This weekend was the third round of the RedBull Pro Nationals at Culham Park in Oxford. With the track as always; absolutely prepared to supreme conditions, I felt so excited to get out there and race.
Rookies being out second on Saturday’s schedule, plenty of lines had appeared straight away. Getting out on track I soon felt very at home with both the bike and circuit. Putting in some good lap times I made pole position with a comfortable two seconds advantage.
With everything feeling good it was race time. Moto one start was not what was needed; buried down the field I had my work cut out coming through a strong and fast group. Getting my rhythm early on I pushed up the pack to the top 5 where I then found myself hitting some trouble colliding with another rider going down one of the fast hills. Getting back going I again pushed up a couple of places to secure a 4th place at the flag.
Again, Moto 2 didn’t start brilliantly but was better than the first Moto. As the track started to dry, it became quite one lined in some places but finding some good areas to pass I moved on to push into 2nd place with a couple of laps to go. With my heart set on hitting the front I did my upmost to catch up which I did but ran out of time as I went over the finish line 0.025 behind the race winner.
Moto 3 start was what I had been looking for all day. Grabbing the hole shot I pushed on to make a little gap and settle down. Settling into a good pace I found myself making a silly mistake on lap 4 to lose the lead. Picking myself up and starting again I plugged on again to move to the front which I did and managed to capture the win at the chequered.
With Saturdays racing over Moto 4 on Sunday morning had soon come around. Again sorting out my starts I grabbed a solid hole shot and made sure that this time I made no mistakes, which I did and rode a solid moto to win at the flag with a 15 seconds advantage.
Moto 5, and the final race of the weekend; with the track being super beat up and rough I did the best thing and grabbed another holeshot leading the first half the moto; I came under pressure for the lead. Making a little mistake in one section I lost the lead, keeping the leader in my sight I rode a smart ride just keeping the pressure on and finishing in a solid second place at the chequered to take the Overall on the day and the Championship lead!
I would just like to say another big thank you to everyone who are making all this possible for me.
Cheers to Kev Reid for the photo.
