Friday Test Day
Our first challenge of the weekend was to pass a medical inspection following our crash at the NG Pembrey meeting - we passed and were deemed safe to ride for the weekend, which was expected but still a relief!
The Friday started wet but dried up, so by the time the afternoon sessions arrived we had some dry track to play with. The first session out was our first time riding again since the Pembrey crash, and we had some new riding gear to bed-in due to our previous gear being damaged. The toes on our new RST boots are differently shaped than the TCX boots we have used for the past decade and were causing some issues with the gearchange, but we managed to work around it. After getting in the groove we set a couple of 1:18 lap times.
In the following session we went out again and decided to push a bit harder for a single lap - just to prove that we still had some speed in us - and did a 1:15.7 lap time, which was 1.5 seconds from our PB time. We deemed that this was close enough to further close the gap during qualifying and the races, so called it a day and then treated both bike to new rear tyres...
Saturday Race Day
Saturday was the first time out for the weekend on the Aprilia RS660 and we were really struggling to do upshifts using the new boots! So much so that whilst out on track we decided that we'd swap the left boot back to our trusty TCXs - but then remembered that we had left them at home! Because of the troubles, we were surprised to see that we were fastest overall in the practice session - a good sign!
In the Supertwins qualifying session we managed to get some clear track and put in a 1:16.8 which put us on the front row of the grid in 3rd place.
With a big gap until the races began, we had a bite to eat and watched some WorldSBK racing on the laptop :-)
After a short break, we were out again into Supertwins Race 1. We got a decent start on the Aprilia for once and on the entrance to Quarry corner we were third on track, with the leaders right in front of us. We kept on their heels for a couple of laps before they slowly disappeared. We did a series of laps in the 1:16s and brought home a solid 3rd place finish - with our fastest lap just 0.2 of a second away from our PB lap.
Sunday Race Day
An early start saw official club photographer Colin Hill collect a bag of broken Kawasaki ZX6R parts from us - they will hopefully become part of one of his legendary handmade trophies. The overnight rain had cleared, but the weather forecast showed that further rain was due to appear - the only question was: When?
When we ventured out for Open 600 Race 2, there was rain drizzle falling. The drizzle was not enough to wet the track surface properly, but was enough to be constantly streaming across the helmet visor. We went as quick as we felt comfortable to, but for others it made no difference. At the chequered flag we finished in 7th place.
After a short 15-minute break it was time to head out again for Supertwin Race 2. By the time the race started the rain had got heavier and then on lap 2 the race was red flagged. After switching to wet tyres, the race was restarted. There was a lot of standing water but plenty of grip available around the circuit with the exception of one section of track (from Old Paddock to Tower). We were in 3rd place for almost the entirety of the race, but caught up to 2nd-placed Edward Giles halfway through the race. We thought about making a pass but had too many moments (which included some aquaplaning!) and decided to bring the bike home to the finish, crossing the line in 3rd place.
The afternoon races did continue to run, but with greatly diminished rider numbers - so it looks like we weren't the only ones to take that view. As we are not competing for the NG championships this season there seemed little point taking unnecessary risks, and after the last few meetings we felt happy just to be leaving in one piece!
Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 10)
George Edwards 306
Ricky Elder 294
Michael Rees 168
Jed Bird 134
David Carson 122
Lewis Jones 75
Brandon Brinded 53
Aaron Matthews 53
Paul Messenger 50
Lucca Allen 46
Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 10)
Brody Crockford 243
David Carson 175
Steve Moody 166
Edward Giles 145
William Holland 124
Alex Sinclair 95
Jamie Ingham 87
Jamie Coward 75
Tony Parker 75
Luis Calado 54
In less than two weeks we will be back on track for Darley Moor Round 4 on Sunday 13th August, immediately followed by (our final NG race meeting of the season) NG Anglesey on Friday-Sunday 18th-20th August.