Grant went into practise having already completed a track day at Silverstone a week or two earlier. Grant did this to get familiar with the long 3.6 mile Silverstone Arena GP circuit. The conditions of the first free practise were not the best and with Grant trying a new rear shock out so he would have wanted have a dry session but unfortunately it was damp and Grant could not test the shock out how he wanted to. He felt quite happy in the wet and finished the session in 10th position. Grant was in 4th until the final lap as the track was basically dry but Grant did not have enough time to come in and change his tyres.
The qualifying session was the first time Grant had to test the rear shock out. He felt quite happy with the feeling he was getting back from the shock but he was suffering a little front end vibration in the first session, which held him back a little in the braking zones. The 2nd session Grant changed the front end a little and managed to rid of the chatter and improved his lap time. Grant felt he had the pace to improve again so he tried to follow a fellow faster rider but unfortunately we both got held up by a much slower rider which stuffed any chances of Grant improving his time. Grant could only manage 21st position which was very disappointing for him and the team.
The race was here and before the race started Grant was informed that he would have to do a ride-through penalty for failing to take his tyre warmers off in the allocated time slot. This was a huge shame as Grant felt he was the only person to be penalised for this. All this aside, Grant got a great start and had worked his way up into the top 10 on the first lap going down the back straight, he held his position until the end of lap 3 when Grant had to take his ride through penalty and come into the pits and ride down the whole length of the pits at 60kph. Once Grant got out of the pits he had 7 laps to get his head down and try and make up as much time as he could. Every lap Grant dug deeper and deeper, improving his lap-time. With 3 laps to go Grant was gaining on a group of 6 riders. Grant pushed on and managed to get to the front of the pack approaching the final circuit. At the end of the race Grant worked his way up to a very impressive 16th position, just missing out on 1 point for 15th position. Throughout the whole race Grant never gave in and always gave 100% which proved to not quite be enough. This result does not reflect the effort and pace Grant had in the race. Grant believes he had a good pace to challenge for a top 6 finish but things just didn’t work out.
Grant would like to thank all the people who came to support him throughout the weekend Chip @ Ashton Service Centre, Tony from KneeDownUk.com, Mark & Andy Standen & Steve Jeanes for coming along to support Grant and the team.
Grant would like to say a special thank-you to his Girlfriend Laura, Mechanic Sam and Dad for their ongoing support over the whole weekend. Grant would like to once again thank all the loyal members of the 79 club.
Please feel free to make enquires, regarding how our sponsor’s services may be of assistance to you. We would be happy to have you on board the #79 club.
Any help is greatly appreciated, so if you are in the position to help in any way, then please contact the team and see how Grant Whitaker Racing can benefit you and your business.