91传媒

Thunderbike Sport

鈥淭he weekend started strongly in Thunderbike Sport qualifying. I was initially able to get some good times on the board but knew there was still more pace in the bike. With the track becoming increasingly busy, I chose to back off and create a gap to give myself some clean air for a final push lap. The strategy paid off, and I secured P1 in class.鈥�听

Race 1

鈥淯nfortunately, we were still struggling with the issue that was affecting my starts. As the lights went out, I produced another impressive kangaroo impression, losing several positions off the line. I quickly settled into a rhythm and began fighting my way back through the field, enjoying some great battles along the way. By the chequered flag, I had recovered to finish P2.鈥�

Race 2 & 3

鈥淏oth races followed a very similar pattern. Another difficult launch off the line left me with work to do in the opening laps, but I was able to make progress through the pack and enjoy some close racing as I regained positions. Despite the strong pace, the gap to the leader was too much to close, and I brought the bike home in P2 in both races.鈥�

Race 4

鈥淭he final race of the weekend started in familiar fashion, with another poor start dropping me several places from my P6 grid position. Once again, I fought my way forward and was involved in some fantastic battles throughout the race. The highlight was a thrilling last-lap fight with Jamison. I had lined up a move, but unfortunately we caught a backmarker at exactly the wrong moment in the last part of the track, ending any chance of an overtake. I crossed the line in P3, but thoroughly enjoyed the battle and ended the weekend on a positive note.听

鈥淥verall, it was a weekend of strong pace and hard-fought racing. While the starts continue to be an area we need to improve, the speed was there all weekend and there are plenty of positives to take into the next round.鈥�

Thunderbike Ultra

鈥淭he weekend started with a frustrating qualifying session. I headed out on the 750 but quickly realised we were still suffering from a clutch issue, forcing me to return to the pits without being able to complete a representative lap. After switching to the 1000, I was left with very little time to get a lap on the board, but I managed to put in a qualifying time. Due to the bike change, I was handed a six-place grid penalty for Race 1, dropping me to P12 on the grid.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淒espite the penalty, I got a strong launch off the line and immediately started working my way through the pack. With some good pace and consistent lap times, I was able to make up positions throughout the race and fight my way through to a solid P5 finish.

鈥淯nfortunately, in the Powerbike race, the 1000 developed an overheating issue which caused further mechanical problems and left us unable to continue competing on that bike for the remainder of the day. The team switched focus to repairing the 750, and after a lot of hard work we managed to get it ready in time for Sunday morning.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淗aving missed Race 2, I was forced to start Race 3 from the back of the grid. I made good progress through the field, enjoyed some great battles, and worked my way up to finish in P6.

鈥淲hile it was encouraging to get the bike back out and be competitive again, the damage to the clutch had already been done before the repair. To avoid causing any further issues and risking a bigger failure, we made the difficult decision to sit out Race 4.

鈥淎 challenging weekend with plenty of setbacks, but there were positives to take away.鈥�

Thanks to听Glyn’s Photos and SJG_punkrocknracing_pix for the images.