| 7th out
of 56 starters. Quali: 9th. ~600 spectators Decent result on my second least favorite track. I was still suffering some jet lag from traveling last week, so overall mentally exhausted. Weather was cold, but dry. First race I had a good start, got stuck in between, but then benefited from others crashing in the off-road section. Also killed the engine in lap 2 or 3 and lost two positions (only two thanks to my e-starter!), but then others did mistakes as well and eventually I got back to 6th. I didn't do any further mistakes but also no great lap times. This secured me 6th position! Second race was similar, not so good start really, gained one position to 9th and that's where it staid. I could follow the guy in front of me, Joshua Das, the first three laps but made a mistake in the off-road section and then lost contact. He went on to finish sixth, gaining two more positions, but I got stuck in my slower rhythm. Now next race is again in Lelystad. Am very excited to come back there and have some hopes, so let's see and stay tuned! |
| Just one week after Boekel, again little time to do anything. I also had to travel quite a bit during the week - Milan and then New York - and came back on Friday. This always takes some energy out due to jet lag and little recovery time. The bike was in good condition though, had to change tires and oil, that was it really. I didn't get a new front tire in time, so still had to go on the first tire of the year. It was still ok, but certainly not the freshest anymore. Back tire I decided to use the same as in Lelystad during the first race because the track in Hellendoorn has more right turns and Lelystad is only tough on the left side. Instead of saving it for some practice, I thought I can use it and save the one new rear slick for Lelystad, just in case I don't get new tires in time. Worked well. |
| I had some trouble getting into the track. Luckily, they groomed
the track always before our moto. One advantage being the first group
of the schedule ;-) The sandy track was all new to me, but to my
surprise, I felt quite ok in these conditions. On some parts of the
track, I was too cautious and I didn't get one full fast lap together
really. Overall I was ok with my qualifying, although a couple of
positions further back than I hoped. Quali result: 9th |
| Start
into the first race went well, got off the line quickly but
was stuck in traffic in turn one. First offroad section was quite
hectic and I moved up to 7th position after the first lap. Then in lap
two, I killed my engine in the offroad but thanks to my e-starter, I
got it going very quickly again and I lost only two positions! Lap two,
I finished at 9th, then gained one position to climb to 8th and in lap
four I was back in 7th again. The offroad was tricky so many did
mistakes there and fell. I was quite steady again, not the fastest but
safe. So, in lap nine I lost again one posiiton but gained two
back in the last two laps because of others just in front of me falling
off the bike. This made 6th position overall, quite a good result! I
knew however that I have to take a little more risks to confirm this in
race two, but it is hard to switch this off once you are in this rhythm. Race 1 result: 6th |
| Race two was less sparkling. I came out of lap one on 10th
position, passing Joshua Das at the end of the finish straight, but I
was a little too late on the brake and he countered it in the following
corner. In lap three, I gained one position to 9th and tried to follow
Joshua. Then in lap four or five, I made a mistake in the offroad and
lost contact to him, and off he was. WIth this I lost some speed and
basically "cruised" this position home. Joshua went on to finish sixth,
so this was not impossible, but I couldn't get my act together enough.
Overall, I was happy with the result on this less favorable track for
me. Race 2 result: 9th Overall: 7th |
| Next race is in Lelystad in two weeks from now, on 27 May, safe to say my favorite track... |