Race Reports

After such a good previous meeting I knew we needed to be strong all weekend to try and close down the championship leader. FP1. Straight out of the blocks I felt ok, and started pushing pretty hard midsession. I was p3 when I had a huge highside out of the gooseneck. It was a strange crash as it was a long way out of the corner. It was not the start to the weekend I had hoped for. FP2 was ok, I had to get dialled back in, it is only natural to be a bit steady after a big one to regain your confidence. Towards the end of the session it started to rain, I ended up 9th.

Q1 was wet, and I was 12th. We knew we would have to improve for the afternoon. It was dry for Q2 and I knew I had to move up the order. I put together some good laps, but the times were pretty poor, the bike was not responding to set up changes and when following other riders, I knew what we were struggling with. I ended up 7th and on row 3 but there was nothing much left. The decision was taken to build me a new bike for warm up, so my team worked into the night to build me a brand new R6 for race day.

It turned out the forks were out, and the swinging arm, and possibly the frame too. It had been a bigger crash than we first thought. Warm up went well, Straight away I had the feeling back, I knew things were back to normal and we could push on again. I was p2 and matched my qualifying time.

I got a really good start and it was possibly my best start of the year but got boxed in towards turn one and had to roll. I finished lap 1 8th. I knew it would be hard to pass around here, and it took a few laps to get my brain into gear at where I could pass. I knew I could run with the leaders, but that meant going with them on lap 1. The win was pretty much out of the question from the first lap! I kept my head down and started to move forward. Everyone was lined up behind Ben Wilson, and there was a 6 rider train. One by one I fought my way to the front with some good passes, and by lap 12 I was 2nd. Sam Lowes had gone by this point, and when the red flag came out after 14 laps I was awarded 2nd place. It was a difficult weekend, it seemed though our whole weekend counted for nothing, and only race day was when we could start properly going forward. I lacked a bit of drive off the corners in the race as we had gambled with a change for the race, or I’m sure my CAME Yamaha would have been even stronger, and shown what a great job my team and everyone at Raceways does. I was happy with 2nd, it was damage limitation and I had to work hard for that one. A big thank you to my team for all the hard work over the weekend and sorry for my crash.

We now move onto Croft, the championship is still alive, but its going to be difficult. I always give 110% and I’m happy that I did that yesterday. Congratulations to Sam Lowes and GNS Racing, there doing a great job this season. After been misquoted prior to Cadwell, my objectives for the remaining 3 rounds are the same as they have been all season, to keep the pressure on, and try to win races and the championship for CAME YAMAHA. There is no bad feeling from my side thats for sure....

Finally I would like to wish Joe Dickinson a full and speedy recovery after his nasty crash.

Thank you

After the disappointment of Snetterton I knew what was needed from myself to put the CAME Yamaha back on top at Brands. Free practice went well, I was fastest in FP1, 2nd in FP2, and the 3rd session was wet and we had a steady run round trying to improve the bike in the wet conditions. Q1 was dry and it was a intense 30 minutes. Straight away I felt comfortable and and gradually reduced my times. On my last tyre I managed a really good run of 28.0, 27.9 and 28.0 which was good enough for pole. It was a difficult session as Sam Lowes pushed me all the way but I held on and claimed my 3rd consecutive pole. It was nice breaking into the 27 barrier to become the quickest supersport rider around Brands Hatch.

During warm up we tried a few changes that worked, and I was very comfortable and looking forward to the race. I was quickest. My start in the race was good, but I got passed into Paddock hill and settled into 3rd place. I was happy sat there and could keep a watch on the race unfolding. During the first three laps I was maybe too cautious after Snetterton, and I ended up been pushed back to 6th which wasn’t quite in the plan. I didn’t panic as no one was making a break. On lap 4 I decided to start making my way to the front, and pulled off some good strong passes. By lap 6 I was already second when the pace car came out for two laps. When the car came in I made sure everything was back up to temperature before pushing on lap 12 for the lead. I passed Sam Lowes into Turn one, before I ran wide and me past back, then I finally made it stick down the back straight on the same lap. I knew by the lap times we were running that I had quite a bit in the tank. Once with clear track I put my head down and reeled off the remaining laps, pulling a 1.6 second gap and setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 15 of 16. It was a perfect race. The bike was awesome at the end of the race, the rear tyre was perfect and I have to say a massive thank you for my team for giving me such a good bike.

It was a nice feeling winning. We have had the speed all season but for one reason or another it hasn’t happened . After Snetterton my approach changed. We don’t need anything less than wins if were going to win this championship. I am now super ready for Cadwell, my home round and look to claw some of the 30 points back there. The bike was great there at the start of the season, we had a small issue in the race there and still finished 2nd. I must thank the whole CAME Yamaha team for all of there efforts, the package was really good and they deserved that victory. A big thank you to all my sponsors and I know look forward to the last 1/3rd of the season.

Thank you

James

I was confident heading into the weekend that we could do a good job and claw some points back in the championship. FP1 was a bit of a wasted session really. The track was very green and there was no grip, I managed to finish 3rd fastest but there was no real work done. Fp2 was better. I did a good run on race tyres and did my fastest lap at the end, I got piped for the fastest time but was happy.

We had a qualifying session on Saturday morning, and half way through the track broke up at Russell’s Chicane and it got red flagged and the session got deleted. At that point I was fastest and we had the bike working a lot better than Friday. We were only given one Qualifying, and I made it count. I felt fantastic on new and used tyres, and towards the end of the session I did the first ever Supersport lap in the 1.06’s. I claimed pole by quarter of a second. Warm up was strong, I put race distance on used tyres and could do 8.0 pretty easily and ended up 2nd.

Heading into the race I was calm and confident. I knew I had the pace and I was looking forward to getting my head down. My start was mediocre, and I was 4th on the run to turn one, but went round the outside of Billy and Sam Lowes into turn one and set about Gowland. I got passed back for 2nd during the first lap and just got the first lap out of the way in a good place. I passed Sam Lowes down the back straight and immediately jumped onto the back of Gowland and passed him into turn 1 on lap 4. I felt really good, and my bike was perfect. I felt I was been held up and felt my pace was strong enough to ride away from everyone. Unfortunately on lap 4 into Russell’s the front folded and I was down. I didn’t get a warning or anytime to save it, it happened so fast and as the bike bounced over the kerbs it did enough damage so I could not restart. I was gutted as I felt in control, and didn’t feel anywhere near the limit. I apologised to all of my team, as it was just a case of me pushing too hard with a full tank of fuel and it caught me out. It has not made the Championship table look too good, but I feel like the pressure is now off me. I am 35 points behind with 5 rounds to go. I will not now be worrying about the Championship,as I am going out to win the remaining 5 rounds. I was the fastest rider at Knockhill and also Snetterton, we have raised the bar in the championship and have not got the rewards to show for it. It was my first crash in a race since 2005, so in a way I’m glad it’s happened and its history. I was feeling like I could do no wrong and it was worrying me a bit!!

We now head to Silverstone World Supersport. We are approaching the weekend as just a race, no Championship involved, so it will be good practice for the last 5 rounds! I am going to be riding with the best riders in the world, so hopefully when we get to Brands Hatch we can move things forward again. I have not let the crash get to me in anyway, I am physically and mentally ready, to come back stronger and harder than before. My CAME Yamaha team work faultlessly and didn’t deserve my mistake at the weekend, but we will move on and keep working hard. I would like to thank all of my team, sponsors and everyone involved in my racing career for sticking by me. In 2005 I made a great comeback in 125 in a similar position, I still believe it is possible, lets see...

Thanks.

James.

Follow me on twitter : WestyBSS3

We arrived at Knockhill looking forward to improving on our previous weekend at Mallory. We carefully studied the data, understanding what went wrong in the race, where I could be stronger, and how we could improve the package. Fp1 went well. Straight away I was happy with the bike, down to fast times and I had 0.3 on the rest of the field. FP2 was pretty similar. I again concentrated on our race pace, and did a 50.2 which is under my lap record after 30 laps. We were in good shape and ended up 2nd.

Q1. We kept improving the bike throughout the weekend and I knew we had an advantage around here. With a new tyre I managed a 49.6 and was the only person in the 49’s. Q2. I kept my head down working hard to make sure we could win in dry conditions on Sunday. I went quicker and got down to a 49.5 and claimed my first pole position of 2010 by 2 tenths of a second. I was really comfortable and could do 49’s after 20 laps on a tyre.

Warm up was wet and I built into it, ending the session 4th and feeling really positive. The race eventually got underway after many delays with the rain and wind, and I settled in after the first lap 4th. I didn’t want to do anything silly straight away and I was in the lead group. I got pushed wide a couple of times and lost some momentum and places but I worked hard to regain them and was comfortable in the top 6. The pace car came out on lap 5 for two laps . On the restart I made a good get away and was getting more comfortable and able to push harder each lap. At the end of lap 14 I was up to 5th and challenging 4th when the race was red flagged and the result went back a lap. I was awarded 6th. It was only a 15 lap race, and if it had been run for the remaining two laps we could have finished a bit higher.

 I was happy with how I had ridden and It was a good race for me in those conditions. I know I have lost my championship lead but we found something in the dry at Knockhill that will benefit us all season so I’m very positive. I always finish the year stronger than start it, and we go to some really good tracks for me now, so I’m ready to fight at Snetterton in two weeks. My team did a great job all weekend, I had a perfect bike in dry and wet conditions. It was the best my CAME Yamaha has felt all season. I would like to thank all my sponsors, my mechanics, the whole CAME Yamaha team, Raceways, CAME for everything they have done this season and it is going to be a great remaining 6 rounds.

James.