Silkolene British 2 Stroke Championship blogs

Round 1 - Mildenhall 15 March 2009
We had a great time at Mildenhall – The weather was fantastic, the track beautifully prepared and the organisation spot-on, a really well run and enjoyable day - even if the results wouldn't suggest that.

Tom just failed to qualify for the “A” group by less than a second – due mainly to inexperience at qualifying, I think as much to do with me as Tom.  He only had 2 timed laps recorded but I’m sure he did more than that and he qualified 24th out of 45 in his group and about 90 entrants. Still, a good learning point. 

Race 1 was a real eye opener for Tom. A reasonable start – somewhere in the top 10 entering the first corner but had two other riders hit his front wheel simultaneously from different directions and he almost went over the bars – good save I must say.  By the time my heart started beating again I counted him 20 something towards the end of the lap.  He rode well but it was easy to see he was intimidated by the aggression of other riders, even though they were considerably slower (welcome to adult championship MX Tom!). He kept passing riders right up to the last corner and finished 15th.  I was really pleased but he was very disappointed and determined to improve in race 2.  His mid race lap times were the same as the mid race lap times of "A" group top 10 finishers, so that was encouraging. 

Race 2 was a great start and in 4th place hounding to get past those in front.  Unfortunately those in front had none of it and a minor collision saw him on the floor and last, all but two other stragglers.  Tom then rode one of the best rides of his life I think and I’ve never seen him cut and pass riders like he did then.  Again he kept passing riders to the very end but two corners before the finish flag he took an outside line to get a run to pass the next rider over the step up - the bloke he’d just passed cut him right up and nearly had him in to the fence right on the take-off point – he did really well to save it but he effectively lost two places and finished 14th instead of 12th.  

A complete stranger came up to me after the race and asked me to pass on his congratulations to Tom on an outstanding ride and compliment him on his lovely riding style – very flattering I thought. 

Race 3 was a case of survival – he was knackered.  Running comfortably in the top 10 until he lost the front wheel and was just too tiered to hold the bike up.  It took just under a minute to get going again and was last by miles but a steady ride resulted in 23rd out of the 40 starters. 

All in all not bad I think.  It’s only the second time he’s ridden the bike – on a track he’s only ridden twice before (aged about 8 & 9 on a 65cc) and a surface he has never liked (very sandy) and its only his third race since March 2 2008. 

We have a lot of positives to encourage us and we’re really looking forward to the next round at Cusses Gorse on 12 April where Tom is determined to qualify for the “A” group.