2 Solid finishes secures 2nd in the standings for Whitaker
Grant went into the 2 practise sessions feeling confident after his successful weekend at Oulton Park and also with a hopefully improved bike setup. Unfortunately for Grant he struggled in both sessions as he felt the bike wasn’t responding to the changes he and the team had made. He was very disappointed at the end of the day as Grant was 2.6 seconds off the fastest EVO machine which gave him a lot to think about heading into qualifying the next day.
Qualifying was following day and with Grant celebrating his 23rd birthday he was hoping to get his head down and ‘Crack-on’ with day ahead. Grant went out on a new set of tyres for the start of the session and with a setup change he was keen to see how his bike performed. He was making good inroads in the session, getting faster after every lap. Immediately Grant felt better than the previous day. Grant entered the pits to make a few changes and go back out for one last run. He managed to improve his time and by the end of the session had closed the gap to the front. He would start 22nd (7th EVO) for the sprint race later on in the day. He still felt he could improve his lap-time although he had made big inroads to closing the gap.
Sprint Race – The sprint race was later on in the day and with Grant making more modifications to his HWW Yamaha R6 he was feeling confident and looking forward to the race. Grant made a excellent start moving up to 3rd position. He then found himself back to 4th position but still pushing on hard to stay in touch with 3rd. Come mid race distance he got an excellent slip-stream onto the home straight and made the pass into 3rd, Grant held this for a couple of laps before being overtaken and demoted back to 4th. This is how Grant finished the race as he could not find a way past the rider in front due to the acceleration / lack of rear grip he was getting from his bike. Another good finish and more points on the board.
Feature Race – the main race took part on the Sunday afternoon and with the conditions not as hot, it would hopefully prove to be an easier race. Grant got a good start and immediately found himself in 2nd position. By the end of the first lap Grant had been passed and put back to 3rd position. He was having trouble with the suspension on the bike as it wasn’t performing as well as he had hoped after the changes for the race. He found himself now losing ground on 2nd position which left him in a battle for 3rd & 4th position. This turned out to be the way for the whole race as Grant & Tim Hastings now found themselves in 2nd & 3rd respectfully due to the 1st place rider crashing out with 6 laps to go. This did not make the remaining laps left in the race go any faster with Grant & Timmy swapping position nearly every lap. Once starting the final lap Grant was in 3rd position and looking to make a last lap overtake on Timmy to claim 2nd position. With 5 corners to go Grant was quite a distance behind 2nd position but luckily for him Timmy defended a little too much which enabled Grant to find a gap and pass to regain 2nd position with 3 corners to go. Grant managed to hold his position to the line ahead of Timmy by 0.061 of a second over the line. Another podium for Grant & the team.
Overall the weekend was a very successful which moved Grant up to 2nd in the championship standings after 3 rounds.
Grant would like to thank the following for all their support:
HWW Racing
E Motor Spares
KneedownUK.com
Bond-A-Band Transmissions Ltd
Ferris Racing
Barnes DAF
Nova Racing
HWW Tyrewarmers
Roadbandit.co.uk
General Banner Company
All the 79 club members & all supporters who attended over the weekend, my wonderful Girlfriend Laura Ann, Sam Black, Dad, Georgina, Mark Standen, Phyllis, Steve Jeanes, Tiff, Dave, Jim Higgs, Katie & Abi Higgs, Katie, Mick & Simon, Mick from Nova Racing.