1st podium of 2014 for Grant
Grant went into the 2 practise sessions feeling confident as he always enjoyed Oulton Park as it is one of his favourite tracks and very local to him as well. Grant had a couple of issues he was trying to dial out with the help from Nick @ Kais Suspension. Grant had some issues with his quickshifter in FP1 so didn’t put a time in which left him playing catch-up in FP2 where he finished an impressive 19th (3rd EVO).
Qualifying was the following day, Grant knew he was still a session behind so he had to work had in the qualifying session to make up for lost track time. He instantly gelled and settled into a good pace. He was putting in great time. He came in for a new tyre and went back out with enough time for a few more laps after his suspension change and put the bike into 16th position come the end of the session which was enough to take 1st EVO spot. Grant was chuffed to bits as so were the team.
Sprint Race – The sprint race was later on in the day and Grant made a good start as usual. He jumped up to a battle for 1st position in the EVO class in the early laps but then he was passed and dropped back to 3rd position come half race distance. His bike was working well towards the end of the race which enabled Grant to jump up to 2nd and set his sights on tracking down 1st position. He got back into the lead but come the last couple of laps he was passed again and could not quite make it home in 1st position. Grant narrowly missed out on the win by 0.283 of a second.
Overall it was a good position start and the first podium of the year for Grant. He was happy and confident he could improve the following day.
Feature Race – the main race took part on the Monday afternoon and the sun was out again. Grant got another good start and found himself in a battle for 2nd & 3rd position. After 6 laps Grant encountered problems with his bike which caused him to have a massive problem once he tried to accelerate. Grant quickly made a quick and calculated decision to continue at this speed for the remaining 10 laps in order to still gain as many points for the EVO championship as possible. It was a very long race for Grant as he could only manage to lap 5 – 6 seconds off his original pace which made it only possible to finish 24th in the race but 10th in the EVO championship which he gained 6 points, what could prove to be crucial come the end of the season and could decide if a championship is won or lost.
Overall it was a very encouraging weekend for Grant and the team as it proves how competitive Grant and the bike are.
Grant would like to thank the following for all their support:
HWW Racing
E Motor Spares
Ferris Racing
Bond-A-Band Transmissions Ltd
Barnes DAF
KneedownUK.com
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, Mum & Dad, Georgina Whitaker, Mark Standen, Phyllis, Steve Jeanes, Amy Terry, Tiff, Jeremy & Ann, Dave, Tony & Tracy, Jim Higgs, Katie & Abi Higgs, Katie, Mick & Simon.