Round 4 - Donington Park National

Saturday

This weekend we were first race out on the track with the Thunderbike Ultra. I got a good start and took the lead of the race into Redgate. This race turned into a race-long battle for the lead, swapping positions each lap. In the end, Butterworth came out on top after a tight race.

Next up was the Clubman 1000 race. I started this race P7 on the grid. I got a half-decent start, but it wasn’t long before the race was red-flagged due to a multi-bike accident in McLeans which I got caught up in but managed to stay on the bike with a long run through the gravel pit. After lunch, the race was restarted. This time I got a better start making a couple of places up on the launch. Unfortunately, as the race went on it became apparent that the suspension setup was still not right for me and I was unable to push on due to the bike crossing itself up on the brakes. I finished this race P5 on track but 1st in class.  After the race, I took the bike to TW suspension to try to improve the setup, where I found out it was all too soft, so I had to make the best of a bad situation for the remainder of the day.

Onto the next Thunderbike Ultra race. I started this race on the pole. I got an ok start. I dropped back to P2 and unfortunately, I only had to pace to go with Butterworth but didn’t have the pace to challenge for the lead. This race was one of hot pace and I was able to briefly break the class lap record only for Butterworth to go and beat it again on the last lap.

The last race of the day was the Clubman 1000. This time I started P4 on the grid. I got an ok start was still struggling with the suspension and was limited with what I could do. This was an uneventful race bringing it home in P5 on track, 1st in class.

Sunday

The first race of the day was the Thunderbike Ultra. This was near enough of a repeat of race 2. Again, bringing it home in P2.

Next up was the first Clubman 1000 race of the day. After stripping all of the suspension off of the bike Saturday night and making some changes to try and stiffen the suspension up (thank you TW and Dad for the late night working on my bike) the bike felt much nicer on the brakes and I was able to push on more bringing it home in P4 on the track - 1st in class with still some suspension work to do to the rear of the bike.

The last Thunderbike ultra race I got off to a good start. This quickly turned into a repeat of the first race of the weekend but fortunately, I managed to pip Butterworth to the line taking the win.

The last race of the weekend was the Clubman 1000. We made a slight adjustment to the rear shock before the race. This slightly improved the feel from the rear but with the extra pace, it made the front forks bottom out again. I was still able to push on and take P3 on the track – 1st in class and broke the class lap record with a 1.10.642. I will continue to work with TW Suspension next round to further improve the suspension. 

Photography Credit:

📸 Sophie_Louise Photography