I was fired up for Silverstone as I love the track and was hungry for a good result! FP1 and 2 went well good lap times and improving each time out, Qualifying also went well with a best lap time of 2.11.8 which was 1.2 seconds quicker than last year! I was happy and starting 16th overall on the grid. the bike was working perfectly and I was ready for a good sprint race!
Race 1 I got a strong start and was up to 3rd EVO I got overtaken by a couple of riders but kept my head down and sat on the back of the group battling for 3rd EVO. I got into a fight with Ben Stafford and we both ran wide at turn 16 and I lost the front and went down! I was annoyed but I was pushing and shit happens, unfortunately I didn't get in a great lap time as it was only lap 3 when I went down. I was starting 10th EVO for the feature race tomorrow. Race 2 I got another solid start and was up to 6th and with the leading group on lap 3 the safety car came out for 2 laps, Ant West desided he didn't want to stay behind me, Stafford or Allingham under the safety car so he passed us! I thought to myself what are you doing! The safety car came in and I was stuck behind West but I past him and then got passed Stafford and Allingham and was chasing down the group in front. I caught up with Paulo, Pett and Hipwell and we were having a good battle I managed to keep Paulo behind and made a tough pass on Hipwell into turn 1 on the last lap and made it stick to finish 5th EVO with a good lap time of 2.11.3 which I was very happy with. Even though I didn't finish on the podium i was still happy with a solid finish and strong lap time which has put my confidence up for Brands the last round! Massive thanks again to Mark Hanna for all his hard work and help, also thanks to Road and Racing, Pinky, Dad and Mum. Also big thanks to my sponsors Pipe Werx, Fuel 10K, Kushitani, Oxford Products, Pro Bolt, Purbrook Garage, Motor Parts Direct and Maxton Suspension. Another shout out to Paul Davies, Beverly Richardson, Martin Price, Ash Bond and Andy Cooper for their help and support in 2015.
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Here we are at round 10 Assen, my favourite circuit on the calender. The weather didn't look great over the weekend but I was still excited about getting out there on track! FP1 was a good start but FP2 was wet/drying conditions so we sat out the session. I got out in the Dutch Supersport session on the Saturday just for some extra practice after missing FP2 which was handy. Qualifying was a difficult session I got 8 laps in then I rained so I missed the last 10 minutes of qualifying, I left it too late to put a good time in so I started 10th EVO on the grid which wasn't ideal, the session caught a few riders out and the grid was a little mixed. I knew I had to be aggressive on the first lap and push my way through and put in a good lap time in the sprint race. Race 1 I got a mega start and pushed my way through straight to 6th from 10th, I was in a group from 4th to 8th and we were all battling right through the race, me Kloots, Pett, Paulo, Philp and Collier were all in a battle and we were putting some good moves on each other to get to the front of our group. On the last lap Paulo passed me and I was trying hard to pass him back but he rode defensively so it was difficult, on the second to last corner before the chicane he ran wide and lost some speed so I had to make a pass or Pett behind me was going to anyway, so I made a move it was close and me and Paulo touched he went down and I went across the gravel and ended up 6th, Luckily Paulo was OK, I didn't mean for him to go down it was just a racing accident. Race 2 Eveyone was waiting to go out to the grid then the race was delayed and I was stuck down the bottom with no tyre warmers as no one knew what was going on, I saw they were I started 6th EVO and got a good start up to 5th, turns 2 and 3 were wet so the first few laps it was really tricky through that part and I didn't want to make a mistake, I finished the race 6th which I wasn't happy with as I was sure I could have done better but the conditions weren't ideal but that's racing! Massive thanks again to Mark Hanna for all his hard work and help, also thanks to Road and Racing, Pinky, Dad and Mum and Grandad. Also big thanks to Pipe Werx, Fuel 10K, Kushitani, Oxford Products, Pro Bolt, Purbrook Garage, Motor Parts Direct and Maxton suspension. Another shout out to Paul and Beverly for their support at Assen and also Ashley Bond and Andy Cooper for their support and help. Round 9 Oulton park, I love this track and was looking for two strong finishes before going to Assen. Practice started well and my pace was good. I qualified 5th EVO and the lap times were close, it looked like it was going to be a close battle all weekend!
Race 1 I got a good start but at turn 2 Irwin got pushed off track and his bike came back in front and pushed me and a few other EVO riders wide, I lost a place to Daley so was running in 6th after a few laps I passed him at Lodge and moved up to 5th EVO. The gap was about a second to Estment in front but I couldn't quite close the gap and 5th was where I finished, I was a bit frustrated as I have the pace to run with the front guys but got caught up in someone else's accident in the first lap, but it was good points for the championship. Race 2 I started 4th EVO and got another strong start and was right up behind Hipwell and Neill. On lap 4 Hornsey had a big highside which sent out the safety car for 2 laps, it was close behind the car as everyone was slowed down and everyone was trying not to run in the back of someone else! After the car went in we all got going and I past Daley for 4th place and got right behind Collier, Neill and Paulo. Estment caught up and join the party and we were all battling within a second of each other, into the last corner of the last lap it was close but the red flag came out at the last minute and the results went back a lap and I finished 4th EVO. I was happy as I got some good points but felt I had a chance of a podium on the last lap but hey ho. Wishing Andy Reid and Sam Hornsey a speedy recovery after there big crashes in that race. Massive thanks again to Mark Hanna for all his hard work and help, also thanks to Road and Racing, Pinky, Dad and Mum and Grandad. Also big thanks to Pipe Werx for the new trick pipe, Kushitani, Oxford products, Pro Bolt, Purbrook Garage, Motor Parts Direct and Richard from Maxton for all his help too. Roll on Assen... Cadwell was here and I was looking forward to racing here as last year I missed it due to having an operation, I was ready to go and was looking for some good solid points and a good weekend.
I qualified 6th Evo, which wasn't ideal but it was fairly close so I had a chance in the race. Saturday Race 1 I got strong start and moved up to 5th, I battled with Freddy Pett and Josh Daley but managed to gap them and start to catch Marshall Neill, I got right up behind Marshall but I found it tough to pass him so I had to settle for 5th place. I got a good lap time and bumped myself up to 4th Evo for Sunday's race. Sunday Race 2 My start was average and I got right back behind Marshall in 5th Perrin and Estment went down which then moved me up to 3rd place, I sat behind Marshall looking at where I could possibly make a move for second, but with 3 laps to go I tucked the front at Mansfield carrying a to much front brake, I was gutted as there was a good chance of a podium and I threw it away. I was pleased with the weekend as I had the chance of that podium but equally annoyed that I crashed. Roll on Oulton park. Massive thanks to Road and Race, Mark Hanna, Richard at Maxton, Dad, Pinky, Grandad and all my supporters. Also thanks to Oxford Products, Kushitani, Pro Bolt, Motor Parts Direct, Maxton, Fuel10K and my sponsors.
I came into Brands confident and was excited to be back at Brands! After a good start at Brands I was buzzing for the race and raring to go. I qualified 7th EVO and the times were so close 0.5 of a second between 1st to 7th! Race 1 I got a shocking start but made my way through at turn 1 up to 5th behind Freddy Pett, I got into a good battle with Freddy, Levi Day and Niall Campbell, we were all swapping place the whole race with some hard overtakes! I was good fun and I finished with a great laptime of 1.29.7 which put me 4th on the grid 15th overall for the feature race tomorrow! I finished 5th. Race 2 I got a better start this time and ended up in another battle with Levi and we started to catch Jamie Perrin and then I had a 3 way battle and some awesome racing! We all put in some good overtakes as we were fighting for 4th, Bjorn went down and we then were battling for 3rd, I got about 1 second ahead of Levi and Jamie and the next lap I noticed that Levi had gone down with Jamie and I could see Marshall Neill ahead and I was closing, so I pushed on and made a pass on Marshall at Druids on the last lap and finished 2nd my best result of 2015! I was so happy with the result and the weekend. Also the trophy and champagne were a bonus! Levi's crash was worst than I thought and I wish him all the best on his recovery and hope to be battling with him again soon! Massive thanks to Mark Hanna, Road and Race, Mum and Dad, Richard at Maxton and all my supporters! Also thanks to my sponsors Oxford Products, HJC, Maxton, Pro Bolt, Motor parts direct, Pipe Werx and Kushitani. Photos by Jon Jessop Photography
It was my first race meeting at Knockhill after missing it last year due to injury, so I knew it was going to be hard but I was confident for the weekend. I qualified 7th EVO which put me in a difficult position for the race so I just had to get a good start and gun it.
Race 1 I got off the line well and was up behind Hipwell and Estment with Daley behind, On lap 3 Daley made a mistake and I passes him but then we came together at Clark's and he went down and I run wide nearly onto the grass and lost my momentum and the gap to Estment, I got past Hipwell and had a battle but he managed to pass me on his Supersport Triumph and I finished the race 6th and I had improved my lap time by half a second almost. I was happy with the lap time but felt I could have ran with Estment and he could have dragged me along to improve my time and maybe I could have had a better result, but hey that's racing! Race 2 I got an average start and was up behind Webb, Hipwell, Day and Neill I past lap on lap 2 but he got me back at the hairpin and I sat behind him to get dragged up to Day, I was battling with Hipwell and the safety car came out and Hipwell started dropping off under the safety car but I think he had an issue with his bike but then got back behind and off we went again, each lap I was trying to pass Hipwell but couldn't quite get close enough as he could pull away on the straights, I got down to a good lap time of 50.7 which I was pleased with but then 4 laps before the end the bike let go and I had to pull in the pits as it had lost power and was making a strange noise. I was happy with my lap time but I need to up my game and come out the box fast at Brands to rekindle my season and start getting back to winning ways. Massive thanks to Road and Race, Mark Hanna, Richard at Maxton, Dad, Pinky, Grandad and all my supporters, I will be fighting at Brands! Also thanks to Oxford Products, Kushitani, Pro Bolt, Motor Parts Direct, Maxton and all my sponsors. Snetterton was a tough weekend, after coming back from my injury I was struggling with confidence but I felt after the weekend it had come back, although we had an oil leak in FP1 and a misfire in qualifying but the team work hard to make sure I was back out for the race.
Race 1 I got a good start and was right up to 6th on the first lap and was battling with Freddy Pett, but I made a mistake at the hairpin and dropped back to 8th, Daley then caught me and we had a good battle and i finished 9th EVO which I was disappointed with as I know I'm better than that and capable of being on the podium. Race 2 I got another good start and battle my way up to 6th again and I got into a good battle again with Daley and I finished 7th EVO. again I was disappointed and need to improve and move forward from now on. Massive thanks to Road and Race, Mark Hanna, Richard at Maxton, Dad, Pinky, Grandad and all my supporters. Also thanks to Oxford Products, Kushitani, Pro Bolt, Motor Parts Direct, Maxton and all my sponsors. Photos thanks to Jon Jessop Photography
Sunday Race 1 After a good qualifying for 5th place with the times being within 0.3 from 2nd to 5th it was good to be right in the mix. I got a mega start and was up into 4th and after a battle with Josh Day I moved up to 3rd place and catching Jamie Perrin. On the 8th lap Sam Hornseys bike blew up right in front of me and Perrin and we both ran wide thinking what the hell! Trying to avoid the oil and smoke, but then the race was red flagged and I finished 3rd my first podium of 2015! I was great to be back on the podium after a tough few rounds and I feel we made a good step up at Oulton and I was determined to go one better for Monday's race! Monday Race 2 I started 5th again right next to Josh Day and Levi Day. we lined up on the grid after the warm up lap and waited for the lights to go out then the red flag appeared after something happened so we had to restart with a new warm up lap and start. I got another good start and was in the middle but as I turn in there was Levi Day I moved over but he managed to hit me and I think my bar got wedged in his fairing and it pulled me down and I collect Luke Jones, who's bike then fell on my leg and put a hole in my foot, ouch! It was a racing incident and no one means to do that, that's racing! I was just gutted after such a good race on Sunday I was feeling good for another podium. My foot is healing well and I will be back for the 19th and 21st at Snetterton! Photo credit - Jon Jessop Photography Friday
It was great to be back at Brands Hatch and I was looking forward to getting out there for round 2! FP1 was a steady session and we made I few slight changes to the bike and I got going back into Brands. FP2 was a good session but I wasn't completely happy with the bike in certain areas so me and Mark had some ideas for tomorrows qualifying and race, that's what practice is for after all. Saturday I went into qualifying confident and ready, after 15minutes I came in for my new tyre and set my best time 47.6 which wasn't bad but not good enough! I qualified 7th EVO. I was annoyed and I knew that we had to make some changes to myself and the bike in order to break into that top 4. For the race we gambled with some big changes and I got a great start and was up to 5th but I had a little battle in the first two laps with Day and Field and just lost the gap to the top 4 riders. I finished 5th and had a bit of a lonely race but I was a lot happier with myself and the Road and Race Kawasaki for tomorrows feature race! Sunday Warm up we had one or two tweak to try so I was pushing on in warm up but unfortunately had a little off at Graham hill, I knew what happened just a cold tyre on the left and it let go, luckily me and the bike were fine and only a small bit of damage. It didn't dent my confidence and I was buzzing for the race! Feature race lets go! I got a great start and was right up behind Collier, Neill and Perrin I stayed with Perrin but Neill and Collier managed to gap and about half way through Neill went down at Druids and I past Perrin for 3rd place, then I saw that a rider was closing the gap to me and I thought it was either Perrin or Luke Jones I managed to manage the well but on the last 2 laps it came down and Jones Past me on the last lap in Paddock Hill, I tried to get him back into druids but I just wasn't close enough! So I finished 4th EVO. This time i was as happy as you can be with 4th but I knew we had made a big step with the new bike in that race and I now know that I just have to just find that little bit more and we can break into that top 3! Massive thanks to Road and Racing's Mark Hanna and Alan Cook, Pinkey Parker, Mum, Dad, Ellie and Grandad for all their support and also to my sponsors Purbrook Garage, Pro bolt, Kushitani, Oxford Products, Richard at Maxton, Pipe werx, HJC and R&G for all their help so far season! Roll on Oulton Park on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May |
AuthorSam Coventry Archives
November 2017
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