It has been a great two years, I have learnt a lot, and am ready for a new challenge
I headed to Brands knowing it was imperative to finish the season in style, and score a good result.
FP1 went ok. I had a new bike as my number 1 bike was destroyed at Silverstone so I spent the session getting up to speed and getting the bike dialled in. I ended the session 8th which was ok.
FP2 was slightly better. I managed to go 0.5 faster but stayed 8th. I felt I had the consistency for a good race, but just couldn’t find that little bit for a one off lap. We made a few changes with the chassis for saturday qualifying.
Q1 was damp and I ended up 5th which was good. I did not push that hard knowing the afternoon qualifying would be the important one.
Q2 would be very important, and I needed to be on the front two rows. Initially I felt really good, setting very consistent times and been in the top 5 for the first 20 minutes. As I came out the pits with new rubber I did 2 laps before the engine let go my session was over. I was very frustrated as I had no spare bike, or engine and I dropped down to 14th which was gutting. It looked doubtful I would be able to take my place on the grid but my two mechanics and Alan did a fantastic job of building a engine with what they had available and we were ready to go.
Warm up was a nightmare. I had no quickshifter then I had a problem with the ecu cutting out. We managed to get it sorted and ended up 9th, after only doing one lap.
I was very very motivated for the race. There was no way I was going to finish the season with a poor result. I was very relaxed and confident and decided I would push to the maximum but not take any silly risks. As the lights went out I got a fantastic start and ended lap 1 9th, then lap 2 8th. I knew I had done the hard work, but I still had no quickshifter and it took me a few laps to learn how to get the best out of the package.
I closed down on Lowry, Cooper, Martin and Frost, before setting about making my way through. The race was not so much about speed, it was aggression and who wanted it the most. I passed Martin and Lowry, before having a battle with Cooper which I eventually came out on top of. I sat behind Rob frost looking for a way by when with 8 laps to go I realised there was oil everywhere, coming out the casings onto my foot, leg and footrests. I blocked it out and took the risks, eventually passing frost into paddock and tried to maintain 4th which I did. To finish 4th was fantastic after the weekend and the circumstances. I rode with my heart, as it was very important to get a result, especially considering what had gone on.
I feel that was probably the best race so far. I rode the wheels off the bike, and no one was going to beat me in a out and out battle. I did close another 6 points on Lowry and got the gap down to ten points to 3rd. I have finished every race for the past two seasons, which is an incredible achievement, and am one of only two riders to have scored points in every round this year, Glen been the other. It has been a great two years, I have learnt a lot, and am ready to challenge for the British Supersport Championship in 2009. It is always sad to be leaving a team, but it is now time to move on, and I look forward to racing against Centurion Racing in the future and I wish them all the best.
I would like to say well done to Glen Richards for winning the championship. He has been a class act and someone we can all look up to and learn off. Also well done to Dan for his best race in Supersport at Brands this season and last.
Finally I would like to say a big thank you to Centurion, Paul and Gary. To Barbara thank you for the support it means a lot. To Alan for building great bikes, it’s been an absolute pleasure and I will miss working with you. Kev and Spence from Wp. Mike from Data Spares, and Finally my mechanics my dad and Sim.
