Snetterton Race Report
TALAN RACING TEAM - Snetterton Report
The Snetterton round was the final round of the BMCRC calendar. Without my team mates there, all eyes were on me….so no pressure then. I decided to try and compete in the MRO600 and Thunderbike Sport class. It would involve changing bikes for each class rather than running the same bike in different classes.
Friday was overcast and chilly, but at least it was dry. I had three pupils to instruct in the morning, and then managed a couple of sessions in the afternoon to run at pace. Both bikes seemed to be working well and no changes were necessary.
Saturday began wet, went a bit dry then went wet again! It made for some slippery conditions and in total 78 riders crashed at some point during the day, I was one of them! It seems that a lot of racers don’t like the wet, whereas I seem to carry on regardless. In the MRO600 I qualified in 13th position (9th in class) but knew I would be starting at the back of the grid in 34th place. I went even better in the ThSp and qualified 4th overall (3rd in class) - it’s results like these that make me frustrated to be starting at the back.
The races were delayed and restarted due to red flags as racers found out how the lack of adhesion on the track meant that they couldn't ride as they did in the dry! I had two good races in the MRO600 and THSp, with excellent results despite starting at the back of the grid. I was having another great race in the MRO600 when I decided to try and steal another place by going up the inside of another racer, it was the last lap and I was nearly tenth overall, one more place and I’d have my top ten overall. As I squeezed the throttle to accelerate away, the racer brought his line back to the apex. I was forced to lean the bike over a little bit more in order to avoid contact and that meant the tyres could no longer grip the slippery surface. The rear tyre slipped away and the bike left me laying in the middle of the track. The marshals were quickly over and I was off the circuit in no time. Other crashes were happening around the circuit at the same time and the race was stopped. I felt very annoyed to have crashed by being greedy and I could have waited another corner and not had to turn in so late and so hard. Still, we are racers and we all want to get in front of the other racers as quickly as possible, if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be racers!
Sunday started wet, so more slippery conditions which suited me, but then it finally dried out and the other racers all sped up. This meant that I couldn’t catch up as quick and reel them in. Still, six races finished out of eight, with four top ten places in the class I was competing with. I also set my new ‘pb’ for gaining places in a single lap, I made up 23 grid positions in the first lap of the Thunderbike Sport race.
That is now the end of the season for the team racing with BMCRC. I am grateful to all the sponsors and supporters of myself and the Talan Racing Team. I couldn’t race without your generosity, support and belief in what I am doing. Thank you.
Finally, the film “Dream The Impossible” is now out on Amazon, iTunes, Sky. The film covers the team in 2015 and gives an insight into the racers stories. Lots of positive reviews already and I believe the DVD has already sold out on Amazon and more are being made!
RESULTS - Snetterton 2017
MRO600
Qualifying Overall - 13th In Class - 9th
Race 1 Start 34 Finish - 13th In Class - 9th
Race 2 Start 34 Finish DNF (Crash on last lap)
Race 3 Start 35 Finish - 13th In Class - 10th
Race 4 Start 35 Finish - 20th In Class - 14th
Thunderbike Sport
Qualifying Overall - 4th In Class - 3rd
Race 1 Start 40 Finish - 9th In Class - 6th
Race 2 Start 38 Finish - 13th In Class - 8th
Race 3 Start 38 Finish - 22nd In Class - 17th
Race 4 DNS
