I was glad to be back, after the recent bike problems that prevented me from racing at Culham, in the NORA Cup last weekend. But due to still waiting for parts for my 250f, I would ride the 2 stroke in the MXY2 class in the dry, sandy conditions at Hawkstone, against a field of mainly 250f`s. This was going to be a tough call, with the inclusion of the infamous Hawkstone Hill. Despite this, I went out feeling good in practice and managed to put down some relatively quick qualification laps, surprising myself, with a 14th fastest time & being the top 2 stroke and having that gate pick for the whole weekend.
The MXY2 group were the last out for both days, which meant a long weekend, but allowed me to chill out and get my nutrition and hydration right for the later races.
Saturday Race 1 – I managed a decent start, from the left hand side of the concrete start gate and managed to avoid a first turn crash, riding around the outside to run in about 14th place, but towards about 3/4`s distance, I had 2 silly crashes, one on the tight left hand turn after the start loop and another in the sand whoops, on the far side of the track. I finished in 18th place and was a bit disappointed with myself, due to a lack of concentration that led to the crashes.
Race 2 – Another decent start and managed to retain a steady pace, without any major dramas and bring it home in 13th position, showing what I`m capable of doing by finishing around the top ten mark.
After my first race, my Mom brought over the part we had been waiting to be delivered and Matt Horn kindly helped fit and check the issue with the 250f starting issues and I was able to get that ready to race for Sunday.
I did a sighting lap on the 250f and went straight to the grid for the first Sunday race.
Sunday Race 3 – I got another decent start and worked my way up to 9th place, after a Beau Brown and Lewis Proud had crashed, I continued to push and battle with a few of the usual runners, but eventually got passed by Beau and Lewis after they got going again. I did manage to take a few places on the last lap and came over the line in a respectable 12th place, as everyone was tiring and being affected by the heat, but my fasted lap time was eight seconds quicker than my fasted lap for Saturday.
Race 4 – My Dad had told me to ride steady and smooth for the last race, as the track was at its roughest, being the actual last race of the day and the other lads would be tired and make mistakes. I got another good start and was running inside the top 10 again. No issues and I passed a few tiring riders to come home in 11th place.
This gave me a 10th overall for the weekend and moved me up to 10th in the Bridgestone MXY2 championship, after 3 rounds and 3 to go.
My fitness, hydration and nutrition were excellent this weekend and it gave me a lot of confidence after the recent bike issues.
Thanks as always to the NORA CRS team and all the associate sponsors.
