After the first couple rounds, and my first points finishes at Donington, we were looking to continue our improvement and get some more points on the board at the Cathedral of Speed!
FP - P17
I loved the track straight away! And I was comfortable straight away with the settings from Donington. I was struggling with a couple corners which limited the lap time, but I was feeling much better than I did every other weekend, and I was looking forward to Qualifying!
QP - P17
We didn’t change any settings going into qualifying, as the bike already felt great! I managed to leave pit lane with everyone else meaning I was in the main gaggle and putting in some really quick laps at the start of the session, sitting P12 after the first third! The group then spent the majority of the session sitting up and waiting for a tow, which was incredibly dangerous and I struggled not to make contact with a lot of riders at very fast parts of the track! I was shuffled to the front of the group, and tried to push the pace slightly. It didn’t work, unfortunately, and I just gapped them! I dropped back into the group but nobody pushed on and I started making some mistakes, as I concentrating so much on staying on the bike! I pulled in for a bit of a refresh, as I had dropped off the back, but didn’t have time to get back in the pack before the end of the session. I ended up P17 as the main group did 1 lap at the end of the session that jumped a couple ahead of me, still an improvement from Donington.
Race 1 - P15
I made a decent start to race 1, and gained a few positions in the first few corners, although I made a small mistake going onto one of the straights, and lost the tow! I pushed like hell to catch up again, but they had gone, leaving me in a scrap for P14. I won the battle every lap, timing the slipstream to the last chicane well, until the last lap when I just went to the wrong side of the rider in front - leaving me in the wrong position to overtake - so I settled for P15. We were once again in the points but I knew I could have gone with the front group in the early stages, so was slightly annoyed.
Race 2 - P10
I got another decent start to race 2, but committed to the inside of the rider in front, meaning I got boxed in at turn 1 and then beaten up all the way through the first sector. Ending lap 1 in P19, the groups had already started to form so I was stranded in a battle for P16, before the red flag came out! I was relieved to see the race restarted, as it gave me another chance at the first lap to not get beaten up. So, after a bollocking from Dad, I lined up again for the restart. I got another decent start and, this time, sent it round the outside of everyone, which worked amazingly! I was right up with the front group, however, someone dive-bombed me which meant we lost touch with the top 8, but I was still in a group of 4 battling for 9th! I spent the start of the race battling to be at the front, trying to suss out what the pace was like. I knew I couldn’t contribute much to the pace, so sat at the back of the group in the slipstream trying to find my strong points for the end of the race. I found I was really strong onto the penultimate straight, leading up to the the final chicane, and planned to use the slipstream to get alongside on the last lap. Coming onto the last lap I positioned myself perfectly, but unfortunately got boxed in and had to pull out of the move! Coming into the last chicane, the two in front made contact, and I prioritised my exit to capitalise on their mistake and gain 2 positions! I was super happy with a top 10, especially as we were only 6 seconds off the win!
I had a great time at Assen, and we improved loads from the last 2 rounds! Now we have a quick turn around to Most, Czechia where I’m hoping to continue as we have done, and hopefully get another top 10 finish!
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