(Friday) FP1 – The 30 minute session was the 2nd outing for us this year, with everything checked over during the winter time with the bike, all that was to do was to get back into a rhythm with things and get up to speed again. Grant was out on used tyres from last season and he made a good start securing a time to put him 26th only 1.5 second off on the small Brands Hatch Indy circuit with a lap time of 50.215.
(Saturday) Q1 – Grant went out on new tyres & with the gearing and everything feeling good it was time to get some good times in as a banker. The track was damp and with people choosing to opt for a wet tyre, Grant went out on dry tyres as he knew the track would dry up later. Grant got some good laps under his belt and with 11 minutes left Grant was 11th. Due to the track getting drier at the end of the session Grant dropped down to 14th. Good session considering the conditions.
(Sunday) Q2 – The following day was 2nd qualifying & we opted for the same tyres as Q1 to see if the settings we had changed worked. The settings were working well and we decided to stay with the same tyres. We went quicker but dropped back down the pack to 18th which wasn’t what we hoped for but we knew we had a good race setup and we were all confident as we knew it was going to rain come race day.
(Monday) Race – It was race day and as we had expected it was throwing it down with rain. Warm-up went well with everything working good in the wet. Come the race Grant was starting from the 5th row in 18th and he knew he would get a good start. Grant made a good start to the race, crossing the line after the first lap in 11th. Grant began to get into a good rhythm and started to pass people, he worked his way up to 6th position come the half race distance of 20 laps. Grant was then happy with his pace and started to track down 5th position place rider. Grant and the rider in front caught 4th position of which we both passed going into 4th and 5th respectively. Grant with 6 laps or so to go started to line up for 4th but unfortunately his assault was brought to a sudden halt as the race was red flagged and called a result. Grant was really please and so where the team, it was a great solid start to the season.
A massive thank-you to all the support Grant and the team had over the weekend especially from Chip at Ashton Service Centre, Christian From Advanced Distribution Company Ltd, Bond-A-Band & HWW Racing.
Grant would especially like to thank his Dad for getting the team to Brands Hatch, Girlfriend Laura & mechanic ‘Sam’ for all their help over the weekend. Also Mum & Sister for all their support. Grant would also like to thank all the 79 club members for coming along throughout the weekend including Mark, Andy, Steve #1, Steve (ace), Rachael, Mikey, Roy, Alan, Kenny, Jim Higgs & his family, Nixi & Simon & everyone else involved.
Please feel free to make enquires towards our sponsors regarding the services they have to offer 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.