Arrived on the Saturday afternoon and walked the track which was absolutely perfect. Couldn't wait to get out there and rip it up!!
Practise was great fun as the track was really nice to ride. Cruised round and then put in a few quick laps and the bike felt perfect after some new parts, a new Golden Tyre and suspension setup by LRS.
For qualifying I took a good gate in the middle and pulled the holeshot. Alan Waring and Harry Seymour then came passed me and I finished the race in third just ahead of Paul Cannon. The bike felt good and I was looking forward to the main races.
Took a similar gate position for the 2stroke open and blasted another holeshot just in front of Alan Waring and Roy Poynter. Alan was all over me for the entire race and was showing me a front wheel at most corners but I rode a smart race and held my lines forcing him to go wide. The battle lasted right to the flag and I was really letting it hang out determined to beat the defending champion. Alan made a last attempt at the pass but I had the inside line on the last corner and held him off for the win.
I pulled peg 24 for the first A-group race but still lined up pretty much where I wanted. The gate dropped and I thought I had the holeshot but Rupert Heaton had the inside line. Carl Milburn then came flying passed up on the pegs and sideways. Awesome!! I got back passed Carl on the first lap and set about passing Rupert. I made a pass down the inside of the first hill but ran a bit deep and he was able to cut inside and block my line on the exit. As Rupert and I were battling hard Alan and Harry managed to squeeze through. I then really attacked and made the pass stick and was able to put a gap between myself and Rupert but Alan and Harry had already stretched a lead. I started to close in on Harry but at the same time Paul Cannon was closing the gap on me so I focused on keeping it smooth and holding my lines to finish the race in third place which I was really happy with.
For the final race I pulled peg number 4 and so lined up exactly where I wanted to. Got another great start but it was Paul Cannon and Shane Reid in front of me through the first couple of turns. I then got hit with arm pump, not even half a lap into it and was struggling on the brakes down the hills. Not hard arm pump all season so not sure where it came from but had a bad couple of laps riding through the cramps and lost some places & slipped down to 5th. Finally recovered and could get back on it but the leaders were already away. Caught up with Brook Alder who was running in 4 th on his KXF450 but I couldn't get close enough to make the pass stick. Finished in 5 th place giving me third overall on the day which was great.
