posted on July 10, 2010 22:31
2nd, 3rd ,4th July 2010. Knockhill BritishSuperBikes
Well the BSB at Knockhill last weekend was an up and down experience this year. We went up on the Wednesday (it was hot and sunny) and set the caravan up and chilled for the rest of the night as we weren't allowed to set up in the pits until the Thursday morning. I was very excited to be on the track with the BSB people again.
So on Thursday we were taken to our parking space and started unloading the van. It started raining lightly but we managed to get set up before it came down too heavily.
On Friday I woke up and it was a lovely day. I was on track at 11 for one of my first practices of the day with the BSB boys. :) The first session was really good and I had a lot of fun trying to tag onto to the bikes that passed me. The second session I decided to change my gearing to see how I got on. Unfortunetly after doing a couple of laps I realised it was reving out too long along the back straight so I came in and my dad and Freddy changed my gearing so I could go straight back out again. I was doing constant 58's, which I was quite pleased with.
On Saturday it was qualifying and I was out on track at 9:00, so I was up early and ready to go on track. Qualifying 1 was really fun and I was still in the 58's. At the end of the session I had qualified the first one, but it was the second qualifying which was the important one.
I was really looking forward to qualifying 2 and as soon as I was out I was straight back into the 58's again. :) I was really getting into a rhythm when all of a sudden I was lying on the ground. I came round the hairpin in a group of around six riders. I was hidden behind two of the riders and so I couldn't see that there was a bike and rider lying on the ground. When I did see what was happening I tried to aim towards the bike instead of the rider but the bike in front of me moved and I had no choice of where I was to go. I hit the rider's leg. I picked my bike up and tried to speak to the other rider (Ed Rendall) but he was too busy with his leg, which he said was ok. - Thankfully. I had qualified 33rd on the grid for the Sunday race.
On Saturday night all the wildcards to BSB had to go to a meeting to remind us all about the safety car and being on the grid etc.
I woke up on Sunday and I was soo excited until I felt my caravan shaking and I heard the rain battering on the roof. I thought it was only going to be a shower, but it was extremely windy and rainy all day.
The warm-up for me was a disaster. After one lap in going into the hairpin I felt my bike cut off and stop. I pulled in the clutch and stopped at the marshals. The marshals were brilliant and helped us get the bike back quickly so my dad could have a look at it. I was gutted as this was the same thing that happened last year! Except it was the bottom end last year and this year it thankfully was a 'nick' in the piston that was enough to stop the bike. My dad and Fred stripped and re-built my bike and we got it running so I was ready to race. :) I was chuffed and really excited to get on the grid. I was happy to race in the weather but after the big bikes finding it difficult in the tricky conditions the race directors decided to call it a day. I was really dissappointed as I was allready in my race 'zone' because we had been called. But then the heavens opened and it was like a thunderstorm and everthing went dark.
Although I was devestated not to be getting a race I still had an amazing weekend on track with the BSB people. :D A HUGEEE thankyou to everyone who helped, escpecially to Jim Allans for letting us borrow a scooter which was a great help.
teamtasker.co.uk