This weekend was the final round of the NORA92 British Cup at Gossington Moto Parc. Having never rode the track before, I was excited to see what the weekend would bring.
Saturday started off with a wet qualifying, which played into my hands. Unfortunately, due to a small bike issue I only managed to get 3 laps in, but managed to put myself into P10, which set me up well for the weekend ahead.
RACE 1 – I got off to an okay start, coming round on the first lap in P18. I battled through into P16 on lap 2, not too far behind a group Infront of me. I managed to catch the group by lap 4, but unfortunately crashed. However, I managed to drop only 1 position. I fought back into P16 by the end of the lap, eventually catching and overtaking and putting myself into P15 for the end of the race, but I knew I had a lot more to come, as my lap times were easily fast enough for the top ten.
RACE 2 – another mediocre start put me into P16 heading over the line on the first lap, however I was a lot closer to the pack ahead. I quicky moved into P14 on lap 2 , P13 on lap 3, and by lap 4 had put myself into P12. I could see 2 riders not too far down the road, and by lap 6 had managed to catch and overtake one of them. This meant a very hard battle between me and another 125 on the last lap. I made the move into P10 for a solid moto 2. On the last lap I was also lapping the same pace as P4 so I knew I still had more to come. After an okay Saturday, I had solid feeling on the bike and was very excited to see what a dry day would bring to Sunday.
Sunday began a lot dryer, with the track looking in very good shape. After my sighting laps, I was looking forward to the days racing.
RACE 3 – I got off to a good start until a collision in the first corner which put me P21. I knew I had pace and instantly moved myself into P15 by the end of the lap. I kept on climbing the ranks to P10 by lap 3, getting quicker and quicker each lap. I was also lapping quicker than P5 at this point, and with P6,7,8,9 not too far ahead, I kept on digging. By lap 5 I had managed to move myself into P8, just behind P6 + P7. I was fighting hard, making the overtake for P7, and dropped it on the penultimate lap. This meant I finished P10, but I knew my pace was far beyond that.
RACE 4 – I got off to a solid start in P10, Quickly moving into P9. I found myself behind a rider who I’ve battled with previously, who unfortunately became a slight roadblock to me. I spent all race trying everything to get past and break him, but he managed to get back round me every time, except from the last lap where I managed to stay Infront for a P8 finish.
Overall for the weekend was P9, which was pretty solid especially considering I’m on a 125cc, but I know that with the starts I could’ve for sure been in the top 5, so I know what to work on. Championship wise I ended up P19, after missing a round this is a pretty solid result and I’m very ready for next year. Big thanks to all the team and everyone at NORA CRS for a solid year and I’m very excited to see what next year will bring!
