posted on August 26, 2010 11:15
TTXGP round 3, Pembrey - Wales
A sweet and sour weekend. 7th place and a little success for Team Morris Motorcycles in the third round of the TTXGP, electric Grand Prix in Pembrey.
In the morning practice Wales delivered the typical Welsh weather – rain. And I was reluctant to go out and soak myself... until I realized my new set of Michelin rain tyres made riding so fun! After 11 laps I was the only one having completed the practice, and I was fastest! A little victory for me, and this was the first time I really felt comfortable on the bike. So I was hoping for rain the whole weekend now! I think I was the only one. ;-)
Well, the sun showed up for qualification session, and suddenly I wasn't fastest anymore... but my pace hade improved and I qualified 6th, just half a seond behind 5th. So I was very happy I now had someone to chase and race with, instead of cruising around on my own!
For sunday's race the sun kept smiling, and no rain in sight. James McBride on the ManTTX bike was incredibly fast, so I decided to at least take the start in the race. My only chance to be in the lead – even if only for a few seconds! So I and my fellow Mavizen rider Pete Ward took off first and second off the grid. Out of the first corner I was down to 5th, and then 6th. A place I kept happily until the bike died in the far end of the track... Oh no! Will this be the first race I DNF?
Three riders passed me before the bike started again, only to stop within a few seconds. I waited and restarted and managed to roll into the pits, thinking maybe my team could help. I could continue riding if I only rode at reduced speed to avoid overheating the batteries, so I did, thinking that maybe some of the other bikes also would have overheating problems. And incredibly on the last lap I managed to win back – finishing 7th!
Superfast James McBride also suffered from "low-batt" and lost his lead to Jenny Tinmouth, who again took the win. Congratulations Jenny!! My teammate Pete on the Mavizen took second place, and Rob Moon third.
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