|
Written by Jamie
|
|
Monday, 30 August 2010 16:26 |
This one was really tough, but I won again. Keith Smith got a great start and found a huge amount of pace too. I was behind him for two laps and pretty shocked at how fast we were going. I passed him into Paddock Hill Bend and got my head down, but when I checked over my shoulder a lap later he was still there so I went faster. After a 50.3 lap he was still there again so I went flat out to the end and took no prisoners through the backmarkers. Smith even followed me into the 49s, which is remarkable on his bike.
That win makes a clean sweep of pole, lap record and four wins for the weekend, which is quite special at what I consider my home track. It also means I'm now 124pts in the lead of the championship with two rounds and 200 points left to go.
Thanks for all the texts and support.
Wilko
|
|
Written by Jamie
|
|
Monday, 30 August 2010 13:37 |
Another clear win for me, though this was a two-part race owing to a messy crash involving my team-mate, Nigel Davis. Although it looked bad, I'm glad to report that he's fine and the bike isn't too bad.
Chris Matthews was second in my class and Mark Andrew third. Barry Utting won class B.
In the Thundersport 500 class, my friend Sam won for the second time this weekend with another ultra-cool, battling performance against several tough rivals. Calm as you like, he set up the leader in the last corner, got better drive and won by 0.01s.
My last race will be at about 4.45pm. Wish me luck.
Wilko
|
|
Written by Jamie
|
|
Sunday, 29 August 2010 20:01 |
Short version - I won!
The rain stopped an hour before the race and the sun came out so the track was drying fast. I checked the circuit with ten minutes to go and it was still damp so I went for my harder wets which work like intermediates. Thanks to brilliant help from good friends Rob, Sam and Martin I made the grid with seconds to spare and noticed that most other people were on dry tyres. At that point I realised that either me or them would be in for a tough time.
On the warm up lap I could see that there were still lots of damp patches but most of the track was dry. It doesn't take much damp track to ruin your confidence on dry tyres so I knew I was on the right tyres, but also that the track could dry enough during the race that dry tyres could end up faster.
The tactic then was to bolt from the start and build up as much lead as possible while it was still damp. It worked perfectly and I pulled out a five second lead. Right at the end it had dried enough for the guys on dry tyres to be a bit quicker, but I had time to wait behind some backmarkers and win by three seconds.
It was a massively satisfying win, especially as two of my sponsors - RJW Consult and none other than the CEO of S&B Automotive Academy - were watching.
It was handy for the points too, as Matthews pulled in when he realised he was on the wrong tyres. Overnight, I lead by 110 points. I can't wait for tomorrow.
Wilko
|
|
Written by Jamie
|
|
Sunday, 29 August 2010 14:56 |
I hope none of you reading this find what I'm about to write in any way boring or predictable, because I rode my heart out and the result is really exciting for me.
I won. By 17 seconds. And I smashed the old lap record down to 49.6s. Before the weekend I'd thought how cool it would be to get under 50s on a Streetfighter, but I never imagined that I'd get so far under it.
Keith Smith was second, Chris Matthews third and Andy Denyer fourth. That's boosted my points lead to 85 as things stand now.
There were quite a few crashes, including my team-mate Nigel Davis. What he didn't know was that he was leading class B at the time as runaway points leader Barry Utting has already fallen. Happily, there were no injuries.
We've just had a downpour so the track might be wet for the second race. That's ok as I have two options of tyre for damp and wet conditions. With a big points lead, I won't be taking any risks. I'll let you know how it goes later. Wish me luck.
Wilko
|
|
Brands Hatch practice and qualifying |
|
Written by Jamie
|
|
Saturday, 28 August 2010 21:35 |
It feels great to be back at Brands, the place I consider my home circuit. After last year's bad luck I really want to do well this weekend.
Usual apologies for the lateness of this blog and the absence of a proper preview. It was another week of ridiculous hours at work and everything else had to wait.
Today we had practice sessions in the morning and first qualifying in the afternoon. It went very well and I'll start each race from pole position.
Time for bed now.
Wilko
|
Page 1 of 21
|
|
|
