|
24 January 2010 WRMX Club - North Newbald
Winter Championship - Round 2
Race 1 - 5th
Race 2 - 5th
Race 3 - 4th
Overall - 4th
It was a cold & muddy day that greeted us at North Newbald
for my first race of 2010 and the first time I would use my new
bike in anger. Things didn't quite go to plan at the start of
my first race when I hit neutral on the start line instead of
2nd gear! I soon got going and made some quick passes on the
first lap. I got into 5th place, but my bike wasn't handling
the track very well. I didn't know what was wrong, but my Dad
kept signalling for me to concentrate and ride smooth (he's normally
telling me to go faster!). After the race he told me I had punctured
the rear tyre on lap 2, and that I did really well to finish
the race as the bike was sliding all over the place!
In the 2nd race I worked my way into 5th place again on the first
lap and stayed there until the finish. I had a bit of pressure
from the rider behind, but I kept focusing ahead on my lines
and didn't let him distract me. I eventually pulled a gap on
him when we were passing some lapped riders.
It was getting very cold and dark by the 3rd race as we were
the last group of the day. I spent most of the race in a safe
6th place until the leaders started crashing, which helped me
into 4th place, for 4th overall.
Not a bad start to the year, but I need
a lot more practice on the new bike, which has been almost impossible
due to all the recent snow. The bike's better than my old one,
but the power and handling are totally different. I made a few
mistakes with the gears when I was powering out of corners and
up hills and I was slower going into the corners as I don't feel
as confident on it yet. Lots of work to do in the coming weeks,
but these early races are useful warm-ups before the main championships
start in the Spring.
|
