On Wednesday evening the team rolled into the paddock at Snetterton with a long weekend ahead.
We were there for a trackday on Thursday with www.ukbiketrackdays.com one of our newest sponsors. The morning sessions were all dry and James soon got into his rhythm . After lunch the heavens opened so it gave James the chance to get on his wet bike and get some good wet practice in. Again he was soon in the rhythm and then late on in the day he had a high speed crash going into the new hairpin. He returned to the awning with a sore shoulder and some bruising to his ribs but all in all ok.
Friday came for the BEMSEE test day and with James still feeling sore we set about getting the bike ready for the weekend. By the end of the day everything was ready to go.
There was no qualifying on Saturday as the series has gone back to its old format of using the championship positions for the race one start, so this put James on pole. The lights went out and James was quickly on the pace with 2 other riders and they started to pull away from the field, swapping positions corner by corner. A great race ensued and as they crossed the line James was in second place but there was only .25 of a second separating all 3 riders.
Race 2 saw the same format but unfortunately the race was stopped due to an injured rider on the circuit and a re-run was planned for the Sunday.
Sunday arrived after a good nights sleep and the good news was that James was feeling a little better than Saturday, although still a little stiff.
So the first race of the day was the re-run, once again James + 2 were out in front again but tyre problems hit us on the second lap. The bike was sliding very badly with both front and rear wheels and to compound the problems James was facing, his left knee slider was ripped off on a curb whilst trying to keep the bike upright. James dug in and, with the determination and will that we all know he rides with, he managed to get himself and the bike home in fourth place.
With new tyres fitted race 3 started in a similar fashion to the others with James + 2 up the front and pulling away from the rest of the field at an alarming rate. Then a failing bike got in the way going into the hairpin forcing James + 1 wide and allowing the lead rider to make a break. Now the battle was on for second place and James managed it over the line after trailing into the last bend. So another exciting finish to a race.
Race 4 saw James move into the lead at the first bend and he started to push with the other two protagonists chasing hard but by lap 4 James had managed to get a 2 second lead. But yet again the gremlins struck as he was going down the back straight when the engine management light came on. This forced James to slow and check that the bike was ok. This allowed the other 2 riders to catch up and pass him. Once James was happy that the bike was ok he quickly pushed back after the other 2 riders. As they crossed the line you could have thrown a single blanket over the top 3. However it ended up with James in third by .005 of a second.
All in all with the problems we had this weekend we came away with only dropping 3 points to the second place man in the series. So we left Snetterton still 20 points clear at the top of the table.
The team and James would like to thank all our sponsors for their support and commitment to the team.
Now we start planning for Brands Indy at the end of the month!!