2009 RESULTS
Brands Hatch results
| 10th-13th April 2009 (BSB Round 1 - BRANDS HATCH) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 50.853 |
Best Lap Time - 50.588 |
Position - 27th |
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THE SEASON OPENER - and really in at the deep end !!! The bike is still totally 'stock' apart from the Exhaust system and a power commander, and its the first time Matt has ridden the bike !!!
This year also sees a big entry into the Superstock 1,000's with over 40 riders and some very experienced,riders and teams. The first Practise session was really a sort of 'shakedown' on the bike, but we could now make changes to the gearing and suspension for the next session - when the rain came down heavily and slowed everyone down, so not too much learnt - but another chance to learn the bike....The first Qualifying session was again wet and Matt finished in 24th position !!!!
The 2nd Qualifying session was dry and everyone was much quicker - including Matt who put in a personal best lap time, even with the suspension a mile out and running wide on most corners !!!
Matt had Qualified for the Race in 34th place and when Monday came we made a few adjustments to the set-up and kept our fingers crossed..
A reasonable start saw Matt make up a bit of ground, and after 5 laps Matt had settled into 27th place and each lap got quicker and quicker posting another personal best and less than 3 secs behind the Leader !! But as the tyres began to wear and Matt continued pushing the rear was weaving through Clearways and he was running wide (onto the grass twice) at Graham Hill Bend, eventually settling for a very pleasing 27th finish.....
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BSB Round 2 - Oulton Park results
| 2nd-4th May 2009 (BSB Round 2 - OULTON PARK) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-46.956 |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - N/A |
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The 2nd Round of the Championship saw a drive up to Oulton Park, and the good news is we now have full Ohlins suspension - Front and Rear,which woulod hopefully sort out the handling problems... With an entry field of 46 riders fighting to qualify for 38 places on the grid,this was always going to be a hard weekend, especially as its still only Matts 2nd outing on the bike and with no set up data for the gearing or suspension !! Matt woke on the Saturday morning full of flu...Not a good start...The practise session saw Matt finish in 38th place - right on the bubble - so a change of gearing and a few adjustments with the suspension and hopefully he would improve for Qualifying. The first Qualifying session saw Matt improve on time but drop back a few places, although the gearing was better the handling had got worse !! The second session and Matt suffered serious Arm Pump on his right arm which meant only 8 laps and he came in really hot and sweating finding it difficult to breathe through his nose and then threw up !!! On the Monday he really felt very unwell, and as one of his competitors had come off in the 2nd session we decided it was best to lend them a few parts of our bike so at least he could make the race, as we felt that it wouldnt be safe for Matt to be out there under the circumstances...
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BSB Round 3 - Donnington Park results
| 23rd-25th May 2009 (BSB Round 3 DONNINGTON PARK) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-41.000 |
Best Lap Time - 1-40.675 |
Position - 28th |
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This weekend and off to Donnington Park for the 3rd round, We now had a lot more confidence with the set up and Matt ws feeling fine,and the weather was also fine and sunny !!
The first Practise session and the gearing and handling seemed pretty good Matt posted his personal best lap almost 3 seconds quicker than previous...A new set of tyres were fitted and everything else left as was..
The Qualifying session saw Matt improve by another 2 seconds !! and move into 35th position, but as he started to push then the suspension started to weaken specially under braking where the back tyre was lifting clear from the ground...
Stiffer springs went into the front and a few clicks of rebound on the rear and in the 2nd session he was quite a bit slower, the bike didnt seem to be pulling through the revs ?? We put the bike onto the Dyno at the circuit and an electrical fault was detected which was cured fairly easily but meant the second session was lost !!!
Due to the problems in 2nd qualifying Matt was 38th on the grid (at least he had qualified though)..He was pushed wide at Redgate on the opening lap and dropped down to last place, but after a few laps caught them up and then pushed through eventually finishing in an excellent 28th place..and recording yet another personal best lap during the race, also putting in 6 laps consistently within .25 of a second of that each lap !!!
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Thruxton results
| 29th-31st MAY 2009 (BSB Round 4 - THRUXTON) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-22.954 |
Best Lap Time - 1-22.501 |
Position - 27th |
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Glorious sunshine and a lovely sunny weekend at Thruxton, not Matts favourite circuit by a long shot, very fast and very bumpy....The Practise session went well with Matt putting in yet another Personal best lap and finishing inside the top 30 again, gearing was changed slightly for Qualifying, and a new set of tyres fitted... The first Qualifying session saw Matt improve on time yet again, and the gearing seemed to be better, but the handling was a little 'hairy' through church section when he was flat out, so we fitted softer springs in the front and reduced the preload and rebound on the rear to control it.. The second session was definately better but still a little 'bouncy' and running wide from the front end and another improvement in lap time saw Matt qualify in 30th - His best yet !!! The front end was softened a little more and Matt got off to a great start, till the chicane section where he was pushed out wide and onto the grass (as could be seen on T.V.) dropping back again into last place and having to work really hard to make the places back a series of consistent laps and another 1/2 second improvement saw Matt eventually finish in 27th place. Considering the limited track and bike time and our lack of set-up data we are really pleased with Matts progress so far, the competition is some of the top riders in Europe and ex champions at all levels, so we are confident that Matt can continue improving and setting quicker lap times. Every time he gets out and in every session he has, and is improving by huge amounts (6 secs better at Donnington and nearly 5 secs at Thruxton !!)
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SNETTERTON (ROUND 5) results
| 19/20/21st JUNE 2009 (SNETTERTON (round 5)) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-10-90 |
Best Lap Time - 1-10-22 |
Position - 29th |
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Intoround 5 and a trip to Norfolk, Fridays practise session saw Matt struggle a bit to get the bike round Corams and Sears + the gearing was wrong for the fast straights at Snetterton so a quick check over the suspension and quite a bit of pre-load added front and rear, plus 2 teeth smaller on the rear sprocket and fingers crossed for Saturday qualifying session...Saturday was overcast with showers, but luckily the session was dry, the bike was set-up perfect and Matt put in personal best after personal best to beat his old time by 1.5 seconds and getting in the 1-10's for the first time...The 2nd session was wet so we didint bother as we were never going to be quicker...
The race on Sunday wasn't till 5pm so it was a long day waiting but 5 o'clock came and Matt got a good start and by the 2nd lap was in the mid 20's !!! He went over the line side by side at 145mph with another rider and neither would give in or brake first for Riches at the end - both slightly overshot and with Matt on the outside he visited the corn field. By the time he got back on track he was last by 11seconds!!! and with around 12 laps left he put in his fastest lap after fastest lap and was catching up at around 2 seconds per lap on the field - by lap 14 he was right back with them and by lap 17 had got back to 29th place !!! although he was lapped by the top 3 he even managed to stay with them for the last lap, and with maybe 1 or 2 laps more would certainly have been well into the 1-09's !!!! a little disapointed to be 29thBut overall the lap times were really pleasing and more than happy with another good weekend -- 'were getting there'---
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MALLORY PARK (round 7) results
| 17/18/19th JULY 2009 (MALLORY PARK (round 7 )) |
Qualifying Lap Time - N/A |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - N/A |
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Unfortunately due to restrictions within the Pit area they dont run the Superstock Groups at Mallory Park GOOD NEWS - we will be at the next round at Brands Hatch G.P.Circuit 7/8/9th AUGUST !!!
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MRO - POWERBIKES results
| 25/26th JULY 2009 (MRO - POWERBIKES) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1 - 35 - 90 |
Best Lap Time - 1 - 34 - 57 |
Position - 11th |
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We decided - having missed the Knockhill round - to enter the MRO round at Brands Hatch to try and get some info and set-up for the Bike, and Matt, prior to the BSB round...The qualifying session was a reasonable success even with the gearing slightly out Matt recorded a personal best 1-35-90 to finish in 15th on the grid a great result considering there were 41 entered !!!!
The first Race saw matt put in another couple of P.B's and with the new gearing eventually finished in 11th place..
The second Race and another slight change (1 more tooth on the rear) improved the drive out of corners and the top end increased and another series of P.B's culminating with a 1-34-57 and if not for an error on the 4th lap which dropped him back to 13th he would have been comfortably inside the top ten...We did exactly what we aimed to do - got the gearing and suspension set properly and gained some valuable track experience for 2 weeks time and the next BSB round - and over the weekend Matt improved his P.B. lap time by 1.5 seconds overall....
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Brands Hatch GP results
| 7/8/9th AUGUST 2009 (BSB ROUND 8 - BRANDS G.P.) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-33-93 |
Best Lap Time - 1-33-34 |
Position - 25th |
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Back to Brands Hatch G.P. Circuit, and full of confidence for the next BSB round....With the set-up already sorted and probably the biggest field entered so far this year (47 riders)with a couple of World Superstock 'wild cards' we knew this was going to be a tough weekend.... The first practise session saw Matt straight out of the blocks and quick from the first lap - finishing 20th !!! and another P.B. of 1-34-49...A new set of tyres and into the first qualifying session, Matt got even quicker and posted his first ever sub 34 second lap !!! a 1-33-93 which meant he finished in 30th position and ahead of some very quick and experienced riders ALSO his best qualifying position to date !! The second qualifying session saw Matt improve even further, putting in another Personal best of 1-33-64 and staying in 30th place - he was up to 26th until the very last lap, and even then only 4 tenths of a second seperated the 5 riders in front.... A good nights sleep and a bright sunny day saw the track temeratures rising and another set of new tyres, Matt followed the first BSB race and was again on Live T.V. Disaster struck during the sighting lap when the Transponder (lap timer and recorder) fell off the bike!!!! When the race started and Matt got a reasonable start, he registered no sector times or Lap Times and results, but after 3 laps the race was Red Flagged and stopped, so Race Control brought a replacement down for the re-start, and on he restarted shortened race Matt got bumped going into Paddock Hill bend and lost a few places, down to around 35th, but again he raised his game and got his head down and put in P.B. after P.B. and caught and overtook 8 riders in 5 laps. Also he was catching the group in front at between 1/2 and 3/4 of a second a lap within 2 laps was right on there heels recording a 1-33-34 and still getting quicker with each lap....Unfortunately the race was Red Flagged again and the result counted from that point.....A very well earned and highly respectable 25th finish in a very strong field of riders A fantastic result which proves we are going strongly forward every meeting.. Matt gets quicker every time he gets out on the bike and with every session gets faster so we are certainly going in the right direction - and this is still his first year on the bike......
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CADWELL PARK - Round 9 results
| 29-31st August 2009 (CADWELL PARK - Round 9) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-35-97 |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - DNF |
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A Blue and Sunny sky greeted our arrival at Cadwell on Thursday Evening and a good weekend looked promising.....The Practise session on Friday was interesting to say the least, although Matt felt good the bike didnt want to change direction !! and on certain parts of the track he was out on the grass.. A quick trip to the Ohlins support team and some major changes to the bike set-up purely because of the nature of the track - Compression, Rebound, Spring Weight and Height at both front and rear changed the whole geometry of the bike and into the first qualifying session....For 65-75% of the Circuit, the bike was much better and confidence returned, but, the Mountain section was a nightmare, the bike wouldnt turn or hold a line so Matt qualified down in 34th place...
2nd Qualifying session saw different gearing and more set-up changes, speaking to the other racers most were suffering the same problems and we decided to follow their example, by coping the changes they found worked..It actually made the bike worse !!! and Matt didnt improve on times so stayed 34th, not too happy at this stage...
Monday , and race day..Great weather, the gearing put back, and the suspension back to a really radical setting, it would either work well, or not at all. Guess which it was ?? After 3 laps of the race Matt had dropped to last and nearly been off 2 or 3 times already so pulled into the pits and called it a day, bitterly dissapointed and frustrated..But at least we have learned for next year !!!
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FOCUSED EVENTS results
| 16th September 2009 (SILVERSTONE Track Day) |
Qualifying Lap Time - N/A |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - N/A |
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Seeing as we couldnt make the round at Croft, we decided to spend a track day at Silverstone in preperation for the next BSB Round....
The weather was overcast and breezy, but as Matt had lost a little confidence in the bike at Cadwell we thought it best to get a bit of data and set-up for Silverstone, and also get Matt back out on the bike and 'clear his head' ready for the next round...
The day went very well, after spending time at home restoring the bike settings to a standard set-up etc. it gave us chance to sort out and fine tune the suspension, and gearing. Matt got steadily quicker as the day went on grew in confidence with each session, so altogether a very good day...
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SILVERSTONE BSB Round 11 results
| 25-27th September 2009 (SILVERSTONE BSB Round 11) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1-33-26 |
Best Lap Time - 1-32-65 |
Position - 25th |
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With an entry of 46 riders, the Silverstone meeting was always going to be a fast and competetive round....Matt went out in Practise with confidence in the handling and gearing and put some really good laps together, getting quicker and quicker with each lap and happy with the bike and set-up.. First qualifying session saw 44 Riders hit the track and again Matt was fairly strong throughout the session only dropping from provisional 24th !! to 32nd on literally the last 2 laps of the session, that would have been Matts best ever qualifying position to date....
The 2nd session on Saturday saw a change of 1 tooth on the rear sprocket as Matt was hitting the rev limiter at a few places but with not enough time to change up !! It seemed to improve things allowing Matt to hold the gear slightly longer and therefore corner speed did improve.. Matt also improved putting in P.B lap times throughout the session and not losing any places even as everyone got quicker through the session...
Race day on the Sunday was sunny and very pleasant, and although Matt was the last race of the day many friends etc. stayed to watch the race...And what a race it was, Matt got a very good start and through Copse moved into 27th place and within 3 laps was up to 22nd !!! putting in Best lap after best lap and knocking almost a second of the qualifying time...After lap 10 there were 6 riders all within 1.5 seconds of each other and swapping places every corner Matt was holding 21st for some time until whilst trying to get past at the Old Hairpin - ran wide and gave 5 places back But, he held it together and caught back up to them and on the last lap got past 2 riders then almost had a high-side at the Chicane and lost out in a Drag race to the line with 5 riders all crossing the finish line in less than 3 seconds !!!! By far Matts best ride to date, and another vast improvement in his confidence and further proof of his ability.....
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BRANDS HATCH (indy) BSB round 1 results
| 02-05th APRIL 2010 (Brands Hatch (indy) BSB round 1) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 53.53 (damp) |
Best Lap Time - 51.41 |
Position - DNF |
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Fridays practise session was veryovercast and on a damp surface which prooved dificult forr everyone but Matt settled into a smooth and increasingly quicker session which saw a few suspension changes due to conditions, otherwise all was o.k. for first qffy session in the afternoon...
The first qffy started wet and steadily dried changing conditions throughout the session but we were happy with the times and Matt was lying 36th (out of 54 riders!!)
Second qffy on the Saturday again started wet and went from Wet to Damp eventually finishing with a dry line- with just a few minutes left Matt was well up there,but, most of them changed to dry tyres for the last few laps and went obviously much quicker on the dry line which pushed Matt back to eventual 40th overall and with 38 on the grid was out of the race and into the shoot-out race for the final 10 places...A good start put Matt inside the top 10, until a bump and slide pushed him onto the grass at 'Graham Hill' and that was the end of the weekend !!!
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THRUXTON BSB (round 2) results
| 16-18th APRIL 2010 (THRUXTON BSB round 2) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1.22.11 |
Best Lap Time - 1.21.26 |
Position - DNQ |
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We struggled all weekend with gearing and suspension, and another entry of nearly 60 riders meant things would be really difficult on a track which Matt has only riden 3 times !! So we were not expecting too much, to be honest.....
After qualifying Matt was lying in 46th and got a great start in the shoot out race. but having moved the Handlebars to suit, someone (no names mentioned) forgot to tighten the left hand side !!! which promptly swivelled on the first lap and Matt had to pull in....The race was then Red Flagged and we got the bar tightened so Matt could re-start, but had to start from the back which then meant overtaking at least 18 riders to qualify !! better lap times and hard riding saw him get past quite a few riders, but not enough........
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SILVERSTONE - New Era results
| 25th APRIL 2010 (SILVERSTONE - New Era) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1.02.25 (damp) |
Best Lap Time - 1.01.19 |
Position - 1st |
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We entered just to get Matt back out and a bit more all important bike time, he was in the Pro-Bike open class, and up against some good riders and quick bikes...
In qualifying Matt found the bike weaving, especially under braking,but still managed to qualify 6th out of 42....So we stiffened the front and softened the rear + for the first race it was looking to be wet !!!
The first race was indeed Wet, and Matt made a good start and led into 'Copse' after 2 laps he had a 6 second lead, until it was Red Flagged and restarted !!! Another good start saw Matt again take the lead after the first lap and he continued to take the chequered flag...
The second race was Dry, and another good start saw Matt race from 6th to 3rd, on the 3rd lap he took 2nd, then ran wide and dropped back to 3rd, knowing who was in front and the points situation he knew 3rd was good enough for the overall win, so settled down and secured a good 3rd and the overall win of the meeting !!!
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BRANDS G.P. (MRO) results
| 15-16th MAY 2010 (BRANDS HATCH G.P. (MRO)) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1.35.44 |
Best Lap Time - 1.32.90 |
Position - 4th |
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Saturday qualifying was Dry with Sunny spells and they ran the Powerbikes, Clubmans and Stock Cup together and with 41 on track Matt qualified well 21st Overall BUT 7th in the Stock series...
Race 1 saw Matt get a fairly good start and overtake a good few riders, with only 7 laps it didnt give him many opportunities to get further up the field but 9th Overall and 4th Stock was very impressive.
Race 2 on Sunday was overcast but Dry and another good start saw him overtake 1/2 a dozen at Paddock, and a couple more on the first lap, being the MRO on Sunday the field was definately stronger and although still starting from 21st he finished a very credible 14th Overall and 5th Stock....
Race 3 was much better, a change of gearing seemed to help and the bike was handling really well, Matts confidence went up and he finished 10th Overall and 4th again in the Stocks, altogether a very good weekend and Matt is now full of confidence.....
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CADWELL PARK BSB round 4 results
| 21-23rd MAY 2010 (CADWELL PARK BSB Round 4) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1.34.92 |
Best Lap Time - 1.34.26 |
Position - DNF |
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Another large entry and a roastingly hot weekend, saw us struggling to keep bike temperatures down all weekend with the bike running very very hot,and not at its best !!
First qffy saw Matt finish in 32nd, but we also found that we had the wrong gearing, which was quickly changed for the second session, and a new set of tyres fitted saw an improvement in lap times but a drop in position to 35th, but still well inside the Grid positions....
Unfortunately Matt was still in the shoot-out race for the final 10 Grid places, but fairly confident that he should qualify for this meeting !!! 'shouldnt have said that'....A good start saw Matt move up to 6th on the 3rd lap, then Disaster....He dropped to 7th...8th ....10th....14th...Then pulled in to the Pits, the bike was running far to hot and semi seized on him twice !! the temperature guage had gone to 120 degrees and still climbing..We had to shut off and call it a day, we also had to now strip the engine and check for any damage !!! All in all a very frustrating weekend although Matt had shown dramatic improvement, so i suppose it could have been worse....
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SILVERSTONE ARENA BSB Round 5 & 6 results
| 18-20th JUNE 2010 (SILVERSTONE (Moto G.P) Round 5 & 6) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 2.20.22 (damp) |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - CRASH |
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A chance of a lifetime !! 2 Support races with the MOTO G.P.
The Practise session was damp going to Wet...And Matt was fairly happy with the handling but the gearing was altered and off into the Qualifying session....Another Wet session and the suspension was softened all round to compensate and Matt finished a very credible 32nd...
The second Qualifying session was also Wet/Damp, and a new set of tyres was all that was changed, Matt got quicker and quicker throughout the session and seemed to be really settling in..Then disaster struck....A massive High-Side at Becketts saw Matt launched down the track and the bike on top of him on the wet surface they just didnt seem to stop...No movement from Matt caused an immediate Red Flag and the Ambulance raced to the scene, after an agonising 5-10 minutes Matt was taken to the Medical centre unconcious !!! The bike and track was cleared and the session restarted, i raced to the medical centre and found Matt awake but a little unsure of what had happened, after a very full and careful examination Matt was released BUT declared unfit to ride for 14 days (standard procedure after being knocked out) What a blow, after really going so well, and a very dissapointing end to what was hoped under different circumstances to be a memorable weekend, i suppose ' thats racing'.......Still, 14 days to repair the Damage to the bike !!!!
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| 18-20th JUNE 2010 (SILVERSTONE (Moto G.P) Round 5 & 6) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 2.20.22 (damp) |
Best Lap Time - N/A |
Position - CRASH |
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A chance of a lifetime !! 2 Support races with the MOTO G.P.
The Practise session was damp going to Wet...And Matt was fairly happy with the handling but the gearing was altered and off into the Qualifying session....Another Wet session and the suspension was softened all round to compensate and Matt finished a very credible 32nd...
The second Qualifying session was also Wet/Damp, and a new set of tyres was all that was changed, Matt got quicker and quicker throughout the session and seemed to be really settling in..Then disaster struck....A massive High-Side at Becketts saw Matt launched down the track and the bike on top of him on the wet surface they just didnt seem to stop...No movement from Matt caused an immediate Red Flag and the Ambulance raced to the scene, after an agonising 5-10 minutes Matt was taken to the Medical centre unconcious !!! The bike and track was cleared and the session restarted, i raced to the medical centre and found Matt awake but a little unsure of what had happened, after a very full and careful examination Matt was released BUT declared unfit to ride for 14 days (standard procedure after being knocked out) What a blow, after really going so well, and a very dissapointing end to what was hoped under different circumstances to be a memorable weekend, i suppose ' thats racing'.......Still, 14 days to repair the Damage to the bike !!!!
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SNETTERTON BSB ROUND 7 results
| 16-18th JULY 2010 (SNETTERTON BSB Round 7) |
Qualifying Lap Time - 1.11.42 |
Best Lap Time - 1.10.39 |
Position - 26th |
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The engine had only just gone back into the frame, and we turned up with no bodywork fitted and a few other bits needing to be done after he 'off' at Silverstone...So late working and a rushed morning saw Matt go out in Practise to find that the Electrics packed up 1/2 way round the first Lap !!!! We then spent 3-4hours with the Dyno trying to sort the problem which turned out to be a sensor not quite fully pushed home !!!!
First qualifying session saw the suspension not quite right and the bike was running wide at 'Sears' and didnt wantr to turn at 'Russells' so not a great session, the bike was also wandering down Revett straight , which turned out to be the Steering Damper which had been damaged in the crash, so that was replaced, suspension altered, new tyres and ready for second Qualifying session....
The newly laid track started to break up during Saturday which took up most of the time and caused a diverted track for the day so NO QUALIFYING SESSIONS TOOK PLACE !!!! which meant that Matt had only done a handful of Laps compared to everyone else and was well down on the grid...
He started 33rd and put in quicker and quicker laps to eventually finish 26th....We left wondering where he would have got if we hadn't lost so much valuable track time during the weekend, we were always on the back foot after the disasterous practise session,but, again....Thats racing !!!
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