Jesse James went into Round 6 of the Cotswold Youth & AMX Club Championship with a fighting spirit. We some tough starts and very close battles with a highlighted thrilling second race at the newly revamped track. Jesse gained valuable points and experience in his rookie season in the Big Wheel 85cc class.
Read Jesse’s full race report below.
We headed to the newly revamped Walterstone for the 6th Round of the Cotswold Youth & AMX Club Championship. It was an important one as I had some catching up to do as I was behind a Round due to other commitments.
Free Practice went well they had removed some of the rollers which made the track flow a lot smoother which I much preferred it. I was feeling confident going into my first race of the day. All the Championship Riders were there and we were all fighting for some good points for the day ahead.
Race 1 5th – My start was great however by the time I had reached the end of the first corner I somehow (well I know how and that’s a secret I have to work on) got pushed right to the back so I had really made hard work for myself. As we all swept over the rollers I had managed to to pass at least 10 bikes 5 of which were in my class. We headed down the hill my favourite part and by the time we were heading to the end of the first lap I had pushed my way up to 5th and I wasn’t giving that position up so I rode defensively and stayed there right until the end.
Race 2 4th – My start was a little better this time but I still really made hard work for myself. I definitely found my pace and flow in this race I was riding really well making some gaps behind me, I settled in then I saw a rider ahead of me and decided I was going after them. With not a lot of time to spare I was right on them I could see the last table top ahead of me and I knew I had one more jump and about 10 meters to finish the job. As we landed I gunned it to the finish line and fought to the last second I went in tight and we hit the chequered flag at the same time . I thought I lost out so I went and congratulated the other rider only to find out a few minutes later that I had actually crossed the line 0.182 of a second before my counterpart to steal 4th place. Happy was an understatement.
Race 3 P6 – Not really much to say about my start again just could get them together. The track had become unbelievably rutty by this stage. It was quite late in the day as the event had run over time . I still went out with the fighting spirit because I wanted to pick up as many points as I could. My late race pace was there but I think I was feeling a bit tired and when I start picking my opponents off I had run out of time because they had cut the race time down so I bought home 6th place.
The end of the three races I finished joint 5th on points but ended up with 6th overall for the day I was a little disappointed on the one hand but on the other hand I should be proud of what I am achieving in my Rookie Year in the Big Wheel Class. Once again I can’t thank NORA CRS for supporting me and everyone else for fighting in my corner to make every weekend the best for me.
Next weekend I’m heading to Landrake Moto Park for the NORA92 British Cup stay tuned for next weeks race report it’s going to be epic!
