We hope you have had a good week and you are looking forward to the weekend ?
This time last week we were deep in the throws of free practice Friday.
Sam’s weekend got off to a decent start around the 2.96 mile Norfolk circuit.
Snetterton is in fact the longest circuit on the BSB calendar so with Knockhill being one of the shortest, there were some adjustments to be made. Not only to the stock Yamaha R6 but to Sam as well.
Free practise one got underway on time in really nice summer conditions, good track temperature, sun in the sky, very little wind, nearly perfect. Sam went about his business methodically by building into the session. On his 9th lap of 10 he posted his fastest time of a 1.56.77 to give him a solid 3rd.
Later in the day, the second free practice session did not go quite as well.. Whilst delivering a handful of enthusiasm Sam lost control of the bike into one of the many tight hairpins which resulted in an off track excursion. He did manage to get the bike back to the awning for some repairs and adjustments and he got back out for 7 ‘steady’ laps to rebuild his confidence.
That slight misdemeanor left him P12 overall for the first day. Not bad, but not great.
Saturdays conditions were once more virtually perfect, pit lane opened at 10.40am and Sam got straight to work. He used the first few laps to have a run around on a ‘scrubbed’ tyre before entering the pits for some fresh rubber.
With a new shoe in the back he headed out into a perfect slot on track where there were no other riders to hinder him or slow him up. Lap after lap he proceeded to set personal best sectors climbing the time sheets to P3 before another racing incident produced a red flag and the session was brought to an abrupt end.
As he entered parc ferme he was grinning from ear to ear. Pleased with the machine and pleased to bag a front row start it was ice creams all round.
different weather apps on the go. They were all offering different forecasts and neither of them were giving the drizzle we were stood in ? So with that in mind we went to the tyre shop and bought one of everything, just in case.
The race got underway at 10.25 sharp with Sam opting for full slicks, front and rear. He got off the line really well from 3rd and held his line into turn one as the pursuing pack jostled for position.
Around the tight hairpin on turn two Sam executed a lovely outbreaking manoeuvre to undertake pole sitter Cameron Dawson who had been overtaken by Aaron Silvester. Elevated to second place Sam began to hunt down Aaron who had shown great pace all weekend.
As they crossed the line after lap one Sam was closing the gap on the race leader having circulated two tenths quicker.
Unfortunately as they entered turn two on lap two Sam was trail braking into the corner carrying speed. He held on to it for a split second too long and tucked the front tyre crashing out of the race to record another extremely disappointing DNF.
The whole team was bitterly bitterly frustrated with the result, there was definitely the potential for a podium or even a win.
On paper Sam has recorded 4 finishes from his 8 race starts holding eighth in the championship standings.
We still believe in our young pilot, we can see he has the potential to succeed. The missing pieces in his jigsaw are consistency and composure. The team remains committed to helping him develop those attributes. We do not give up on anyone…
The next round takes place at the infamous Brands Hatch in Kent, July 21st, 22nd and 23rd.
Until then, thank you as always for your continued help and support.