Race 5....Tough but Brilliant Weekend
It was a quick trip home; about a week and then I was back at my home away from home, on a plane to the UK. After a very strong round at Snetterton, I was definitely looking forward to doing it again but this time at a circuit that is very different to the previous. I have to admit, this track is probably the most challenging track I get to race on. Brands Hatch is a rollercoaster with blind entries, uphills and drops that if you don't get the lines and drive out correct you just get swallowed by the group. Let's see if I can get it figured out
Getting to the circuit on Thursday I felt good vibes from the team and the atmosphere just like at Snetterton and the track walk was positive and I was ready to take on the weekend. Until FP1 arrived, then it changed. I didn’t have that excitement feeling after FP1 like I had at Snetterton which had me a bit worried. I put it behind me for FP2 and after looking at the data and making a change I was ready for it. Turns out, the setup change made it even worse. I wasn’t enjoying the bike like I was at Snetterton and this was causing me to ride over my head and push too hard and for me, that’s not where I am my fastest. Alan, Jay, Sandy and I sat down again to review data and figure out what the issues were. I was on take offs, was it the worn tires giving us the false feedback? Was it my riding and over input on the bike that was making miss my markers? Was it a combination of both? It was going to take some more seat time to figure it out, but Qualifying and Race 1 was up next and these sessions mattered. We made some adjustments to the bike, I went back and reviewed more video and reset my approach to the track as well. I was looking forward to qualifying in the morning.
Qualifying was positive bike wise but not so much in position. On my fastest lap, I got held up by 2 slower riders on the race line and caused me to lose a chunk of time. My predicted time before the hold up would’ve put me into P5 but instead we were starting P15. The times were really tight so I knew it was gonna be a big group but there were high chances of rain for the race. With just over an hour before the race, the English weather showed up and it started to rain. I knew this would give me a great opportunity to get crucial points so I was ready for it. After the first couple laps I felt quite comfortable with the conditions but unfortunately got caught up in a group that I couldn’t escape but fought to the flag and brought home crucial points for the championship. Coming from P15 to P6 isn’t a bad result at all so I was looking forward to a dry Sunday.
Warmup was 50/50 conditions but I felt so comfortable in them which is a really good thing for the rest of the season. One of my targets for the season in general was to overcome the issues of riding in 50/50 conditions and after the warmup my confidence was really high and I was excited about the accomplishment. I finished P2 which had me very confident for the race coming up. I didn’t have any dry track time after qualifying and we made a change to improve the feel so I had my fingers crossed that it improved. The start of the race was good but about 3/4 of the race completed I made a huge mistake. I lost the front and took it all the way to the white line and somehow popped it back up and saved it before the grass but by the time I got it all gathered up the group was gone and I couldn’t get it back. Wasn’t the end of the weekend I was looking for but it could’ve ended much worse. I finished the race in P11 which got me a couple more points however I dropped from P3 in the championship to P5. There were some mishaps by the championship leaders in both races that would of allowed me to sit a bit more comfortable in the championship run, but what is the fun in that!
I know not every weekend is gonna be perfect and I experienced that this weekend. The main lessons learned this weekend is the team and I were able to identify my riding style and the type of bike setup I enjoy riding. I also noticed that I need to focus a bit more on my studying for the tracks, one of the issues was understanding the proper lines and turn in points. I will make sure I’m more than ready for the BritishGP. Thank you everyone for all the support, I can’t wait to put the American flag back up on the podium at Motogp next weekend.
