Wildcard #2 in JuniorGP European Talent Cup
After a strong end to the 2023 British Talent Cup season, I earned myself another wildcard in the European Talent Cup, this time at Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. Coming off an amazing Donington Park final race weekend and a solid month of being home, I was more than ready for this challenge. This time around, my mom was coming which makes it even more exciting because she doesn’t get to go to many. She’s my biggest critic but also my biggest fan which gave me a bit of motivation to show her how much I have progressed throughout the year. I felt very prepared for this challenge after some very productive chats with Coach Torres who has been to this circuit more than most. Circuito Ricardo Tormo has been on my bucket list for a really long time now and I was so excited to get on track as soon as possible.
We arrived in Madrid on Tuesday afternoon and had a 4hr drive to Valencia from there. My mom hadn't been to Spain so she was super excited to explore and see what Spain was all about outside of racing of course. As we arrived to the outskirts of the Valencia you can notice the difference in landscapes. You have the ocean, big colorful buildings and art everywhere. Walking around and looking at the buildings and structures it reminded me of Paris a bit. We had some really good food as well and it was fun just being tourist before getting the race weekend started.
When I arrived at the circuit on Wednesday afternoon I was speechless. I know I’ve been to a JuniorGP weekend before, but I still had the same butterflies in the stomach feeling as the first time. I couldn’t wait to get on track in the morning after my track walk. The track looked just like what I had dreamed it would be like and more. The only thing that had been worrying me about the weekend was the wind speeds throughout the weekend. I haven’t experienced riding in crazy winds before so it would be interesting to see what it’s like. As we finished registering for the event and getting the final details organized, we also got everything unloaded and prepped for getting on track the following morning. This weekend I had Perry as my head mechanic, with Alan and Jay working the data and major factors. Team, Bike and Rider are ready!!
It’s hard for me to put in words what I felt in my first practice on Thursday. The circuit was PERFECT!! Everything was amazing, the curbs, the asphalt, oh and don’t even get me started on the grip. The bike was turning on a dime with no problem at all. Everything was just perfect. But there was one problem, the wind really started to pick up towards the end of the first session. The wind wasn’t constant which was the problem, the gusts were very strong and throwing the bike and I all over the circuit. I think it was positive for me to experience this, but I think it was just the wrong time. We got our first session complete but the session following was red flagged for weather conditions and unfortunately, they never came back in. The weather conditions made it too dangerous for us riders out on track. This was not a good start to the weekend with only getting on track once on day 1. Let's see what happens on Friday.
So we arrive at the track nice and early on Friday...beyond excited to ride again. Initially they tell us we will get on as the weather looks promising. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The gusts of wind started picking up pace again and got as high as 100kph which is way too dangerous for action on track. This resulted in a big fat 0 minutes of track time on FP Friday. With missing the 1 session on Thursday and both sessions on Friday, this means I missed a full 2 hours of vital track time on a circuit I’ve never been to. Going into the two qualifying sessions on Saturday, which at the time I wasn’t sure if there was even going to be sessions on Saturday after the previous two days. This had me nervous for the two sessions because I only had 16 laps on a circuit I’ve never been to, going into the most important sessions of the weekend. My goal before the weekend was to make the main race but at this point in the weekend, it was looking quite farfetched but I wasn’t going to give up.
I know some of you wanted to know why I was wearing Sean’s suit instead of my bad ass DRC suit. Well, my unpreparedness for the weekend caused the issue. I didn’t have my charging cable for the suit and waited to long to figure it out. Thankfully, By the grace of God, Sean was coming to the track and he had a spare suit with a working airbag that I could use. He arrived late Friday night and I was able to pass tech inspection on Saturday morning so I can ride the rest of the weekend. That would of been a terrible scenario if I couldn't get an approved suit to wear. I think I look better than him in his suit anyway...LOL!
Heading into Saturday, three special guests showed up to the track. Having Sean, Max & Gabby there was super cool. I don’t get to see them very often, so it was exciting to share this experience with them. Sean and Max both know their way around Valencia so it was a big help on the bike as well. Having Sean at the track also makes me work a bit harder as well but I’m not going to say for what reasons lol.
With only around 40 laps on the circuit, we were just under 2 seconds from qualifying for the race and for me this was a big positive. Not having those three practice sessions was hard but you can’t do much when it comes to the weather. On average, I was taking a full second off my lap time each session and if I had done that with those cancelled sessions I do believe I could’ve made the race this weekend. But I put this behind me and put full focus into the Last Change Race.
Luck really wasn’t on my side this weekend. Before the race, on the grid, my generator was given the team issues with starting. It finally got going with only a couple of minutes. The wind was picking up and it certainly wasn’t a hot weekend. So going into the race tire temps were not ideal which really affected the beginning of my race. Lost positions from where I started but once I got the temp in the tire I was on the attack. I caught up to the group ahead and had an amazing battle down to the last lap. Really enjoyed fighting with other riders and guess what, I took another full second off my time. So overall it was a positive race with some amazing battles with the riders in the group. Sadly, my position wasn’t enough for the main race but for the circumstances and the adversity we had to overcome this weekend, it was a very positive one.
Some points to highlight from the weekend:
- Another wild card opportunity in the next level JuniorGP European Talent Cup
- I got to ride and race on Circuito Ricardo Tormo
- No crashes or mechanicals
- I progressed every single session and within striking distance of the main
- I qualified better than BTC champion and BTC Runner-up
- I learned from much faster opponents and I implemented those change
I can not thank John Cresswell and team enough for this opportunity. Although I may have earned it, he made it a reality along with my family at home to bear the financial support to get me here. I definitely made the most of the weekend and left everything I had on the circuit. As a racer you always want more and to perform better, however, we did phenomenal under the extreme circumstances. I am looking forward to off season and pre season training coming up in order to prepare to challenge for the BTC title and who knows, maybe some more wild cards in the ETC (finances pending).
Have a great holiday season and see you on the track!
