Round 1 and 2 Snetterton

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who turned up for making the weekend so enjoyable even in the horrible weather.

We turned up on the Friday for the test day to get a taste of the pace for race day and there certainly was some exotic machinery out in the sound of thunder class - including two of the new Ducati 1098, each bike costing more than my entire season will cost including the bike! So we knew it was going to be hard!!!

On the Saturday the weather was ok, maybe a little cold a breezy but nothing to harsh, flying down the back straight on the first lap of qualifying I squeezed the front brake only to have the lever come straight back to the bars, I was hard on the rear brake and across the grass pretty quick but managed to stop it before tasting the mud! I pumped the lever and there was nothing there for a while but it did eventually come back! So back onto the track and head down! I was a bit steady on the brakes for the first few laps but we seem to have it sorted so I fought through traffic thinking I had blown it. Some how we had put it on pole by over a second - very surprised and happy!

The first race started well with me getting the lead into the first corner, amazing as it was the first time I had ever done a race start on the twin! and pulling away for a few laps before holding a steady lead. On the 6th lap I had a big moment leaving riches when the rear let go and allowed Skelly on the 1098 to catch me, he then used the extra power on the duke and past me down the straight, I was faster through the twisties but unfortunately there aren't enough at Snett and I came a very close second.

The second race was similar although this time Skelly led from the off and I managed to close the gap, but again couldn't quite get past and was second across the line. I think there was something like a 23 second gap to third and we were doing 1.11's - not bad in the cold weather this early in the season.

On the Sunday I was determined not to let Skelly get all the wins, - unfortunately the wind had really picked up and it effected the old SP down the straight in qualifying - I still got 2nd on the grid but much closer to 3rd! Just before the race it started snowing! So we were sent back to change to wets, the track was as slippery as I had known it and I thought just a finish would be fine - my 2nd hand wets didn't seem to like it! I was lying in 3rd and could feel the bike getting better every lap - so I went for it and ended up winning by 7 seconds!! First win of the year and well happy!

The second race was very similar - I led from start to finish and won by 5 seconds and really cruised the last lap!

Far more than I expected from the 1st round especially at the power circuit but its going to be a very tuff year and lots of fun as all the riders seem to be well up for it!