Race report NGRRC Brands 14/15/16 March 2014 Friday Friday was my first time on the Road and Racing Kawasaki and my first impressions were it’s a very good bike and it was love at first sight! Almost straight away I got into my stride on the bike and by the afternoon I felt I was going well! Mark Hanna and I made a few changes but the day was just for me to get on the new Kawasaki and get some laps under my belt. Also I had never used Maxton suspension and I clicked with it straight away on the base settings and found the Maxton to be very suiting! Saturday A qualifying race for the 600’s was first on the agenda and I started 25th just in front of Freddie Sheene. I managed to get through the field with elbows out and finished the race in 1st putting me on pole for the 600 championship race. Next up was the Open 15minute qualifying and the team gave me a new tyre and a few suspension changes and off I went and qualified 2nd just behind Johnathan Howarth on a Kawasaki 1000, I was buzzing I beat Peter Baker who qualified 3rd on his 1000. The championship 600 race was next and I started from pole and got a good start and pulled a gap from the other guys and finished 1st by this time I was very happy and the bike was beginning to feel my own and we had started to find a good setting with the Maxton and 9.5kg spring. Final race of the day was the Open which I started 2nd on the grid I got and average start and was 3rd out of turn one, I managed to stay with the 1000s for 2 laps or so then they began pulling a gap and I finished 3rd in the race and I came back to Mark with a few more suggestions for tomorrow! Overall today was a good day and the bike was feeling awesome! Sunday For Sunday we changed the rear Maxton spring from a 9.5kg to a 8.5kg and used first practice to try it and after the session I said that it was a lot better and felt I had more rear grip. First up was a qualifying 600 race again and started 25th again, previous to our race a sidecar had dumped oil from the start of druids to graham hill which was a nuisance. I got a good start in the race and on the way round druids a rider crashed on the oil and nearly took me out! I ended up having to stop and go again starting nearly last! I managed to get back into my stride straight away and won the race! Second race was the Open and I started 2nd on the grid I got a really good start and lead the first lap then got passed along cooper straight by Baker, next lap I stuffed it up the inside of Baker and sat him up saying ‘yes!’ I’m still here on my 600, but sure enough he got me back along cooper straight with his 200bhp and I finished the race 0.2 behind Baker. I was happy after that race but felt we could have had a stronger bike with a 9kg spring which we didn’t have. Finally the final 600 race was up and I started pole and won the race! Not much to say as I was on my own out front and enjoying the Kawasaki. The weekend was a successful one and big thanks to Mark Hanna for building me such a great bike and working with me to make it suit my style and help me get the best out of it! Also thanks to Maxton, Oxford Products, Unipart, Purbrook Garage and Paul Davies for all their help so far! Now I’m looking forward to Almeria and the first round of BSB!
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Me and Aaron from Futuremoto went to the NEC Friday (29th Nov). We spoke to quite a few different companies and it looks like we have some more support for 2014, so this is exciting news and more to come once the deals are finalized. Had some interesting talks with Micheal Laverty, Scott Redding and Jamie Whitham giving me advice on moving up classes and the Superstock 1000 class, saying things like enjoy it, the guys in this class are some of the best in world and remember to stay positive. Also Friday night we had a good night out with Alan Cook, Mark Hanna, Dave Molyneux (TT Sidecar Legend) and a few other people. Then on Saturday we went to see Nitro Circus in London! Which was awesome. All in all it has been a brilliant weekend!
Well what a good night! lots of dancing and I got a little bit drunk but hey its the end of the year! I Collected my AMC Trophy (King of Brands), MSV Trophy (Champ of Snett) and 2nd in the Powerbikes! Also I received performance of the year which was the Dunlop trophy won by Barry Sheene, Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and other greats and I was really pleased with it! Roll on next year! Massive thanks to Bemsee for a really good night and everyone who has supported me this year! What a weekend, 4 races and 4 wins and a lap time of 1.29.517. All the races went to plan as I managed to get good starts and pull a slight gap on the first lap which meant I could set into a nice rhythm on my own, although in race 3 Jonathan Lodge tried to make a move at Dingle Dell but I managed to close the door and stay in front. Also in the last race on lap 3 I made a mistake into clearways and knew that Baker and Lodge would be closer, so I got my head down and pulled the pin and that's when I got my fast lap time. Best weekend this year! Massive thanks to Alan Cook from Road and Race, Continental Tyres, Adam Jordan, Nick Boustead, Unipart, Futuremoto Racing, Purbrook Garage, Mark and Caroline from MC Motorcycle Training and Jackpot.co.uk. Bring on the next round at Cadwell on the 14th/15th of September! #90 What a weekend! Two wins and two 2nds plus the champion of Snetterton!! Well happy! Big thanks to Continental tyres , Alan Cook and Mark Hanna from Road and Race, Mark Charles from MC Motorcycle training, Jackpot.co.uk, Paul Isbell,Adam 'Slick' Jordan and everyone from Bemsee! Like · · Promote · Share After an 8 hour journey we arrived at Assen Circuit Thurs evening and started setting up for the weekend. Friday test day was good and made some good steps forward as I hadn't raced or ridden at Assen before. In the final session on Friday I wanted to make a gearing change but we realised that the sprockets hadn't been packed in the spares kit so I had to settle for gearing which was a bit too long. Saturday qualifying went well as I qualified 4th on the grid, but I had no idea where I was during the session as there was no info in pit-lane, so my pit board couldn't tell me. But I was happy with 4th as the guys in front had all ridden assen last year.
Race 1 was good 3 riders went down on the first lap right in front of me which slowed me and other riders down so Robbie Brown got away. Me and Darren Fry had a battle for second but he managed to get me with 3 laps to go. I was happy with 3rd place as it was my first podium in ages and I needed some solid points after Rnd 1 @ Brands Hatch not going to plan! Race 2 was also I good race for me I was battling with Mike Edwards but he crashed out so I stayed in 3rd place until the end, my lap times had improved as well so I was getting quicker with every session and race. Once again I was pleased with another podium and spraying some champagne! Thanks to Moto Rapido, Mum, Dad and Granddad, OBR race paint, Adam Jordan (slick), Purbrook Garage, the Hoval Boilers crew (who were a great help) it was a brilliant weekend! Not long till Snetterton. After a brilliant qualifying which put me 2nd on the grid, race 1 didn't go quite to plan as I came off the bike in the wet conditions and scored 0 points. Race 2 didn't go brilliantly either I started 8th on the grid after what happened in race 1 and was in about 6th for most of the race, then the bike suffered a mechanical problem and I dropped back to 11th. The weekend was a bit of a disaster because the track conditions were awful because oil and water don't mix. I was disappointed because I felt that weekend a could have won races and the bike was feeling really good. Thanks to Moto Rapido, OBR Race paint, Adam Jordan (slick), Purbrook Garage and Hoval.
I am proud to announce that I will be Racing for Moto Rapido in 2012 in the Ducati 848 challenge. Look forward to a good year of competitive racing! Bring it on.
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AuthorSam Coventry Archives
November 2017
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