Aintree 15/5/10

I didn't have a ride in 2008, except for a one off in the R1 Cup, so after that I decided to do some MotoX.  But I missed the track racing, so I bought Suzuki K7 1000 Superstock bike and with Andy George, Adam and Josh, I set off for my first meeting at Aintree.  I had ridden at Aintree a few years ago, but I was a little nervous as I didn't know what to expect, how fast the other riders were and what sort of racers they were.  I had entered two championships, the Superbikes and the Powerbikes for up to 1300cc bikes.  There are some long fast straights at Aintree and I ended up overriding in the corners and making a few mistakes, so I finished the first Superbike race in 3rd place which determined my grid postion for the championship race.  Next race up was the Powerbikes qualifying race, in which I started finding my "feet" again and finished a good 3rd.

I didn't do so well in the Superbikes championship race with a 4th place finish.  My last race of the day was the Powerbikes championship race, and I think I surprised a few people by winning it.  Once I was back in the groove and back into a good racing rhythm I got going and went for the win, against the Aintree regulars.

Mallory Park EMRA (Round 3) 23/5/10

Next stop was the EMRA round at Mallory Park, another circuit I'd raced at before, but again I didn't know the riders or what to expect from them.  I qualified 2nd for the two 175-1300cc races, and 6th for the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race.  I was dicing with Tim Howells, also on a Suzuki, in the 1300cc races.  I made a good start to the first race, but he got the better of me and I finished 2nd.   In the second race I got the jump on him and went on to win the race by 3.9 seconds and also set the fastest lap.

I made another good start from the second row of the grid in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race, and finally got into the lead when they red flagged it.  The result was taken back a couple of laps so it left me with a 2nd place finish, but I got the Rider of the Meeting award as a consolation.

Aintree 12/6/10

It was back to Aintree in June for the second round of the championship, and this time I was a bit more prepared, only this time there was a bit more wheel to wheel racing going on at times.  I got a flying start to the first race and won it, also setting the fastest lap, so that meant pole for the Superbikes championship race.  Next up it was the Powerbikes qualifying race, where I was in a bit of a scrap for the lead but came out second best with a 2nd place.

I got away well in the Superbikes championship race and I was leading when it was red flagged after two laps, but the result stood.  Again I got a great start in the Powerbikes championship race and set the fastest ever race time at Aintree.  Now I'm leading the Superbikes and Powerbikes championships.

Mallory Park EMRA (Round 4) 4/7/10 

Once again it was off to Mallory Park for the fourth round of the EMRA championships.  I qualified on the front row of the grid for the two 1300cc races.  I won the first race from Tim Howells (Suzuki) and Michael Nibblet (Honda) a local Mallory specialist.  After that Michael started flying and beat me in the second race by just 0.7seconds.

I qualified 3rd for a front row start in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy race.  I got a good start, but this time Michael really was on form and flying, and I finished 2nd, 1.9seconds behind him.  I was struggling for grip and the rear shock wasn't working properly, it hasn't really suited me since I've had the bike, so I must sort a new one.

Aintree 10/7/10

Well here we are at Aintree again and I didn't have quite such a good weekend.  It started with a 2nd in the Superbikes qualifying race, and then a 3rd in the championship race, but I am still leading the championship.  The Powerbikes races were better with a win in the qualifying race and another win and fastest lap in the championship race.  I now lead the Powerbikes championship with a maximum 45 points.

Croft NEMCRC 24-25/07/10

I decided it was time for a change so I entered the Croft meeting, another circuit I know well.  This time I had a new Bitubo rear shock in, and it made a big difference.  I set pole in qualifying, and then lead the first race until it was red flagged, and then they sent us all back to the start line again.  I lead the restart for 3 laps but then Jimmy Storrar on his BMW came past.  I was running in a safe 2nd place until the last lap when the bike kept nearly cutting out as I was running out of fuel and AJ Venter on his Triumph just managed to beat me into 3rd place.  In the second race I lead off the line but Jimmy got past into the first corner, with me finishing in a safe 2nd place, 6 seconds clear of AJ.

The first race on Sunday continued where I'd left off with a 2nd to Jimmy again.  Then it was time for the Ken Redfern Trophy race where I made another good start, but the inevitable pass by Jimmy happened almost straight away, so it was another 2nd place finish again for me, but I put in a lap of 1.23.9seconds, the first time I've got into the 1.23's.  Jimmy didn't compete in the last race of the day, where I lead off the line again, and for 5 laps, but AJ was pushing me hard and he got by to lead for a couple of laps, then I passed him on the last lap for the win.  I also set a personal best lap time of 1.23.7, that's a second quicker than I did here in BSB Superstock in 2007, and only 0.2 of a second off Steve Brogan's 2009 Superstock 1000 lap record set on the HM Plant Honda.  I had a good weekend and collected a few trophies, although I was never going to beat Jimmy on his 2010 BMW with my 3 year old Suzuki, but I'm happy with what I achieved this weekend.