Rafe Symons stopped off at Grittenham this Sunday for a day’s racing with Dursley MX.
Having not ridden the track since his auto days, Rafe was excited to get back to the track, which was expertly prepped by the mighty Thornbury MX, who are also a Team Sponsor.
36 riders lined up for practice and having completed 2 laps, Rafe had the fastest lap time for the Small Wheels (SW) and fourth fastest lap in the combined. Donning his colourful Motoloko kit, Rafe certainly stood out from the crowd and was easy to spot throughout the day.
There were a number of red flags throughout the day and an attendance by Wiltshire Air Ambulance, so racing had to be shortened to 2 blocks.
Race 1 – After the second red flag, the riders returned to the start line, giving Rafe plenty of practice to get out of the gate quickly. The gates dropped and Rafes reaction time was awesome. He thundered down the start straight with the front few and settled nicely into 1st place for the SW. Rafe clocked up the laps, with only one mistake on a jump, where he was giving it extra sauce trying to create a gap between him and second place, when he landed front wheel first, with a quick shake of the head, he settled quickly back into his pace and flew over the next jump. A fantastic ride, smooth and fast, second place was behind him for most of the race, Rafe coped well under the pressure, however, getting tied up with a back marker, meant the second place rider saw an opportunity to squeeze past on the last lap, resulting in a second place finish for the NORA CRS rider. A good solid ride which was impressive to watch.
Race 2 – By the time the second block arrived, so had the rain, the track was dry and prepped to take the rain. Rafe knows that in these conditions consistency is key. A good start meant Rafe was in front of the majority of the riders, but he was a little hesitant and let a few riders past, settling into fourth place in the SW. Rafe soon changed his lines to compensate for the track conditions and found his rhythm. However, the riders in front had managed to pull away. But a good consistent ride with no falls meant he crossed the line in fourth.
Rafe finished the day in third overall, tied on points with the second place rider. A top effort Rafe, he has not quite finished his race season yet, but 2025 looks to be an exciting year.
