For round six of the British Superbike Championship, Team Black Onyx Security Honda headed over to Hampshire for a weekend of high-speed action at the challenging Thruxton circuit.
It provides a unique challenge for riders as the combination of a high average lap speed coupled with a very abrasive track surface means it’s very hard on tyres.
Adding to the challenge this weekend was the weather; it was hot; really hot! Tyre management was going to be critical and it was tough for us riders too; I had to cool down before and after sessions with cold, wet towels on my neck and I don’t think I’ve ever drunk so much water in my life.
Last year was my first time on the Honda at Thruxton and we lost two sessions on Friday due to rain. With very little setup data from last year, we were on the back foot initially this weekend and I ended the session in 30th place.
FP2 wasn’t much better and although I improved my lap time, I actually dropped a place to finish the day in 31st place which put me right at the back of the grid – very disappointing.
For FP3 on Saturday morning I found over a second to dip in to the 1:17s for the first time but in qualifying I didn’t get a good lap in and again I ended up in 31st on the grid for race one. From here we could only go one way; forwards! Thankfully, I found something for the race and made a great start taking four places in the first corner.
I eventually finished the race in 24th place just behind the factory Honda of Takahashi and ahead of Storm Stacey and former Moto2 world champion, Tito Rabat! I managed to beat my personal best lap time by nearly 4/10ths of a second with a 1:16.97 and by moving up seven places from my grid slot I bagged joint second in the eBay Fast Forward Awards!
Sunday was solid if not spectacular. I finished race 2 in P26 after a poor start from P29 on the grid. Race three was much better. Starting P29, I made a few moves to finish P21 behind the factory Honda of Tom Neave and ahead of James East and Liam Delves.
I also improved my PB with a 1;16.85 which was just 1.4 seconds off the fastest lap of the race around the second longest lap of the year. We finally found a decent setup with the bike albeit a day late! Me feeling ill on Friday really cost us dear this weekend but the team worked SO hard to try and help me catch up.
Massive thanks to Alvaro, Rami and Mike for keeping the show on the road when we were a couple of people light this weekend. Next stop is Cadwell and then my favourite track, Snetterton. I can’t wait.
Images courtesy of MotoAero Photography