to finally be back out racing again and get a good handful of strong results in the bag. I’ve come away from Thruxton sitting in fourth place in the Championship so I’m reasonably happy considering my injuries.
It’s been quite a long wait since I last raced, bearing it mind it was in August last year! It’s definitely made me want it and want to do a good job for the Airwaves Ducati team. The team worked really hard all weekend and glad I’ve managed to get the season off to a good start and with two fairly strong finishes.
I was definitely a mixed weekend and I was up and down the time sheets like a yo-yo. We were testing loads of different things on the bike and each time it either worked or didn’t and so it made my times pretty mixed. I was one of very few that actually managed to string together some consistent lap times and do a full race distance tyre test. I know a lot of people during the race suffered with tyres late in the race but we’d found a tyre that worked well for me and lasted.
I was really impressed with how well the Pirelli’s worked in the wet but I was probably being a little over cautious trying to get used to them and knowing what the limits are on them. It rained all day on Saturday and it’s the first time I’ve ridden a Ducati in the wet which was certainly an interesting experience, I got my head round it though and began to find a good rhythm and qualified in 6th.
After my poor starts last season I was keen to get a good one and off the line with the rest of them. They were a little slower than normal but ten times better than last season and something I can surely work on over the season. My start in race one was not ideal and I did slip backwards through the pack slightly. I just had to settle in and get my head down and work my way through, I’m still learning how the bike works but each time it’s a challenge and I’m really beginning to get back into it all, after being a little bike rusty.
By the time the second race came round I was a little more relaxed and got a much better start. The race was red-flagged after lap seven when Sykesy and Bomber (Harris) had a big crash at the complex. In the restart I got away with the leading pack and managed to get past Haslam. I got stuck behind Sykes for a few laps but his tyres were totally worn out and he was sliding all over the shot so I was a little weary on which side to pass him and where as I didn’t want to end up in the gravel trap. I eventually got past but the leaders had pulled a fair distance on me at that point. I settled for fourth and took the points and I’m looking forward to Oulton as I know it’s a Ducati suited circuit.
Thanks must go to all the Airwaves team for this weekend and all the people that haven’t lost faith in me!
Cheers, Leon #2